June 2026 | Quarterly Update
Prologue
Happy Pride Month! Its time for the second quarterly update of the year.
For those who are reading for the first time, this blog update is intended to talk about my latest writing projects and what I’m planning for the next quarter. While I tend to focus primarily on the writing aspect of things, I also highlight some of the non-writing activities I’ve been up to.
This one is a bit on the shorter end of things, but I thought it important to post regardless.
Let’s go!
On the Page: A Progress Report
I’ve recently started plotting something I’m currently referring to as ‘project sapphic sirens,’ though I’m early enough in the process that its really not much more than a few solid ideas, character names and vague backstories. I’ve also been reworking the plot for Bunnies, Beds, & Breakfast, though I’m not yet at the stage to sit down and dig into rewriting for that just yet. Similarly, I’m continuing to toss around ideas for Ranger, which I spent this past November writing a draft of. I’ve not yet begun a new draft for Ranger, but the slow build of ideas and plotting has in its own way been cathartic for me.
The most important thing I’ve been doing this year is reminding myself to, first and foremost, write for myself.
I think I’m succeeding at that. I’ve written a lot the last few months. Scraps of scenes and chapters and dialogue, treating it as an exercise in ‘how weird can I be with this?’ or ‘how far can I get if I write it this way?’ Several weeks have gone by where I’m writing a few thousand words on one thought or idea, 20,000 words on another (one of these days I’ll do a tally for how many words I’ve written this year and will probably be astounded. That’s how much I’ve been writing on these little side projects/exercises).
In total, I’ve written a couple of things resembling a full narrative or draft. I’ve noticed that, while I’m focusing on writing for an audience of myself, I’m still trending toward perfectionism and that may play a role in why I do struggle from time to time with my projects. So I’m working on letting my writing just be, as much as I am able, as a separate but very much related exercise.
Off the Page: Books, Shows & Music
The Bookshelf
My reading has continued to be on the slower side this year in terms of actual books. However, its certainly not a bad thing that I’ve slowed down, and I’m continuing to make progress toward my annual reading goals even if they won’t be nearly so ambitious as last year’s 100+ books.
(I do want to note that I am still reading a lot. I just happened to have rediscovered fanfiction this year and that’s absorbed a lot of my reading attention the last several months. I’m not going to comment on it further than that, because fanfiction has its own space and I’m a firm believer in keeping it to that space.)
Below are a few of my favorite books that I’ve read since the last update:
Top Reads of March 2026 through May 2026, in no particular order:
- Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai
- Bromantasy by Márie Roche
- This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne
- She Who Knows the Names by Michelle Jabès Corpora
- Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
If you’re interested in seeing all the books I’ve been reading as well as my ratings and occasional reviews (mostly reserved for ARCs these days), you can also check out my StoryGraph page.
My music consumption has remained approximately the same over the last three months. I’m still listening to a lot of Stray Kids through I’ve expanded to listen to additional k-pop artists. I’m particularly obsessed with ‘back to life’ by HAN, which was initially released about a month ago and was just recently made available on streaming platforms. It gets me in my feels as well as inspiring the direction of quite a bit of my writing lately.
Off the Page: “Extracurricular”
I had my first running race of the year on May 31st. It was a 10k, which is pretty short for me (having run two marathons and more than six half marathons at this point), but I wanted to give it a shot to see what I could do for time. I got my PB (52 minutes and 1 second) and was really happy with how it felt, since I honestly was ready to do another mile or two after I finished and had walked around a bit.
I’ve continued my efforts to learn Korean. Some days I feel like I’m getting it and other’s my brain seems to completely white out and I feel like I can’t comprehend even the basics. Still, I do feel that I’m making some progress, even if its just a tiny bit at a time.
With summer arriving, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time outdoors (and not just for running). I have a vegetable garden in progress, as well as a wildflower patch that I am so, so excited for. A few of the flowers have actually begun to bud and bloom the last few days, and I cannot wait for the whole thing to be full of color. Hopefully I’ll have a good photo to share with an entire rainbow of flowers by the September update.
Ending the Chapter
As I said before, this update has been a bit on the shorter side. Regardless of how much I have or haven’t shared, thank you as always for joining me on an update.
I’ll see you next time.
Kennedy
Kennedy Cutler 
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