Not so eloquently stated, this week sucked. I miss my cat. My husband and I continue to look for him in his familiar spots and have our hearts cracked every day by the little things that follow a great loss. Not having to worry about food out on the kitchen counters. Not having to shut doors and having to block entryways. I bought groceries today and did not have to worry that my feline would find the hamburger and attack it. And then there are the larger things – that familiar mirp when coming up the stairs or that hip check he’d give when he’d find you in the bathroom. Eighteen years worth of memories. People tell me that the cat was lucky that I found him (which is a long story that involves a flexible moral compass, so it’s one that I’m happy to tell in person and not in writing), but to be honest – I was the lucky one.
We’re light on the articles of note this week. There’s been good stuff out there, but it’s been a looooooooonnnnngggggggg week. Here’s some stuff I’ve read:
Career Authors is the blog that keeps on giving. Paula Munier had a fabulous “Ten Commandments” for writers.
Marie Claire published a sobering piece about “invisible victims” – Native American women who’ve disappeared without a trace and the effort made by other Native American women to find them. Heartbreaking.
I have an unabashed girl crush on Taffy Brodesser-Akner (to the extent that I am sad that her debut novel and its book tour won’t be coming to the Midwest. Dammit!). I love reading her articles and clicked through nearly every link that GQ posted in their Tweet honoring her debut novel. (PS – Google search “Taffy Brodesser-Akner Sugar Daddies GQ” – it is worth the click.)
I absolutely love this, guys. Thank you to my @GQMagazine brothren; I miss you all very much. But you are absolute cowards for not including the Sugar Daddies story in this. https://t.co/1zRxrIkRKq
Listening: I miss David Bowie. And I usually am fairly “meh” on covers, but this one was not terrible:
Reading: Reading Layne Fargo’s forthcoming “Temper.” So very good.
Writing Life: I had a wonderful time with Rhonda Gilliland earlier this month at the Kahler Grand Hotel (Peacock Books). We had an event in support of her Cooked To Death anthologies.
I even wore mascara. And didn’t stab myself in the eye with the wand. #winning
What is Friday Fare? As a recap, on Fridays I post link love to the various bits of arcane shiz I discover on the Interwebs. I liken it to a glimpse into my mind, but without the 80s song lyrics or mental cobwebs.
I have a fairly blessed life, but sometimes I need to remind myself that the glass *is* half full. (Or in my case, that the mug is half full of delicious, delicious coffee.) I was sending a text to my husband that started off by saying “Next week is going to suck …”, but then I read the next words which were “I have a book signing on Monday” and it hit me. Damn. So I changed my note to say that next week is going to be hectic. Because it will be hectic. But what a trip it is!
Another random thing that’s making me smile this week is my children’s cake preferences. On Thursday morning, they “helped” me make some pumpkin cake from a mix. My eldest kid is not a cake fan, but if you give him any of those quick breads – pumpkin, banana, gingerbread, lemon poppyseed cake/bread <– he’s a happy camper. Same thing with the youngest (although he’s like me – all treats are good treats.) My husband and I come from a long line of amazing cooks. Somewhere our grandmas and great-grandmas are smiling down as these standbys are loved and consumed by our children.
Onto the articles of note from this week!
Dana Chamblee Carpenter is a gem of a human. She wrote The Bohemian Gospel, which is one of my favorite books. And also the book that introduced me to the Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award. She was kindness personified when I met her in 2017 down at KN and it was great to see her recognized in The Thrill Begins.
I remember when this song first hit the airwaves. I love it when Rolling Stone does these “oral history” pieces.
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Listening: I’ve been listening to Spotify on a fairly regular basis for over a year or so. What I like about streaming music is I’m typically exposed to new-to-me artists. I was recently introduced to Ian Noe and the guy has a voice that throws me back to folks like John Prine, Fred Neil, or (swoon) Gordon Lightfoot. He was born in 1990. And I have tickets to see him at 7th Street Entry in October. An old soul indeed!
Reading: I am woefully behind on my reading.
Writing Life: I am less behind on my writing. Go me! And I have a book signing on Monday, June 10th at Peacock Books in the Kahler Grand in downtown Rochester. I’ll be appearing with Rhonda Gilliland, the editor of the Cooked To Death short story anthologies. The shindig starts at 4:30 PM and goes until closing time.
Happy Friday!
– Shelley
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What is Friday Fare? As a recap, on Fridays I post link love to the various bits of arcane shiz I discover on the Interwebs. I liken it to a glimpse into my mind, but without the 80s song lyrics or mental cobwebs.
The school year ended on Friday for my first grader. The next time it rolls around again, I’ll have a boy in second grade and my youngest will be in Kindergarten. I have parent friends who talk about their favorite years and while I always tell my children that their current year is my favorite year, to be honest – I loved first grade. It was a joy to see my son’s reading comprehension take OFF and he made some incredible friends. It’s hard to say if he’ll be friends with these kids for the rest of his life, but for this past year, they did his six-year-old self some good.
The mystery world lost a friend this week. Sandra Seamans maintained the blog My Little Corner and passed away recently. Her blog was a clearing house of short story opportunities for writers and she’ll be sorely missed.
Tracy Clark‘s second book in her Cass Raines series came out this past week. Publishers Weekly said that her protagonist Cass Raines “… is a worthy addition to the pantheon of Chicago sleuths.” <– Yup.
Writing Life: Work + kid activities + ailing / aged Cat = not a lot of time to devote to craft. But this week is a new week and my family will be settling into a new routine, so I’m hopeful for more edits and time.
Miscellany: This pretty much sums up my life in a nutshell:
Monday Mayhem is what happens when I neglect to write a Friday Fare. Or it can be any kind of article that happens to be published on a Monday. I hope that it provides a great start to your week!
michellekubitz 