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The Frog Pond #33: MY BOOK IS OUT!!! + Clingy Anglerfish

A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING is now out in the world!!! I am a published author!! Also, male anglerfish are the clingiest partners.

Photo by Museums Victoria / Unsplash

We're here, folks. In mid-October 2022, I started querying "Lighthouse Book" with literary agents. In December 2022, I launched my first Frog Pond about carcinisation, or the convergent evolution of crabs. In October 2023, I announced I'd signed with my literary agent and I shared a Frog Pond about light pollution. In June 2023, I shared my 2-book deal with Poisoned Pen Press, and discussed drowned coasts. I even had a special edition Frog Pond in December 2025 to share the cover!

Four years into The Frog Pond (!?!?), every entry has been a fun exploration of a niche, new, or just plain weird topic along with writing updates. I love making these, and I only press send when I'm proud of what I've put together.

I could not be prouder than right now, sending this newsletter. It's here. My debut novel, my lighthouse book, A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING, is now officially in stores across the world.

If you pre-ordered a copy, or plan to buy my book, or have a hold at the library, or told a friend about it: Sincerely, thank you. There are so many books you could care about. Great books, by great authors. Your interest in my words and career as an author has been a buoy when the winds got rough and an anchor to keep me from floating adrift.

I used to think of publishing as a race, and I wasn't even at the starting line yet. Now, I see it more like a personal relay. Each step forward in my career, I'm passing the baton to the next, more capable version of myself. Querying Me passed on to Agented Me, who passed on to Book Deal Me, and now I'm passing it on to Published Me. This view, that each version of myself has worked so hard and still adds to the success of the next relay lap (shift? I don't run relays), gives me more gratitude for the journey here. And there's no one I'm competing against except the tick of life's stopwatch against everything I want to do.

This week I'm going to attend launch events (if you're in the Halifax area, check the details out here!), cross my fingers for getting on a List or two, and try to soak in the joy of a moment like this. A moment I wished for when I was 16-years-old and every year since.

Anyway, let's talk about anglerfish! A fish that gets mentioned in the second chapter of my book, funny enough.

Deep-sea anglerfish and their... unorthodox reproduction method

Ever had a clingy partner? How about one so clingy that they fuse with your body? How about up to 8?

For certain species of deep-sea anglerfish in the Ceratioidei suborder, this is the reality of dating in the pelagic zone. While the bioluminescent light is what most recognize first, did you know only female anglerfish have them¹? The Krøyer's deep sea angler fish, or northern seadevil (the largest species in its family), have a maximum length of 77 cm (30 in) in females, with males only measuring up to 14.5 cm (5.7 in)². Some species have much smaller males, leading to classification problems when anglerfish of different sexes weren't considered the same species!

There's a reason these males are so small: In order to mate, male anglerfish will use enlarged scent organs to find and attach themselves to the body of a female as a sexual parasite, incorporating themselves into the female's tissues and blood stream².

Permanent couch surfer

Sexual parasitism means that after fusing, the male anglerfish must continue to latch onto the female to acquire nutrition¹. Specimens of female anglerfish that have been found can have between 1 and 8 males fused to parts of their bodies depending on the species³. Male sexual maturation is triggered by the attachment process¹. Female anglerfish have areas on their body (some only one, some multiple) for the male to attach to specifically. When attached, some organs in the male degenerate such as their eyes and nostrils (no longer needed to find a mate), while others like the heart and gills remain¹. Males can spawn multiple times with their chosen female⁴. This process is described by some to be hermaphroditic due to the parasitic nature of the union meaning that male reproductive organs have been "added" to the female⁴.

Some anglerfish, such as the black seadevil, only attach temporarily and do not permanently fuse¹. This is instead called temporary nonparasitic attachment¹.

Anglerfish immune tolerance

A 2022 paper described the interesting mechanisms at play within different types of anglerfish immune systems, completely alien to the human immune process of keeping the body safe from external pathogens while also allowing for things like pregnancies to happen. Scientists studied the genomes of anglerfish and found big differences between the types that had sexual parasitism versus the ones that didn't⁵. I won't try to butcher their wording:

"It is speculated that adaptation of anglerfishes to their unique environment resulted in multiple anatomical, physiological, and behavioral changes that led to distinctive mating strategies and that these alterations coevolved with genetic changes that led to a partial or complete loss of genes that regulate certain aspects of the immune response against the allogeneic parabiosed partner."⁵

We don't yet know how parasitic anglerfish defend themselves from diseases/pathogens when their immune systems are so compromised⁵. Anglerfish are, in so many ways, a fascinating type of creature that has confounded and fascinated people for centuries.

A word from a passing frog

I yapped plenty at the top about the book launch so I won't belabour the point. Yay! Book! Yippee!!!

Writing

I'm slowly but surely trucking through the first draft of my second book. This book has been a crash course for me out of perfectionism. And I really mean crash. There's no way for me to write to deadline the way I used to write books, so finding ways to be okay with some mess and some jankiness is critical. Ultimately, there's an element of wanting this book to be "enough", but that has to change to being just "done". I still love what I'm making! It's just a different relationship that's being forged, creatively.

Reading

I thoroughly enjoyed reading an ARC of I AM THE DEVOURING DARK by Kimberly Lynn Hanson!! This dark fantasy romance has Norse mythology, a feral, supernatural protagonist who eats sacrificed hearts, a surprising romantic interest given the situation, and a deep sisterly bond woven throughout the book. This comes out October 15, 2026, and I highly recommend checking it out! I've got two more books to blurb this summer, very excited to talk about them when I'm done reading!

I've started reading the second Dungeon Crawler Carl book, CARL'S DOOMSDAY SCENARIO, and I'm enjoying it as much as I ultimately loved the first book.

I also started listening to a fun YA contemporary fantasy book, EVERYTHING SHE DOES IS MAGIC, while at the gym. I haven't listened to an audiobook in forever!

Also, I've pre-ordered some other debut books recently (some have come out already in UK vs US or have since come out since I pre-ordered) :

THE SEA HIDES ITS DEAD by Megan Bontrager: Grad student Caro has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but when an opportunity arises to act as a research assistant on an anthropological expedition for her professor and lover, Edward Beck, she doesn’t hesitate. Beck assembles a team of academics and professionals to study the ancient sea-based Cult of the Leviathan, and the expedition descends into the sea caves where the cult are said to have dwelt. But when the cave entrance collapses, trapping them inside, the expedition will find they are not alone in the darkness. (Adult Horror, July 14, 2026)
THE DEATH ROW CLUB by V. A. Vasquez: Plenty of people have lousy parents, but Nicola Fischer’s father has just been convicted of murdering five young women, including her best friend. Fired from her job and hounded by reporters, Nicola passes the time by doomscrolling and drunk-dialling Greer Woods, the alluring host of the hit show To Catch a Killer, who cracked the case and turned Nicola’s life upside down before disappearing along with her so-called “best intentions.” When an email from Greer finally shows up in Nicola’s inbox, there’s no apology or explanation, just a cryptic invitation. The Death Row Club is an annual weekend getaway for the adult children of serial killers – and Nicola is the newest reluctant member. (Adult Thriller, July 14, 2026)
THE DEMON STAR by Jesse Aragon: Jacen was once the most gifted exorcist of his generation, a high-ranked priest in the Church that rules his desert city-state. He’s now a disgraced addict, and what remains of his faith is shattered when he stumbles upon the skull of a dead god—and a conspiracy to kill them all. (Adult Sci-Fi, July 28, 2026)
(MOSTLY) HUMAN RESOURCES by Grace Viall: Working in HR wasn’t exactly what Alexys had in mind when she joined Entity—the company that manages the world’s monsters and cryptids. But after her father was lost on the job, managing a team from the office felt like the safest way to honour his legacy. That is, until an annual exercise drags Alexys into the field, completely unprepared for what’s waiting. To make matters worse, her infuriatingly charming work rival, Nic, crashes her assignment with his own hidden agenda: to track a truly terrifying undocumented monster. (Adult Fantasy, August 4, 2026)
DEATH CARD by Jasmine Smith: On an ordinary Monday morning, eighteen-year-old Mikaela Broussard receives the shock of her life. During a customer’s tarot reading at her family’s occult shop, she turns over the Death card and envisions the beautiful stranger stabbing her in the heart. In order to determine why the girl, Joelle, wants to kill her, she’ll have to keep her close. But the more time Mikaela spends with her soon-to-be murderer, the more irresistible she finds her. (YA Fantasy, Aug 11, 2026)
BOUND BY FURY by Noelle Monét: Harper grew up loving her grandma Gigi’s stories about pretty brown girls with magic from the stars, but they were just that—stories…until Gigi’s sudden death awakens a dangerous power building beneath Harper’s skin. Desperate for answers, Harper finds herself drawn to an elite boarding school in the Appalachian Mountains. A school that Gigi herself attended, and one rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of witches past. (YA Fantasy, August 18, 2026)
THOUGHTS BE BLOODY by Auden Patrick: The summer before his sophomore year, Horatio Bithersea walks into the university library to find Carson Hamlett, resident golden boy and master magician, cradling his father’s dead body. Life at Elsinore, one of the most prestigious universities in the secretive magical world, simply goes on when the professor’s death is ruled an accident—despite the mysterious circumstances and the bloody scene. A year later, Horatio is keeping his head down, attempting to graduate without his out-of-control magic harming his classmates. That changes when the ghost of Hamlett’s father appears and places a curse on Horatio and avenge his death by destroying Elsinore and its heart, lest the ghost robs them of their minds, memories, and their very souls. (Adult Fantasy, September 15, 2026)
OUR CUT OF SALT by Deena Helm: There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have been known to disappear entirely in its walls without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart. And, in return, the house did the same for her. After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home in Haifa after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. (Adult Literary Horror, September 22, 2026)