I LOVED THIS BOOK and I don't get all shouty often...

I'm also quite enjoying my current read so...

KIDS—

Morning Pages. Kate Feiffer. You’ll like it.

It was like a gift from past me—a sudden unexpected notice that my library hold had arrived! And I thought, um, I don’t think I HAVE a current library hold? Do I?

I did. I must have put in a request for this before it was even published and there it was, all waiting for me very shiny in a fresh cover. The premise: a playwright (which I still really really think should be playwrite but apparently it is not) who had some big hits when she was young but has been poorly reviewed and suddenly can’t seem to complete anything gets a commission from the theatre/producer who put on her big hit. She has to write a new play within 60 days, and she turns to the “morning pages” from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way to attempt to get things moving.

I RELATE TO THIS SO HARD.

But that wouldn’t matter if it weren’t also so incredibly funny and joyful and just lit up. The book consists of her morning pages (which tell the story of a woman trapped by everyone else’s expectations, again, relate much?, namely her high school slacker son and her aging mom and her bff who wants to live vicariously through her, and the play she’s writing, which is highly related to all of that.

It’s just so good. I think you’ll love it. Read and and tell me if you did! Current reading: Margo’s Got Money Troubles, which I’m also really enjoying. More on that later… but to sum up: it’s good to put down something you’re not enjoying and move on, because the next book might be a real winner.

#AmWriting

On the writing front…I’m really looking for my next story. What does that look like? Most days, it looks like noodling in a notebook with a pen, looking at the clock a lot, trying to focus on thinking through things that may never come to anything. I always wanted to be a “book a year” writer. Like Elin Hildebrand, or Jodi Picoult. But you know what? I don’t think i am. It looked like I was, because The Chicken Sisters came out late (2020 delays), finally appearing in December 2020. So In Her Boots was 2022, and Playing the Witch Card was 2023, but really they both took me about 18 months to write.

And then I’ve spent the past 18 months on something I’m just not in the right space to finish, and so now I’m at the beginning again! And I’ve written a couple of beginnings. The one I hit on now… MIGHT be the trick. We’ll see. (Writers, #AmWriting is also a blog, community and podcast you can find here.)

Good Reviews

So, normally we writers stay away from Goodreads. Goodreads is for readers and that’s as it should be! It’s the place for honest thoughts about books, which as I’ve said before are not and should not be for everyone. (I’d like to be there as a reader but it’s not really practical.)

That said, I just Googled In Her Boots to make sure it hadn’t somehow come out in 2021 (time is meaningless and that particular stretch of time… well, if you can keep it straight, props).—and I found this snippet:

In Her Boots is a touching story about forgiveness, second chances, and being true to who you were born to be, even if it means disappointing others. There are countless layers of truth to this compelling book, so read with care, even though you may be tempted to turn the pages faster. ...

I didn’t click to read further, because I’m really working hard at the moment to stay in my own head about the tender possible book I might be bringing into the world, but that’s the loveliest little bit of a review. I couldn’t ask for better. And I’m 100% sure my mom didn’t write it.

If you’ve never read In Her Boots, you should. And I’ve always loved the cover. I had my own boots made to match.

That’s it from me this week!