Welcome back to Links! I know I just did one of these last week, but it has felt much longer. Maybe it’s because I’ve been quite busy.
I also went to the mall over the weekend. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been shopping, let alone an actual mall. I know TikTok has been abuzz with the tweens invading Sephora for skincare brands and I can confirm that it’s very real.
As someone who gets overwhelmed in chaotic, crowded spaces, I was disappointed that things I wanted were all out of stock, I wasn’t able to leisurely take my time exploring the fragrance section, and that I lacked the patience to both dodge around girls testing skincare products and find a Sephora person to ask about additional stock. So I grabbed the one thing on my list I could find and tried to get out of there as fast as possible.
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Did you know that romance author Nikki Payne is a tech anthropologist for the White House? That’s so cool! And also I want to know more about tech anthropology.
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If you’re into making cheese, here’s a handy tool to find out how much milk you need based on which cheese you want to make and what kind of milk you’re using.
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This link came from Georgia; thanks, Georgia!
Thought you might like this one for the next Links post, from Casey Blair’s email to readers:
I can finally announce I was asked to be a panelist at this year’s TBR Con! This is a completely free virtual event that will stream live on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook on January 26th at 11am Pacific Time.
The panel is called “Cozy Fantasy’s Rise — Grimdark’s Demise?” and I’ll be talking with five other fantastic cozy fantasy and/or grimdark authors, moderated by reviewer extraordinaire Mihir Wanchoo. We’re going to have a lot of fun with this one.
Date has passed obviously but it will remain online to watch at TBRCon2024 | FanFiAddict.
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If you love to follow animal or pet accounts on Instagram, I highly recommend Rackarkatten: a Siberian cat who loves to race its owner.
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Does anyone know what’s going on with the fourth book in Tessa Dare’s last series?
I know that the publication has been delayed because of Dare’s health issues, and periodically I’d get emails from Amazon about the date of my pre-order being moved back. But a few days ago, my pre-order was canceled entirely. A post on Dare’s website from last month explains that the most recent claimed publication date was a mirage but doesn’t mention the orders being actually canceled. It also implies that she’s still intending to write the book, although unfortunately her health is not cooperating, so she won’t be able to write it any time soon.
Amanda, I’m with you re: crowds and chaos; it’s impossible to think or even focus. If Sephora had been around when I was a tween, I’d have been one of the invaders, particularly delighted if I could offend someone like present-day me. Now my weekends are a no-retail zone.
@ Star- It was my impression that the book was written (or at least in the very final stages) back in what?? 2020 ?? when it was originally supposed to be published. If I’m remembering correctly it was literally only a month or two before it was pulled from publication by Dare with the statement (from her or her publishers) that Dare wasn’t happy and it needed changes, so it was pushed back six months or so?? Then Covid hit and the next publication date was approaching and it was pushed back an again for Covid- related reasons. (And I know her husband is a Dr and Covid has a HUGE impact on their family in many ways.) This was when all of the supply chain issues were happening. Then the 2024 popped up on Amazon (and this was 2021 or so), and on her FB fan site Dare said that was just a place holder, it was just there so dates wouldn’t have to be changed again, it wouldn’t take three years, etc.
It was a bit after that that I started hearing about health issues, then writer’s block, and after that it became “There is no release date at all and there’s no idea when there will be one”, She hasn’t posted on her FB fan site in a long time. I know she was quite active on Twitter up until Musk took over, but I left shortly after that and she doesn’t seem to be on any of the other social media sites.
I loved that series, and I hope it will be finished, but I won’t be surprised if it isn’t. I wish Dare well, though, and I hope whatever the issue(s) may be resolves itself, because she is one of my favorite writers.
I enjoyed the (too brief!) Nikki Payne profile. I’m fascinated by Austen retellings/reimaginings and have both of Payne’s books on my gargantuan TBR. It may be time to tackle one of them!
@Lauren I am still trying to find someone who doesn’t have a tbr in the triple digits. Does such a unicorn exist?
TBRs are security blankets.
@ MaryK, I will try to adopt your TBR philosophy instead of fighting off anxiety about my capacity to read all of the books on my TBR.
@LML – Better to have too many than too few is my motto. 🙂
@Sarah: I am that unicorn. My TBR is in the quadruple digits.
@MaryK: I like your thinking!
I have thousands of books on my kindle. That doesn’t include the print books around the house.