Category Archives: Chaos on Catnet

Summer Update

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I got my first “hey, just checking, are you going to write about the election?” e-mail of the year, so: yes, I am going to write about the election! But I’m pretty sure that neither city election has a primary, and there aren’t (yet) any special elections on the calendar that would have a primary, and filing isn’t even closed yet! I rely on the Secretary of State’s “see your ballot” feature to ensure I don’t miss low-profile candidates when I’m doing my write-ups, and sensibly enough they don’t have that up yet.

I mean, life holds no guarantees. I could get breakthrough COVID! I could get hit by a bus! But if I decide at some point to just quit doing this, I will let people know.

In the meantime, did you know I had a book come out in April? Chaos on CatNet, which is a sequel to Catfishing on CatNet and is set in near-future Minneapolis. If you value what I do, it would WARM THE COCKLES OF MY HEART if you bought a copy. A number of local bookstores are carrying it, and Dreamhaven and the mail-order iteration of Uncle Hugo’s usually have signed copies.

A final note: I usually use the election-season posts to promote some fundraisers for Minneapolis and Saint Paul teachers on Donors Choose. If you’re a teacher at a high-poverty Minneapolis Public School or St. Paul Public School, and you’re considering running a fundraiser for a larger project, feel free to drop me a line so I don’t miss seeing it.

CHAOS ON CATNET is coming on Tuesday!

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My new book, Chaos on CatNet, is coming out on Tuesday. This is a sequel to Catfishing on CatNet but is set mostly in Minneapolis. The publisher’s ordering page (with links to lots of miscellaneous ordering options) is here, but if you want a signed copy you can order from a number of Minneapolis and St. Paul booksellers for whom I will be signing stock (including Red Balloon, Mischief Toy, Storied Owl, and Moon Palace). If you want to order a personalized signed copy you should do that ASAP from DreamHaven Books — you can put your personalization requests in the “order instructions” blank. I’ll be stopping in at DreamHaven sometime this weekend to sign — so if you want personalized autographs, order soon! You can also order many of my other books from them, and I’m happy to sign those, too.

Catfishing on CatNet comes out in paperback the same day that Chaos comes out in hardcover — but if you would like a signed hardcover of Catfishing so your books match, you can still get one if you hurry by ordering from Don Blyly of Uncle Hugo’s. The bookstore was burned down last May; he is planning to reopen it once he finds a place (he explains what he’s looking for and where in the updates to his GoFundMe) but in the meantime he’s doing some mail-order out of his house.

Chaos on CatNet includes a number of real-world Minneapolis locations, including Powderhorn Park, Can Can Wonderland (okay, that one got some significant embellishment), Midtown Global Market, the Cathedral of St. Paul, and the James J. Hill House (temporarily); there’s also a rebuilt Uncle Hugo’s on Lake Street. CheshireCat sends Steph a robot, there’s an extreme cold snap, and Steph’s grandmother turns up, complains bitterly about the weather, and casually steals a car. There are characters from the first book (including Rachel and Bryony) as well as a new character, Nell, who grew up in a Christian cult but is now, to her intense consternation, living with a South Minneapolis polycule. I’m really excited for this book to be out in the world!

(My other writing news that I’ve mentioned on social media but not on the blog: two of my short stories are finalists for Hugo Awards this year. Monster is a finalist for Best Novelette, and Little Free Library is a finalist for Best Short Story. Both of those are online if you’d like to read them!)