Hi friends! I’m going to start doing monthly newsletters with some updates about life, what I’m reading, my current writing WIPs, and more.
I am very excited about today’s newsletter because it’s Pride month! If you somehow missed it, I am bisexual and like sharing about it. It was a long journey to figuring out my sexuality (I didn’t come out until I was 21) and I’m proud of who I am. This month I am going to feature one queer book every day. I already have them all planned out and am so excited to share some of my favorite LGBTQ+ reads with you.
What’s Up In Life
My husband and I are gearing up for our honeymoon. We’re going to France! As you may know, I have a degree in French and am reasonably fluent, but I have never been out of the United States. Our honeymoon was delayed because of the pandemic, but we are finally going, and I am equal parts excited and terrified. I will of course be sharing about our trip, which is in August. I’m going to be taking a French conversation class with my local community college to brush up on my language skills. It’s been a while since college.
We are also nearing our second wedding anniversary and I can’t express how happy being married to my husband makes me every single day.
My cat Persephone turns six years old in a few months and I am planning her birthday party. We’ve had her for almost two years (we got her the day after our wedding) and she is the best little creature I have ever met.
As mentioned, I’m going to be featuring 30 Pride books this month, so I’ve been scrambling around getting those posts ready. I’ll be featuring them on my blog at claireoliviagolden.com as well as my Instagram, so be sure to stop by and check it out.
What I’m Reading
I just read my 98th book of the year, so it looks like I’m going to hit my Goodreads challenge of 100 books pretty easily. I’ll probably aim for 200 books this year. Being chronically ill and a housewife means I have a lot of time for reading, and the reading part is great.
My most recent read that I loved is The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman. I absolutely love her books. Up until now, she has mostly co-written with other authors, and this was her solo YA debut. I preordered it and devoured it. As a reward for preordering, I got to attend a live Q&A session with her yesterday, and she answered my question! I love fangirling over authors. I hope that I can attend one of her signings in person one day. She lives in Australia, so next time she makes it over to the States maybe she will come to my town. Right now I’m making my way through her backlist. I have read seven of her backlist books but I think I have at least seven more to go. She’s prolific. I recommend checking her books out if you haven’t already.
What I’m Writing
I’ve been working on a few projects for different clients. I proofread Born to Reign by my friend Cathrine Swift. It’s the sequel to her queer historical fantasy Let it Reign and it was so much fun to work on. I’m also ghostwriting my first book! Obviously I can’t tell you about that because of the “ghost” part, but I’m having so much fun writing it. Because of these projects, I haven’t had much energy to work on my own writing projects, but I did write a little of the next book in the Goose Creek Cycle. Sometime I’ll tell you more about it.
I’m being interviewed by Swords & Sapphics podcast this month (in writing, not on the podcast) and I had a great time answering their questions. I’ll post the link when it goes live.
Health
Last year was a very difficult time for me. My mental health was at an all-time low. It’s getting better little by little. I’ve been working hard in therapy, which is difficult but good for me. I honestly think everyone could benefit from therapy even if you don’t have a mental illness. A couple of months ago, I was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), which is related to OCD, and that makes a lot of sense to me. My 11 years in intensive ballet as a teenager definitely put me at higher risk for developing BDD (research shows that BDD, like many mental illnesses, is partially genetic and partially based on past experiences). I am working on my negative self-talk and poor body image.
Some good news is that my therapist, psychiatrist, and I all consider my depression to be in remission, which is a huge win. I still have bad days, like everyone, but they are fewer.
Long Covid is still kicking my butt. I’ve had an appointment with the Long Covid Clinic for about six months and it’s still not until July. They are very busy because unfortunately a lot of people are suffering from Long Covid. (I had Covid back in June 2022 and am still having symptoms.) I will probably do a post about my personal experience being a long hauler. It’s been rough. I suffer from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia-like symptoms, and I honestly think I meet the criteria for ME/CFS, as do a lot of long haulers. But I guess we’ll see what the clinic says. If/when I ever get to talk to them.
I’m trying to take it one day at a time and not get too discouraged when I can’t do things I used to be able to do, or that my friends can do. It’s a process.
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I think that about sums up what’s going on in my life. What’s new for you?