Me Time
So This Is Retirement
As of 2026, I am officially retired. So it's a new chapter of life and I'm trying to figure out what it looks like. To overuse the metaphor, what are the scenes in this chapter? What is my character arc? Like a romance, I know how it will eventually end. But let's not dwell on that!
I posted my retirement update in Linked In and to my surprise I received dozens of well wishes from people I haven't heard from in years, mostly professional colleagues. It was quite an ego boost, even though I came away thinking, "do I really deserve all this praise for my career? Was I as effective as these people think I was?"
I'm taking some courses, mostly related to Judaism, and going to the gym three times a week (twice with my trainer and once for a course on stretching). I'm still reading ARCs from NetGalley, trying to stay ahead of publication dates, which is a challenge this month with so many new books being published in January.
One book I recently read that completely confounded me was Sheer by Vanessa Lawrence (available as of today). My review is here. I'd love to discuss this book with anyone who reads it. It's staying with me because I'm fascinated with the difficult, stubborn and delusional main character narrator who is so wedded to her own vision of beauty that it completely ends up contributing to her downfall. She uses feminism both to justify her vision as well as to explain the attacks against her (e.g., no one likes a powerful woman), but these are just rationalizations of her own shortcomings and what I call in the review the "tyranny of the closet," in which she engages in decades of casual sex with no insight into why she is making the choices she's making.
Anyway, I recommend the book mostly as a discussion topic and less about its literary value.
Sapphic Lit and Other Book Stuff
250+ Sapphic Books Coming Out in 2026
list of 250+ sapphic books coming out this year, sortable and searchable by genre, release date, and representation. These are all either fiction with sapphic main characters or nonfiction about/inclusive of queer women. You can filter by representation if you’re only interested in F/F romances.
Watch for These 2026 Social Media Trends | Jane Friedman
Quality over quantity (always) Audiences reward creators who go deeper than surface level. Prioritize depth over frequency. The days of posting just anything 10 times a day to gain traction are in the past. Get with the “only speak when you have something to say” program.
Not just love, actually: why romance fiction is booming | Books | The Guardian
From Emily Henry to Rebecca Yarros and Alison Espach’s The Wedding People – romance has dominated the book charts this year. So why is it still dismissed by critics?
Writer's Workbook 2026 - by Annette Gendler
With the Writer’s Workbook I share my end-of-year process of reviewing my life as a writer. I hope it helps you look back at this past year, examine what transpired, so that you may find what is working and what isn’t.
Genre Grapevine: Book Club Scams Are a Warning of Emerging AI Super-Scams | Patreon
The email from Speier was pure scam.
Speier was offering what's being called the book club scam, something a large number of authors have received in recent weeks. Speier claimed to be the "curator of a private community of over 2,000 readers who devour books like caffeine addicts in a library" and offered to share my book with those readers.
For a price, of course.
Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware recently wrote a must-read report on how these book club and book review scams work.
Donald Trump's return chills market for LGBTQ books
“This is the first year in like a decade that I’ve had [rejection] responses from editors specifically citing that it’s difficult to place queer books in stores, and they’re being selective about acquiring queer stories,” said Rebecca Podos, a senior literary agent at Neighborhood Literary and young adult and adult novelist.
Cynthia Erivo’s Simply More is January’s Queerty Book Club Pick - Queerty
The book feels like sitting down with someone who refuses to apologize for the life they have lived. Erivo writes about the strange mix of preparation, luck, instinct, and stubbornness that gets you from one chapter of your life to the next. She shares intimate moments from her work onstage and onscreen, along with the quieter personal things that shaped her long before the world learned her name.
Make Retreats Part of Your Writing Life - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
What a retreat lets you do is step outside the regular routines of life and dedicate time, whether it’s 4 hours or 4 days, to your writing. Longer blocks of time allow you to create momentum, to immerse yourself in your story, and to think through story problems without interruption.
News For A Challenging Time
The Trevor Project receives $45M from MacKenzie Scott after difficult years and federal funding cuts | AP News
In July, the Trump administration stopped providing specific support for gay, trans and gender nonconforming young people who called the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Trevor Project was one of the organizations staffing that option and lost $25 million in funding, the nonprofit said.
ICE 'killed my wife,' Minneapolis woman cries after shooting | Advocate.com
“They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do,” the woman says through sobs in the footage, with a damaged SUV visible in the distance behind her. "We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head,” the woman cries.
Kendall Jenner Breaks Her Silence on Longstanding Internet Rumor That She's a Lesbian
"You want to know what really bothers me? How mean people are about it," Jenner continued. "It's not with, like, a welcoming arm of like, 'Hey, if you were, yes, come join.' It's not kind. It's very mean. It's very like, 'What the f---- are you doing?'"
She went on to say that while she doesn't identify as gay, she would be open about it if she did.
Tikkun Olam Within My Own Home - by Elissa Wald - MAZL
This is a rare moment of tikkun olam taking place within my own home. An extraordinary connection between my sister Shulamit, who brings the cry from the therapeutic field, and my father, my teacher, who brings halakhic authority and rabbinic courage. And in between is me, momentarily returning to being that young, confused girl who only wanted her love to be recognized.
This document, backed by mental health organizations, is an insurance policy for the next generation. It seeks to ensure that no boy or girl will sit across from a rabbi or therapist who tries to “fix” them in the name of Torah.
Culture and Joy
"For God & the trans community!": How Wanda Sykes turned Ricky Gervais's Golden Globe win into a trans triumph - Queerty
“Shout out to the Golden Globes for having me,” Sykes said. “You know there are some people that are pissed off that a queer Black woman is up here doing the job of two mediocre white guys.”
Mary Trump quietly married her 'best friend' in October
Though Mary Trump didn’t offer her wife’s name, Carroll offered a hint.
“MARY! MARY! AMERICA NEEDED SOME JOY! And you and Ronda are giving it to us!!!” Carroll wrote.
‘A Private Life’: Jodie Foster plays detective in Paris
Foster’s performance takes Lilian on a trip towards real knowledge of her inner self. Her face is a bundle of nerves, troubled by having to hold everything together. Acting out a frayed yet friendly relationship, Foster and Daniel Auteuil, who plays her ex-husband, Gabriel, have terrific chemistry.
‘Slo Pitch’: From Elliot Page to Emily Hampshire, All the Details of the Softball Show | Them
When does Slo Pitch premiere? At the time of writing, Slo Pitch doesn’t have a release date just yet. However, according to the show’s official X page, it’s set to premiere sometime in 2026.
Meet The 3 Out Players On The U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team - GO Magazine
At least three players on the 23-person Olympic roster are publicly out: captain Hilary Knight, forward Alex Carpenter, and defender Cayla Barnes.
One Week Into 2026 and Professional Soccer Has Already Seen Two Lesbian Weddings | Them
Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis as well as Carrie Lawrence and Marta have gotten hitched.
Hannah Botterman And Georgia Evans Are The Queer Rugby Power Couple Of Our Dreams - GO Magazine
Women’s rugby is having a defining moment in the UK, and two of its most visible queer players are shaping what that evolution looks like. England prop Hannah Botterman and Wales lock Georgia Evans stepped onto the World Cup pitch as rivals, but away from the game they share a relationship and a commitment to being out in a sport that has long welcomed queer women.
How Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne made history rowing the Pacific Ocean - The Athletic
Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne met for the first time in late 2022 at the Blue Marlin bar in La Gomera, a small Spanish island in the Atlantic Ocean. Just under three years later, the two British women made history by becoming the first female crew to successfully row non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific Ocean. To grasp the magnitude of their feat, more people have walked in space than successfully rowed across the world’s biggest ocean.
How Incredible (Gay) Is the New Women’s Professional Baseball League? | Autostraddle
Who Are the Gay Players of the Women’s Professional Baseball League?
Over 25% of WNBA Players Are Gay. Your Guide to Every Confirmed Couple | Them
There’s nothing gayer than dating your teammate.
Out in Music: Legendary lesbian musician Janis Ian talks about documentary - QnotesCarolinas.com
Breaking Silence’ currently available for streaming on multiple platforms
Tig Notaro, Zack Snyder Writing a 'Hot Lesbian Action' Movie
her role in Snyder’s 2021 action film “Army of the Dead.” Notaro joined as a replacement for comedian Chris D’Elia — and the role had unexpected results for her.
20 slept-on sapphic shows that are ripe for rediscovery - Queerty
There are so many sapphic shows—and sapphic characters—that deserve to be better known. From bizarre cult hits to slept-on UK gems, we’ve rounded up some of the weirdest, funniest, and steamiest shows that deserve to be better known.
The Iconic Black Lesbian Socialist-Feminist Combahee River Collective
On this Out-FM program, you will hear co-founder and leader Demita Frazier recount and analyze the events leading to Combahee's founding
How one family photo exposed a grandmother's secret lesbian past - Queerty
Gayla Turner wasn’t looking to find anything earth-shattering in her family’s old photos, and she especially wasn’t planning on finding evidence of a years-long love affair between her grandmother Ruby and a mysterious butch in the early 20th century, but that’s exactly what she found.
Helpful Tools
10 Pocketable Tools That Make Great Stocking Stuffers | Lifehacker
If you need a gift idea for a DIYer, these tiny tools are all incredibly useful.
A Terrific Quote
Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say.