All grapes are sour until they're ripe

Plus, sneak-peek: A new mini-series is coming your way

Hello, fellow voyagers🖖. In today’s edition, I’m excited to share a holiday treat—an exclusive sneak-peek at my upcoming fiction mini-series. But first, let’s reflect on the sweet (and sour) moments of the year that’s nearly behind us.

Photo by Jeremy Hynes on Unsplash

The year of sour grapes

What a year it has been! Like the fabled fox, I’ve spent much of it staring at the grapes. Unlike the fox, I reached them and they were indeed sour. Life and health felt life a dizzying rollercoaster ride until I hit the brakes, cleared my plate, and by August, the only thing left was to write. Eager to get a taste of the full-time writing life, I reached out and grabbed those world-like-grapes. But the agony of sitting at my laptop, chewing on words that refused to materialize, was unbearably sour.

But then came autumn. Slowly, those writing-grapes ripened, and unexpected stories like Sinking, Ladybug, Ice, and the mini-series Initiation flowed like sweet, young wine. I invited you to slow-read The Ministry for the Future with me, launched a daily life project, and decluttered both my home and my mind. Somewhere in the process, I got inebriated with creativity and wrote a surrealist satire featuring Dracula as a climate warrior. Stakes, indeed, have never been higher!

This year taught me patience. Like sour grapes, slowly ripening under the autumn sun, I learned to give ideas time to grow, bloom, and sweeten. And now, as 2024 comes to a close, I’m ready to share something special with you—a story long in the making.

(When I was a teenager, I spent summers at my grandparent’s house in the country. Every year, my grandfather took me to work in the vineyards. Unfortunately, the grapes were still sour by the time the summer holiday was over and I had to return to school. But my grandfather allowed us to taste some of the excellent wine he made from previous year’s grapes sweetened with honey. My grandfather is long gone, but I will never forget those sweet summer days.)

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Sneak-peek: The Cooperatives

Starting this Friday, December 20, I’ll begin publishing The Cooperatives, a four episodes mini-series leading us into 2025. This mini-series is the fourth story in my interlinked climate fiction collection There Is Hope. This time, the Dust Road takes us to the Siberian taiga—Earth’s last surviving forest—with a story of survival, greed and resilience told through the eyes of a non-human protagonist.

When a fungus attacks the last forest, an AI Officer is sent on a seemingly futile investigation that takes a dangerous and unexpected turn.

This is my holiday gift to you—an opportunity to pause, reflect and escape into the Dust Road universe. Pour yourself some mulled wine or champagne, grab a cookie, and settle in for the journey.

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Tell me about your year!

As we head into 2025, I’d love to hear from you:

• What seeds did you plant this year?

• What lessons did you harvest? For me it was patience and the art of waiting.

• And what sour grapes are you leaving behind?

Let’s continue this conversation in the comments section. I’ll be there ready to chat about writing, life and everything in between.

I hope you enjoy The Cooperatives as much as I enjoyed writing it. The first episode arrives this Friday. Until then, take care, and let’s savour these last moments of the year together.

See you Friday!

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My writing nook after the declutter! 🥹

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A gift for upgrading your subscription

I have exciting news! I’ve found an illustrator to create the cover for There Is Hope—my interlinked climate fiction collection. When the eBook is ready for publication, paid subscribers will receive an exclusive copy as a thank-you for your support. Your subscription helps bring these stories to life and makes projects like possible.

Thank you for traveling this road with me.

—Claudia 💚