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Announcement: My New Podcast – Acutely Amanda: Fiction, Folklore, & Fiber Arts
I’ve always believed that stories aren’t only told through what we read with our eyes (or fingers, in the case of braille)—they’re also heard. But up until now, most of my content has focused on the visual. After months of writing, recording, and researching, I’m thrilled to share something new:
🎧 Acutely Amanda: Fiction, Folklore, & Fiber Arts officially launched today!
Whether you’ve been reading my blog for years or just found me while searching for a book review of Maybe in Another Life, this podcast brings together the threads of everything I love—fiction, folklore, and fiber arts.
What is Acutely Amanda?
Each season of the Acutely Amanda podcast has its own focus:
🌀 Odd-numbered seasons center on fiction and the writing life—featuring microfiction, drabbles, and flash fiction paired with behind-the-scenes insights and craft discussions.
🧶 Even-numbered seasons (coming soon!) shift gears into the world of making—crochet, sewing, needlework, and more—with fascinating facts about each craft and its history.
Season 1 includes 10 bite-sized episodes exploring themes like grief, queerness, housing, and aging—all wrapped in compelling short stories and thoughtful commentary.
If you’ve ever wished my blog had a podcast sidekick, this is it.
📅 New episodes drop every Tuesday at noon ET.
🎧 Where to Listen
- Watch on YouTube
- Listen on Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Sign up for my newsletter to get a sneak preview of Season 3 delivered to your inbox.
Why a Podcast?
Over the years, many of you have told me you love my stories and blog—but that audio works better for how you process and enjoy content. I wanted to make my storytelling more accessible, and podcasting felt like the natural next step.
As I worked on Season 1, I realized I wanted to give space to another passion—crafting. So I built a format that celebrates both:
✨ The real life behind the stories, and the stories behind the stitches.
And yes, the very first episode features a duck named Big Boye. 🦆
Support & Sneak Peeks
📬 Subscribe to the newsletter for sneak previews of future seasons
☕ Support me on Ko-fi to help keep the podcast going (and growing!)
Thank you for reading, listening, and stitching this journey together with me. I can’t wait to hear what you think. 💙
Announcement: Sign Up to Get FREE Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) of My Upcoming 2024 Releases!
I’m so excited to announce that sign ups are now open to receive Advanced Reader Copies of my upcoming 2024 book releases! You can sign up for all of them, one, or a couple.
My releases planned for 2024 are:
- A sweet sapphic short story collection (June)
- A pro-environmentalism scifi novel that also confronts grief and disordered eating (late summer)
- The sequel to Ecstatic Evil a m/f paranormal romance (fall)
This list and schedule are subject to change!
Although difficult topics may be addressed in my books, I strive for my work to end on an uplifting note.
- Any scifi or fantasy I write would be rated PG13 or less if it was a movie.
- Please note that any romance I write is closed door.
- I’m a queer, bisexual author. Sometimes my romances are m/f, sometimes sapphic, sometimes other queer pairings or mentions of poly relationships. Most of my stories have queer people somewhere in them, even if they aren’t the main characters. If that’s not cool with you, please don’t sign up.
- All of my books start with a content note. You can see examples by reading the free samples available for Bloemetje, Ecstatic Evil, and Waiting for Daybreak.
If you sign up to receive an ARC, you will receive:
- an email from me without any attachments letting you know the book is coming soon and to keep an eye out on your inbox and spam (approximately 2 to 3 weeks prior to publication date)
- an epub file of the book to your email address provided 1 to 2 weeks prior to publication date
In exchange for the free book you will:
- post an honest review of the book wherever you review books (ie Amazon, GoodReads, Storygraph, a blog, Instagram, TikTok, etc…)
- not share the epub file with anyone else
If you decide not to read the book after receiving it due to the content note or it just not turning out to be a match for you, that’s ok!
*If you change your mind about receiving ARC(s) after signing up, just email me at mcneil.author [at] gmail [dot] com, and I’ll remove you from my list.
Publication Announcement: Novella – Ecstatic Evil – Second Edition
I am thrilled to announce the publication of the second edition of my novella Ecstatic Evil. I published the first edition 11 years ago in 2011. I have completed major updates throughout the second edition, as well as added an author’s note and a content note. You can view both of the notes in their entirety by using the preview book feature on its Amazon page.
I have also added a paperback version for those readers who prefer to read in print. Both the electronic and paperback versions are available internationally.
Here is the updated blurb:
Tova Gallagher isn’t just your average, grumpy Bostonian. She also happens to be half-demon, and the demons have just issued a deadline for her all-important half-demon decision. She has just two weeks to choose whether to lean into her demon side by signing on with them wholeheartedly or never use her powers again under the tutelage of an assigned angel. But it’s hard to worry about the battle of good versus evil when she’s just met a sexy, sunshiny stranger on the edge of the Charles River.
Reviews of the first edition of this grumpy/sunshine paranormal romance call it a “quick, captivating read” with a romantic pairing that are “so sweet to each other.”
This newly expanded second edition includes edits throughout the book, as well as an author’s note and content note.
If this book was a movie, it would be rated PG13 for adult situations and sensuality.
The spiciness level is 2 or 3 chili peppers, depending upon which system you use. It is lightly spicy. There is foreplay and some clothes come off, but the camera pans away before more intimate moments.
There is no adult language. On-screen violence is minimal (shoving, gripping someone’s arm too tightly.) One supernatural being attacks another off-screen.
Today and tomorrow (November 9th-10th 2023, Pacific Time), the ebook is free for everyone. Please consider downloading your copy today!
If you previously purchased the first edition, note that Amazon does not send the second edition to your kindle. Please send me an email at mcneil.author@gmail.com letting me know you own the first edition and would like the second, and I will send you a copy.
If you are a book reviewer and would like a reviewer copy, please email me at mcneil.author@gmail.com with links to where you review books.
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Publication Announcement: Comedy Horror: “Polar Bear Plunge”
I am thrilled to announce the publication of my comedic horror short story “Polar Bear Plunge” in issue #11 Fall Equinox 2023 themed This One’s for the Weirdos of The Last Girls Club. The Last Girls Club is an indie feminist horror ‘zine.
There are a lot of different definitions of feminist horror. The one I like best is, as opposed to abusing women in a voyeuristic way, feminist horror speaks to a unique terror that is connected to the ‘female’ existence. (The MarySue) In my short story, the uniquely terrifying female existence that’s being explored is a mother outsourcing her own identity into her daughter, and what that does to the daughter.
Here’s a blurb about my piece:
It was the first night of Julie’s sixth summer in a row at Camp Piney Hills. But it also would be her last. Enjoy this exploration of mother/daughter issues mixed with a send-up to campy 1980s slasher movies.
If you do purchase the issue, my story starts on page 28.
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Thank you as always for your support!
Publication Announcement: Space Fantasy: “Legends as Told by the Laborers of the Forest Solar System Logging Corp. – An Oral History Project”
I am thrilled to announce the publication of my space fantasy short story in Crow & Cross Keys literary journal.
This literary journal is 100% free, so please give it a click and a perusal!
Here’s a blurb about my piece.
Oral history interview with an anonymous retired logger (Interviewee #15) for the Forest Solar System Logging Corp. Interview conducted by Tess Dalgleish on stardate 99938 on Planet Minnesota. Topic of the interview is the legend of Paul Bunyan. This version includes Babe the Big Blue Ox.
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Publication Announcement: Novelette – Bloemetje: a speculative retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbelina fairy tale
I am thrilled to announce the publication of my new novelette Bloemetje: a speculative retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbelina fairy tale!!!
One miniature girl leads her human and fairy people to decolonize Venus in this speculative, queer-inclusive reimagining of Thumbelina.
A Dutch company known as The Bedrijf commences colonizing Venus via the construction of a dome filled with plants that convert its natural air into something breathable by humans. Since all workers are granted permission to bear a child, a woman and her spouse join the crew. But the woman soon discovers she is plagued with infertility. When her spouse illegally brings home a tulip from the garden, they discover a miniature baby inside who they name Bloemetje – little bloom. As the baby grows in mere days into a teenager, pushing her boundaries, she illuminates the true horrors of colonization and leads them all on a journey to decolonize.
This retelling takes the original Thumbelina’s focus on marriage and flips it on its head, granting the miniature girl a strong voice of her own and questioning her removal from the fairy world. Exploring themes of childlessness, adoption, being childfree by choice, colonization, decolonization, negative impacts of capitalism, and what LGBTQIA+ inclusive societies can look like, this novelette comes in 17 bite-sized episodes perfect for reading in the small snippets of time available to modern individuals and families.
Early readers called this “transporting” and “intriguing.” The “journey is beautiful,” and the ending is “deeply satisfying.” “A great escape read that also made me think, and it’s both quick and engrossing.”
*A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, a Native American-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The ebook is available for pre-order now and will be delivered on May 18th. If you want to sneak in a little earlier, you can order the paperback or hardcover versions and get them delivered at your usual Amazon shipping speed.
If you would like to read a sneak peek of the first episode (chapter), sign up for my newsletter. I will be sending that sneak peek out on Monday, May 15th.
Pre-orders really matter for books, so please do consider pre-ordering if you know you want to purchase a copy. I also sincerely appreciate you passing the link on to anyone you know who might be interested in the book. Word of mouth is vital for indie authors.
Thank you for your support!
Publication Announcement: Novella – Waiting For Daybreak – Second Edition
I am thrilled to announce the publication of the second edition of my novella Waiting For Daybreak. I published the first edition 10 years ago in 2012. I have completed major updates throughout the second edition, as well as added an author’s note and a content note. You can view both of the notes in their entirety by using the preview book feature on its Amazon page.
Here is the updated blurb:
I just want to live like normal people. But my Borderline Personality Disorder fills each day with emotional pain. And drives other people away. Not that there’s anyone to drive away anymore…
Frieda’s a struggling twenty-something young professional when the apocalypse comes. Overnight, Boston falls apart as a rapidly spreading virus makes her neighbors crave brains. Enough to kill for them.
She survives alone for a whole year in her urban studio apartment. And she surprises herself by managing her mental illness better than she did before. When her beloved cat becomes ill, Frieda goes on a quest to save her. It sets off a chain of events that challenges everything.
Reviews of the first edition call this a “dynamic” read that’s a “great story with a twist I didn’t foresee.” This places a character you’d expect in a women’s fiction novel at the heart of a zombie apocalypse.
Today and tomorrow (July 21st-22nd, 2022, Pacific Time), the ebook is free for everyone. Please consider downloading your copy today!
If you previously purchased the first edition, note that Amazon does not automatically send the second edition to your kindle. Please take advantage of these two free days to get the updated version. If you missed the free days, you can sign up for my newsletter to get notified of future ones. I hold them periodically.
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Publication Announcement: Nonfiction “These Boots Were Made for Who?”
I am thrilled to announce the publication of my first nonfiction piece in Just Femme & Dandy – a biannual literary arts magazine on fashion for and by queer trans, two-spirit, non-binary, and intersex people.
This magazine is free to read in two different formats.
- digital magazine version (looks like a print magazine) – find me on page 105
- html/accessible version
Here’s a blurb about my piece.
“These Boots Were Made for Who?” explores how my favorite pair of thrifted boots helped me develop my queer, bisexual fashion sense and sustained me throughout the pandemic.
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Publication Announcement: Short Story “Bostonians Aren’t Friends With Our Neighbors”
I am thrilled to announce that I have a short story in Wyrms: An Anthology of Dragon Drabbles (stories of exactly 100 words) from Shacklebound Books, edited by Eric Fomley.
For $3 digital, $6 print, you get eighty-two stories of dragons, hydras, wyverns, sea serpents, and all other forms wyrms take by authors all over the world! Step into dozens of different fantasy worlds but be careful where you tread, there be dragons here.
Here’s the first line from my drabble. I hope it entices you.
Deadrodents.com said the box on the triple-decker’s porch next door.
page 42
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Publication Announcement: Short Story “The University of Late-Night Moans”
I am thrilled to announce that I have a short story coming up in issue 3 of Decoded Pride: A science fiction, fantasy, and horror story-a-day anthology for Pride month!
This is a really cool project. The editors worked hard to select and curate a collection of flash fiction, short stories, longer fiction, and comics by queer and trans authors with queer and trans themes to celebrate Pride month. Have you been frustrated with how corporate Pride has become? Are you a more introverted queer person? Then this is the ideal way to celebrate Pride this year!
The way it works is you pay the $14.99 subscription fee, and then you have access to the website where all the creative works drop each day. In the late summer or early fall, you’ll be sent a color PDF of all the stories plus interviews with all 30 authors (yes, including me!) You can subscribe at any point throughout the month and get retroactive access to the previous stories. After the month is over, you can still purchase the PDF. As a thank you for being one of my supporters, now through June 30th you can get $2 off your purchase with the discount code FrienzNFam at check-out.
My short story will published on Thursday, June 9th. It’s a sapphic fantasy romance. That means expect something supernatural. Expect women loving women. And I promise you a happy ever after. Also, expect some 90s nostalgia.
Here’s the blurb:
It’s 1998, and Leonora’s friend Virginia is helping her investigate the moans coming from the cemetery across the train tracks from her dorm.
Please be sure to check out my Publications Page for my other work.
Support my work with a tip or browse my shop for curated book club guides, how to guides, cross-stitch patterns, and more!
This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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