The Unkindest Tide (#13) by Seanan McGuire

Synopsis:
Hundreds of years ago, the Selkies made a deal with the sea witch: they would have the sea for as long as she allowed it, and when the time came, she would call in all their debts at once. Many people assumed that day would never come. Those people were wrong.

When the Luidaeg--October "Toby" Daye's oldest and most dangerous ally--tells her the time has come for the Selkies to fulfill their side of the bargain, and that Toby must be a part of the process, Toby can't refuse. Literally. The Selkies aren't the only ones in debt to the Luidaeg, and Toby has to pay what she owes like anyone else. They will travel to the fabled Duchy of Ships and call a convocation of the Selkies, telling them to come and meet the Luidaeg's price...or face the consequences.

Published September 2019

Of course, nothing is that simple. When Dianda Lorden's brother appears to arrest Dianda for treason against the Undersea, when a Selkie woman is stripped of her skin and then murdered, when everything is falling apart, that's when Toby will have to answer the real question of the hour.

Is she going to sink? Or is she going to swim? 

Warning: This review may contain some spoilers from the previous novels. 

Are you ready?

Coffee Mug: A Small Tale

The goodbyes are heartfelt and bittersweet. Cards are exchanged, and a small wrapped package is given. Everything is taken home and reverently placed on the table.  The small package is unwrapped. The gift is a coffee mug. A bright blue bird sitting on a cherry blossom branch. 

The first day, the mug is simply observed, like a sculpture on display. Moved a bit here and there to stay on the counter yet out of the way. Days pass, and the mug is still there, a bit dusty on the handle. Things haven't gone according to plan. More days pass. The bright optimism of the beginning has turned to the dull gray that seems to match the clouds outside. It has been raining every day for a week now. 

A momentary shifting in the clouds imperceptibly lights the mug on the counter, as though illuminating it. My eyes are caught by the gleam. I stare at the mug, listening to the sound of the rain. I sit down and begin to write.

Sailing: A Small Tale

The walls of the seafood department have been changed over the weekend. Gone is the white florescent tile. In its place painted boards and bronze portholes with views of an ocean can be seen. Someone has thoughtfully hung up a coil of rope. 

The changes are appreciated, and add a splash of color to an otherwise bland corner. But the employees begin noticing some oddities. Distant sounds of seagulls heard from far off. The whoosh of wind as it breezes past the windows. Thunderous booms as waves crash against an unseen object. 

Looking Back, Moving Forward: My 2018

It seems like forever ago when I last wrote about, well, anything.

Like days and even months, I feel that there are good years and bad years in our lives. Sometimes it's just a month or two that shadow the rest of the year, and sometimes it's more than a few months.

I wanted 2018 to be a good year. And there were times that it was. I got to plan and go on an incredible trip to New York City for a whole week. Discover some new foods that I hadn't tried before, and rediscover some old ones that I'd forgotten. Get a bit farther in my goal of attaining a bachelors degree. Yet when I sit here a moment, and truly try to think of all that I did for 2018, all I can feel is that I spent a lot of it working at my job.

Izzy is reminding me to use the things on my desk, not store them on the desk

I tried to attach a word for the year that I would attempt to follow, and be my guide for how I would live for that year. For 2018 I had chosen 'rejuvenate.' I felt that I had been doing too much, and not spending enough time taking care of myself. I had hoped to find time to write words that crept, swooped, and jumped into my mind like birds. There and gone for but a day, a minute, a moment. Take time to leave the house long enough to enjoy  the day,Live in the moment of the changing of the hours and sky. Be more mindful really.

And instead, my word became 'work.' For it seemed that no matter how well I tried to balance my life to be more than two modes of being, I found myself inevitably stuck between either 'work' or 'not work.' Some of it was my own fault. I did not object to the extended work hours, or the two month long stretch of working an extra day. The placation that this was only temporary soothed our frazzled nerves for a time. But here it is, January and the temporary is starting to feel more permanent instead.

The proper way to face the upcoming work week.

 So for 2019, I have decided my word should be 'Go' or 'Do'. That rather than forgo doing the things I want to do because it might interrupt my work schedule, or take longer than two days to get to and come back; I am going to instead aim to do the things I want first. Because otherwise, when will I do it?And that goes for this blog as well. I have an entire backlog of drafts that are only partially finished.

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

― Earl Nightingale