Staying in a metal house and other adventures

Quick check in from La Crosse where I’m staying in a metal house and enjoying fabulous food, coffee, chocolate, and company!

The reading went really well. The People’s Food Co-op is a fantastic venue. I wish I could shrink it tardis-style and bring it home with me to Chicago (along with the fabulous people of La Crosse).

Madeline Carol Matz signing.

Some provocative questions that I had never been asked before, and I loved having Madeline with me to talk about the process of creating the cover. (Plus folks there were lucky to get her to sign their books as well!)

Brunch at Hackberries (excellent coffee!)

Shared dinner with Maura Henn (Tigerinvaseline) who put this all together and her partner Ethan (a phenomenal artist) at the “Metal House” where we’re staying (one of the Lustron Houses).

La Crosse grey but lovely.

This morning began with coffee and breakfast at Hackberries and exploring the neighborhood, enjoying local coffee, crafts, and hospitality. Even the grey, rainy day could not dampen our spirits in such good company.

At the Root Note (home of excellent chai!)

Now we’re listening to The Carolina Chocolate Drops and getting ready for tonight’s roller derby bout and other shenanigans.

Words and wheels weekend in Wisconsin continues…

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

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