August News!

The third monthly newsletter for those who value intuitive courage, wellness/writing, and creative practices

Hi! How’s everyone’s summer going so far? I’ve been making afternoon visits to our townhouse pool, to swim and enjoy a bit of sun in a lounge chair with a library book to read. Water for me is pure heaven. It restores my faith in myself, and in humanity in general. A pool or lake or the ocean makes me feel like the best possible version of myself.

This summer I decided my mantra would be “Enjoy your life.” Whole days would go by when I was trying to accomplish Ruby Finch Books tasks (which were enjoyable in themselves), but by the evening I’d find myself crabby. It often felt overwhelming thinking about all that I had yet to accomplish before our big trip to Europe. When that happened a few days in a row, I would stop and remind myself that life is meant to be enjoyed. And what better time to stay in the present moment than in the heat of summer?

What would you say is your mantra for this summer? Have you been enjoying your life along with me in the midst of our long to-do lists?

One-Word Feeling Check-In

I’m writing this ahead of our 11-country Europe summer extravaganza, because I’m determined to stay present and not work while traveling with my husband and kids. I was busy before we left to get Jamesy Harper’s Big Break in shape for the printer, and meet with librarians and plan for fall events, but it was a good kind of busy. I kept reminding myself that I was going to have a healthy chunk of time in the summer to chill out and relax if I could hit all my goals before we left.

I still have a few projects to complete, but I’m so close now, so I would say my predominate feeling is contentment. We’ve planned this trip for more than a year, and now it’s finally here. I’ve done what I can do, and now the task in front of me is to enjoy the vacation.

How are you feeling in one-word right now?

Book Corner

Normally, I’m not a huge fan of serial killer books as they tend to give me nightmares. But my friend Toby has been on such a hot streak with her book recs lately, and she told me about A.R. Torre, so I tried The Good Lie and I must say I loved it. (I did have one strange dream while reading it, which somehow combined in my subconscious with a trailer for the alien movie Jules before Wes Anderson’s new painting-come-to-life Asteroid City, but I don’t think that’s the book’s fault.) The story had a few cool twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and it was moody and almost noir-like in tone. And the cover is gorgeous!

I got SO excited when I saw the library was shipping the newest Robyn Harding to my account. She’s a local Vancouver crime writer and I think her work is utterly brilliant. The Drowning Woman alternates back and forth from two different women’s POVs. It’s got some dark and twisted themes, which grabbed me right from the very start, and I found it incredibly hard to put this book down.

Writing/Wellness Idea

In some of my mental health workshops I teach at conferences, I ask, “What is an activity you do where you lose all track of time?” Doing more of that is a practical way to answer the question, “What is my purpose?”

Often we overthink big words like purpose or meaning. To me, I think it’s meant to be simple. When you are really stressed out and busy, and you close your eyes, what do you WANT to be doing? Whatever you long to do is possibly the antidote to the stress you are feeling.

So often, we talk ourselves out of what makes our soul happy. We worry that it’s not important enough or valuable to others. None of that matters. It’s just noise. You are alive, and you matter. Our lives are not a dress rehearsal for something else. This is it. Our life is happening, right at this very minute, so do more of what you love. You owe that to yourself.

Jamesy Harper’s Big Break!

I’m SO THRILLED to share my new cover with you! My designer and friend Dani Compton designed it for me and I couldn’t love it more. Look at the shiny lights! And the gorgeous red colour! And the stunning marquee title font! It’s fun and bright and simple and stunning. Dani is the absolute best and she has such an eye for colour and design. I can’t thank her enough for creating my gorgeous logos and now this fabulous book cover.

More info coming in September’s newsletter about the book, including fall launch events at public libraries (my favourite places and spaces!), as well as pre-order info on the book itself. But for now, it’s a contemporary comedic YA novel about a sixteen year old actor in Vancouver who wonders if it’s selfish to pursue her big acting dreams when her parents don’t support her ambitions. It’s fun, snarky, sweet, and hopeful. I can’t wait to share it with you!

TV Recs

I really missed James Norton after we finished Happy Valley, so we immediately started watching McMafia on AMC+ to get another dose of his emotionally conflicted performances. He’s just so fascinating to watch onscreen. His face can telegraph so many subtle feelings. I liked the international travel and flavour of this crime family show.

I’ve been loving the comedy of Motherland, another show we found on AMC+. Sharon Horgan is one of the creators, and to prepare for our trip to London this show has been essential (and hilarious!) research.

My sister-in-law Jenny told me ages ago about Jack Ryan, but for some reason I wasn’t interested in trying it. But I do love John Krasinski, so we gave it a whirl this month and quickly blazed through season 1 and we’re now on season 2. It’s smart and fast-paced and ideal summer viewing.

Zoom Writing Classes

Have you ever had a desire to write a full length book or project but you weren’t sure you could do it? I’m here to tell you: YOU CAN! And you can have fun doing it!

I’m hoping together we can write this fall, winter, and spring. My zoom classes are designed to be completely flexible, to fit the writers in them. Your commitment is 2 hours per week, for 5 weeks at a time. And if you can’t make a class or two, that’s totally fine, I’ll send you the slides and you can keep going on your project. No hard deadlines. Just support and cheerleading and encouragement. And a few laughs, too!

Please come and join us. Spread the word - I’d love for both classes to fill with 10 writers in each. Reach out if you have questions. I look forward to working with you and writing with you this fall!

Flower & Ted

I decided to go back to the kitten days for this summer newsletter. Wasn’t Teddy the most adorable kitten you’ve ever seen? He was called Coral when this photo was taken, and when we went to see him for the first time we fell head over heels in love.

The only reason we got Ted was because Flower’s sister, Little Rose, developed a brain tumour and we had to put her to sleep in September 2020. This broke all of our hearts because we loved her so very much. She was only ten when she left us, and Flower missed her so much that we got a new kitten to keep him company.

Little Rose, Ted/Coral, Flower

Libraries forever,

Julianne and Ruby Finch Books