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Hey my happy people! Barry and I are just a few days back from Scotland. I have lots to say about that, but while I catch up with life here’s a post I wrote earlier but never shared.

First, a pic of us in glorious Edinburgh outside Holyrood Palace:

Now the post. 

I have a confession to make: I’ve been holding out on you and for the silliest of reasons: fear of looking too thrifty. But I want you to know about this source for low cost books, my bookie friends, so here goes.

A couple of years ago I took my mom shopping and she wanted to stop by a store called The Dollar Tree. I had only been in one a couple of times to get their inexpensive party goods and as I followed my mom around the store, that’s all I expected to attract my attention. I like bargains, but I wasn’t feeling optimistic. Until.

Ah, you see where I’m going with this, don’t you? Darn headline of mine gave it away.

When my mom and I went down the aisle with books I paused. I cocked my head. My hands began that involuntary thing hands that love books do: I picked one up and caressed it, read the dust jacket. Realized it was by an author I respected. 

At first I felt sad. What if a book I write ends up in a store selling for only a dollar? 

But then I realized this store does something beautiful: it gives affordable access to books. This way people who love books or are just curious but can’t always afford full price can buy one for the same price as a cheap fast food burger. This makes my heart happy and hopeful. 

Not everyone has access to a library. 

What sort of books does the Dollar Tree carry, you ask?

You’re probably picturing odd westerns with smeary covers and tons of bodice rippers that should never have been written in the first place, and in part, you’d be correct. 

But. But when I was there that first time I found some reads by literary and not-so literary writers with recognizable names: The Competition by Marcia Clark, Astray by Emma Donoghue. Bridget Jones Mad about the Boy by Helen Fielding. Prep and Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld. (I know, right?!)

During one visit I ran across See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid, her first book (when it was published) in a decade. I hadn’t even heard it was out! 

I’m making my way through a mesmerizing book of essays bought for yes, a dollar, by Jonathan Franzen with an intruiging cover featuring what I think we called a Cootie Catcher in school.

This is only a sampling of the books I’ve picked up at Dollar Tree. There are fitness books by the likes of Jillian Michaels and Ben Greenfield there. Miscellaneous, mysteriously titled books such as Vatican Diaries , Guide to Being Born (stories) and Lincoln Dreamed He Died invite curious readers to take a chance on a title.  

I’ve got to admit (if it’s not already obvious) that I’m hooked on buying these books. As if I don’t live blissfully near a terrific library. 

But back to DT: Someone Special  also received a book from there as part of his Father’s Day gift from me.  I subscribed him to a guitar mag he mentioned he enjoyed an issue of recently but it won’t be in for weeks yet. In the meantime he can read about Joe Perry of Aerosmith courtesy of me and Dollar Tree. I hope he’ll let me borrow it when he’s through. 

Here are some of the many reasons/uses I like Dollar Tree books:

1. For their affordability. 

2. For stocking stuffers/gift additions. 😉

3. For those times (such as Father’s Day) when that gift isn’t going to be in before the big day but you are not about to give an empty gift bag. 

4. For creating a low-cost book club. Heck, at those prices you could supply every member with a book.

5. For giving an extra copy of a book to someone you think might like it.

6. For forming your own read-and-release program. I routinely buy books for trips and leave them behind when I return home. More room for souvenirs. 

7. For discovering new authors.

8. For locating a novel that you didn’t know existed by a favorite author. 😊😊😊

9. For taking chances on books you might not buy at full price.

10. For saving a book from being remaindered. I’m pretty sure the next stop for these books is the trash bin. When it’s a decent book, that hurts.

11. For projects. How bad can you feel about cutting up a dollar book? And if you’ve ever been on Pinterest, you know there are plenty  of fun “booky” crafts to be made. No, I’m not someone who thinks all books are sacred. The symbolism of books in alternate forms can be evocative too. 

12. For helping a loved one create an impressive library.

I’m sure I’m missing some reasons to like Dollar Tree’s books. You’ll have to tell me if you buy books from there and why. I’m sure I’m not the first person to discover their treasure trove.

(Some of our Dollar Tree finds.) 

A trip to Wally World last night reminded me of a couple of recent pubs of my work that I haven’t shared. 🤓

The first was released just after Christmas: 

I was actually looking for a friend’s book and stumbled upon Chicken Soup for the Soul: Curvy and Confident in the rack. Sweet! 

I am so pleased to have an essay in the book, co-written by the amazing Supermodel Emme and the brave Natasha Stoynoff. It gathers 101 stories of women who have found ways to gain confidence in a world that thinks it’s fine to judge women (people) by their size. 

While my story in it highlights my desire to pass on body confidence to young women, that doesn’t mean I don’t still battle self consciousness somedays. I’m a work in progress. This book’s cloud of witnesses, however, shows me I’m in good company, and that it is possible to win the war. 

And curves? If you can’t appreciate curves I don’t think we can be friends. #SorryNotSorry.

On to #2: 

Those of you who know I’m a Woolfie will understand my excessive clapping right now: I am proud to announce that I had a flash fiction piece published in the premiere issue of Woolf Zine, a fine U.K. based publication and heart child of editor Sean Richardson of Nottingham Trent University. 

You can read the issue here:  https://issuu.com/woolfzine/docs/untitled-1

My piece was written in 2007 in response to reading To the Lighthouse for the first time, though it deals with several aspects of Woolf’s life. My story is a stream-of-consciousness experiment, a love letter, a bewailing of her suicide, and a commiseration with Woolf’s plight all in one.   

I feared the piece was destined to live out its life on my computer, a personal reflection of sorts that I wasn’t sure anyone else would or could enjoy. I am glad to be proven wrong. 

Lastly, this meme below  is a little ditty I sent to my hubs earlier today. I thought I was pasting a link to my story here but put this instead. Since I can’t seem to easily delete it and in the interest of not allowing myself to be overly stuffy (fatal to creativity), let it stand. Maybe you’ll enjoy it as much as I do All Things Minion. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

I’m taking a sabbatical from my novel. It’s been just over three weeks since I’ve caressed my darling book’s pages, stung its sentences with stronger verbs, mercilessly trimmed its split ends.

You see, I did finish my ugly first draft before the end of the year, (👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻) and now  I’m letting it sit for a month.

It’s been tough, this separation. I miss my book. I worry it’s been seeing that woman from the copy shop with the belly ring. (Hi, fellow Friends fans.)

I’ve been seeing other novel ideas myself, truth be told. I even wrote an outline, planned a research trip, and have begun reading up on a new topic. (Shh…)

Truth? I like this new idea, too. A lot. He lets me say things my WIP won’t, lets me use a different voice for him, and his tense? Oh, yeah.

So though I’m ready to get back to my darling novel in waiting, I know I’ll also be ok once it’s polished, is  beta-read, and is handed over to the agent, assuming she wants to read it. 🤞🏻

And if my WIP finds out about this new idea? We WERE (ok, are) on a break. Though if it writes me an eighteen-page letter (front and back), I’m going to read it all, just in case I find myself making promises (like Ross did) that I shouldn’t. Or in case my novel has things of its  own it would like to fix.

Eight days and counting until I can get back to it.

This weekend I was thrilled to help my hubby tidy his music/writing/study room. 

For one thing, I knew how much he wanted to free up space so he can easily create fun projects.

For another, I enjoy watching people get rid of excess stuff. A lot. I also am pretty good at organizing, but I’m no clean freak.

We talked first about what he wanted to do in the room: listen to, practice, write, and record music; study, and store his instruments and books. 

Backstory: when we first married, his “music room” was our dining room. I wasn’t thrilled about that. Ever since he has been really good about trying to confine his stuff to one room. 

While I appreciate his thoughtfulness, there’s a problem with that: everything of his except toiletries and clothes pretty much ends up in one room. I’ve told him more than once that doesn’t need to be the case. 

It no longer is. 

So I have this bad habit of going to garage sales, second hand shops and the like. I’m thrifty that way, and I like decorating with unique finds. I periodically purge. About once a quarter the house feels too full and I begin culling. It feels great. 

Recently I cleared one side of a long closet in my writing room, the kind of closet that you can’t really hang a clothes bar in so yay, space! (If there were room for clothes it would have been quickly claimed by moi, believe you me.) 

I had also created space in the hall closet. 

The big clear began with carrying everything out of his room. Then we discussed what furniture would stay, what could go. I offered to paint his room but he said no, not just now. In my head I’m choosing colors. 🤓

He donated this cool old TV set and clock to the living room, which  gladly accepted:  

 
We sorted his bookshelves and got rid of approximately 50 books. I put them in the milk crates I’ve been storing in the garage for a decade and decided I would quit trying to find something to do with them and donate them along with the books. 

Then there were the cd’s that I was surprised he was cool with storing in the garage. 

The man has so much musical equipment. His 4 and 8 track recorders found new homes upstairs. An ancient practice amp was let go of. I’m so proud. 

Was I ever thrilled when we found his personal scissors that I bought for him and even put his name on. I knew he thought I’d borrowed them again and hadn’t returned them. Ha! Did not!

We found borrowed items, Christmas wrap, gifts it was time to let go of, candy. 

Thankfully episodes of The Office entertained us as we plowed through piles of papers. 

There was only so much I could do to help, because most of the decisions were his to make. I did make clear that he could get rid of almost anything I had given him in the name of freeing up space.

I did gain a few things: a shirt he didn’t want, some cd’s I don’t have uploaded to my computer, and his appreciation.

At some point we talked about only putting back into that room the things he will regularly use. I would, I said, find space for whatever else he wanted to keep.

It was with a grateful heart I loaded my vehicle with the crates and dumped bags of trash into the garbage can. (Barry is on a writing deadline so I offered to finish up.) 

Emptying the room revealed things we need to buy: a case for his keyboard and a set of shelves for his ever-growing collection of lp’s. That’s important info for creating and protecting your inspiration. 

After he finished practicing bass the evening of the clean up, I asked him how it felt to play in there. Needless to say, he loved it.

My husband is a multi talented man, much more than he gives himself credit for. I am thrilled he now has a clear space he’s happy to create in. I’m pleased to have helped.

I tell this story to remind us all to literally make space for our creativity by mentally and physically lightening our lives. Get rid of what you don’t need. 

Then again, besides books and clothing, I’m a minimalist. Works for me. 

  
Barry relaxes in his music room after a long day. (He said I could share the photo.) 

So Deborah Norville tweeted this awesomeness at me this afternoon:  

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Need I say how excited I am that this Chicken Soup for the Soul book, the Power of Gratitude, is being featured tonight on Inside Edition? 

The vivacious Deborah Norville and the incomparable Amy Newmark have put together this hope-filled collection. Again, I am thrilled to be included. The world can always use reminders to be grateful, because there is always something to be grateful for. 

I doubt my story will be referenced, but still. I am pumped! 

Please watch this evening and buy the book if you could use another bowl of Chicken Soup. 

This is my current journal. It’s a little over half full right now.   

I’ve noticed something: whenever I’m most scared about writing my novel, I automatically start prewriting in my journal. I may only jot an idea, a quote, or even a few lines of dialog. But it’s so much easier to start there, where no one will ever need to see how untidy the writing is. 
From there I go to a notebook, preferably a cheap one. Maybe you learned this from Natalie Goldberg as well? You just fill cheap notebooks because they’re so unassuming. I have a stack that I bought two years ago for like ten cents each. 

There the ideas get refined. I write in big letters, skipping lines. If my thinking is really sloppy, I might rewrite it in list form, numbers and all. Then I make a list from that list until it all (for the moment) makes sense. 

Or I at least have a direction to head in. Truth be told, I love the initial chaos, the passion for an idea that eludes me, slipping somewhere between consciousness and that place between pen and paper. The idea that has to be reckoned with or the earth might implode. 🌎

Then, the laptop. 

There are many reasons to love laptops and their kin. For writing purposes, not so much.

Before you call me a hypocrite when you see me clacking the keys, let me explain.

I need the laptop. It’s as if I’m wearing a suit and heels when I use it, though. In ways I get more done, sure. But it’s not as much fun. I’m not as fearless at it. Still, I do plenty of laptop writing and revising for convenience’s sake. 

(I still think I mainly do it to look like an adult. And because agents frown on getting pages torn out of a notebook mailed to them.)

Back to that journal: it was in my journal recently that I wrestled that latest writing dilemma and determined that I would decide once and for all, no turning back. Rock, paper, scissors. It meant trimming, rearranging my WIP, but that was the easy part.

I’m not someone who journals to impress. No way! Mine are an embarrassing mess. Rarely do I write a line in one that impresses me. My entries are quotidian and banal, mostly. 

That said, there should be a special place without Netflix or pizza forever for those who violate someone by reading her journal. I’m very serious. 

Once our house was broken into when we lived in Nashville, and the police are pretty sure it’s someone who knew us. Why? Because my journal’s pages had been turned as if someone had read it — it was a spiral bound book. Talk about feeling violated. 

Do you journal? Does it shape your creative endeavors? If not, what purpose does it serve? I’m always eager to talk process.