Hey kids,

It’s Newsletter Time! I know it’s your favorite. Who doesn’t love reading about some weird-ass author who ironically pretends that this is something people care about. Let’s get started shall we?

GARDEN UPDATE:

Shit is drying out. It’s hot. The tomatoes have put a little too much effort into foliage and less into fruit so I’ve done some pruning. The rain we had last week was welcome and I hope there’s more. Also–why have we suddenly started calling this “monsoon season” in Colorado. Monsoons are not the same weather phenomenon. Are we also seeing King Cobras on the dry-ass hiking trails? No. Language matters. Don’t be misleading or sensationalist. Anyway, here’s some evidence of me not killing a few things.

Soon, I will have more tomatoes than I think I’ll be able to responsibly eat. So, please feel free to come by and pick some over the fence. The goddamn bunnies and squirrels have eaten a lot of my flowers (nipping the buds off the echinacea is an interesting choice, I guess they’re warding off the flu).

But the coolest news by far is that over the course of a month, I’ve managed to befriend two crows. It’s slow going and consistency is the key but this morning I heard one calling (their names are Merry and Pippin of course) and when I opened the door she was on the front steps, waiting. So we sat and I had coffee and she had nuts and Ritz crackers and it was a lovely time. One step closer to being an old bog woman living completely off grid and giving my remaining days over to the forest.

OTHER STUFF:

School is starting this week for my youngest and next week for the oldest. I don’t know why the end of this summer feels so much sadder. I think they are both trying some new stuff and there’s a little hint of anxiety in the air that is hitting different. If you know about my youngest, you know last year was a struggle. Eating disorders are nasty, and terrible, and if you’re the kind of person who posts skinny-culture shit on your social media, I kinda wish you’d go to hell. The biggest lie society ever sold us was that being smaller, weaker, and skinny was attractive and that being attractive to men is all we are good for. Anyway, beyond my soapbox, my kiddo is taking on a new semester with a full class-load and lunches on her own and that might not mean much to most people but to us, it’s a big deal. Send your good thoughts, your prayers if you pray, your hopes that she remembers to love herself and her beautiful body more than the pressures of skinny culture in a white-affluent-entitled school.

The oldest is having the normal issues of if they’ve picked the ‘right’ field/major/concentration, and what if they’re wrong. I told them life is 90% about being wrong. You don’t learn anything when you’re right. Weird that the world puts so much pressure on them to know exactly what they’ll do and it better be lucrative. Fuck capitalism by the way. They had a breakdown about living at home. And how that made them a failure. I reminded them, that in my college days, an apartment cost me $450 a month, I had a paid internship, and college was 1/3 the cost that it is today. They’re not failing anything. Society is failing them. Man…sorry I could go on about things that aren’t really relevant to my writing life, but these are things that are important to me, and probably to a lot of us. Our economy sucks. Really rich people are to blame. Anarchy and revolution are justified for survival. Let’s move on.

Writing and Editing:

Heir to Time came out! It always feels particularly satisfying to be done with an entire series. Usually I feel a little bittersweet, but this beast was different. I’m glad it exists. I’m glad I wrote it. I still love the characters. But I’m also glad I can move on.

I’m in my final round of edits for “Eight Nights in Everpine Valley” my anti-Hallmark Holiday novel about a Jewish Carpenter living in a Christmas town, who falls into cahoots with a Feminist Studies professor. It’s ridiculously a middle finger to the schmaltz of the holiday frenzy, but despite that, it’s also really heart forward and sweet. There’s a cranky aunt, a has-been cheerleader, shenanigans, and a little spice. I hope you like it as much as I do. I felt like myself again getting to write it. The tentative release date is September 28th? I’ll let you know for sure if you check out my socials.

My edits for “FaeSpawn” (mythology-based, contemporary fantasy, set in the Ornkey Islands north of Scotland and south of Scandinavia) were interrupted for the proofreading for the holiday novel, (you might recall last month they were delayed for Heir–always the book in pipeline, never the book) but I have made it through one whole round and I’m killing my darlings in this next one. Listen…there’s a little bit of “why choose” and a little bit of “fated mates” and a main Woman Lead who is tough as shit and has lived a hard life. But she’s also a Fae with a little secret that will save (or ruin) the fate of the world. Plus–Y’ALL, I’ve never written a red-headed male lead and I’m having SOOO much fun with it.

Here are some teaser pictures from my Pinterest Board

I’m in the process of transcribing all of the poetry I’ve written over the last few years for an anthology out next year (possibly from a publisher). My lovely friend Nina texts me almost every week to check in. She’s the most lovely, beautiful soul and if you don’t have a Nina in your life, get one. So far I’m up to over 50 pages of work. With about 60 more poems to get into the file. Then the editing starts.

Reading:

I’ve started “The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin”, by Alison Goodman. The first was such a fantastic romp, with adventure, humor, and romance. Plus to get to read something, albeit fictional, about women in their forties destroying abusive systems that hurt and imprison women is pretty satisfying. It’s great so far. Please check her out. It’s great writing.

I finished “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. It was a fun and light read with still some interesting thoughts on society as a whole.

I’ve been thumbing through, pausing, and sighing a lot over Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Because he always has something to say that ripples out through time.

I finished a middle book of a series that I picked up at The Lioness Lane Bookery in Riverton over my stay in Wyoming. Called “The Headmaster: Lessons from the Rack” by Tara Sue Me. It was a light/semi-dramatic book about the world of BDSM and Dominate/Submissive play. She is a New York Times Best Seller, and I’m not saying the book wasn’t good, but… something felt flat about it. I’m super interested in the world and the dynamics and psychology. She did well at writing the intimate scenes, but I just never connected or cared much for the characters. So I picked up this:

because I want to write something that’s not just the naughty shock value selling it, but the dynamic of power structures, the deep seated trust and love that needs to be part of the process. I feel like, as a character writer, I could bring something deeper than 50 shades or The Rack academy into play. Something that feels like a heartfelt exploration of what it means to submit and what it means to dominate.

Events

Eight Nights in Everpine Valley is nearing completion. This book should be out at the end of September. I’ll keep you posted on the details as I have them. I do know there might be a book signing of the available 5 Prince Publishing Holiday novels at the Tree-Lighting ceremony in downtown Fort Collins. It could happen.

WRITING HEIGHTS WRITERS RETREAT

Mid September I’ll be up in Winter Park cooking for, and hopefully inspiring a group of determined writers to spend three days working solely on their projects and getting those word counts in. There are still three spots left and to be honest, this is the cheapest retreat I’ve found out there. So, please, think about signing up. They are good people, it’s a time just for you, to invest in yourself and your writing, there are no pesky ice-breakers or critiques (unless you want them). It’s just time. The only commodity you’re not getting any more of. Here’s the link. I’d love to see you there:

WHWA FALL RETREAT

Closing:

I was told this week by a male acquaintance that they didn’t know how I put out novels as quickly as I did. The source of the question sort of made me second guess the intention and wonder if it had something to do with quantity over quality. Then came the imposter syndrome and the questioning if it’s all just fluff. I get it, I don’t have an MFA and I’m not making any major lists. But then I sat down to really think about my process. Most of the books coming out for my publisher were books I started and nearly finished writing over the last 15 years.

I didn’t just start them in one year and bang out twelve. They were all shaky seedlings I’d planted years before and had shaped and trimmed and worried over for years. Some do get written fast, like the holiday novel. But that’s because I am passionate about writing, and I’m passionate about my characters, writing feeds me–it breathes inside my lungs and gives me life when the rest of this fucked up world is falling apart around me. And a deadline will do a girl wonders. And despite whatever else is happening in my life, I will make the time. In fifteen minute increments throughout the day, or up-til-midnight sprints. When my characters talk, I listen and take notes. That’s how it’s done.

So instead of taking the bait of I write dime-a-dozen books, I realized that I have a fire inside of me, and not everyone has the skill or drive to write like I do. Along with that, there is an acknowledging that I won’t be around forever. I know I’ll die, probably sooner than I should. I’m not so much upset about my own demise as I am all of these characters and stories dying with me. I feel it’s important to also note that it was a man who asked the question. And my first thought was to respond, well, if you want something done, give it to a mom (aka the world’s busiest human), because we won’t hem or haw, we don’t have time to pussy-foot or stall. We don’t have time to fuck around. Other shit needs done. So if you’re gonna write you don’t get the luxury of waiting for a muse, or the right ‘vibe’, or an idea you think is ‘worthy’ of the New York Times Bestseller list. You just write. I just write. Some authors are faster than me, some are slower. But the process and the love invested is the same. It’s always, everything.

Take care of each other, take care of yourself, love.