Edith Pilaf

TV Review: "The Abandons" (Episodes 1-3) The critically reviled Netflix western is not especially good or memorable, but it is nevertheless a campy delight.

It might not be great TV, but IMO there's enough camp delight in The Abandons to be worth watching, and it reminds me more than a little of Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar. (Gillian Anderson in particular is giving Joan Crawford levels of camp).

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Can’t wait to hurt my own feelings with this one. 😂

I love the feeling you get when a draft is really coming together. The tension is building. The setup is working. The characters and their backstories are clicking.

This is why I love writing.

I'm getting tired of this President using his platform to verbally abuse and demean people in our country just because he can.

Hey dickhead, try doing your job better instead of focusing on all the 1980s put-downs.

i think a (perhaps underappreciated) aspect of this whole situation is the extent to which every elite profession is filled with people who excel at drawing attention and want to be famous more than they want to do the actual job

Our only and true defense against generative AI will be to LOUDLY reject its output for the cheap, imitative crap that it is and shame any company that dares to pretend otherwise. There needs to be a COST for shoveling slop and pretending it's art!

So my new queer Appalachian romance is at 20K. I feel confident that this is the draft that will go to my editor, which will kick-start the process of refining and finessing. Super excited about this project, and we're aiming for a Spring 2026 release!

“I just watched Hazbin Hotel. It’s cute I guess, but methinks this might be for theatre kids with religious trauma!”

YOU THINK???

A New York Times headline that reads: "Calibri’s Run-In With Rubio Wasn’t Its First Controversy."

Can't say I ever expected to see a "That Font was No Angel" headline. But here we are.

Signing off for tonight, but don't forget that my queer Appalachian rom-com is on sale for $1.99 on Kindle for this week only. It's the perfect book to snuggle up with on a chilly December night!

a.co/d/faRLJNo

TV Review: "Spartacus: House of Ashur" (Season 1, Episodes 1-2) The new Starz show is off to a roaring start, with the same mix of camp, spectacle, and solemnity that made its predecessor such an unprecedented success.

I was skeptical at first, but Spartacus: House of Ashur won me over with its first two episodes. It's gory. It's silly. It's solemn. I loved every minute.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Man. Hittin' the Right Note is just pouring out of me. This queer Appalachian story elaborates on some of the themes I wrote about in Country Road Romance, but it adds in a whole lot more emotional layers. There's toxic masculinity, young love, second chance romance, and a whole lotta yearning.

Some days I get overwhelmed with the shitty nature of the world, but then I do some writing, go to my job at the library, chat with my great colleagues and see so many people checking out books, and I'm reminded that there is joy still in the world.

I'm excited to announce that I'll be presenting at this year's Appalachian Studies Association Conference, talking about small town and rural queer romance and why these stories are so powerful, and needed, now.

I am looking forward to being in Huntington again!

TV Review: "Heated Rivalry" (Episode 3) Though the series changes focus to a different couple in its third episode, its combination of sex appeal and emotional resonance is just as potent and captivating.

Just weighing in to the Heated Rivalry discourse with my review of the third episode, which left me a gooey Pisces puddle on the floor. In other words, I loved it!

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

In the lead-up to the release of my second novel, a queer Appalachian romantasy, my first book, a queer Appalachian rom-com, is now on sale for just $1.99 on Amazon. If you haven't bought it yet, or if you've been waiting for the holidays, now's your chance!

Donating to Wikipedia feels like making sure the Library of Alexandria doesn't burn down nowadays

Sometimes I think my cat is evil. (But that just makes me love him more).

Not me getting weepy at a Hallmark movie. 😭

Currently watching A Keller Christmas Vacation. It’s silly in a Hallmark way, but it’s a lot of fun anyway.

Film Review: "Hamnet" Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel is exquisitely crafted, brilliantly acted, and truly, madly, deeply devastating.

Happy Monday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed Hamnet. You may count me among those who adored this film, even as it also broke my little Pisces heart all to pieces.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

If you're in the market for a spicy queer romantasy that has bound lovers and is a blend of Appalachia and Ancient Rome (you read that right), then let me suggest A Bond of Blood and Stone.

It's available for preorder now!

YouTube video by AnnieLennoxVEVO Annie Lennox - Walking on Broken Glass (Official Video)

This is the best music video ever created. I will not be taking questions at this time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y25s...

So, I watched Bugonia last night. Very on-brand for Lanthimos. Ridiculous and absurd and terrifyingly plausible. A haunting reminder of just how fucked up our world has become, and perhaps always has been.

If you're not scared yet, you probably should be.

thehill.com/policy/natio...

Here's to writing 5K words of Hittin' the Right Note today! (This is an aspirational goal but, hopefully, an achievable one!)

Currently watching Bugonia, and it’s just as bizarre, unsettling, and plausible as I’d expected.

Paul Mescal does broody and suffering so well. A perfect choice to play Shakespeare.

Currently watching Hamnet. A bit of a slog, but Buckley and Mescal are fantastic, of course.

Swoony Sunday Book Review: "A Mannequin for Christmas" Timothy Janovsky does it again, serving up a whimsical Christmas romance that has some rich, and surprisingly human, depths.

Happy Swoony Sunday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed Timothy Janovksy's newest, A Mannequin for Christmas, which is a fun and whimsical Christmas romance that nevertheless has some rich and deeply human elements. A must-read M/M romance!

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...