Wow, I didn't know winters could be quite this snowy in eastern Ontario! Last weekend we got over 50 cms, which meant seemingly endless shovelling. I insisted we get a picture of this snowbank at the end of our driveway, otherwise everyone would just think I'm exagerating (which is, admittedly, part of my make-up, but still).

Other than shovelling and being cold, I took the opportunity this month to lose myself in a few overlapping editing deadlines.

• I copyedited a 60K-word sci-fi time travel novel. (Boy, do I love a good multiverse story, and this one had the characters travelling not just up and down their own timeline but sideways to parallel timelines too.) A client recommended I read Micaiah Johnson's The Space Between Worlds for a good story in this vein, which I just started and it's really good.
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• I proofread a horror short story and a Mothman novelette. Really great story that combined the front lines of WWI, occultism, and the Mothman mythology.
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• I proofread a 50K-word memoir. I like having some nonfiction in the mix for variety. Definitely a shift away from the Mothman!

And finally, wrapping up the month with... my 40th birthday! 🎉🎂 This one hits different. I don't really have the words for it, just that while I still feel the heaviness of the world, I also feel really grateful to get to live my one little life on my own terms.

Author Resource Round-Up

Since I love collecting shiny things, here are some resources I think you'll find interesting:

• ​Do writing sprints help you get your words in? A friend passed along this cool new community called Ohwrite where you can do sprints with friends, keep track of your word count, and stay accountable together.
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• ​Do you also like stories about robots, cyborgs, and AI (or write about them)? This article in Interstellar Flight Magazine gives a great overview on the century since the seminal AI narrative in 1920, a sci-fi play called R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots).
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• ​Campfire: A world-building wiki for writers! I love making style sheets (of course), and I'm gearing up to offering a new story bible service. A fellow editor put me on to Campfire, which allows you to make basically a world-building wiki for your novel. Definitely worth checking out if you're writing an elaborate world and want to keep track of loads of details.
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• ​Does science fiction shape the future? This Nautilus article interviews several sci-fi authors for their take. (Pro tip: Let's not use dystopias as blueprints...)
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• Oh, and for you fellow Severance fans, here's a Youtube video of music to refine to (it's as long as an 8-hour shift, ingeniusly put together with clips from the show). It even has a Music Dance Experience in there at 3h39. IYKYK.

What I'm Reading

• I finished The Automaton and immediately re-read it. I love a good twist that casts the whole story in a new light!
• I had to put Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn reading on hold for now because I'm at the back of the library queue again! I didn't finish it in time before the ebook got returned... I'll probably end up buying a copy because six months is too long to wait!
• So now I'm reading the multiverse book rec The Space Between Worlds. Really enjoying it so far.

Next up for me in March is proofreading a sci-fi dystopian novel.

Hope you had a great February!
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- Erika

P.S. Just a reminder that if you're looking for a copyeditor or proofreader, I offer free sample edits of 1,000 words. I can usually fit in short stories or novellas on short notice, but for novels it's best to get in touch to reserve a spot in my upcoming schedule. Get in touch today!​

Erika Steeves ​
Fiction & Nonfiction Editor
​www.erikasteeves.com​

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