Ex-journalist / novelist / paperback writer / etc.
If I did sit down to write a 2023 recap, it would be a bit of a bummer. But since I’m one of those perpetual “coffee cup’s half full” people, I’m going to focus on my blessings and not on the dumpster fire of this past year. Because at the end of all things, I am luckier than most.
With gratitude, always –
Shelley
December snuck up on me and ooof. I never wish time away, but this year can kiss my dragging ass. I don’t want to espouse toxic positivity, but I’m gonna focus on a few things that are silver linings.
What’s good: I’m going on a mini writing retreat with a dear friend this upcoming weekend. I’m not sure how much writing *I’m* going to get done, but I have a few concrete tasks that I want to complete while I’m gone.
What’s also good: It’s cold in Minnesota – shocker, I know, considering it’s December. I get a brief reprieve next week when I go to Florida for a work meeting.
What’s a blessing: Random conversations with old friends. A classmate of mine sent me a picture of a rutabaga the other day. Weird, I know. But he used to always bring my grandma rutabagas in the fall and she’s make soup with them. How cool to be in my 40s and get these random texts about a shared love that’s been absent from this earth for a long time.
Recent Reads: I’ve been reading the latest issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (EQMM) and loving the short stories therein. I’m currently on a story written by my friend Travis Richardson.
Listening: Spotify listeners can now access their yearly roundup of artists listened to the most. No one should be surprised that Gordon Lightfoot was my most listened artist.
Writing Life: One foot in front of the other. Slow but steady.
– Shelley
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What is First Friday? This started originally as “Friday Fare” where I posted a hodgepodge of links and some of the things that were living rent-free in my noggin. This is a monthly version of that.
michellekubitz 