In case you missed the Chirrup this month, Gentle Reader. It contained some fun and important things so I’m doing something I rarely do, which is rehash some of it here in the blog.

Not all of it of course. The real gossip and exclusives are reserved for my subscribers. Sorry not sorry, I love them best.

Gail Carriger's Best of 2023 picks Header

My Favorite 2023 Things That You Might Like Too!

Favorite book I read in 2023?

Old Fashioned Cupcake, a charming and beautiful foodie manga about finding love and acceptance later in life… mostly via pancakes.

Just lovely.

I’m currently reading another queer manga The Flower That Seems to Truly Dance. I’m enjoying it. But I’m only about ⅓ of the way in so not sure I recommend it yet.

Favorite SF/F I watched in 2023?

Black Knight on Netflix.

A post-apocalyptic piece from South Korea that was tight and well-paced and hit all my favorite tropes of this kind of drama (for which I have a bit of a weakness).

Favorite reality TV of 2023?

Peak Time on Viki.

Kpop groups that never made it in the industry compete against each other for a second chance. Talk about found family!

Surprise runner up?

Physical 100 on Netflix.

This would not normally be my thing but it’s absolutely riveting, especially if you look at it in terms of creating heroic, Alpha, and jock characters.

Favorite romance I watched in 2023?

Our Dating Sim (the series) on Viki.

A sweet reunion romance about two geeks who were besties in high school but parted badly, and reunite in the workplace to create a dating video game.

Our Dating Sim Title Card

I’m currently watching Last Twilight a Thai BL on GMMTV’s YouTube Channel, It is charming and well done. It’s a classic tropey story in that it’s about a bad boy with a tortured past and a heart of gold who becomes a caregiver to a rich ex-national athlete who is going blind. Of course they slowly fall in love.

Favorite food of 2023?

Honestly? Soft tofu.

I discovered the joy of using it to

thicken smoothies,
spread on toast,
chop up with fruit,
make into pudding,
and mix with eggs.

Honestly, is there anything it can’t do? (For those who care, I eat meat, but I mostly am a vegetarian at home because that’s how I was raised and my body likes it.)

More 2023 food favorites? Some of these new dishes I discovered in Thailand.

Favorite tea of 2023?

Well, my space oolong of course!

Deep Blue Abyss!

All about inventing it here.

At night it’s gotten cold here so I am into, of all things, Bigelow’s Orange Spice “Tea.” It’s a tisane (no caffeine) I drink in the evenings in lieu of my lazy arse not wanting to actually mull cider.

Favorite songs of 2023?

I loved Jeff Satur’s creepy carnival-esk Black Tie.
For something a bit more classic and sweet, Eric Nam’s Only for a Moment.
But to be fair to my pathetic earworm self? Mostly I just had Medusa by Just B on repeat. What can I say? It makes me bounce. I love it when Kpop goes classic rock. (The MV is hella weird though.)

Other Kpop 2023 release I particularly enjoyed:

Enhyphen’s Bite Me
Monsta X’s Beautiful Liar
The Rose’s Back to Me
BTOB’s Wind & Wish
iKon’s Panorama (a return to form for them)
TRENDZ’s New Dayz
Epik High’s On My Way
Stray Kids’s Get Lit
Hwang Min Hyun’s Hidden Side
VIXX’s Amnesia (stunning MV, the Kings of Concept continue kinging)

Favorite new clothing item of 2023?

Also, likely my most worn item = this purse hook that can also be a bracelet.

I’m getting very into utilitarian jewelry these days.

Pretty and functional? Yes please.

Favorite healthy discovery of 2023?

Korean skin care, specifically this sunscreen by Isntree.

Favorite interior design moment of 2023?

I bought these gorgeous nightlights for the Popster’s house because there are weird steps in strange places and I worry about him falling. They sit inside plugs and are motion activated at night, but very soft so they don’t hurt the eyes… and so pretty!

Speaking of which, I also got this GREAT Car Door Handle that inserts into the door jamb for extra help in standing up after a drive.

Dome 6 shelf of achievement tinkered stars bookshelf

Just good stuff that happened in my life in 2023

Bringing out a scifi trilogy of which I am, perhaps, the most proud in my whole career as an author.
To that end, working with Paul Sizer around the cover art for these books was the highlight of my 2023 professional life. He has such immense talent and it was such a pleasure to watch him tackle my vision for these covers and bring them to life even better than I imagined. I hope my whimsical muse brings me back to another story worthy of his talents in the future.
Just talking to Tom about Kpop. It’s a joy to find out that someone I already know and like is as deeply invested in the same pop culture fixation as me. I love geeking out about stuff I love.

Madam Askew & Grand Arbiter visiting me in my hometown. I got to take two of my favorite people around to my favorite places and feed them. I’ve been in the steampunk world for over 15 years now and it’s the people I’ve met there that keep bringing me back. These two are the pinnacle of Good Eggs.
Thailand – truly the dream trip I had always hoped for. It’s rare for something I built up so high over so many years to actually live up to my expectations. I loved everything about my month there: who I went with, where I visited, people I met, things I ate, and learning more about the amazing language. Again please?
The amazing utterly unexpected support I am getting from the secret order of tea supporters (SOOTS). I just… words fail me. And I’m an author, that doesn’t happen often.
Mom’s new kitten Dips!

Announcements!

Divinity 36 is coming to vendors by the end of the month (I hope). If you’re a Chirrup subscriber you have access to buy it in MP3 form directly from me right NOW. It is narrated by Michael Lesley. (He did The 5th Gender.) And you can listen to a sample here.

You can also watch and listen to me reading the entire first chapter.

The Dratsie Dilemma (San Andreas Shifter #4) is delayed as about half way written, for good reason (explained in detail in the Chirrup). Basically I am experiencing a compound of health, family, and car drama.

Quick reminder, if you got a Kindle or a KU subscription as a gift this year, all 4 Finishing School books are currently in Kindle Unlimited. You might want to read them before my publisher decides to take them out. (At their whim, not mine.)

BOOK DE JOUR!

Divinity 36: Tinkered Starsong Book 1

PICK YOUR VENDOR!

Direct from Gail

The aliens are coming for us and they want our voices.

New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger brings you a gloriously warm and unique scifi about the power of art, celebrity, and found family.

Want a funny story about Dome 6?

That bit about “galactic booty call” has a real life source. One of my favorite desserts of all time is a Greek dish called galaktoboureko. My ex’s Greek mom used to make it for me for parties. My friends took to calling it “galactic booty call.” Over 20 years ago this was… but I knew it would make it into a book someday!

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Tisane of Nifty

Listen to My truly remarkable friend Limmie singing in his glorious voice. For amusement’s sake, imagine this voice singing out wiffle ball calls as umpire, late at night, in the middle of rural Ohio. Because that’s my memory of it.

Author Nibble

November 2023 Gail Carriger and David R Slayton at Books Inc in Mountain View authors conversation black pink original

November 2023, Gail Carriger & David R Slayton at Books Inc in Mountain View

Quote to Sip

My Life in Segments Pie Chart Sleeping Working Eating Looking for things I just had a minute ago

Tags: Book Rec List, Tea & Nibbles

Happy 2024 My Darlings! Here’s the State of Your Gail