I'm sending this from a hot tub

(just kidding. kind of.)

Hello all! Sorry for the lack of letter last week—I am in Tennessee at the cabin with my family, and last Friday was a travel day with worse-than-usual plane wifi. I wish I could say I’m making it up to you with this issue, but I can’t. Next week I promise a double-length newsletter, with my hopefully-coherent thoughts on monopolies and private equity and publishing and also a roundup of the reading I’ve been doing out here from the deck. Since I’ve been working during the days I haven’t been able to put up the kind of ludicrous numbers I have in the past, but there have still been some real gems (including two LDLA clients!)

Before I move on to our other programming, SEND IN QUESTIONS! I’m pretty sure I’ve answered all the ones I’ve received so far. If I haven’t, please resubmit! I really enjoy answering these. (And I know there’s a longer suggestion for a post idea in there-I just don’t have the bandwidth to tackle it this week.)

WHAT I’M READING

I just finished Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee, who is repped by friend and coworker Carrie Pestritto. The titular protagonist is a bit of a mess, with a good job and a new baby and a boyfriend she loves—until she’s left with only the baby and moving back in with her family in backwoods Georgia. She starts remodeling their downstairs apartment to turn it into the perfect mountain Air BnB with the help of her hot neighbor, and sparks fly. The book has a wonderfully diverse cast and strong, believable relationships between the characters—from her dipshit ex who is trying to be better to her mother, who has only in her later years learned how to be a caring parent. I read it nearly in one setting. A great read!

THIS WEEK IN HOCKEY

Honestly, I haven’t really been paying attention since I’ve been in the mountains! The Stars and Oilers series is tied 2-2 (I double checked it this time, don’t worry) and Jason Robertson is absolutely on fire. I’m excited to get home and watch some games, especially after reading this great Defector article by Lauren Thiesen:

This year's conference finals have provided all but the most frail and anxious fans an ideal version of high-stakes hockey action. Comebacks! Overtimes! Tummyaches! As all four teams remaining own legitimate Cup claims, their clashes have consistently featured big momentum shifts and heroic individual performances. But above all, these games have shared one thing in common: The winning team has been the one that's put the puck in the net more often.

I swear I'm not doing a bit. This is just the only way my structure-addicted brain has been able to impose any order on these series. In previous rounds, which boasted more obvious talent imbalances, there was a certain rise-and-fall mechanism to the way these series went down. R.I.P. the blossoming hopefulness of Winnipeg and Vancouver. So long to the Lightning dynasty and Alex Ovechkin's postseason career. Good riddance to the stench of the decaying Avalanche. The World Champion Vegas Golden Knights? Never heard of them. So many narratives, lost like tears in rain. What's left, to me, is pure hockey as hockey, and there is no hockey without the sometimes inexplicable randomness that divides winning from losing.

As a side note, if you aren’t a Defector subscriber, I highly can’t recommend the site highly enough. Defector grew from the ashes of the late lamented Deadspin, a Gawker property used and abused in the aftermath of the disastrous Peter Thiel-backed Hulk Hogan lawsuit (which I wrote about back in 2022. How have I been doing this newsletter for so long?) They consistently produce funny, insightful, moving journalism about sports, culture, and politics. They’re employee-owned and fully self-sustaining from subscriptions, and don’t have any advertising. Defector Media is the best of the way the internet used to be. (Plus they produce the podcast Normal Gossip, which is the best thing on the web!)

Also, to the person who left this message in the question form:

I just queried you but I fear that my Colorado Avalanche allegiance might get in the way now that they are facing the Stars!

I’m so sorry for your loss. :(

HOUSEKEEPING

Do you have any questions about the publishing industry? Requests for advice? Thoughts on your recent reads? You can leave them as comments, replies to this email, or fill out this Google form to ask anonymously!

I am open to queries via QueryManager only, which can be found here. Here is my submissions page on the LDLA website, and here is a more detailed MSWL.

My first novel, Marrying In, is available for purchase on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, and is coming soon to iBooks. If you’ve read it, consider leaving a review—that helps me and the book in the long run!

You can find me on social media on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, the A Faster No Discord, and now TikTok. If you buy any of the books linked in this newsletter I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

This newsletter is a personal project, and the sentiments and opinions expressed here are my own and not those of my employer.