Authorstrator Listy List

A round up of reads, watches and art stuff for November

It’s that time again! Authorstrator Listy List time! November is a time for epic fantasy and fairy tale retellings if you ask me - I mean, lets be honest all the time is time for epic fantasy and fairy tale retellings, but especially November! Things are getting cooler and the drinks are getting warmer and everything is cozy as the sun sets earlier and everything is lit with a warm hearthy glow (hearthy can be a word, don’t ask questions). So to me, that sets the perfect environment for fantasy and fairy tales and I’ve got quite a few for you this month!

What’s the Listy List all about? The Authorstrator Listy List is a roundup of what I think are the most interesting bits and bobs I collect for all the lists I keep in my notebooks over the course of the month! My TBR, my watch list, my list of arty things I want to try out. And I’m always on the lookout for more, so if you’ve got a great recommendation for a read, a watch, or arty stuff, I invite you to share your latest finds in the comments! 

Here we go!

The Reading List

Books

We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang - This too cute picture book has such fun images and a hilarious looking alien invasion story. Excited for this.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett - High fantasy (check!) with a murder mystery (yes please!). ‘Nuff said.

We Shall Be Monsters by Alyssa Wees - Persephone and Hades retelling for fans of Madeliene Miller sounds cozy!

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden - I am a big fan of The Bear and the Nightingale series by Katherine Arden and they were the perfect books to curl up with under a blanket. I am excited to see another book from her - historical fantasy, I’m on board.

Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim - It has necromancy and ‘twisted magic’, which was enough to sell me. Plus the cover. And the title. Really all of it is calling my name.

Articles

Publishing Confidential

is always providing great insights into publishing and important things for authors to think about when it comes to reaching their audience. This was a particularly interesting read about what publishing can take away from the election results.

Daniel José Older

writes about the end of the beginning - really great lesson in writing with examples from his work on Star Wars novels 

Tom Hanks spoke to Variety about comic book movies - eesh! Careful there, Tom! Conversations about Marvel movies bring out strong opinions on both sides of the debate (like everything at the moment) so I admire his guts. Where do you stand on comic book movies?

The Watch List

I haven't watched the animated Netflix show Arcane yet, but I am seeing it ‘s fan art EVERYWHERE. So I'm going to have to give it a go. Looks INTENSE.

The Art List

If you’re looking for gifts for yourself or the artist in your life, amazing illustrator

Simone Grünewald

has put together a Happy Artist Gift Guide  and has two awesome books about illustrating of her own. Sketch Everyday and Draw What You Love - I have them both! The tutorials are very informative and detailed and I reference these books all the time.

And that’s it! I purposefully left off the holiday vibes because I’m still in halloween mode. Are you already breaking into the holiday creative stuff?

Also, if you haven’t yet, come check out the Authorstrator chat! I’m going to be planning some new themes - I’m going to bring back the movie quote game and paid subscribers are going to be getting monthly AMAs, plus there’s amazing stuff being shared in WIP Corner so stop in and say hi!

How to get started

1. Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for the Authorstrator chat inside.

3. That’s it! Jump into the thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.