Another update!

I know, I know. I’ve been posting nothing but updates recently, but I’ve been writing for other platforms in the interim. I do have important info for October, too. See those updates below.

New Metamashina Episodes

Metamashina has finally started to release its newly recorded episodes using the new format. I couldn’t be more excited to share those episodes with everyone else!

To usher in this new era of podcasting, we started off with some nice, light fanfare. Basically, we did a casual deconstruction of 1997’s The Fifth Element: AKA one of the campiest sci-fi classics from our childhood.

I really loved this episode, just because I feel like it’s a great way to turn the page on a new chapter of our podcast journey. Also, check out the episode’s show notes for book recommendations, too!

Please Note: Due to the US election (and how it coincides with our episode release), the November episode of Metamashina will not be released during that month. The November episode will be released on October 31, 2020. Our episode release after that will be on December 1, 2020. So keep those two dates in mind!

New Articles

I’m very happy to report that I’m still writing for Frolic, and in October I covered some subjects that were near and dear to my heart.

First Up: A list of fall-themed paranormal romance books for adults, to get you in the spooky spirit for Halloween. Writing this article was so much fun, and the books I read were so enjoyable! If you want recs featuring enemies-to-lovers dynamics, reverse harem tropes, paranormal romance books set in college, or books with Hades and Persephone vibes, click on that link above.

Also: The merits of fanfiction were discussed on Twitter (yet again). Somewhat coincidentally, I also decided to write about five authors who wrote fanfiction before getting published. After all, both fanfic and fiction are great.

What I’ve Been Listening To (and Playing)

Finally, some media that I’ve enjoyed over the last month:

1. Vampires Never Get Old

The Vampires Never Get Old podcast first made it onto my radar when I was looking for new things to listen to while sewing. So I’m going to recommend it to others, too.

As a companion piece to an anthology of the same name, Vampires Never Get Old is structured as a miniseries where the authors in the anthology talk about the history of vampire literature, predominantly in the YA fiction space.

The podcast also covers a few shows that I fondly remember from my childhood. My favorite episode is the one they did on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where they discuss the TV series in-depth.

If you’re someone like me—a person who loves vampires, but you usually stick to adult literature—you’ll find the podcast illuminating.

2. Hades

Looking for a Hades review? Alright, here’s a simple one: Oh my god, I love this game.

I mean, you’ve probably seen the fanart. You’ve read the thirst tweets. You’ve heard your friends rant and rave about this masterpiece from Supergiant Games, so now you’re going to hear me talk about it, too.

A roguelike combined with a visual novel (no, seriously), Hades is inspired by Greek Mythology. In the game, you play Zagreus, the son of Hades. Zagreus is determined to escape the underworld realm of his father.

The only problem? Escaping from the underworld is a really, really hard thing to do. Zagreus keeps on dying. Each time he dies, he’s sent back to the starting line, and he has to make his way through the layers of the dead to escape.

Seriously, I love this game so much. The Hades gameplay is constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat, and I haven’t fallen in love with game characters like this in ages. I might actually write an entire blog post on the subject, eventually. Who knows! It’s that good.

A Word on Updates for November

While this blog post is about to wrap up, it’s important to mention some notable developments for the coming month. Specifically, I will be going on hiatus for November.

Yes, again.

While it’s not the first time I’ve gone on hiatus this year (blame it on 2020), I’m planning to take part in NaNoWriMo to finish a super-secret project. This means that I’ll be off social media for the whole month, and potentially edging into December, too.

That said, I will be making the occasional scheduled update. To find those updates, you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter.