As I write this, I’m in Klamath Falls, OR, at the tail end of our 2.5 week driving vacation to California. I ADORE California, particularly Los Angeles, so I planned this trip last year when we returned from a go-go-go whirlwind European 10 city adventure and I was longing for beaches, palm trees, reading by the pool, sleeping in, and In-N-Out milkshakes.
It was a wonderful trip. Exactly what I was hoping for. Something about California restores me to myself. It makes me feel like the best version of me—the one where I was young and living in LA for a year while making bad movies with my university friends and dreaming of a life spent in the film industry.
We all need adventure in our lives. The good news is that we can find it anywhere—at home or while we are away. All we need is the mindset that we are looking for something new and inspiring. I’m learning to listen to my intuition when it whispers what I’m most longing for. This year, that was California, and I’m so happy that I answered that call for adventure.
What adventures are calling to you right now?
One-Word Feeling Check-In
How are you feeling right now, in one word? I’m feeling content. I worked ahead in early July to prepare for 2.5 weeks off for our California trip, and it was so incredible to take a block of time off and allow my creative well to fill back up. On one of our long driving days from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe, I fell asleep in the car and when I woke up I could visualise how I want to run future Creative Nurture workshops for university arts faculty and students. For months, I’ve been unable to crack how I wanted this to run, but suddenly, out in the middle of mile after mile of endless desert, there was the shape of the whole training day I’ve been imagining, and I’m not sure this would’ve happened if I hadn’t taken those weeks off.
How are you feeling right now? If you take 3 deep breaths, and look inward for a moment, what is the predominate emotion that rises to the surface?
2025 Creative Nurture Retreat for Women!
How would you like a two-day restorative retreat focused solely on nurture and creativity? One where you can indulge in spa treatments like massage and facials while eating nourishing yummy meals that you haven’t had to prepare? How about walking around the lake or sleeping in and reading in a beautiful, quiet spot? And talking with other women about self-care and nurture and the importance of rest to fill your creative well?
If your soul is crying out, “Yes please!” to any of these questions, stay tuned next month for more info here and on my website about the first creative nurture retreat hosted by Julianne Harvey and Ruby Finch Books at beautiful Loon Lake Retreat Centre in Maple Ridge, BC from May 20-22, 2025!
Book Corner
I’m still in a big re-reading phase for summer (Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher and Tara Road by Maeve Binchy were my two battered paperback poolside novels in Oregon, California, and Nevada) but I read some good library books before I went on our trip.
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is a locked room mystery set in a tropical paradise where couples believe they are competing on a reality show but something much more sinister is actually going on. Still Writing by Dani Shapiro is so incredibly beautiful. I found myself slowing down as I read, trying to process her deep thoughts on the joys and struggles of writing. And John Grisham’s newest, Camino Ghosts, is a sequel to Camino Island and Camino Winds. This story grabbed me from the opening pages and didn’t let up until the very end.
Intuitive Courage Podcast!
I’ve released two episodes so far and I’m LOVING the experience of recording my podcast. It’s so fun to see people listening in Canada and the US and even in several European countries.
A few podcasting experts have reached out to me via email to try to sell me ways to grow quickly and be more professional and add hundreds of listeners and become more popular and on and on but I don’t have any interest in all of that. I want to pursue what I’m curious about, and try something that I believe in, and I’m thrilled to see it grow organically and slowly, just like this newsletter and the rest of my efforts at Ruby Finch Books.
A huge thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everyone who has taken the time to listen to Intuitive Courage or to recommend it to others. I appreciate you all so much. If you are listening, please drop me a line and let me know your thoughts! Thank you!
Upcoming In-Person/Online Class Schedule – 2024
The Writing Well Author Nurture Series Build Your Confidence: Tuesday, August 13 from 11 am – 12:30 pm PST on Zoom
Avoid Burnout and Thrive / Writing to Heal Us – When Words Collide Festival, Calgary, AB: Aug. 16-18
Write Your Novel or Memoir – Crossfield Municipal Library: Tuesday, Aug. 20 from 1 – 2 pm (in Alberta)
Courageous Conversations Literary Salon: The Art of Intentional Conversations - Airdrie Public Library: Tuesday, August 20 from 3:30 - 5 pm (in Alberta)
Write Your Novel or Memoir – Banff Public Library: Wednesday, Aug. 21 from 2 – 3 pm (in Alberta)
Writing to Heal Us – White Rock Library: Saturday, September 14 from 1 – 2 pm (please stay after for the first Post Civ book discussion with snacks!)
Post Civ Call for ARC Readers and Discussion Events!
Who likes free books??! I’m building a team of advance readers for Post Civ who will read a free ebook in exchange for an honest review by the release date of September 14th. Please join me and some other fun readers as we celebrate the book’s release with some reviews to help others find the book.
All you have to do is fill out this Google form application and we’ll go from there. My ARC team is starting to grow and I’m EXCITED. Please feel free to share this ARC opportunity with your reader friends. Your support and interest in the book is deeply appreciated.
And you are invited to my upcoming Post Civ library book discussions this fall to help launch the book. Please come and share your ideas for a better, kinder, fairer world for all of us to live in! Dates and details are on my Events page.
Process Notes
I’m getting excited about my new writing project this fall: my first attempt at writing a murder mystery called A Body at the Fair. For years, I was too timid to read mysteries, but since Covid I’ve been devouring them, particularly ones written by women.
But reading and writing are very different skills, and I’m not certain how to go about writing something where I need to drop clues and red herrings and work backwards from a crime scene to figure out what happened and why. I wrote Post Civ purely by using my intuition. I didn’t plan ahead. I simply placed characters together in a space, Agatha Christie-style, and let the sparks fly.
The process of writing that book was so satisfying to me. It was different from anything I’d done before, where I outlined and planned and went into the story with a birds-eye view of the characters and events. I’m determined to try writing A Body at the Fair with this trust your intuition method. It’s like skydiving without a parachute: exhilarating but also wildly unpredictable and dangerous. I’ll let you know how it goes once I begin.
TV Recs
On our trip, we took advantage of American Netflix and binged both seasons of The Tourist over the two weeks we were away. It was tense and strange and unpredictable and I really loved it, particularly the gorgeous scenery in the Australian outback and in Ireland.
All four of us went to Deadpool & Wolverine in Los Angeles which was a fun and memorable experience, especially with the entire crowd cheering and clapping and shouting (Americans are much more expressive cinema audiences than Canadians) .
And now that we’re home, we’ve been looking for a new crime show and just started Treason on Netflix. The performances are strong and it’s got an interesting premise.
Write Your Novel or Memoir Online Classes
My first full 20-week online writing class begins October 20th and I’m really looking forward to a chance to build a community of supportive writers through the Canvas learning platform. Each section is 5 weeks long (Plan, Start, Continue, Finish), with an active participation window of Sunday noon through Tuesday noon, where writers learn about craft, process, creative practices and more by reading and commenting on discussion forums. It’s meant to be flexible and fun, and students work on their own full-length project from October to May.
If you’ve always longed to write a novel or memoir, and you want some inspiration, instruction, and encouragement, you are warmly invited to join us! Email me at julianne@rubyfinchbooks.com and reserve your space before the class is full!
The Best Cat in the World: Ted
The worst part about going away for a summer vacation was not seeing Ted every day. We hired a fabulous cat sitter, who came to live at our place while we were gone and gave Teddy load of love, but we still really missed him.
She sent us regular updates and pictures (and bought him some new kitchen grass to munch on!) and told us he was an absolute prince. We loved coming home and giving him loads of snuggles and kisses. Whether he loved it or not is up for debate. I’m not even certain he missed us, but that’s okay, we definitely missed him.
Libraries forever,
Julianne and Ruby Finch Books