Scenes from a Small-Town Bookstore

Last month, I took a job working part-time at the independent bookstore in our small college town. I’ve admired the female-owned bookstore from afar and as a customer, attending many author events there and meeting some of my favorite writers. But as we all know, writing can be a lonely business. Most of my days as an empty nester are spent talking to my dogs, researching and recording podcast scripts, working on essays, short stories, and longer lengths of work. It can be days before I leave my neighborhood and sometimes it feels isolating. 

So, when I saw the opening for a part-time bookseller, I jumped at the chance to apply. Fortunately, the owner knew me from my previous job as editor of a regional magazine. She hired me and I began my training last month. I work two or three days a week, which is perfect for my schedule. I work with a large group of women with very diverse backgrounds (the owner if a former high school biology teacher), the store manager writes in the romantasy genre, another co-worker studied data sciences, a member of the town’s historical society and a former archivist, and so on. You get the idea. We have a wide range of interests, which helps us assist our customers no matter what type of book they are looking for. Because there are so many of us, the job offers us the flexibility we need. 

One of the first things I noticed on the job was how happy the customers are. I never realized how busy the bookstore is, but it makes sense. It’s on the main street of a small college town, and we have a diverse group of customers walking into the store every day. They are so happy to find us, because we have a carefully curated selection of not only books, but stickers, journals, puzzles, and gift ideas. Children happily skip into the store to search for the next book in a series they are devouring, readers come in looking for their most current book club selections, and parents visiting their students at the college say they love visiting the store whenever they’re in town. Because our store is small, we can’t carry everything in stock but have created a system where customers can place orders with us with no shipping and the book are usually available within three to five days. 

With inflation on the rise and more people budgeting their money carefully, I’ve noticed books are a comfort item people are willing to splurge on. 

In the past few weeks, I’ve seen: 

• A man with a National Parks employee patch on his polo shirt searching for a copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road so he could take it backpacking with him over the weekend.

• A neighborhood mom and her friendly black lab, Scout, who visit weekly to pick up books or simply chat about what we’re all reading these days.

• A middle-aged couple and their son picking up a copy of Yellow Face by R.F. Kuang because they are reading it for their family book club.

• Children from the local elementary school stopping in to pick up a book for their grade’s new reading club.

The list goes on and on. With only one register, there are times I’ll look up and see a line wrapped around the front of the store, but people are happily clutching their books and have no problem waiting. It brings me joy to be surrounded by book lovers such as myself, even in these tumultuous times. 

Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer and creator/host of the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas. In 2023, the bookstore she works in appeared in the movie, The Other Zoey.

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3 comments book nerds, independent bookstores, life as a bookseller, Renee Roberson, the writing life, true crime podcasts

The Golden Ticket: Are You Buying What They’re Selling?

Have I got a deal for you! Sign up for my class on (email lists/newsletters/Amazon ads/Facebook ads/FILL IN YOUR OWN ANSWER) and you will be on the way to financial success. Or maybe the promise that someone is making you is that their system will land your dream agent in a matter of weeks. Or that you will break into top markets in six months. Or shave months or years off the writing process. 

Maybe it's because my grandfather was a salesman, but I'm always suspicious when people start with these kinds of sales pitches. It makes me suspicious of both their motivations and their product. My grandfather would have been muttering about snake oil and empty, conflated promises. 

The reality is that writing is a lot of work. You have to research and plan. You have to draft and revise. There's waiting and rejection. 

It sounds harsh but there are no shortcuts. If you are going to be a published writer, you have a lot to learn. Learning it takes time. I can't tell you how long it will take you because this varies by person and by circumstance. It depends on how much time and energy someone they have to put into it. It depends on where they are when they start. It also depends on what the market is hungry for at the moment a project or idea is ready to submit. 

All of this means that someone can have success early in the process. There are people whose first query is accepted. They jump in and don't look back. Good for them. They are ready for the writing world as it is right this moment. 

There are also people who slog along for years. It can be uncomfortable and discouraging. 

I just saw a Tweet from a friend who is considering quitting. She'd entered several contests lately with disappointing results. She felt like a fraud. Fortunately, she is part of the Twitter writing community. Despite the negative things you may hear about Twitter, this is a rock-solid community and people stepped up with encouraging words. Don't quit! We've all been where you are! Your work is so good. 

And that's the rub. Excellent work doesn't always sell. Mediocre work sometimes sells very quickly. I can't tell you exactly why. I can't promise to shave time off your learning curve. I'm not telling you not to sign up for classes. If it is something that you want to learn, sign up. 

I love taking classes! But I sign up to learn the skill that they are teaching. I don't sign up expecting dancing dollar signs in my future. Of course, the class that I'm eying right now is on sashiko embroidery. Isn't hand work pretty hot right now? Maybe this is my key to making millions. 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 35 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.

The next session of her new course, Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work will begin on April 3, 2023).  Coping with rejection is one of the topics she will cover in this course.

Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins April 3, 2023) and Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins April 3, 2023).

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6 comments empty promises, short cuts, Sue Bradford Edwards, the writing life

Confessions of a "Free Spirit" Writer

On a day trip to Greenville, S.C.

Financial expert Dave Ramsey has a philosophy that people have different personality types when it comes to managing money. “Nerds” are the ones who like creating a financial budget, sticking to it, and keeping a close eye on the finances because it gives them a sense of security. “Free spirits” don’t like to be constrained by the budget and have more of a “I want to live life to the fullest—we’ll figure out how to make more money!” attitude. 

In our house, my husband is definitely the nerd most of the time with our finances and I’m more the free spirit. He’s always had a practical approach to money, although he does have a free spirit side that sneaks in occasionally. I feel like it has something to do with the way we were both raised—his family had to stick to a firm budget and his mom thought nothing of shopping at four different grocery stores to hit all the weekly sales. My parents should have been sticking to a budget but had more of the “We need new furniture even if we can’t really afford it!” attitude, which got us into trouble more often that I’d like to remember. They once bought an RV because they dreamed of driving it across the country, but instead, they ended up parking it on a lot and living in it for about a year and a half before selling it. They never took that cross country trip.

While I was thinking over these financial attitudes about money recently, it struck me that I also consider myself a “free spirit” when it comes to my writing. This is probably why I’m not a published novelist yet. I wrote my first few books without even a glimmer of an outline and only recently learned the beauty of outlining and storyboarding BEFORE starting a full-length novel. With my true crime podcast, I don’t have episodes planned out even six months ahead of time—instead, I brainstorm different themes for the show and then sort of back my way into them as I’m researching. I also try to plan content for my writing blog but fail time and again at keeping a consistent posting schedule. I have a daily gratitude journal but often find myself distracted and skip writing in it at least twice a week. 

I’ve interviewed writers over the years who consistently hit a word count goal each day, outline several novels at a time and have a detailed spreadsheet where they keep track of their submissions, acceptances, and rejections. They treat every aspect of their writing like a business, and they are way more successful than I’ll ever hope to be. 

There is some hope for this free spirit, though. The few fiction contests I’ve placed in were the ones where I sat down and wrote a story without stopping to overthink it or spent hours of time editing and revising it. When I have hard and fast deadlines (and in my day job as a magazine editor, I have plenty) I get my work done. I like to think my podcast episodes turn out well once I finally turn all the research into a coherent script. 

I’m interested to learn how many readers here considers themselves writing “nerds” or “free spirits.” Am I in good company? Is there hope for a “free spirit” to have successful creative writing career? 

Renee Roberson is an award-winning freelance writer, magazine editor and creator of the podcast, “Missing in the Carolinas.” Learn more about her at FinishedPages.com.

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5 comments approaches to writing, free spirit writer, pantser in writing, Renee Roberson, the writing life

Psych 101: Rejection

About two weeks ago, I got two rejections in a single day. One was from a dream agent and it was a FORM rejection. But I was simply too busy to let it bother me. Whatever. Deadline dead ahead. 

Then a friend spoke about a similar pair of rejection that really shook her. She’s an amazing CNF writer and has had work in places I would never dream of approaching. But the rejections flattened her. 

Both of our responses made me wonder. Why do writers react to rejection the way we do? I turned to psychology for answers about how we react and what can be done about it. 

Why It Hurts 

For answers as to why rejection hurts, we need to look to the past. Early humans, without ferocious teeth or claws or the ability to run really fast, survived because they were part of a group of other humans. Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb explains that rejection was BAD and humans developed a response, for their own good, that made them want to avoid it. 

We are hardwired to react and to hate the way it feels. What about the variety of responses? 

How we as individuals react is rooted in infancy and the attachments we formed. Psychologist Leslie Becker-Phelps explained that people who had secure attachment styles grow up seeing ourselves as worthy. Those with an insecure attachment style are more . . . insecure. 

Not that this means you will never be impacted or that you will always be impacted. Because there are things you can do to help you deal with rejection. 

When Rejection Happens 

First things first, acknowledge what you are feeling. Go ahead and be angry, sad, bewildered, or shocked. Feel, observe and identify your feelings. This may take a day or two but that’s okay. 

Once you’ve identified your feelings, move into self-care. Psychologists warned that this doesn’t mean self-medicating with alcohol, chocolate, or other sweets. Empty calories are never a good long-term plan. 

Instead, do something that centers you. For some people this might involve running or meditation. Do things that make you feel calm and serene. I walk, do yoga, and knit. 

Moving Forward 

Once you’ve had time to process the feelings and are in a better space, take another look at your query, pitch or manuscript. Is it the best it could possibly be? Don’t just come back with “of course it is!” There’s bound to be one section that is especially strong. Now find the weakest section. What can you do to make it as good as your best section? 

Perhaps the work really is as strong as it can be. If so, make sure that the agents or publishers you targeted were the best possible fit. Look at other markets and see if you can find one that is similar but even better for your work. 

The Big Picture 

As you prepare yourself for the next round of submissions, consider why you are pursuing publication. What does it mean to you? Look at the amount of effort you’ve already put into it. Writing, rewriting, and completing a manuscript is a big deal. Not everyone can pull it off. But you’ve done it. 

In part, how we respond to rejection is hardwired. But we can work through it when it happens. And we can make sure our work is top notch and our markets are the best possible fit. Have your self-care routines in place and then hit send.

Acceptance or rejection, your fellow WOW writers will be gathered round when the responses come. And a caring community? A highly recommended way to stay centered. 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 27 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.

The next session of her new course, Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work will begin on July 5, 2021).  Coping with rejection is one of the topics she will cover in this course.
Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins July 5, 2021) and Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins  July 5, 2021). 

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9 comments coping with rejection, psychology, rejection, Sue Bradford Edwards, the writing life

Owning Our Stories

Photo by Noelle Otto from Pexels

There are times I haven’t wanted to own my story. But as I was attending a webinar on how to put together a social media plan from Jasmine Star, owner of the company Social Curator, I realized it may be better to focus on telling the story of who I really am. Jasmine makes no bones about the fact that she is the daughter of immigrants and went to college on a scholarship. She hustles, she says, because she wants to break that cycle of struggle for her family. I’m doing the exact same thing myself, but I’m normally to hesitant to share that part of myself with others because I’m embarrassed. 

My husband had to participate in the “Privilege Walk” exercise that many colleges and workplaces are conducting, where participants learn how power of privilege affects their lives, even if they don’t realize it. He told me that based on the statements that were given out, I would have had to take multiple steps backward during the exercise. He wanted me to be mindful of that whenever I get down on myself. 

 Some of the directions included, "Take a step backward if:"

 

• If you have been divorced or been impacted by divorce (my mother was divorced twice) 

• If there have been times in your life where you skipped a meal because there was no food in the house 

• If you had to take out student loans to attend college 

• If you were ever uncomfortable about a joke or statement you heard related to your race, ethnicity, gender, appearance, or sexual orientation but felt unsafe to confront the situation 

• If you have ever felt unsafe at night walking alone 

I’ve had friends who have joked with me before about how many writing gigs I take on. They wonder why I feel the need to do so much all the time. I don’t tell them it’s because I worry that I will one day go hungry again and don’t want my kids to feel like they can’t apply to the colleges of their choice. I don’t tell them that I worked my behind off all through college because I was grateful just to be there and needed to make money for basic living expenses. I realize by staying I may be doing other women like me a disservice by not speaking up. 

Yes, I’m Mexican American. Yes, I had a grandmother who worked as a housekeeper for a family in Texas. Yes, I had blue collar parents who never attended college. No, I didn’t have health or dental insurance as a child. No, there wasn’t a college fund waiting for me when I graduated from high school. No, I’ve never inherited money from a relative, nor will I ever. I had terrible math grades in high school and didn’t do so well on my SATs, but I also didn’t have access to tutors that could have helped give me an edge. Reading and writing are the only things that have come to me naturally, so I’ve leaned on those skills to help me survive and accomplish the things I have. 

Whether we like to admit it or not, having some of these things give us an inherent privilege over others. By speaking out and working to break the generational cycles of poverty, we can help give those who follow us a better chance at telling and triumphing over their own stories.

What's your story?

Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer and freelance magazine editor who also hosts the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas. Visit her website at FinishedPages.com.

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5 comments overcoming adversity, owning our stories, personal essays, Renee Roberson, the writing life

3 Ways that an Essay and Yoga Need to be Accessible

“I’m sorry Angela, that type of essay is simply not accessible to me today.” I was being cheeky when I said this, but seriously? Don’t read one of her published essays in the middle of drafting your own. If you are a newbie like me, you may feel just a tad intimidated. Not that my cheeky comment did any good. She simply suggested that I turn my tiny-tantrum into an essay.

I’m not ready to try drafting that essay just yet. But the whole exchange was still bouncing around in my head while I was in yoga. Maybe that’s why I realized how similar essay writing and yoga can be. Individual poses and individual essays both have to be accessible.

Accessibility in yoga is all about what you can do now. The reality is that no yoga student can do every pose every day. Sometimes it has to do with how a joint is formed or whether or not you’ve experienced a recent injury. Weather and time of day can also play a part.

Even if you are a really good writer, a particular essay may not always be accessible. Here’s why.

More Knowledge Needed. When I was new to yoga, the instructor would say “We are going to do the pigeon/upward dog/reclining cow.” I would know that very soon I was going to be lost. I’m a new essay writer. I know there are different types of essays far beyond the four types we studied in high school. But when people start dropping terms, I get lost. I just don’t know enough to understand what they are saying, but that’s okay. The longer I practiced yoga, the more poses became accessible. If I read essays and read about essay writing, more forms will become accessible.

A Rough Piece vs a Polished Piece. As I learned more and more poses, I was ready to try a combination known as a vinyasa or flow. My instructor would practice the flow ahead of time and it was frustrating to compare my first attempt with her polished version. Comparing a rough essay with a published essay that has been rewritten many times is sure to be frustrating.

Trying Too Soon. I’ve also found that trying to practice yoga too soon after an injury or illness means that things I normally do aren’t accessible. Healing has to take place. When I’m trying to write a personal essay about something I experienced, I often need a bit of distance. When I try to write about things that I am still processing, it doesn’t matter if I’m writing an essay or a blog post, I just can’t pull together a coherent, cohesive whole. Before this is possible, healing may need to take place.

It isn’t just essay writing. Most types of writing are like yoga. There’s going to be a learning curve, even things you know will be tricky when combined in new ways, and sometimes you have to put something aside for now and write about it at a later date. Not everything is going to be accessible every day. Be flexible and honor your practice.

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 25 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.  Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins  March 2nd, 2020. 

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9 comments essay writing, flexibility, Sue Bradford Edwards, the writing life, yoga

Friday Speak Out!: Escape Artist

by Pamela Kenney

My first mistake was waking up.
My second was turning on the television.
I should know better by now.
No good can come from that.

But if you're anything like me, you hurry through breakfast and rush to your desk where you can find solace with your writing. We writers are lucky. We can escape any bad news of the day by retreating to the wonderful worlds we create, using only our imaginations.

You want to tell someone off? Put it in a story. You want your husband to say just the right thing at just the right moment? Put it in that romance novel you've always wanted to write. In-laws driving you crazy? Start that murder mystery now. And while you're at it, add in that guy who wrote you out a parking ticket He should get what's coming to him. Figuratively speaking, of course.

We writers are the ultimate escape artists. We can work through our own problems and solve ones for other people, who in real life just won't listen to us at all. Those silly people. Don't they know that writers have all the answers?

So hurry up, finish that last bit of cereal. You've got some escaping ... I mean writing to do!

* * *

Pamela Kenney likes to escape to her Buttercup books, set in a fictional small town, where adventure, humor and romance abounds (and the bad guys always get what's coming to them). Information about Pamela Kenney's books can be found on her website at: http://pamelakenney.com/ and on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@PKenneyWriter/
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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2 comments Friday Speak Out, imagination, Pamela Kenney, the writing life

Friday Speak Out!: Writer’s Space

by Elizabeth Joyce

I have been living a lazy, decrepit writer’s life. Just ask the spider who built a web condo on the bottom of my desk. This sad realization came upon me as I ventured downstairs and opened the curtains. The sunlight revealed a thick layer of dust on my once pristine writing spot in our furnished basement. Laundry baskets full of dirty socks surrounded the bookcase. The solid oak desk with its brass knobs became a holding place for expired magazine issues. Inside the drawers were cables, appliance warranties, and a floppy disc. This used to be where I spent countless hours creating plays, short stories, and personal essays on my desktop ‘95 and ‘04 models. Then the call of new technology enticed me into purchasing an iPad. Now I had the chance to write in a coffee house, a plane, or even on a beach.

Days of hurrying down to my space in the basement with a cup of tea in my hand were gone. I ignored my sacred corner like a forgotten childhood stuffed bunny. One day, upon seeing an old script of mine lying on a chair when using the printer, a pinch of nostalgia took hold. I wanted to write, but was still under the illusion of living a writer’s life with an iPad.

I spent the rest of the winter scribbling thoughts in a journal. Unfinished stories filled the pages. My imagination still worked; the motivation to complete a finished piece vanished.

These thoughts milled around as a spider scurried across the rug. Experienced writers stress the importance of carving out a space for creativity. Something as basic as a pen and paper or keyboard and monitor in the right spot can spark a new manuscript. My carelessness affected my approach to writing.

In one hour, drawers were emptied. Useless items ended up in the garbage. The next day I purchased a laptop, sat in my big leather chair behind the desk, inhaled the clean scent of lemon Pledge, and felt ready to write… again.

* * *

This is Elizabeth's third submission for Friday Speak Out. Besides being an Assistant Children's Librarian, she has written plays for her local theater company in Brewster and belongs to the Candlewood Writers. 
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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3 comments Elizabeth Joyce, Friday Speak Out, inspiration for writers, the writing life, writing spaces

Friday Speak Out!: How to Love a Writer

by Laura Thompson

When I was first offered the chance to edit dissertations, I realized it was an ideal opportunity as working from home would give me more time to write. I set up a small desk in our unused third bedroom, and while my writing space is small, it does have everything I need, a computer, printer, shredder, and most importantly, solitude.

My husband, unused to me being home all the time navigated these uncharted waters uneasily unsure what the guidelines were for a wife who worked from home. Would I still answer the phone/door or did I want him to do it? Why did I get so cranky when he yelled up the stairs to ask a question about dinner which was still five hours in the future? Gee, he didn’t mean to play the music quite so loudly, and yes, he had heard of headphones. To keep the peace and foster love in other relationships where one party is a writer, I put together a few warnings, disclaimers, and talking points:

 The writer can be a strange and difficult creature.

 Often introverted, moody, and even morose, the writer may snap and not apologize for hours or even days.

 The writer thrives on a large percentage of alone time, time to write, time to reflect, and time to watch the dust motes float on a sunbeam filtering through the blinds.

 Don't be alarmed should your writer appear withdrawn or suddenly seem uninterested in conversation. This sudden retreat has very little to do with her personal feelings for you and everything to do with her need to focus on a pending murder, lovers’ quarrel, reading of a will, or drug bust about to go down.

 Yelling from another room or up the stairs is never effective as we are not deaf, merely involved.

 Deprived of a keyboard for long periods of time tends to make the writer anxious.

 In the case of writer’s block, gently and persuasively luring your writer away from her desk with the promise of a lovely meal and a good bottle of wine is the best and most supportive action.

 Writers require energy to work, so the occasional treat such as a cupcake or chocolate is always good for a kiss and a smile.

The writer can be a warm and loving companion when not existing in the nether world of creating, and loving your writer can be a rewarding experience. Sure, it was alarming to find a Google search for “death by poisoning” open on your writer’s laptop when you went looking for tax documents, but there’s no call for concern.

After all, she loves you. It’s that lying, low-life scum-sucking, cheating bastard, Jim, who needs to die. How and in which chapter remains to be seen, but he’s definitely gonna get it!

* * *

Laura Thompson an editor, storyteller, word nerd, and proofreader of her own text messages. She writes about travel, her obsession with food, education, and other random thought bubbles. Her passion for traveling the world is second only to her passion for writing. Laura is currently writing a book about college admissions.

Please connect with her at:
Pages and Stories: www.pagesandstories.com
Instagram: @laura_is_writing

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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10 comments Friday Speak Out, Laura Thompson, the writing life, Writers, writing and family

Friday Speak Out!: Solo Struggle to Quiet Satisfaction...

by B. J. Thompson

courtesy Pixabay

All the months, sometimes years, of research and editing, the same being said for characters endlessly haunting, for pivotal scenes e'er repeating in one's mind...all that seasoning is a solo endeavour. It has to be. However disquieting, traumatizing, thought-provoking the work is, the scribe prays for even a modicum of that human experience to wash over the devourer of her tale, and that a silent tremor be felt in the reader’s heart, if only for a while.

And then on to the next...from the figurative rape of Nanking to the romance of the century.

Writers must wash their dirty laundry in public. The blood, sweat and tear stains from the former work have to be mentally white washed in order to dish dirt anew. It's an onerous and exhausting task but must be done in order to write forward, as write forward we writers must.

A silent, solo struggle.

Yes, satisfaction is felt from those who enjoyed the work. Writers get to smile and experience that all-knowing, unspoken communiqué, writer-to-reader, and for a moment, souls touch—what I believe may be the true quest of an artist. Alas, the join will break, and the wordsmith must return alone to her cerebral lair. There is another path to walk, new characters to meet, new obstacles to overcome and new lessons to be learned.

Thinking, reliving, digesting, reducing, presenting...hoping for that all-too rare human touch.

No wonder I pray for Cocktail Hour...

* * *

B. J. Thompson is a retired public relations liaison and currently a Calgary, Canada-based author of three literary/historical novels all available now on Amazon; No More Blood - Epilogue to the life of Truman Capote & In Cold Blood, Eighteen Minutes to the Beast - a Nixon Watergate Thriller, and Sessions - Predator vs. Shrink Who will survive? B. J. has done extensive travelling and now lives to swim, hike and fish in the Rocky Mountains, enjoy friends and family, lead an avant garde writers group likened on the 1920s Montparnasse style, and pen her dark tales on either side of Cocktail Hour. B. J.'s upcoming historical epic, entitled AIR, tells of six US Navy sailors in 1941 as they try to hold on to life after the USS Oklahoma capsizes in Pearl Harbor. All six, trapped below the sea, find out there can be far worse things in life than death. AIR is due to be released in late 2019.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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2 comments B. J. Thompson, Friday Speak Out, the writing life, writer inspiration