August 2026: Website Launch, Life & Novella "Mariposa" Updates, & a Free Short Story!

HAPPY VIRGO SEASON 💅✨

Life has gotten steadily better since I last posted in May (and way better since everything really went to shit in January). The in-law situation has largely stabilized, and we've made substantial progress toward repairing my husband's childhood home. The ultimately goal is for us to move back in there, and we're starting to see ourselves inch closer and closer to that reality.

Due to all the labor that came with helping my in-laws move, I began experiencing some pretty terrible back pain. More than likely, this was a former injury that had flared up once again, but I neither know or really care. All that has mattered for the last few months has been, "Oof, ouch, my fucking body."

Now I finally have a proper diagnosis, and I'm in PT to build strength and manage the symptoms. Injections or surgery may be in the future, but that'll ultimately depend on how I respond to more conservative treatments.

That being said, I have some...

I've finally launched an official website.

XochiltAvilaAuthor.com will now serve as my official hub for all publications and professional conduct under this penname. My husband made the icon (same one on my BluSky), and the banner features my real life fucked up spine!

I look forward to fleshing out my website further, especially once Mariposa is up for pre-order. We've officially begun working on the art, and I'm so unbelievably grateful that my husband Harbor will be creating the cover illustration. Thank you Sirius for allowing me to work with my favorite person on such an important project <3

And ya'll should check out Harbor's art, which you can find on his BluSky.

Lastly, a free story is long, long overdue to you all. You didn't have to sign up for this newsletter, and you don't have to keep reading it, so I always want to show you how grateful I am that you're here. I really enjoyed writing this quasi science-fiction drabble, and it features one of my favorite horror topics - MEAT.

Hope you enjoy! See you all very soon :)

     Charlie sneezed into her shoulder as the elevator slowed its descent. Smog clung to her blouse, itching her nostrils. But she anticipated her new supervisor to be on the other side of the chrome doors, and she didn’t want to begin her first day by blowing snot in his face. Ding. Nose wiped, shoulders back, Charlie stepped out wearing her best clothes and the confidence of someone who belonged. Bright, ginger curls bounced behind her like a fiery blaze.

            As expected, Bennett stood just a few feet away, impossible to miss in the weirdly empty, warehouse-sized basement. He was a gangly bald man with far too much gum in his smile.  

            “Salutations!” Bennett chirped like a canary, though he looked more like an emaciated heron. “I know you heard it at orientation, but I’m going to say it again anyway! Welcome to Cedar Meats! If you can see the quality, it’s Cedar Meats!”

            Terrible. Corny. But Charlie could tolerate corny. This salary was unbeatable, and while the job description had been vague, it sounded simple enough.

Charlie stepped forward as the tension melted from her body. Perhaps that was why the smell didn’t strike immediately. But then it hit her all at once; a sour, caustic punch that threatened to knock out her sad morning gruel. Charlie gagged behind thin fingers, her eyes watering as Bennett offered a sheepish look. “It’s quite the smell, isn’t it?”

            “Quite the smell.” Knowing Cedar raised its cattle undergrown, Charlie had prepared for some kind of stench. Viscera and animal shit. But this was worse, so acrid that it burned on her tongue.

“Don’t fret, you’ll get used to it in no time. Now let’s get going!”

            Charlie steeled herself and followed her new boss through the basement, surprised by the humidity that dampened her skin. Each step across the floor made her old boots squeal.  Above their heads the synthetic lights buzzed, sterilizing the pungent facility in its harsh glow.         

“It looks like this level is a lot bigger than the top building. Why is that?”

            “We’re a big, big operation!” Bennett still grinned as he peaked over his shoulder. “Down here the product is harvested, processed, and transferred to loading docks. From there our trucks go through private tunnels for most of the journey. We try to limit the product’s exposure to outside pollution.”

            Charlie nodded, eager to seem engaged. So eager that she didn’t think of asking where the product was. “And what’s with the smell?”

            “That’s just a side effect of our patented technology. Of which you’ll operate starting today! So long as you follow the instructions it’s perfectly, perfectly safe.”

            Charlie halted, causing Bennett to do the same. She wasn’t stupid; all manual labor had some inherent risk, and she’d willingly signed the NDAs. But hearing life given to the possibility of danger made her guts twist a little.

“I know I’ll be processing meat, but we never went over the specifics. It’s not going to be… that dangerous, is it?”

            “Not as long as you’re careful.”

            They continued again until they reached a wide, concrete wall peppered with several unassuming doors. Which led to even more walking. But this path was narrower, dimmer, curved like rivers etched across an old-world map.

            Their destination was, in fact, yet another door. But this one large and metallic. A center plaque read Extraction Room #19. Bennett turned the knob.

            Charlie’s new workstation was… largely empty. The most interesting feature was a large, metallic ring on the far side wall. Dark coils stretched across the concrete floor, attaching the ring to a podium with a single green button. A dozen flatbed carts lined one side of the room. On the other stood a table with two tools atop: a long metal device with two prongs at the end, and… a knife.

            “I’m sorry.”

             Bennett was already at the door when Charlie turned around. His gummy smile gone. His sweet chirp plucked away. All Charlie saw now in her new boss’ face was terror.    

            “I’m sorry.” Bennett’s voice trembled. Charlie’s stomach liquified. “Just press the button, okay? As many times as you can. Shock them, cut their throats, and then load them onto the carts. Collections are at noon and four. We go home at five.”

            Bennett rushed out and closed the door in a flurry, much too fast for Charlie to reach. But still she surged forward, banging her fists against the shiny surface.

“What the fuck?! Let me out!”

            She yanked on the handle. Locked. She was locked in. Charlie banged her fists until Bennett knocked back from the other side.

            “Just give it a chance!”

            She could hear Bennett crying now, heaving to fill his lungs with air. “… Please. This… this can be good for you, okay? Keep your head down, do your job, and go home. I know you can do it.”

            All Charlie heard after that was fading footsteps. And then nothing. For a while she continued to pound the door, but when that didn’t earn her anything she abandoned the effort. She then took to pacing, prowling back and forth until her feet began to blister.

            By eleven she was eyeing the podium. It stood like a lighthouse in a dense, warm fog.

            This was crazy.

            … Charlie looked down at her boots. How many times had she tapped the soles back together? How long until they disintegrated?

            This is crazy.

… But Charlie inched closer, her breath held as her thin fingers grazed the green button. It sunk down smoothly.

            Electricity rippled around and within the circle. From within blew out storm air and the stench of chlorine. Hot wind whipped Charlie’s hair as the inner circle unzipped into a pulsing, beating kaleidoscope of colors, blood, nitrogen, dreams, everything, anything, all—

And from within the ring someone stepped out. Someone with flimsy old boots and ginger curls that bounced behind her like flames. Charlie gasped.

Then she looked to the blade.