Have you ever sneezed with a mouthful of cereal?

I don't recommend it.

Lovely readers, I have been sick. Teaching unfortunately exposes you to a lot of germs, and some of them inevitably get through to worn out immune systems. This time, I thought I was just being a baby about an unusually nasty head cold, but unearthed a non-expired Covid test, just in case.

That second line appeared the second I dropped the solution on the testing strip. Viral load says go back to bed, Kate.

This was my first bout of Covid (that I know of) and while it really knocked me around, I'm feeling better now. Everyone has been so firm with me about resting longer than I think I need to, and I can see their point - I left the house this morning to run an errand, and when I got back home I took a nap.

I have a hard time believing this is true but: you guys, I want to get back to the gym. I was making progress with the Zumba choreography! Now I'm going to lose all the steps!

Sales & Such

  • A NO-AI gratitude giveaway, for contemporary and fantasy romance, where every participant was required to affirm they hadn't used AI in any part of the book creation. (Penelope Pops the Question.)
  • A Steamy November Reads freebies list for contemporary romance (Penelope Pops the Question).
  • My Patreon serial has officially begun! In addition to the usual bonuses (free e-arcs, monthly extra content) subscribers now get a monthly chapter of Death Magic and Dahlias, a cozy-spooky fantasy about a death mage who really needs a nap. Three chapters up now, the first one open access. Enjoy!

What's Kate Been Reading:

Honestly, most of my non-sleeping Covid activity, such as it was, was watching The Pitt again ("at least I feel better than these fictional people" I opined wisely) and playing Dressmaker, now with new mods attached. I may have downloaded so many fabric packs that they didn't fully load in the haberdashery.

But I'm me, so I did also read:

  • Freya Marske, Bodies of Magic. A good book to be reading with Covid! This is a fantasy murder mystery, a love story (two!), a clear-eyed look at medical inequity, and a grimly brilliant account of med school from someone who's been there (that's DOCTOR Marske, btw).
  • The Roman Triumph, Mary Beard. If Mary Beard ever told me I didn't have enough evidence to be drawing a conclusion I would absolutely die. This is a fascinating examination of what we know of Roman triumphal processions, before, during and after the Republic, through various lenses. I particularly enjoyed the ideas of presentation and representation explored here.

That Healey Girl is the weeklyish newsletter of Kate (or Karen) Healey, a romance and speculative fiction author who lives in Ōtautahi, New Zealand and shakes plots loose by wandering along the river. Feel free to share the newsletter with anyone you think would like it.

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