“More than Words”…the title of one of my favorite songs AND the perfect title for this post — showcasing that a writer’s life is so much more than words, sentences, paragraphs, drafts, etc…
It’s been a busy week. I’d forgotten how much time and attention are required when I’m in “book promo” mode. It’s fun — the presentations, events, and social media work, but it cuts into actual writing time, fingers at my keyboard. I’m running at a high idle. Maybe because pacing myself is a skill I’ve yet to master? Ambition and excitement, zest and exuberance. I’m feeling all of those things, wishing for more hours in every day.
Fun stuff is “stacked up”, in various configurations.
- I have a patchwork quilt of a to-do list — post-it notes affixed to my whiteboard, fluttering thanks to the breeze from a fan and an open window. My peripheral vision alerts me. The post-its are waving, reminding me they’re there in a swath of sunshine yellow squares, wriggling and flapping. One broke loose yesterday. Either due to a large gust or bravado, cascading to the floor and demanding my attention. It worked…I slowed down to reaffix the wayward one and paused to consider the task. Then I scrutinized the other squares and felt triumphant when I crumpled a few, tossing them in the bin.
More? Yup. My TBR stack, great books in progress:
- Alexandra Lynn’s “Losing it All”
- Nigel Bing’s “The Drifter, The Prodigal, The Last Son”
- T.W. Dittmer’s “The Valley Walker”
- Sara Paretsky’s “Indemnity Only”
- Maggie McKinley’s “The Art of Looking Back – Joan Didion and American Nostalgia
- James Edstrom’s “Avenues of Transformation – Illinois’s Path from Territory to State”
The first three are books written by dear blogging friends. I’ll share more about each once I’ve finished. Truly a pleasure to read the work of talented writers here on WordPress.
The fourth book in my stack? Oh, geez. I’m a woefully late to the party when it comes to reading Sara Paretsky. I had the pleasure of attending a talk she gave a while back and was enthralled by her candor about her writing process and the creation of the character, V.I. Warshawski.
Dave Astor and I talked about this last week (his weekly themed posts about literature are outstanding…I learn so much from him) and it turns out both Dave and I have had “Indemnity Only” on our reading lists for a long while. I promised him I’d get after it and report back. On duty, yes, I am!
Number Five? It’s from Maggie McKinley — an English professor and colleague from my former campus. I’m thrilled about joining her in an upcoming “Book Fest” session at Harper College in August. Maggie’s written a book about Joan Didion (swoon…a favorite and I know I’m not alone).
Number Six? My friend James (Jim) Edstrom is one of my all-time favorite librarians. Jim’s a historian and wrote an award-winning book about Illinois history and he’s got another terrific book in the works.
The last “stack”? Events, of course!
- On July 23 I’ll visit with folks for another “Writing for Wellness” program and I have a “Slivers” book club gathering after that…and then…the Harper “Book Fest” and another trip to my favorite book lover’s event…Printers Row Lit Fest. I’ll be there on Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm in the Chicago Writers Association tent. A truly spectacular venue!
Oh – and this! I want to share this. I’ve been watching David Perell’s YouTube interview with David Sedaris, “How to Write Incredibly Well” and I cannot recommend it enough. If you’re a writer, or you’re aspirational and wondering about the craft, authorship, finding voice or inspiration, you’ll love this particular episode. Think of it as an hour of free professional development. I love the exchange (around the 8-minute mark) about reading work aloud. So good! Advice I know you’ve heard, but David + David discussing it? Enjoyable, so enjoyable! And if you’re skipping around, don’t miss the nudge about being observant. You’ll find it at the 18-minute mark…an endearing story about going to the post office. Truly…inspiration is everywhere.
Let me know what’s inspired you this week, will you?
Thank you for being here, for the support of my novel “Slivers” and the renewed interest in my memoir, “Surviving Sue“. I picked up a few new reviews on Goodreads recently. Thank you so much to Michelle and Pam for their kind words about “Slivers”. Grateful!
Loads of love,
Vicki 💝
Hi – I’m Victoria, Vicki, Dr. Vicki. I hold a doctorate in Adult Education and I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and author of Surviving Sue and Slivers.
Check out this link to learn more about my book “Surviving Sue” – all about resilience and love. Check out this link to order “Slivers”…a ghost story with surprising twists.
Victoria Ponders 
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