September News!
The fourth monthly newsletter for those who value intuitive courage, wellness/writing, and creative practices
Hi everyone! It’s now (almost) officially FALL, my favourite season of all. The falling leaves, the pumpkin everything, the cool temps, the cozy sweaters. And pulling out my fuzzy PJs and using a blanket again while reading and watching TV is pure bliss. What season is your favourite?
This is the first September in 6 years that I’m not attending classes as a postsecondary student. I have my MFA in hand (okay, I have it upstairs in a box in my linen closet!) and I’m hoping to teach at the university level at some point in my future. I’ve applied, to all of the local (and semi-local) Creative Writing Chairs at the undergrad level, and now I wait to see if there’s a part-time teaching contract out there with my name on it. My new philosophy is this: if it’s meant for me, nothing can stop it from coming to me, and if it’s not meant for me, nothing I do will help me get it. So I may as well relax (in theory, anyway). In the meantime, I’m busy designing online writing classes which people are ACTUALLY SIGNING UP FOR which is unbelievably exciting (more info on that below).
Happy fall to each and every one of you. Let’s do this!
One-Word Feeling Check-In
I wrote my last newsletter just before we went to Europe to visit 10 countries in 3.5 weeks. The goal was to give our 17 and 20-year-old kids a sample platter of places they might want to return to on their own or with friends in the near future. We certainly achieved that goal, and my husband and kids loved every minute of the busy go-go-go trip. Me? I struggled.
I’m more of a read-by-the-ocean kind of vacationer. I had decided before we left home to savour the places we visited - to enjoy the food, the drinks, the sights, the feel of each unique locale. But it was hard to do this while packing up to leave after one full day in a new city. I managed to find pockets of savouring, and those were my favourite memories of all. And I learned some things about myself, at this age and stage of my life, which is also valuable. But returning home, to my own bed and my own coffee machine and my own routines, made me the happiest of all.
For now, right here at the start of the fall season, my feeling word is optimistic. How are you feeling in one-word right now?
Book Corner
I had some crackerjack reading this summer. All three of these authors provide twists galore (in Will Dean’s I literally said, “What the hell?” out loud at various points in the narrative and then gasped with delight at the wild ending). The fast-paced writing made it extremely difficult for me to put down these books while reading. Pure fun.
Dark, unsettling, delicately plotted, I highly recommend all 3: The Last One by Will Dean, Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena, and None of This is True by Lisa Jewell.
Writing/Wellness Idea
If you write, or have established regular, soul-filling creative practices for yourself (and I hope the answer to that is YES for all of you reading!), I highly recommend buying and using a notebook or journal. It’s important to have a place to scribble down anything that comes into your mind, knowing it will never be read by anyone but yourself.
Take this book with you when you travel or go out in nature. Jot down observations, feelings, inspiration, worries, plans, ideas, dreams. Try not to overthink what goes in your notebook. This allows for whatever is happening in your subconscious to flow through you and down onto the page, where you can make some sense out of it. Often, when I don’t know why I’m feeling sad or angry or happy or hopeful I sit down with my journal. Within moments, there it is on the page - whatever has been quietly churning inside is now in sight and I can begin to understand it and work with it.
Jamesy Harper’s Big Break!
The book is with the interior designer at the printer right now, and we are going back and forth on the layout. Later this month, after I’ve received a physical copy and read it through one last time and approved the final proof, the books will enter the print queue and by Thanksgiving I should have the actual novel in my hand. I’m SO excited!
And then I will begin sharing this fun, hopeful, quirky Young Adult story about a teen actor on the verge of her big break with readers. I’ve booked (ha - wordplay!) my celebration launch event at the White Rock Library on Saturday, October 14th from 2-3 pm as part of the White Rock Arts Festival Culture Crawl. My amazing cover designer Dani Compton is making one of her famous cakes for the occasion, and I’m hoping to pack the meeting room out for this interactive library book launch event.
If you can’t make October 14th but you still want to come to another event, I’m in the process of scheduling more one-hour book celebrations at other lower mainland libraries this fall. Check out my Books page on my website for pre-order info and the Events page for where I’ll be with the book this fall.
TV Recs
When my daughter went back to UVic late in August, my son wanted us to start The Sopranos. I didn’t watch it when it was in its heyday, but he keeps telling me it’s considered the best show of all time. We just finished the first season and I’m enjoying it so much more than I thought I would - it’s funny, emotionally complex, and the therapy scenes make me so happy.
I love any and all crime shows, and Wisting is Nordic Noir at its finest. Strong writing and performances, and a compelling series of mysteries that kept me guessing until right at the very end. Plus the Norwegian scenery is gorgeous.
I love The Good Fight and had watched up to season 4, but seasons 5 and 6 weren’t available on any Canadian streaming platform we subscribe to. But I found it on Disney+ in Europe and inhaled season 5 while on trains and planes. I love how political and smart the show is. I downloaded season 6 and plan to watch it this fall.
Creative Practice Spotlight
I’m adding a new section in my newsletter to focus on Creative Practices. The first one is REST. In order to create, we need leisure. Open space to dream, to relax, to recover from our stress. When you feel anxious and overwhelmed, and you close your eyes, what do you imagine doing to relieve your stress? Whatever that is, do more of it.
And build in rest. If you work, you must rest. We look to the seasons to understand the importance of these rhythms. The tide comes in, and then it goes out. We get 12 hours of daylight, then 12 hours of night. Similarly, after we work, we need to rest. We don’t get to bank it up for some future time when we can rest. If we don’t take time for sleep, for reading, for chilling on the couch in pajamas with a bowl of popcorn and some stellar TV or movies, eventually our body will force us to slow down and recover.
Online 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 and feel supported in a community of other writers while doing it!
I’ve made a pivot with my classes, away from zoom and into a flexible online format using a learning platform called Canvas. All the info is below, as well as at my website under Classes. I won’t set a schedule until I have 10 writers in each stream (Write Your Novel or Write Your Memoir) but I’m pleased to say after doing one in-person library class (15 writers came!!!) and sharing the poster on social media, I now have 5 writers signed up for Memoir and another 3 for Novel!
I’m hoping to offer more one-hour library classes this September and October, and try to get my online sessions full. Then I can set a schedule (5 weeks of classes - Plan, Start, Continue, Finish - with 2 weeks off in between) and we’ll jump in ASAP and each writer will set their own goals for their own long-form writing projects and we’ll learn together, write together, and have some fun!
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 & Teddy
I missed both cats while we were gone for nearly a month this summer, but I especially missed Teddy, as he’s our baby. We had a lovely pet sitter, who took great care of both of them, but being without Ted for so long was hard for me.
When Ava unpacked her new dorm fridge, Ted was itching to jump into the box. And here’s Flower, beating the hottest summer day by laying in front of the fan, his face pressed against the wood. And when I read in bed at night, I often glimpse Teddy upside down on my desk chair, blinking at me and purring like a jet engine.
Thank you so much for reading and coming along on this Ruby Finch Books adventure with me!
Libraries forever,