A friend opened up LA Magazine today and there I was. My book, right next to Reese Witherspoon’s, Susan Orlean, Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan. I’m so shook I’m unable to articulate just how shook I am. There I am! VICIOUS CYCLE! Holy cow.

And, it’s time! Enter now to win a free digital copy of VICIOUS CYCLE!

Beginning tomorrow, MONDAY, 9/22 Goodreads is giving away 100 digital copies of my debut novel! I am so grateful. Here’s a link! Let me know if you’re one of the 100! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

I’ve been with my partner for so long (15 years) I refer to trips and apartments and birthdays he wasn’t at, like he was there. He’s replaced all exes in my brain.

Just fell down a rabbit hole in threads that did not pay out the way I had hoped. However, it was not a waste.

It’s COVER REVEAL TIME! My debut novel VICIOUS CYCLE drops October 21 from Thomas & Mercer and you can officially pre-order it now! “An emotional gut punch tempered by belly laughs, Vicious Cycle is a tour de force certain to thrill all readers.” Ack!! www.amazon.com/Vicious-Cycl...

Listen, I’m not saying everyone has to work like a midwesterner, but I may also not be saying that it bugs me when you don’t.

Ya know what’s annoying? Reposting an artist’s post of work and then someone liking it, but going on and on and on that they weren’t the first artist to do that and it was way better when Ansel Adams was the only one doing it. WTF?

It is April.

Do you gatekeep? Yes? What do you gatekeep (no need to specify branding—but like, “face cream”for ex. would be sufficient) AND why do you gatekeep it? *book 2 research, don’t leave me hanging.

It’s been a really good book week. And today just blew my mind. We’re at the point where cover reveal is days away, not months. And, preordering with it. And praise quotes from heroes. I am MELTING. Join me in melting, please.

First look at cover concepts came this morning for my debut novel and I am freaking out. What a Monday! They are stunning. I cannot even begin to explain what it feels like to see your name on the cover of a book you wrote. Just, wow.

Picked up a few plants for the garden & as she does EVERY SPRING when we buy plants the lady at the nursery told us we’ll have “loads of rats. Loads and loads of rats.” So best not to “waste your time, but since you’re wasting your money, good luck to you.” 🤣🫠

80s music dance party with my almost 10 year old son = everything.

Shoot. We just got to the part of the book publishing process where I need to ask famous authors for book blurbs. 😬🫠😬🫠 *Also known as book "praise" so you know, they have to read some of it.

New podcast drops Thursday, 3/20! Spring solstice!

This week has been filled with all things book release. I’m hoping tomorrow they send the covers. I cannot believe it’s almost cover time!

Sigh.

Supposing we were to fold the Democratic Party? What if we all just registered as Republicans? What is we threw away the binary two party system – voters and candidates alike? Imagine if we were to actually become “the enemy within“ and take all the power back?

I do some weird sh*t when I’m writing. My research and LinkedIn history should not be questioned. Ty.

Me explaining to another writer that when I sit quietly in front of my screen for 6 hours straight and only think about my book, I’m writing. Said it, mean it. 🫠😬

I’m having a hard time committing to post here. It’s hard to start over I’m not the same person I was when the other sites started. I don’t know…and no one engages here (for me) like they do on the Meta. I’m writing books & lectures. Who wants that in their feed. Just talking to my own void.

I’ve turned book 2 into a musical and broke the whole thing down for my 9yr old and husband as I made them watch me dance it out with narration. Thank you to all the amazing musical artists that write what I’m thinking.

First day of classes and it’s such a great cohort. So good, I passed out from lecturing when I got home. I love undergrads.

I just want to go to one of these sites and it be all things dragons and Valkyrie and yeah nothing else.

My 9 and a half year old is obsessed with the WWF Smackdown circa 2000. What did I do wrong or right or what is happening?

My god, my book has a title. So much help from my incredible team at T&M! Releasing fall 2025 VICIOUS CYCLE: A Corey in Los Angeles Mystery by Jaime Parker Stickle Woohoo! Cannot wait!

In the midst of writing book 2 with that deadline in front of me and I’m binging Sister Wives content. It’s helping, don’t judge.

My husband. On winter solstice. 3-ish days before Xmas. Semester just ended. While I’m cleaning to have friends over. “We have to go across LA today to meet someone, I can’t tell you who, for a surprise.” My answer—“no.” Not doing that shit. Nope.

My students have left the building. Semester, finals, everything is done for 3 weeks. Sigh. Let me go cram in all my reading for pleasure!

I’m going to be 💯 real—the thing getting me through this fall and fall teaching semester is my publisher/editor. She gets me and she’s the best hype-man ever. I feel lucky.

After watching Martha Stewart make egg nog I’ve decided to just serve rum at my winter solstice party.

Why. Why? I am so sick of hearing about new diet fads. Carnivore diet? Really? REALLY? I’m now watching people eat sticks of butter? REALLY?

I took a full week off from political news. Just caught up. I will now be moving off the grid. Goodnight.

Listen—and please make me a meme if you know how—but NKOTB keeps coming up on the FYP and honestly, those jackets, that hair—they look like the Golden Girls when they were doing community theatre. Period.

I need more Bridget Everett singing. I can only find 2 on Spotify from Somebody Somewhere. Not nearly enough.

I feel like I should know more about the Beatles than I do. I can name 3 of them and sing a few choruses. I know one was assassinated, and 2 are alive, but I’m pretty sure there were 4. My kid thinks I’m a disappointment.

I hope, I hope, I hope you find your people. Life is so good when you find your people. The ones you see everyday or every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and then some.

It is tarot circle Friday at my house.

Teaching is draining.

I lost (she passed away, not ran) my dog a week ago and had a total breakdown in Taekwondo yesterday—my safe place. I mean, it was really the best place to sob—in the middle of hapkido while kicking someone’s ass. I feel like sparring may be too much today.

My Bluesky reads like my former Twitter.

@rachelhowzell.bsky.social I am so excited to begin this gorgeous book! Look at how beautiful! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Do you dream at night or no? I dream every night. Every. Single. Night. I am so active in my dreams I wake up exhausted.

I understand tik tok and also don’t. People blow up to stardom and then immediately blow up/are canceled. Do audiences hate success? Are content creators pathological? Narcissistic? WHAT IS THIS PHENOMENON? (I teach podcasting/film/tv/creative writing so I’m genuinely asking.)

Sometimes wish I had the kind of relationship with my siblings as you see on tv. But that’s also why I love tv—it’s a fantasy.

I just bought fresh southern biscuits and dill homemade pickles at the farmers market. Living my best life in LA.

Does anyone else spend a lot of time thinking about the spatula they use to cook meat? Like, once the meat is cooked you change spatulas to a clean one because you’re not going to use the one that touched all the raw meat…right??

Later Daters! YES PLEASE. Thank you, Netflix. I needed this distraction.

Just left the Spanish Inquisition. I mean the post office. Dude.