Hello there, subscribers. Thanks for sticking with me even on this dubiously ethical platform (we’re looking into alternatives. In the meantime, this newsletter will remain free so Substack gets none of anyone’s dollars).

We’re here today to reveal the FRANKLY STUNNING cover for Base Notes, which you can preorder HERE. My disgusting and disturbing murder child full of sex and violence and millennial rage! It’s finally almost here! (If you count nine months as “almost,” which I do, because the process of creating + publishing a book is a very, very long one that makes nine months seem like the blink of an eye.)

So this book! What’s it all about, you ask?

In New York City everybody needs a side hustle, and perfumer Vic Fowler has developed a delicate art that has proved to be very lucrative: creating bespoke scents that evoke immersive memories—memories that, for Vic’s clients, are worth killing for. But the city is expensive, and these days even artisanal murder doesn’t pay the bills. When Joseph Eisner, a former client with deep pockets, offers Vic an opportunity to expand the enterprise, the money is too good to turn down. But the job is too intricate—and too dangerous—to attempt alone.

Manipulating fellow struggling artists into acting as accomplices is easy. Like Vic, they too are on the verge of burnout and bankruptcy. But as relationships become more complicated, Vic’s careful plans start to unravel. Hounded by guilt and a tenacious private investigator, Vic grows increasingly desperate to complete Eisner’s commission. Is there anyone—friends, lovers, coconspirators—that Vic won’t sacrifice for art?

I cannot wait for you all to meet Vic, who’s petty and whiny and cranky and a snob. But to tide you over for the next nine months, I’ve got this sexy cover to reveal. Without further ado…THE JUICE!

An Amusing Irregularity

A lasting impression is worth killing for...