Happy almost-February!

I’m sending February’s newsletter early for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I turn 30 in a week and will be offline for a bit as my partner and I go celebrate at Disneyland. (As a child, I spent nearly every birthday at Disney—back when it didn’t cost an arm, a leg, and a kidney to afford annual passes—so I wanted to begin this new decade in a place that meant so much to me as a kid.)

Secondly—like so many of us—I’m feeling a whole lot defeated and devastated about the state of the world. It feels icky to promote my books and make fun little graphics while our democracy is literally being torn apart and we’ve grown uncomfortably comfortable with watching a genocide happen before our very eyes.

Authors are contractually obligated to promote the hell out of their books online, so you will still find me yapping away about my books—and, truly, I genuinely can’t wait to share them with you. But neither do I want to post over and over without loudly condemning what is happening and committing to use my voice in any way I can.

I want to share some resources for us as writers and readers, and since they’re meant to raise funds as soon as possible, they’re timely so I didn’t want to wait to share this next week.

Some ways writers and readers can unite:

• Publishing for Minnesota is hosting an auction that is happening RIGHT NOW (but only until EOD today)! Go get those bids in now!

• A group of 2026 debut romance authors are hosting a raffle of their upcoming books to help raise funds for Minnesota. If you donate to the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund and fill out this form, you will be entered into the raffle. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 3rd.

• I don’t yet have a physical book to donate to a giveaway or run one myself, but if you are a writer looking for fresh eyes on your query letter or opening pages, I will happily read and send notes to you if you donate at least $5 to a mutual aid fund and send me proof.

• I also donated a query critique to #KidLit4Ceasefire’s next fundraiser in March to raise funds for families in Gaza (hopefully I’ll have physical copies to donate soon). Please consider donating an item or service here if you are able to. The form will close on Thursday, February 5th.

There are without a doubt so many more I’ve missed, but these are just a few I wanted to highlight and ask for your help promoting if you’re able to.

Read The Wives of Herrick Hall Early!

Taking a hard pivot now (sorry for the whiplash, but I am writing this on a Friday evening and my brain is soup)—my sapphic gothic horror debut, The Wives of Herrick Hall, is now available to request on NetGalley.

For those who haven’t heard about NetGalley before, it’s a site where readers can request to read books early in exchange for reviewing them online.

I’m avoiding venturing onto NetGalley and Goodreads because they are primarily a reader’s space and I don’t want to encroach as someone who is now (inexplicably?) an author as well as a reader (i.e. feel free to hate my book knowing I won’t be snooping 😂).

My partner and a friend are sending me positive reviews though, and I’m so overwhelmed by and appreciative of the early reader response. I got so emotional realizing other people are actually reading my book (and omg some are even liking it!). I’ve spent so many years with Josephine and Nora and the host of ghosts at Herrick Hall, but they are all now yours. 🖤

Oh, one last thing! Cindy Pham (one of the biggest book influencers) shouted out The Wives of Herrick Hall as a 2026 debut to have on your radar. I’ve been watching Read with Cindy videos for years, so I absolutely freaked out hearing her pitch my book to viewers 😭 Like what?! Cindy knows I exist?!

Thank you for following me along on this scattered newsletter adventure. With two books debuting this year (and me trying to finish my third), I can’t promise that future newsletters won’t be as chaotic, but I’ll try my best to appear like a more coherent adult—especially now that I’m very soon to be 30. 😂

F 🧊 all day every day,

-Julie