It’s May! This is a favourite month for me, as my daughter is home from university for 3.5 whole months, and we are going to the spa together to celebrate her finishing her second year of university and I’m feeling chuffed that my publishing company venture is about to mark its first-year milestone. Plus, my son got into UBC which is the school he wanted (yay!). And it’s sunny and the birds are chirping and it’s not too hot and on the May long weekend our townhouse pool will open for the summer and I will be SWIMMING!
But for now, I have a Post Civ cover reveal for you, and an invitation for ARC readers, plus a one year anniversary contest with prizes, a tease on a super-secret project for next month, and the usual book/TV/class/nurture/cat content you’ve come to expect (and hopefully love?!). You might have noticed that I’m trying something new this month by narrating my newsletter in case you’d like to listen instead of read. Please let me know if you like this feature. It was a fun experiment!
One-Word Feeling Check-In
How are you feeling right now, in one word? I’m feeling celebratory. In my library classes and my new nurture sessions I’m reiterating to other people that we get to determine success for ourselves, and offer ourselves permission to live the life we dream of. Saying this over and over has served to remind me of its truth. So I’m deciding to celebrate. Even when it’s hard, if I feel like I have agency over my life and choices, everything becomes a little easier.
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?
Book Corner
I’ve read every one of Dervla McTiernan’s books, but What Happened to Nina? was my favourite of them all. Twisty and unexpected, with multiple alternating POVs, this is a mystery-thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. As a parent of young adults now, I really related to the pain and frustration of the two sets of parents in this terrific novel.
I’m a huge fan of patron saint Anne Lamott, and quote her in nearly all of my writing classes and conference workshops. She’s wise, and hilarious, and authentically herself. Her newest book of essays, Somehow, hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list and I’m so happy about that because it’s inspiring, moving, and beautiful.
Olivia Ford’s debut novel, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, charmed me to bits. It’s about a 77-year-old woman who auditions for Britain Bakes, a knock-off Great British Bake Off-style TV show. I was rooting for Jenny Quinn and her husband Bernard from the first page to the last.
Super Secret Project
For the last few years, I’ve been asked several times at conferences about whether or not I have a *redacted word.* I’ve always laughed and said no. Then I’ve been told I should have one. I laugh again.
But now my company is turning one, and I’m starting to dream into new avenues and adventures. When something seems daunting or scary, because we don’t know how to do it or if we even CAN do it or SHOULD do it, I’m learning to slow down and pay closer attention.
After all, the only way to learn how to do something is to attempt it. Even if it’s messy, and we feel quite incompetent, and the whole thing feels overwhelming. It’s still a good idea to try. I didn’t have a clue how to run a small publishing imprint at this time last year, and it’s remarkable to think about how much I’ve learned in that time, with my second book in it’s final design stages and nearly ready for printing and pre-sales and Advanced Reader Copies and early trade reviews.
So I’m leaning into something new and scary. Hopefully I’ll be ready to launch it by my one year anniversary (fingers crossed). Anyone want to guess what this secret project might be?! I’m all ears!
Ruby Finch Books Is Turning One!
On June 7th, Ruby Finch Books is celebrating our first anniversary as a small press and a company! This is a long-held dream for me and I’m very excited to celebrate.
I’m running a contest, from May 7th to June 7th, with the winners announced in the next newsletter as part of the anniversary celebration.
Here are the prizes:
One signed copy of Jamesy Harper’s Big Break
One signed copy of Post Civ (not available until September)
One free hour of Author Nurture to discuss writing or career goals or self-care (either in-person or on the phone)
20% off the Plan section of the Write Your Novel or Memoir online class beginning October 20th
A Ruby Finch Books tote bag
Here’s how to enter:
Share the newsletter, or the contest post on social media (or share anything you like and appreciate about Ruby Finch Books or Julianne Harvey’s writing)
Buy a copy of Jamesy Harper’s Big Break, or check it out of the library, or leave a review online, or request that your local library buy the paperback or ebook
Subscribe to this Substack newsletter
Sign up to be part of the ARC team for Post Civ’s release in September
Sign up for the 20-week online Write Your Novel or Memoir class beginning October 20th
You will be entered into the contest for each completed item on the list above. Either tag Ruby Finch Books or Julianne Harvey on social media to be entered, or share/email a screenshot of your book purchase/library request/online review, etc.
I’ll draw five winners by June 7th and each winner can choose the prize they would prefer from the list above (while supplies last re: the tote bag).
Thank you for helping me to celebrate this one-year anniversary of Ruby Finch Books! Your support means so much to me, and I appreciate each and every reader, friend, librarian, writer, and indie-author supporter who has helped me to get this far!
Author Nurture
The first session of my new monthly zoom series The Writing Well Author Nurture series with Alexandra Writers’ Centre in Calgary was early April and it was so fantastic. Talking about self-care strategies, and all of the things that hold us back from nurturing ourselves, is seriously one of my favourite topics EVER. The next session is Tuesday, May 14th on trusting your intuition if you want to join us!
I’m also offering one-to-one Author Nurture for writers looking for some encouragement and care while they write. If you want to talk about your career goals, or build in some creative practices, or set up strategies for submitting work and dealing with rejection (and success!), please reach out and let’s chat. I’d love to know what the term “Author Nurture” means to you! For more info, please see my author site and Ruby Finch Books.
Upcoming In-Person/Online Class Schedule – 2024
Write Your Novel: Key Building Blocks – White Rock Library: Saturday, May 11 from 2 – 3:30 pm
The Writing Well Author Nurture Series Trust Your Intuition: Tuesday, May 14 from 11 am – 12:30 pm PST
Conversation Cafe – Kent Street Activity Centre in White Rock: Tuesday, June 11 from 1 – 3 pm
The Writing Well Author Nurture Series Create an Inspiring Writing Routine: Tuesday, June 11 from 11 am – 12:30 pm PST
Post Civ Cover Reveal & Call for ARC Readers!
Drum roll, please!!! Here is the final cover for my new climate novel Post Civ, releasing September 14, 2024. I think this is about version 9 (or maybe 10), and my fabulous designer-friend Dani Compton and I are getting faster at communicating my vision and ideas, along with her design know-how and suggestions, and we go back and forth for a long time until we have something we both love that beautifully represents the story.
And then my technical design guru, the kind and resourceful Jan Westendorp of Kato Design and Photo, does the final sizing and prep for printing and she creates the ebook version (happening right now for Post Civ!). I couldn’t do any of this without my stellar team. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
And I’m looking to build a team of early readers for Post Civ and my upcoming book releases in the future! If you’d like to read an early, free ebook version of Post Civ, and then help me by agreeing to write a review before the release date of September 14th, please fill out this Google form application and we’ll go from there (plus, applying gets you an entry into my one year anniversary contest)! Your support and interest in the book is deeply appreciated.
TV Recs
We started Sugar on Apple TV+ and it’s proved such a delight. A love-letter to old Hollywood, and a reflection on image and power dynamics, with a whole lot of unexpected compassion and kindness thrown into the storylines. And Colin Farrell is as cool as can be as an LA private investigator.
Forst is a Polish Netflix crime show. It’s dark, but steamy too, and has one hell of a strange and unsettling ending. I loved the moodiness of the whole series, and it’s so different from most other noir shows we’ve seen.
Ava watched One Day and told me I would like it. I read the book years ago, but didn’t really connect to it and certainly didn’t remember the story. I started the show when I was in Kamloops to speak at a conference and I fell in love with the chemistry between the two leads. This series felt like time travelling back to my younger self, and when Ava came home for the summer we watched the rest together. The ending broke my heart, and I sobbed like there was no tomorrow, but what a ride.
Write Your Novel or Memoir Online Classes
If you want to join us in October for the next 20-week class, please reach out to julianne@rubyfinchbooks.com and we’ll chat. The class is half full right now, so don’t wait too long! The full schedule is on my website. 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!
The Best Cat in the World: Teddy
It’s been a strange month, adjusting to life with just one cat after we had to say goodbye to Flower, but Ted has been thriving. We worried he would be lonely, like Flower was when his sister Little Rose died in September 2020, but Ted is a different type of cat.
He’s been clingier to us (especially Jason and I), but Teddy is more like a dog than a cat. He likes attention from humans, and a predictable routine. The kids are campaigning for us to get a new kitten, but with both of them now young adults, and the nest emptying, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
For now, it’s just the four of us and Ted in the house, and that’s proving to be enough for me.
Libraries forever,
Julianne and Ruby Finch Books