37 | Limbo/liminal

I submit, again!

Author

Samantha Garner
May 15, 2025

Deadmedia shares monthly peeks behind the scenes, writing updates, and creativity thoughts from SF/F author Samantha Garner. Learn more here.

Hi everyone,

Twist the Branch is now out on submission to publishers—round 2! I can’t believe I last wrote a variation of that sentence two years ago. Being on sub means lots of waiting, agonizing, peaks and valleys. But right now I’m excited. I’m very happy with the shape the novel has taken since round 1, and if you’ll permit some artistic pride—I wrote a really fucking good book.

I was lucky in that my first novel sold pretty quickly. This more extended experience with my second novel has taught me a lot of things, most of which are still too tender and immediate to discuss. But we can talk about editing!

Editing is something I, like most authors, have a complicated relationship with. I consider myself a fairly economical writer, but I can still feel precious about my words, believing that every single one is vital.

Of course, that is never true. And I actually had a lot of fun with the editing this time. I ended up whittling down the word count by 8,672 words, or about 2-3 entire chapters’ worth based on my typical range of words per chapter.

I also took out little filler words, added more contractions. The Quiet is Loud was literary SF/F, but Twist the Branch is fantasy with a soupçon of literary. As such, I really opened the taps on “fantasy novel language”: at times poetic, at times a little ornate, lots of “I am” and “that is” rather than “I’m” and “that’s.” I actually found it quite a natural way to write and often really lost myself in that flow. But honestly, I didn’t need to stick to it that much. It’s a historically-inspired fantasy, not historical fantasy. I do like to try for accuracy with a time period in mind, but it isn’t actually early medieval Finland and the Philippines. Let them have shorter sentences! Let them have commas!

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve just had a haircut, but it really does feel so good to trim down a word count sometimes, to focus on what matters. I feel lighter, somehow.

After finishing my edits of Twist the Branch I revisited the handful of chapters I’d written for the second book in the duology, Corrode the Song. And—more artistic pride incoming—I really liked it. A lot. I’m going to move on to finishing Project Awakened, but I’m keen to jump back into Aurin’s story and his head and this world. Please wish me luck. With everything, really. I could use it!

Authors for eSims for Gaza auction fundraiser

I’m participating in the Authors for eSims for Gaza auction fundraiser. Bid on over 110 autographed books and special prize bundles from your favourite authors (novels! poetry collections! children’s books! memoirs! feedback on your own writing! signed copies for your whole book club! characters named after you! and more!). Funds go directly to Crips for eSims for Gaza’s mutual aid efforts helping Palestinians in Gaza stay connected with each other and the rest of the world.

I'm offering:
- A signed paperback copy of The Quiet is Loud
- Naming a character in my “Project Awakened” science-fantasy novella trilogy after the highest bidder

PS, read these books!

This month two of my favourite authors (and people in general) had books come out! You may know them if you’re familiar with my writing group the Semi-Retired Hens. I’ve read versions of these books and to me they were about perfect already, so I’m really excited to read them now. Here’s the info:

From acclaimed author Lindsay Zier-Vogel comes an insightful and heart-rending exploration of motherhood, grief, and the search for identity.

Amy is a new mother, navigating the fog of those bewildering early days and struggling with a role she feels ill-prepared for. It’s the first time in a decade that she hasn’t been living the busy life of an acclaimed children’s musician, and her sense of self is unravelling. To make matters worse, her bandmates have seemingly abandoned her.

In flashbacks, we see Amy’s journey to success—her stumblings as a solo singer-songwriter and her eventual rise to fame as a member of the Fun Times Brigade. But as the novel progresses—and Amy grapples with a devastating loss—we come to understand how precarious definitions of artistic success can be.

The Fun Times Brigade examines the enduring challenges of reconciling being an artist with being a mother. It is also a timely reflection on forgiveness and what it really means to have a good life in a world that demands we have—and be—it all, and asserts that amidst the chaos, we can find our way back to our genuine selves.

As the children of a single mother who immigrated from the Philippines, Laura and Claire have always been exceptionally close. That is, until Claire moves to San Francisco for a startup job in Silicon Valley while Laura and her husband remain in Toronto and decide to start a family. Enter the slow, hopeful, devastating process of fertility treatments. While Laura prepares for IVF, Claire has her own encounter with the fertility industry.

Living Expenses interrogates the strain that can accompany even the strongest of relationships, and captures the inevitable creep of technology into all facets of its characters’ lives, from communication to reproduction.

Thanks for reading Deadmedia today. I’d love to hear what you thought—leave me a comment or hit reply to send me an email!

Talk soon,
-Sg.

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