#61: "My wife is in England. Don't write to her."

Voting time, a mysterious letter from the Titanic, and gossip-heavy newspaper clippings

Howdy, friends!

The next time you hear from me, I’ll be 34 - a whole year older. Isn’t it strange how time works? Or rather, birthdays? Even though I’m nine days from it, I’m technically still only 33. But two Tuesdays hence?

Move over, mid-thirties - I’m officially in the middle of it! And so, in my final Snail Mail Sweethearts act as a 33-year-old, today I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’ll…

💌 remind y’all how voting works,

💌 share some mail from the Titanic and a very tasteless newspaper ad I found days after it sank,

💌 and share this month’s poll so you can vote for the January microfiction required action and word, choose 2025’s first mail topic, AND suggest future themes!

35 mm of deep snow cuts. In 2022, I celebrated my birthday by snowshoeing for the first time with Rhody and our friend Mia :)

🗳 Here’s how voting works

Every month, y’all vote on three things:

1. The required word for this month’s microfiction

2. The required action for this month’s microfiction

3. Next month’s topic

Once voting closes on the 28th, I’ll write you a story short enough to fit on a postcard in just 48 hours, using the prompts you picked. I’ll also reveal the following month’s theme.

This month’s short story will be all about the Titanic! I’m no James Cameron, but I’m sure I’ll make you something wonderfully weird all the same. As a reminder, here’s the research for this month:

Once my short story’s out in the world for you, it’s your turn. Write your own microfiction that follows the prompts, then post it in the comments, email it to me, or put it on a steamship across the Atlantic and hope for the best.

Voting is fun! Easy! And signing up gives you artwork to hang in your home or on your fridge:

If you’re feeling ~vote curious~, dip your toes in and unlock your free post.

You can also join my Patreon for as low as $2 a month:

But before we vote, I’ve got some goodies from my Titanic research that didn’t make it into the OG post.

🚢 A sinking marriage

There may not have been mail salvaged from the Titanic after it sunk, but there was mail sent from aboard. If you remember from last week, the boat didn’t have only one embarking point; it started in Southampton, then stopped in Cherbourg, France and Cobh, Ireland before making its final (fated) way into the Atlantic.

And while stopped in Cobh, at least one letter was posted. And boy, was it a saucy doozy. “