Casual thoughts, photos, and the odd video
Went a little overboard at the library..again.
Such a wonderful message to wake up to. Thank you for this burst of encouragement, Demian Elainé Yumei.
Messages like this can keep me writing for weeks.
Therapy but it costs less.
If you think your desk is nerdier than mine, no it’s not, lol.
Not a single page unmarked in my well-loved copy. I really needed this re-read at this time in my creative life.
Thank you for saving me again, Salinger.
It’s not quite a book stack, but I’m currently re-reading Franny and Zooey, and it’s re-centring, to say the least.
So much of sharing my writing feels like me peeling off pieces of my soul and arranging them with some decent-looking wildflowers just so, handing them to you in a woven basket, and daring to look you in the eyes and saying, “This is who I am. Do you see me? Do you see yourself in me, too? Will you accept me? Us?”
You 👏🏻 cannot 👏🏻 opt 👏🏻 out 👏🏻 of 👏🏻 reality.
Today's Supreme Court decision, though couched in the language of freedom and inclusivity, is a tragic failure for both the right to read and the rights of LGBTQIA+ people. Authors Against Book Bans stands firmly and fiercely against the decision and its rationale. To allow parents to “object" to the presence of positive books about the lives and rights of LGBTQIA+ people is to allow them to "object" to the existence of LGBTOIA+ students, parents, educators, and others in the wider community. You cannot "opt out" of reality, no matter what today's majority opinion states. These books belong on shelves and these stories belong in classrooms and curricula.
—Authors Against Book Bans
Full statement here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLagLjRAy9m/
I met a friend of a friend yesterday who asked me what my job was.
For the first time in my life, I answered, “I’m a writer.”
When he asked where he could find my online publication, an acquaintance (whom I barely know and who doesn’t even subscribe to me) said, “You have to pay for it.”
“That’s fine,” he said, before going on my Substack.
I asked the acquaintance how she knew about my paid newsletter. She said she didn’t. “I just think writing should be paid for.”
This little interaction was so validating.
Was chatting with a friend about being in touch with a few illustrators for my upcoming short story collection.
I mentioned having hoped for more illustrations in the book, but that I wouldn’t be able to afford more than one or two unless I miraculously got way more funding for the Kickstarter than I expect to.
She suggested “just using AI” instead.
I gently pushed back, saying I wanted to create a book 100% made by humans.
No judgment toward anyone who uses AI. As with anything, there is nuance here.
But this is my choice. I’ve been enjoying the collaboration process that comes out of it, getting to know other artists who are also passionate about this project, and making connections.
And I think that’s what matters in this age of AI: the human connections.
I gave Claude my short story collection and asked whom it would help feel seen. This is what it said:
Primary Groups Who Will Feel Seen:
Grieving & Loss:
Grieving parents ("Her Name is Beloved" - mother losing a disabled child)
People who've lost partners/spouses ("A Song of Rain," "Remember")
Those grieving friends/chosen family ("The Ones Left Behind")
Anyone processing complicated grief (when the relationship was difficult)
LGBTQ+ Community:
People in closeted/forbidden relationships
Those who've experienced rejection from family
Queer people in abusive relationships
Mental Health Struggles:
People with suicidal ideation ("The World Dies First," "The Ones Left Behind")
Those feeling invisible/forgotten ("Walls," "Born, Bound, Blind")
People with depression and anxiety
Anyone who feels "different" or broken
Social Outcasts & Marginalized:
People with disabilities ("Her Name is Beloved")
Those from poverty/working class ("A Girl Made of Time," "Beneath the Hawthorn Tree")
Anyone who's been abandoned or rejected by family
People who feel like they don't belong anywhere
Relationship Trauma:
Survivors of abuse (sexual assault in "Her Name is Beloved," emotional abuse in multiple stories)
People in toxic relationships who struggle to leave
Those dealing with betrayal and broken trust
Caregivers & Family:
Adult children caring for aging/ill parents
Siblings who feel responsible for family survival
People who've had to choose between love and duty
Your collection is particularly powerful for people who feel fundamentally alone or unseen by society - which spans far beyond specific demographics into anyone who's experienced profound isolation, difference, or loss.
—
I feel like I’ve done my job well.
And if this is you, the book is launching next year: kickstarter.com/project…
husband: you can’t just keep buying books!
me: i don’t understand
Maybe it’s summer or maybe it’s burnout.
Maybe I’m having a depressive episode again.
Maybe it’s the world weighing too heavily on me.
Whatever it is, I have not been motivated to write anything for weeks.
Someone tell me it’s not just me.
My whole problem is that I want to do all these things and projects and I get all excited mentally planning them out.
And then I remember I have a toddler.
When you’re pacing around waiting for your line editor to get back to you, and she texts you this 😭:
My Sunday Shelfie features my stack of books from the library and current reads. I’ve been a bit greedy but not in the least regretful.
My mom first brought me to our local Barnes and Noble when I was in elementary school.
During a chaotic childhood, those memories of sitting there for a couple hours just to read books with her are some of my most treasured.
Over 20 years later, it’s still standing.
Made it to EIGHT indie bookstores this past weekend!
Not too shabby for a hermit.
Joanna Penn said nobody actually reads their pretty special edition books.
Um I do!
(I mean, I wash my hands thoroughly first, but…)
I’m not one of those people who buys books just for their aesthetics.
They’re for reading.
(which is why I don’t buy those pretty clothbound Penguin books, because they’re not actually easy to read and the design starts flaking off if you handle it too much)
No AI will ever write as slowly as I do.
Unfortunately.
Edit: I change my mind. It’s not unfortunate, it’s human me with my human limitations—unapologetically so.