I named my AI bot Manon. IYKYK.
Can we talk about Sarah J. Maas on Call Her Daddy? Spoiler-free, promise.
I know we’re a couple weeks past the drop date. If you haven’t listened yet, this is your official nudge. Go. I’ll be here.
For the uninitiated: I consider Throne of Glass one of the most epic reading experiences of my life. Harry Potter will always be the keystone of my childhood...
But TOG?
TOG is the keystone of my adulthood.
ACOTAR was wildly fun (obviously). But my connection to Aelin is unmatched.
Fun fact: when my sister-in-law asked which book character I relate to most...
Immediate answer: Aelin.
When Maas described Aelin as her own totally unfiltered self — the version of her who gets to have opinions, be bitchy, be fully in charge without apologizing for any of it — I had to stop the episode and just sit with that.
The eldest daughter in me, the one who has opinions at all times and spends equal energy stuffing them down, felt very seen. Currently in therapy about it. Aelin would not approve of my pace.
That whole section on Nesta? Also a lot, in the best possible way.
Oh, and Maas mentioned she listens to the K-pop Demon Hunters soundtrack while writing. I haven’t watched it yet (Bonnie will want to someday, and I refuse to get ahead of us). But she and I have already belted “Golden” on the way to daycare at full volume.
Maas is correct. It slaps.
Inside My Studio
More automations underway — and I have feelings about AI.
Because if I see one more post telling people to research an idea with AI, generate the content with AI, create the product with AI, write the copy with AI, and call it a business?
Ick. Hard pass. Aelin torch-the-earth energy.
Here’s my reality: I work a 9-to-5. I get maybe an hour in the evening after Bonnie’s asleep, and fifteen minutes at lunch when I’m frantically typing before the next thing needs my attention. That is what KSA runs on.
The ideas are mine. The artwork is mine — sketched with my actual pencil, painted with my actual hands, born from my actual brain. (Currently: said brain is listening to the Demon Hunters soundtrack, because Maas made me do it.) That part will never change.
Social media, though? Genuinely no time. I refuse to let that be the thing that holds this biz back.
My AI assistant, Manon (IYKYK), doesn’t create anything. She takes what I’ve already made and spreads the word. Schedules everything with military precision, edits bad captions without asking, judges hashtags, and occasionally insults the algorithm.
Or at least that’s the plan.
There’s a real difference between repurposing original thoughts and generating soulless content, and it matters to me. This newsletter, like everything inside the actual work of KSA, stays sacred and made by me.
On an unrelated Parisian note:
For the fellow artists and curious creative types, here’s what’s coming with me to Paris in the art supply department:
- My go-to watercolor palette
- A tiny watercolor sketchbook
- A small tin with a Micron pen and brush
What I’m Cooking
I’ve raved about Molly Yeh’s Home Is Where the Eggs Are in basically every newsletter I’ve ever written, and I have absolutely no intention of stopping.
This week: her farro bowls.
Paired them with Pinch of Yum’s baked chicken meatballs (of course I did) mostly because Bonnie operates on a strict clam pasta *yes* but salads *no* policy and needed something she could eat along with her deconstructed salad. Girlie goes full charcuterie board. The meatballs qualified.
Delicious. Equally delicious the next day for lunch, which is the true metric of a recipe worth repeating.
Her sloppy joes also made an appearance and still somehow amaze me every single time.
Full disclosure: I completely botched the pita. Forgot the olive oil. What emerged were glorified rolls — no air pocket, zero structural integrity, zero regrets.
They still worked. Sharing this so you know I do not, in fact, have it all together.
What’s Inspiring Me
Besides the Maas podcast, which could honestly carry this entire section on its own?
Shrinking on Apple TV. If you’re not watching it, I genuinely don’t know what to tell you. (Correction: I do know. Watch it immediately.)
Paris is also doing a lot for my general motivation levels right now. I have a spreadsheet. I have a restaurant reservation pre-vetted by someone with excellent taste. I have hope, and a trench coat that will be either perfect or completely insufficient depending on what spring weather decides to do.
Full debrief in the next letter — what worked, what didn’t, what I’d recommend, and whether my expert-level Googling finally paid off.
What I’m Reading
Good Spirits by B.K. Borison started a little uncertain for me, then I ended up completely charmed. 4 out of 5 stars. Holiday-coded, February-read, no notes.
For the flight: an Amazon romance shorts collection (Christina Lauren is in there, sold), Ali Hazelwood’s video game novella, and Poison Daughter because Beach Reads and Bubbly told me to…which is a perfectly valid reason.
That last one is long. I think I’m covered.
Coming Up…
Going into this next stretch with a spreadsheet, a trench coat of questionable adequacy, Aelin’s unfiltered energy as my personal north star, and Molly Yeh keeping me fed in the meantime.
The eldest daughter is leaving her repressed opinions in March.
Manon is handling the social posts.
If you spot someone in Paris with a tiny watercolor sketchbook and suspiciously confident champagne-ordering energy…that’s *research*.
— Katie
