Notes from the Writer's Desk
To borrow a page from
, these are notes about what’s happening at the writing desk, since there’s not enough for a fully dedicated piece.(Almost) Back from the Editor
For my first book, I wanted it to be perfect. This meant editors, beta readers, proofreaders, and a developmental editor story coach. Soon, it will be ready for readers!
And since I refuse to give Amazon any of my business in any way, shape, or form, if possible, I’m serializing the book on Substack. Look for it in September or October as I work on companion pieces like novellas with a bit more backstory for those who want to take a deeper dive into the Dusgadh.
Okay, yes. Perfect is a misnomer, as it’s not a destination but an aspiration. But, you see where I’m going with this, right?
More to come on title and release date.
The Business of Creativity
The problem with creativity is that you can’t eat it. Most creatives just want to create and want to share their creations. My instinct is to give things away, but that doesn’t put food on the table and roofs over heads.
My husband is a musician. I’m a writer. Creative family? I’d say so. Yet neither of us is much about the business of it as we do it for the joy. The problem comes when our creativity gets stifled because we have to think of it as a business.
The first two years of our marriage is a perfect example. Matt is a soloist musician with a unique instrument; a Chapman Stick®. So, we traveled the US from coast-to-coast renting booths from Art and Craft show curators. But $10 CDs don’t always add up to $500-$800 booths. Oh, the stories we could tell and will in the not too distant future.
But this summer, if you see a collection of white tents and people selling their creative goods, please make it a point to buy something. They’re probably trying to make back what they spent on that 10 x 10 square of parking lot or grass in order to sell direct to consumer and have a local, wider reach.
What I’m Reading
Whenever we travel, I try to read authors from that country, so is it any wonder that within a week of hitting Ireland, I was in the local bookstore stocking up? It didn’t surprise Matt either.
I’m nearly finished with The Celts, so look for it in detail soon.
A Brief History of The Celts by Peter Erresford Ellis - A Brief History of the Celts used book by Peter Ellis: 9781841197906 (betterworldbooks.com)
This book already has me wanting to go down rabbit holes deeper into the lives of the Celts. One impetus of the book I’ll share here is that he writes, essentially, that history books are written by the winners of wars, so ideas you had about the Celts may be turned on their head a bit in this book. Also, no one has ever played fair. See comments in book about the two differing views of warfare between the Celts and the Romans. Guess which side was the more honorable.
The Islander by Tomas O’Crohan - The Islander : Complete and Unabridged book by Tomas O\'Crohan: 9780717157945 (betterworldbooks.com)
This book was given to me as my new friend already had other books similar to it and didn’t want to carry it back on the plane. The Islander is the true story of the last remaining Blasket Islanders who lived on a rocky island in the middle of the sea with no electricity, no running water, and required a ferry to get from the mainland to the island for anything. For those interested, it turns out, many Blasket Islanders made their home in Springfield, Massachusetts.
A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa - A Ghost in the Throat book by Doireann Ní Ghríofa: 9781916434271 (betterworldbooks.com)
I’m not yet sure, but I feel like this book may be something akin to The Time Traveler’s Wife meets The Historian. It’s why I picked up as I’ve read both of those books, The Historian, twice. Or you decide. Here’s what it says on the back:
“1773. Cork. A man is ambushed and shot dead.
On discovering her husband’s murder, an Irish noblewoman drinks handfuls of his blood and composes an extraordinary poem. Eiblhinn Dubh Ni Chonall’s ‘Caoineadh Airt Ui Laoghaire’ would later be described as ‘the world’s greatest poem written in these islands in the whole of the eighteenth century.’
The poem echoes across time to find a woman in modern Ireland, who reads it aloud and finds Eibhlin’s voice coming to life. These echoes grow louder, inspiring a quest to discover the truth of the poet’s story.”