Author: Michelle Kubitz

A blog post for uncertain times

Why, hello – it’s been a ridiculous amount of time since I’ve been here.

I nearly titled this post, “a blog post for uncommon times”, but … we’ve been here before. (Is there some sort of “fool me once” adage here? Too soon?)

I don’t know that I have many strangers who frequent my blog, but if you’ve spent any time adjacent to me or know me personally, you probably know that I’m a progressive liberal. I have been since my 20s, probably since earlier than that. And I am unapologetically so. My advocacy took a backseat in the early 00s when I worked as a journalist, but now I’m unfettered by such concerns as neutrality.  So … here I am.

I explain this, because it’s a big part of why I’ve been radio silent for the past few months. Specifically, I’ve been working on a campaign in my community—advocating for passage of my local school district’s operating budget referendum. A separate ballot measure failed last year and since I was involved in that failed campaign, it wasn’t a hard sell for me to be involved in advocating for the referendum this year. All well and good, except that I ended up chairing the Vote Yes committee for the referendum.

Well, thank the lordt it passed. Because I really left it all on the field for that campaign. But since June, I’ve been engrossed in that work. Along with my full-time job. I am proud to say that we won, but that’s tempered with the reality that my family got the short end of the shrift while I was out organizing. So did my writing. So did this blog. So did my friends (unless they opted to go door knocking with me – and some of them did, bless them!)

As of this writing, I am only a handful of days past Election Day 2024. I am still exhausted. I think I’m going to be until the end of the year, because while the current campaign work started in June; I never quite quit it after our loss in 2023. And let’s be honest—I haven’t really given myself a break since my mom got sick in 2021. So I have a few years of compressed grief and stress, self-imposed or not, that I’m recovering from.

It’s good to be back, even if is an uncertain world. Maybe I’ll write more about some of my organizing adventures, but for now—let’s get back into it:

Books Read:

Well … I have far exceeded my Goodreads 2024 goal of reading 35 books. As of today, I’ve read 51 books so far this year. Here’s my most recent reads:

Diamond in the Rough: A Memoir – Shawn Colvin

The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides*

All Fours – Miranda July

The Charm School – Nelson DeMille

Leadership: In Turbulent Times – Doris Kearns Goodwin*

The Damned Lovely – Adam Frost

Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty

Local Gods – Mark Hurst

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s – Doris Kearns Goodwin*

Winter Lost – Patricia Briggs

Diavola -Jennifer Marie Thome

The Night of Baba Yaga – Akira Otani

Reliquary – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Dare to Lead – Brene Brown*

Home is Where the Bodies Are – Jeneva Rose

Windmill of the Gods – Sidney Sheldon

A Ruse of Shadows – Sherry Thomas

You Never Know: A Memoir – Tom Selleck

Women Who Run with the Wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estes*

Safe and Sound – Laura McHugh

My Mama, Cass: A Memoir – Owen Elliot-Kugel

The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church – Sarah McCammon

Sociopath: A Memoir – Patric Gagne

*Denotes audiobook.

Not sure what the throughline is. Apparently, when my mind is troubled, I turn to non-fiction. I really do have a girl crush on Doris Kearns Goodwin. Adam Frost’s book and Laura McHugh’s were wonderful escapes. DIAVOLA and THE NIGHT OF BABA YAGA were also amazing reads.

Concerts Attended:

Here’s something random that’s happened during my time in the campaign wilderness. I have gone to an INDULGENT number of concerts. I nearly hit a concert a month while I’ve been away. (I only missed October and that’s because I actually skipped a concert.)

Iron & Wine – June. This was at St. Paul’s Palace Theatre. I’ve been a big fan of Iron & Wine over the past handful of years. Sam Beam is an uncommonly talented musician and artist. This concert was an absolute treat.

Everclear – July. Everclear played a free show at Mayo Park and I got to go with my best friend Debbie. This concert is special on a few different levels. A) Everclear feels like a love letter from my teenage years to myself and this is the BAND that I share with my best friend. B) Deb and I met the lead singer of Everclear a few years back. Art Alexakis has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), as does Deb, and they had a moment side stage after a show. Everclear’s music is important to me, but his kindness to my best friend will stay with me long after I hear their music as Musak in an elevator. (Also, Everclear was the concert I missed in October as I was exhausted from campaigning and travel commitments.)

Dweezil Zappa – August. Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul with my darling Anderson. We’ve been attending concerts together for over 20 years and this was a show that she picked. I cannot say that I am a huge Zappa junkie after this, but I am glad I went.

David Rawlings & Gillian Welch – September. Also at the Fitz. This show was a birthday present to myself. I bought myself a box seat that was within spitting distance of the stage. I think this concert is up in my top 5, if not top 3 live music experiences I’ve had. Some of it was proximity, a lot of it was their musicianship.  Most of it though was just a soul’s need to be in that room and to let the words wash over me.

Nathaniel Rateliff with Gregory Alan Isakov – November. When I bought this ticket, I knew I was being a little ridiculous. This show was literally the Saturday before Election Day.  Up at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. In the heart of campaign “get out the vote” efforts. But Isakov is one of my favorite musicians and part of my logic in getting the ticket was … well, I knew I wasn’t skipping GOTV efforts as much as I was probably getting a much needed break from the insanity. I ended up combining that concert with some unexpected travel, so …  fate smiled upon my adventure.

Annnd, I still have a couple concerts coming up yet this year. I’m seeing Billie Eilish up at the Xcel Energy Center this upcoming weekend and have tickets to see Cyndi Lauper with some of my girlfriends in December.

Music has always been my friend and companion. Maybe I’ll unpack that more in a future blog post, but in the meantime, I’m grateful for the income and the sense of adventure that has me going to these events.

Today as my kids were leaving for school, I called these words after them: “Be kind, be smart, be a good friend.”

I leave you with the same sentiment.

Shelley

***

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.

Ope! I had a blog drafted in April and I failed to upload it. That, in a nutshell, dear friends should tell you everything you need to know about what’s going on in my life.

Here’s what’s interesting in my universe:

I think if you go back and search “Tracy Clark” in my blog contents, you’re going to come up with a lot. I admire her immensely as a writer and I pinch myself to be able to call her friend. This blog post with Rogue Women Writers was a good one. (Rogue Women Writers blog)

I don’t even know where to begin with who I love more in this pairing—Andrew “Hot Priest” Scott or Olivia “The Queen” Colman. In this article, Colman interviews Scott in advance of his show “Ripley” coming out. (Ripley, of course, is the brainchild of Patricia Highsmith.) There’s a lot of love and humor in this piece. (Interview Magazine)

Speaking of absolute queens, Lake Minnetonka Magazine interviewed Minnesota author (and my FRIEND!) Christine Husom. The pictures taken of Christine are stunning and this is a neat look into the back story on how she turned to a life of crime … writing about it at least. (Lake Minnetonka Magazine)

I am ridiculously stoked to be part of this announcement from the Bouchercon National Board of Directors at the end of March. For the past year-plus, I’ve been part of a stellar group of authors, editors, and mystery community members who serve as the Bouchercon Advisory Committee.

Finally, I’ve been low-key obsessed lately with this soup. And bonus … it freezes well. (Smoky Lentil Soup from Pinch of Yum)

Monthly minutia:

March and April were a little … anemic … in terms of word count.

So, we’re just gonna leave it at that.

Books read:

I’ve been reading a lot lately. Nine books in March and seven books in April. (Needless to say, I will be crushing my Goodreads goal for 2024 after sucking wind in years 2022 and 2023.) Here are some highlights:

I read a pair of books by Lyz Lenz in March: This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life and God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America. I’ve been following Lenz for a few years and have particularly enjoyed her columns. Both of these books are incredible.

Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women by Kathleen Gros | I enjoyed this book.  Full stop. I found it in the Children’s section of my local library while my kiddos were picking out their own books. This adaptation takes Louisa May Alcott’s story and modernizes it. This was just a sweet and enjoyable graphic novel.

Killer Secrets by Kathleen Donnelly | I will admit that I probably have too much bias to be neutral when it comes to Kathleen’s books. After all, I adore her and consider her to be one of my dearest writer friends. HOWEVER, Killer Secrets – the third book in her K-9 series – is just damn good. I texted her afterwards and told her that in this book, she just leveled up … I know that sounds like a weird compliment, but it’s amazing to watch a person’s trajectory and just see the leaps and bounds of talent that they’re refining over the course of their work. 

Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar | Amina is probably one of my favorite people on social media and her books are just stunners. This is her latest and if you like all things spooky, this one is for you.

Ejaculate Responsibly by Gabrielle Blair—This was a three-hour audiobook.  And very pertinent, especially as we see women’s rights being rewound by decades. (Also, this is the book that I’m recommending to all of my friends.)

Gennaro’s Cucina by Gennaro Contaldo—Gennaro was the crotchety old dude who was probably my FAVORITE part of watching Jamie Oliver when he was on Food Network. This was a fun read.

A Death in Malta: An Assassination and a Family’s Quest for Justice by Paul Caruana Galizia | I lived in Malta when I was a junior in college. (My 25^th reunion of this group is later this summer – WTH.) I remember in 2014 when journalist Daphne Cauana Galizia was assassinated and the agonizing amount of time for the family to prove what so many thought was a conspiracy theory … Caruana Galizia’s murder was orchestrated by some of the highest echelons of Malta’s government. Paul Caruana Galizia is Daphne’s son and this is a bittersweet and moving read.

I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes: And Other Tales from My ADHD Brain by Emily Farris | This book starts out strong and the essays that I read prior to the book’s publication really showcased the author’s voice and propelled me to check it out from my library.  This is a good book, but at a certain point, my Gen X sensibilities got really frustrated with the narrator.

In April I read:

Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing by Elissa Altman

Hurt for Me by Heather Levy (This was delightfully spicy.)

Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

A pair of Omid Scobie books about the modern royals: Finding Freedom and Endgame. I really enjoyed Freedom, but Endgame was a little drier for my taste.

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport (I lurve Newport.)

And probably one of my favorite books so far of this year – World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music by Jeff Tweedy. I listened to this one via audiobook and the author narrated it. So very good, even if you’re not overly familiar with Tweedy’s music (Uncle Tupelo and Wilco).

I don’t really see a throughline in the books that I read. I am a bit of a gadfly – hepped up on social media recommendations and then chasing rabbit holes in search of everything that someone like Jeff Tweedy has written and/or putting holds on recommendations that my friends are making. And apparently I’m really, really, really liking non-fiction these days.

Hmm.

I hope this missive finds you well. As always … onward and upward, friends.
– Shelley

***

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.

February was a roller coaster month – many good things, several fairly awful things. And in my creative world, I wrestled with productivity and … well, most bluntly – getting up at 5 AM to write. It’s only towards the end of the month when I was finally through a head cold and recovered from an EPIC girls’ weekend* that I started getting up again at 5. And while I spend a lot of time worrying that I’m not writing enough, I remind myself that I’m writing more than I did a year ago. That’s going to have to be good enough for now.

Another wonderful thing happened in February: I went to a pair of locally produced musicals. Watching LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was a hoot because that was the show that my high school performed my senior year. Annnd, I was in it. My friends and I also saw HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH. Given the upheaval in the LGBTQ+ world, I was moved to tears at the end. It was visceral and I am amazed that this show is still controversial some 30+ years after it was originally workshopped?

Here’s what’s interesting in my universe:

Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA was one of my favorite movies of 2023. I went with my best friend Anne and we both were gobsmacked by it. I enjoyed the heck out of this profile by The New Yorker about Coppola (the younger’s) overall filmmaking aesthetic and the path that basically got her here. (The New Yorker [might run into a paywall – ope!] Also, I just discovered that PRISCILLA is streaming on MAX.)

R.E.M’s song Nightswimming was released in 1992 as part of the band’s album “Automatic for the People.” And in typical Midwestern form, it seemed to gain traction a few years later and became a huge part of my high school soundtrack. (But maybe that’s because of one of my dearest friends, Rob—I remember listening to this CD in his car and this song makes me think of him.) Anyway – this Substack entry was a beautiful meditation on one of my favorite songs. (Substack)

I came of age right around the time that TITANIC hit the theaters. (I will not disclose how many times I went to see it in the theater, but will admit I ugly cried every time I got to the end.) So I literally hit young womanhood right when Kate Winslet was making the rounds at award shows and in magazine spreads. And I’ll be honest – how amazingly lucky was I to have such a person as a cultural touchstone? (Winslet’s a few years older, so she gets to be my big sister in the universe.) Anyway – this piece was fantastic and sincerely – when my current WIP gets published, you can imagine Winslet as the lead character. (Net-a-Porter)

I am low-key obsessed with this song by boygenius. And I probably amuse the crossing guards at my kid’s school as I’m blasting it on my way home from school drop off. (YouTube)

Monthly minutia:

Here’s what February looked like by the numbers in my creative world:

8,650 – written on novel

1,140 – written on other projects (this month, my output was limited to my blog)

February was the month where I watched ALL THE THINGS.

I am a movie fan, full stop. I like watching TV, but I don’t make a concerted effort to keep up with “much see TV”, etc. But in February, I got together with some fantastic friends, we crashed in a house, and spent an entire weekend in our pajamas. We read books and we watched TV.

Out of all of the films we watched, NYAD was probably my favorite. Based on a true story, both Annette Bening and Jodie Foster were just … wow.

And speaking of movies, no one told me that this SpongeBob movie was a Keanu Reeves movie.

Also – in the interest of Jodie Foster and because I’ve heard about it forever, I’m finally jumping on the True Detective bandwagon. I am only 2 episodes in on the first season and it’s good storytelling.

Books read:

Clouded Waters by Dianna Hunter—I just so very much enjoyed this story. I enjoyed the representation of the protagonist (older, queer) and the story is so very relevant to what is going on up in Northern Minnesota—the struggle between protecting the waters from the allure and money of mining.

The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett—I’m not sure how I came across this one. I think someone recommended it and I have now found a new book series to enjoy. In this one, the amateur sleuth is none other than her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. At first, I was a little “meh,” but this one ended up being an absolute delight.

The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel—I don’t know what it is about my DNA, but every once in awhile I find myself thinking that the idea of just up and getting lost in the woods (on purpose) sounds divine. Well, Chris Knight did that—for 25+ years before he got caught. This book is a really interesting dive into the story of the “last hermit” in America, what prompted him to seek such solace, and what happens when you get booted out of Utopia.

Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford—This was a good book, but it was infuriating to read. The nut of it is that when the author was 15 and at a prestigious private school, she was sexually assaulted by two upperclassmen. Annnnnd, when her parents finally went to report it to the school, school administrators successfully silenced her by threatening to ruin her reputation. It was an absolute heartbreak to read, but there is a cold comfort of some justice meted out at the end of her tale.

The best thing about being a writer is having writer friends. While you see the list of books that I have listed above, I also have access to books that you haven’t even DISCOVERED yet. Sometimes because they’re in the process of publication and sometimes because they are in the generative stages of progress. I am beta reading a book for a friend and I got my hands on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) that I cannot wait to dive into.

So until we meet again … onward and upward, friends.
– Shelley

*To be clear about the girls’ weekend: I was hanging out with a bunch of my fellow mom friends. Kim’s folks winter somewhere warmer than Minnesota, so we take over her parents’ house for a weekend—eat enough sugar to stun a hippo, read our books, drink *some* wine, but really – it’s very tame. I just apparently cannot stay up past 11 without a week’s worth of consequences.

***

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.

February!

Given that I’ve switched to a monthly format for this communication, I tend to jot notes down throughout the month – little reminders of what I want to say. It helps, because when I sat down to start writing this, my mind was like … I don’t even know where to start! Do I talk about how I am charmed by the Kelce brothers, even though I don’t know a damn thing about football? Do I talk about how weird this damn weather is that we’re having? (50 degrees on January 31^st in Minnesota. Climate change is real, y’all.)

Do I talk about the wonderful trip that I had with my girlfriends earlier this month to celebrate my friend Meg’s 40^th birthday? Or how my dad is absolutely KILLING it post-knee surgery/rehab. So many things.

Anyway – I am glad you are here. I hope that January treated you well. As evidenced by the stuff above, I had a good month. I scratched my itch for travel, I read some amazing books, I had some great hikes by myself and with my kiddos.

Here’s what’s interesting in my universe:

I love John Malkovich. I love that someone so unique was once a Midwestern boy. I don’t even know if I have a favorite character of his, I just know that if he’s on screen, I’m in for a treat. (Warning: NYTimes paywall)

Book bans are BS. There are some teachers and students who are rebelling against this dangerous fad. (NPR)

I’m a huge Andrew Welsh-Huggins fan and ridiculously psyched that I get to call him my friend/acquaintance. On this blog, he shares some of his favorite reads from 2023. (Lesa’s Book Critiques blog)

Dark mud aroma. So … I’m on social media way too much. I don’t even want to know how many Instagram Reels I’ve been sucked into over the years. But I unabashedly love Melissa Ben-Ishay from Baked by Melissa. Her energy is just amazing, her videos make me want to eat vegetables, and she’s just delightful. Anyway … I don’t think that this woman drinks coffee regularly, but her husband does and he drinks Turkish coffee. I’m always up for a new coffee, so I got some Elite Turkish Coffee – and of course I’m never going to find this description again, but when I was trying to locate it – one of the vendors described it as having a dark mud aroma. And I’m not gonna lie – that’s pretty damn accurate. But I’m hooked. As long as I don’t delve into the last inch or so of coffee, I am not choking on the grounds that gather at the bottom of the mug. This is what I drink after my 5 AM wake up alarm to get up and try to get some words on the page.

Monthly minutia:

The 5 AM wake up calls are working. Don’t get me wrong … I don’t write a lot. But I’m writing daily and this daily chipping away counts builds books. My hope is that I keep increasing my word count as I’m going along.

Here’s what January looked like by the numbers in my creative world:

6,193 – written on novel

1,564 – written on other projects (blog, short stories)

Another big part of my creative life is reading and I’m trying to spend less time on my screen (sorry Baked by Melissa!) and more time in front of books. Here’s what I read in January:

You Don’t Belong Here by Elizabeth Becker – About a trio of women journalists who changed the way that the Vietnam War was covered. If you’re anywhere in my vicinity, you’re sick of hearing me talk about this book. That’s how good it is.

Burying the Newspaper Man by Curtis Ippolito – I was very excited to read this debut by Curtis. We’re mutuals on social media and he’s one of those guys who is always cheering folks on and is an all around good human. This book was very good – it handled a delicate subject sensitively and I am excited to see what’s next for Curtis.

I read two Douglas Preston books in January. One was his solo effort called The Lost Tomb, a bunch of nonfiction essays that he’s updated in this book. One of those essays? Recounting the story of “Dead Mountain”—a doomed group of hikers who died in the Dyatlov Pass in 1959. That read was a good lead up to his book with co-author Lincoln Child—the third Nora Kelly book named Dead Mountain.

And finally, the book that absolutely slayed me: I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. I genuinely lack words to describe how good it is. This one is going to stay with me for awhile.

Well … February is here. I am hoping that this finds you well and that I’ve given you a few things to ponder during the month ahead!

Onward and upward, friends.
– Shelley

***

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.

Some people choose words for their New Year – a manifestation, of course, of what they hope the new year will bring them: Abundance, Grace, Hope, More, Yes, No, Carbs … OK, that last one is a lie. Although it *is* a good word.

But any-who … I chose a word last year. That word was “care.” I was going to take more CARE as I schlepped around 2023. I was going to take better care of myself. I didn’t have grand plans of losing a shit ton of weight or anything pragmatic like that, but guess what? I FAILED at the CARE and feeding of that word and intention in my life. I could blame my mom dying, but … yeah. I really sucked at doing anything more than the bare minimum and putting one foot in front of the other. Seismic events will do that, I guess.

So, no words this year. Bless anyone who has done any of that kind of work and I genuinely mean that. (I may have bought crystals from a local witchcraft shop towards the tail end of December … I love woo. I love it.)  I thought about giving up flour and sugar for a hot second and actually SUCCEEDED for three days, but then I bought a box of wine and fell so hastily off of that bandwagon, I think I injured my liver further and gave my pre-2024 “better” self some whiplash.

So … new year, same me. New year, same me—but one who’s trying to remember why I love wandering in the woods so much. (And with such a mild winter, I’ve had a couple opportunities already to discover new-to-me trails.) Same me—but I’m trying to drink less and make 5 AM wake-ups a thing so I can get some words in before I head to my day job. (And shocker! I find that I can actually get my ass out of bed if I’m well rested.) Same me. And I’ve always rather liked me, so I’m OK with another year of existence and another year of doing the best I can with what I have to work with.

And with that … time for our first Friday of 2024!

Reading: According to Goodreads, I whiffed my 2023 goal to read 35 books. Silly Goodreads! I don’t track EVERYTHING that I read, especially if I’m judging something for a competition. I read around 40 books last year and I read over 175 short stories through my work with Shotgun Honey’s Gauntlet.

I’ve stuck with 35 books again for 2024. So far I’m doing FANTASTICALLY. I have two books that I’m reading right now—one is YOU DON’T BELONG HERE by Elizabeth Becker. This is a non-fiction about some of the trailblazing women journalists who captured images from the Vietnam War. Threads had an amazing string about Catherine Leroy and I needed to know more about her.

I finished reading Douglas Preston’s THE LOST TOMB. My love affair with Preston goes back to his co-authoring with Lincoln Child and their Pendergast series.  This book is a non-fiction and a reprint of some of his most iconic articles printed in places like The Atlantic, The New Yorker, etc. There were a couple that really stuck with me, but this is one that’s good to get from your local library versus buying from your favorite indie bookstore. (All apologies to Mr. Preston.)

Finally, there’s a lot of buzz around I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai. And I get it. Totally. I’m only a couple chapters in and I can tell that I’m going to be envious of this writer’s talent.

Listening: I had a hankering for some 80s Country music the other day. Spotify did not disappoint.

I’ve also been listening to some Sheryl Crow and I’m wondering why she doesn’t do more, because gosh her voice is lovely.

Writing Life: Hey, did I mention that I’m getting up at 5 AM and trying to get some words in before I go to work in the morning? Oh, I did? Oh, does it feel like I’m bragging?

Well, to be honest – as I’m writing this, I am drag ass tired, but I’m grateful for the progress that I’m making on my WIP. Also, my eldest gets up at 6 to start getting ready for school; my husband’s alarm goes off at 6:15 for him to go to work … these early hours are really the only time that I’m by myself. It’s me, the cats, some camping lanterns I got as part of Target’s holiday clearance, and stringing together words. It is its own form of magic.

And 2023 wasn’t a total wash—I got a short story polished enough for submission to a much admired magazine. Fingers crossed that my story about family secrets and murder finds a happy ‘lil home.

Onward and upward, friends.
– Shelley

***

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.

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

***

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.

I’m gonna apologize in advance because this post is a LONG one. You ready? You got some coffee/tea? OK – dig in:

A strange fact about me is that although I’m a fairly messy and disorganized person; my Outlook calendar is a wonder to behold with recurring goals scheduled, my coworkers’ time off schedules noted, etc. Even hubs and I have individual and shared Google Calendars where we check on each others’ whereabouts before we schedule various events. (I even recently had to upgrade to the paid version of the Doodle poll to herd multiple cats for a meeting. I also have a calendar reminder to cancel that before I get charged the monthly rate again.)

So although I have a monthly reminder to write a blog post; this month has already been as such that I had to scoot that calendar reminder and … well, yeah. I thought I was going to have a Second Friday post, but now it’s a Third Friday blog post. 

Sigh. Here we are.

My plate had been just ridiculously full lately. Some of it by choice, some of it by circumstance – usually due to over-scheduling and over-committing myself.  (So, basically my fault.) The biggest expenditure of energy over the past few months is that I helped chair a political advocacy committee in support for my kids’ school district and the District’s technology referendum. I met and volunteered with some amazing people (sincerely, I have some lifelong friends that I now get to treasure). I REALLY pushed myself out of my comfort zone (I still really hate phone banking).

All of these things sound AMAZING, don’t they?  LOL, it’s great until you lose by a 300+ vote margin and find out that barely 30% of your community’s registered voters actually voted. Votes matter, people. Even in off years.

There is obviously something detrimental about volunteering for anything that is going to take away from your writing time. Full stop. It takes away from your precious and fleeting time, it expends mental energy. I went to the chiropractor last week and he was like “what have you been DOING?” (I seriously throw my body out of whack, that’s how talented I am at being a stress ball.) But, as I’ve told my husband: I know that I NEVER want to run for political office (I don’t think I could have anyway for … um, reasons.) And honestly? I met really good people. And advocating for your kids’ future is always a good choice. And there was at least one person that I ended up working with that helped me unlock a character in my work in progress.

So what’s next? I’m going to be holding down my couch for the foreseeable future. (I had a preview of that this weekend when I was laid low from a combination of my Covid booster & flu shot. I am really good at napping and taking up real estate on my couch.)

I am also taking the next couple of months to strategically figure out my next steps regarding community engagement. But more importantly, how that balances with work, my family, and my work … the creative kind.

Because, what is the point of having a writing blog and calling yourself a writer if you’re not writing.

Here’s the news from me on my recent reads, what I’m watching, and writing progress:

Listening: I’ve been on an R.E.M. kick lately. Maybe I’ll write more later, but maybe you’ll search up some R.E.M. and just get what I’m feeling? Maybe? You can let me know in comments if you get it.

This evening, I am going to see A.J. Croce in concert, with my dearest Anderson. This is a musician that I’ve seen … four times? He is Jim Croce’s son, in case you were wondering about the last name. Obviously, I enjoy his music – otherwise, I wouldn’t go – but it’s the camaraderie. And it’s the memories that A.J. brings up when I think about the DECADES and venues I’ve seen him play in. (Seriously, the first time I saw him in concert was late June 2000 up in Duluth, Minnesota. I still have the signed poster.)

Recent Reads: Sooooo far away from my Goodreads goal, but the book that recently kicked my ass and my headspace was Pedro Hoffmeister’s AMERICAN AFTERLIFE. It’s dystopia, but not set in the too distant future.

Watching: I went ahead and indulged in two movies recently at my local indie movie theatre.

THE ROYAL HOTEL which is set in Australia. (I see some negative reviews online. Don’t listen. You can wait to stream online, but it’s a good watch.)

And … (swoon) … PRISCILLA. Let’s get something straight right now: I am not an Elvis fan. If I was, I’d probably like his gospel stuff, which is saying a lot considering I’m agnostic. HOWEVER … if you tell me that Sofia Coppola is going to direct a biopic that’s about one of the most polarizing musician wives this side of Yoko Ono? I. Am. In. And I got to see it with my best friend – so … winning, beetches. Beautiful. Sumptuous. Uncomfortable in the subject matter. One of the best damn soundtracks …

Which brings me to what I’m watching small-screen: GEORGE & TAMMY. Oh, sweet Lordt. I’d like to tell you that my mama raised me better than to be taken in by some sweet-talking, silver-tongued devil like George Jones, but my matriarch’s side of the family that absolutely worshiped at the altar of folks like Cash, Jennings, Kristofferson, Nelson, and … yes, Jones, would have loved this biopic of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. And the main actors in the show (Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain) do their own vocals. It’s just … it’s a must-watch.

I also finished 1923 and I loved every single minute of it. Eye p*rn. Nearly every part of it. (And a brutal and necessary look at the Indigenous schools that were part and parcel of our country’s last century.)

Writing Life: If you are a writer, you acquaint yourself frequently with failure. It’s just the way that it is. But my most recent failure is one of my own making. I whiffed the deadline for the Bouchercon anthology and did not submit a short story for consideration. If you know me, you know that I am deadline-oriented by nature – it’s my profession, it’s just who I am. In my writerly life, it’s not uncommon for me to miss an “artificial” deadline. (Ahem – you’re reading my “first” Friday on the third Friday.) Maybe I need to beat myself up more, but … well, I don’t do that. I missed a deadline. That means I have a story that will need to find a home someday.

November, babies. It’s been a brutal month in what’s been a brutal year, but *shrugs* … we dust ourselves off. I can’t guarantee that things are going to get better, but I can guarantee that things are still going to happen whether we’re ready or not.

Be gentle with yourselves! Drink something warm. Make some soup. You’re loved.

– Shelley

PS – I was going to be all FANCY and produce this recipe in my professional Canva subscription (that I have a calendar reminder to cancel), but November 18th is my momma’s birthday. Last year, I nearly set my kitchen on fire trying to make her favorite cake. (The heating element decided to GLORIOUSLY set itself ablaze. It was a fantastic discovery to make at 5 AM on the morning of Mom’s birthday.)

Anyway – this recipe is her grandma’s and *my* grandma submitted it for inclusion in the 1978 Rossville Presbyterian Church cookbook. It’s the only time I’ll willingly use margarine. And I did not edit this into a Canva-worthy graphic, because it’s perfect as-is. With my momma’s handwriting and everything:

***

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.