call me daddy

or, actually, don't do that. we don't have that kind of relationship.

Father Material: out today!

Welp. It’s here. Father Material is here. My emotions are, honestly, all over the place. I’m kind of slightly dazed that the series is finished, but also incredibly grateful I got to write these books, and to share the journey of these characters with you. I’ve written three books about the same characters before—Ardy and Caspian in the Billionaire books—but that was mostly three books of them getting together. It feels meaningfully different to me to have been able to spend some time with a couple after the HEA.

I know the direction I’ve taken the London Calling series hasn’t worked for every reader, and that’s okay. Boyfriend Material started off very firmly in the romcom space and Husband Material and Father Material … well … I’m not sure what genre they are any more. I hope they’re still funny, I hope they’re still romantic, but I’ll be the first to admit they don’t adhere to a typical romance structure. I mean, how could they? You can’t be having third act breakups in a long-term relationship. That’s not Husband Material, that’s Therapy Material.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy what I’ve done with Father Material. My sense is, if you were okay with Husband Material you’ll be onboard with Father Material. And for those who despair of my notoriously abrupt endings, there’s a legit honest-to-God epilogue waiting for you. You can’t get more forever than an epilogue, can you?

In all seriousness, though, I feel so very privileged to have somehow fallen into this opportunity to write a truly queer happy-ever-after. Not just as an epilogue but across two entire books, exploring how Luc and Oliver have grown and changed together, and carved a life for themselves together that feels authentic to who they are, rather than shaped by heteronormativity or trauma, or simply by the expectations we all internalise of what a happy, successful relationship is “supposed” to look like. With so many freedoms being chipped away across the world, for so many marginalised people, writing these books helped me hold onto a sense of hope.

But enough of that. You can snag your copy of Father Material in ebook, paperback, or audio from wherever you usually get your books.

And, in terms of the audio, I’m beyond thrilled that Joe Jameson was able to come back once again to narrate. Enjoy this snippet of him being utterly brilliant and perfect:

My May 15th Hell’s Heart event with The Book Loft got cancelled because of technical gremlins. But the gremlins have been vanquished, the event rescheduled, and we’re taking advantage of Father Material being here by making this a double book celebration.

• Date: June 23rd

• Time: 7pm EDT

• Where: Broadcasting live on YouTube (and free to attend)

That’s about it for me in terms of news. What on earth is this shockingly short and readable newsletter? Who even am I right now?

My next release is a short story in the romantasy anthology, The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Enchantment. Puck has temporarily returned from his master’s throne to share one of his definitely true and absolutely in no way embellished (or cursed) stories gathered during his time of banishment in the mortal world.

And that’s it until 2027 when How to Destroy Destiny comes out: a book about being a former magical girl, now in your forties, discovering all the battles you fought as a teenager haven’t actually changed the world the way you thought they would. No idea what could possibly have inspired that or anything. Cough. Sigh. If nothing else, it’s sent me down an … interesting … rabbit hole of the media that shaped my youth. She-Ra: Princess of Power, Sailor Moon, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Buffy the Vampire Slayer … Ah. Themes.

Anyway, here’s a tiny glimpse of what’s going on in the world of How to Destroy Destiny.

SCI

AM

FEBRUARY 26 2024 | 5 MIN READ

25 Years Later “Magic” Remains Elusive

Scientists studying paranormal phenomena frustrated at lack of progress

In the last years of the twentieth century, evidence for the existence of overtly supernatural phenomena became, briefly, insurmountable. The events which culminated in the destruction by dragonfire of the Palace of Westminster in London, England forced the scientific community to accept that nightmare creatures from beyond oblivion, teenage girls with inexplicable powers, and actual dragons, are objectively real and defy explanation by ordinary physics.

“We avoid the term supernatural,” explained Ada Biermann, researcher at CERN. “Anything which exists is, definitionally, natural and should be amenable to scientific enquiry. The problem is that these phenomena were highly localised and so far none of them have been replicated under laboratory conditions.”

Dr Biermann’s area of research focuses heavily on multiverse theory. “The Everettian interpretation of quantum mechanics,” she says, “suggests that every eventuality that is physically possible plays out somewhere in an infinite and ever-branching multiverse. But the key point there is physically possible. Normal models of a branching universe don’t posit the existence of a so-called ‘Midnight Realm’ populated by fairytale monsters and they certainly don’t suggest those monsters can come roaring out of holes in the sky and set fire to things.”

She concluded by saying, “Twenty years ago, the new possibilities that these observations suggested were the most exciting thing in theoretical physics. Two decades later, we’re all beginning to feel a bit like we’ve wasted our time.”