Stardust Dispatch #4

Hello Stardust Travelers!

Looks like someone (me) forgot to set up any scheduled newsletters while they were out on some travels and the Dispatch (and Breakfast Serial!) skipped an entire month. And then someone (me) got super busy in November and almost missed that newsletter deadline. Whoops!

I'm happy to report to you all that October was an action-packed all around good time. The tenth month of the year has always been a month of big changes for me. I've moved between cities and schools in October, changed jobs, changed relationships, found new homes. My legal name change was approved during one October. I got married last October. And this October, my husband and I celebrated our anniversary with a belated honeymoon.

We flew to London, went down to Southampton, then sailed aboard the Queen Mary 2 across the Atlantic to New York City before flying back to San Francisco. And next October, my first novel debuts on bookshelves!

Naturally, the massive changes in any given October are inevitably followed by very interesting Novembers for me. This year, my November has largely involved getting a fully immersive reminder of how powerful, wonderful, and amazing a strong community can be. I am so grateful to be counted among some truly incredible folks who come from all walks of life.

And I know, truly, that it can be difficult these days to save time and space for making new connections. It can be tough to put weary cynicism aside or reach for any number of completely valid and justifiable reasons as to why showing up to an event or a gathering must be put aside until "later" or "next time." But I encourage all of us (and I'm including myself in this) to make room for "yes" and "now is the next time" as much as we possibly can. In a very dark timeline, every connection we forge with one another is one more bright link in the armor we wear together against those that would see us harmed and fallen.

For those of you in America, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. For everyone: I hope you have a warm, bright final week of November, and I'll see you in December! The Breakfast Serial will be along shortly, before this month is through.

Until next time,
Mia