I love May so much. I love the blue forget-me-nots that take over the backyard before the first cut. I love the new birds that discover our bird feeders (we had a rose-breasted grosbeak for the first time, it’s gorgeous!) I love the warmer temperatures and how my brain immediately starts planning for summer – strawberries, trips to the pool, the books I’ll read with iced tea in my hammock.
I haven’t written here in a long time but man, have I been writing! I have all but completed a draft of a novel written in stories. I have just over a month to clean it up before it gets handed in to the mentor of my dreams, Jessica Westhead. After five months of editing with her, I will hopefully complete it as the final project of my Creative Writing Certificate through Uof T. I am floating right now on excitement and lack of sleep and baked goods and most likely ridiculous delusions but I’m loving it. I am no tortured poet (except that of course I am).
I’ve been getting up to write before six every morning for so long it used to be pitch black when I got myself and my coffee down to my desk. I love writing in the dark and watching the sky lighten through the big window over my desk.
Other wonderful things have been the books I’ve read, some of my favourites have been The Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, The Book of Love by Kelly Line which led to an obsession with her short stories and me attempting some wacky fantasy stuff of my own (which was a joy!), The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (swoon for her writing and The Lynx, her bookstore in Florida to fight evil!), James by Percival Everett, Wild Geese by Soula Emmanuel and The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub. I am deep in withdrawal of Canadian writing and will be inhaling nothing but for the months to come.
More joy has been my writing group! Us GEEKS have been together for over two years now and I couldn’t love them more, for their patience and brilliance and incredible writing and support.
I joined a writing accountability group led by the wonderful writer Edan Lepucki who I’ve been lucky enough to get to know and I love it and her! Definitely helps me get out of bed when the alarm goes off.
I love, love, love working at Words Worth! The staff are amazing and the events I get to sell at – including this week’s event for Iona’s Whishaw’s newest Lane Winslow – are nothing but good books and good people. The best.
Other good things: the way the sky looks through the sun roof of our car, the sun on everything, the amazing dinners Scott makes us, making book displays at work, going outside without a coat, homemade iced, and the way Rory decorated for our viewing of Taylor’s concert (he made me Taylor bunting!)