Community Writer Check-In
Hello and welcome to the newsletter about writing, craft, worry, and joy. From time to time, we’ve found it helpful to reach out and check in on the writing community. Who’s in the writing community? Well, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you are.
It’s summertime. Here, in the Deep South (Louisiana), it’s 80 degrees before sunrise and high in the 90s midafternoon. I walk to the nearby lake and watch the turtles sun themselves not a care in the world. Or marvel at this one Red-winged Blackbird that’s made a light pole its home for the summer.
That bird reminds me of novel writing. How eventually every writer must choose what the book will be about and commit to the story fully. I perched on the light of my current novel about four years ago, and it’s revealed some very interesting sights to me. I’m nearing the end of this journey and preparing to migrate to another story for the next book.
What are you working on and how do you feel about it? When did you begin the project? What would it mean to you to complete the work? I’d love to hear how it’s going for you so please comment below.
And here’s a free writing prompt: write a character who realizes she’s falling out of love.
My current national bestselling novel on sale is The American Daughters.
I’ll jump in! I’m working on my second novel, and hopefully nearing completion after many, many, many rounds of revisions. The seeds of this book were planted in the writing of my first book, The Italian Prisoner. A minor character (Rose’s sister Laura, an Army nurse) who never actually appears in person was so intriguing I’ve made her the main character in this new work. I’m really looking forward to finishing and getting the story out into the world. Novel #3 is already lurking in the corner, like the sexy stranger I’m not allowed to talk to (yet).
Hi there! I have a few weeks off of work that I am going to spend starting the second draft of a memoir I have been pondering for several years. It's going to focus on my struggles with faith and religious abuse in the Rural South. It's been energizing to share snippets of that experience here on Substack, but I'm excited to really dig in into this story now!