I realize that it’s been quite a while since I last sent out a newsletter. To say that life got in the way is an understatement. I recently put out a few videos on TikTok and Instagram going over the big life updates, but I’ll summarize here, too.

Over the summer, I was in a wonderful play called Gulag Girls. It was heavy and the cast was amazing and the play won The Pitch’s Best Play of Kansas City for 2024. I went straight out of that to co-producing, co-directing, and partly writing the Kansas City Horror Play Festival. It was a wonderful experience in many ways (the actors, the performances, the scripts), but it was also A LOT. I wasn’t prepared for the stress, the workload, or the financial burden of that experience.

As that was happening, my last remaining grandparents passed in rapid succession. We buried one grandmother before the opening night performance, and the other grandmother passed the day after we closed.

Then there was my health scare. Content warnings here for medical trauma and discussion of genitals.

Halfway through rehearsals, I noticed that one of my testicles was very much bigger than it normally is. Being born intersex and having gone through everything I’ve gone through there (see some of my previous newsletters), I was concerned.

Long story short, after two rounds of tests, the urologist was pretty sure that it wasn’t cancer, but surgery still needed to happen to remove the cysts. Again, since these have always been a problem for me, I said to just take both testicles.

Now, I’m waiting for my testosterone to arrive in the mail (should be today) so that I can stop the hot flashes, muscle loss, weight gain, missing libido, fatigue, and brain fog that accompanies having no testosterone production.

Brighter Things Ahead

New Book!

It’s not all doom and gloom, however! In fact, on the bookish front, I’ve got some fun news to share. The third book in my Jayu City Chronicles series is on the way. I know, it’s January, and the third book isn’t here yet. Turns out, I gave myself quite the writing challenge with book three, but I recently signed the contract.

I’m thrilled to announce that The Cordelia Solution is coming in August 2025.

New Website!

After a lot of hard work and logistics, I’m also pretty happy to show off my new website. Same URL at chrisarnone.com, whole new look and feel. I think it feels more 21st century and puts my work front and center.

Come See Me!

I have a couple of bookish events on the horizon. I’ll be at the Boozy Book Fair in Kansas City on February 22. I’ll also be at Planet Comicon once again March 21-23. Click those links for more information on both of these wonderful events.