oh, my darling, that’s all behind us now
words I wish I could tell her + my literary week
Hello, Tater Tots.
This is how the writer Ann Handley started her latest newsletter and I thought it was very funny - mostly because it was unexpected. I had put her in a more “serious salutation” box. I was delighted, bc remember, the brain loves to be surprised!
This week is a mish-mash of literary world highs and lows. At the end of the day, do you play this game? Highs and lows, roses and thorns, tater-tots and … squash?
First, doodles:
NaNoWriMo HAS BEGUN
1667 words a day, baby! If I copy/paste this post into my document, can we count it?
High: FINISHING and checking in with NaNo buddies on the daily
Low: waiting until the end of the day to write. ugh.
A BIG FAT REJECTION…
from my editor/publisher on a manuscript I’ve spent the last year writing.
Low: am I even a writer?!?!?!
A NEW MANUSCRIPT
High: a synopsis and the first 10% of a new book was sent.
Low: waiting. self doubt. blah blah.
AI
Low: am I going to be replaced?!?!
TEN THOUSAND TRIES…
is a Golden Sower Award nominee in Nebraska
High: I grew up in Nebraska! Thank you, Nebraska readers <3
PICTURE BOOK IDEA:
With veterans day coming, I’ve been thinking about my grandfather, Frank, who was one of seven brothers who served in WWII. Remarkably, ALL seven brothers came home. The news made the paper in their hometown.
High: so many ideas …
Low: now what?
BOOKS TO SEND YOU!
High: I have leftover books from Literacy Night at the elementary school. If you’d like to purchase GUINEVERE, TTT, or MCNIFFS directly from me, get in touch. I will personalize and send to you (and they are cheaper than anywhere :) are we thinking Christmas presents yet?
FINISHED THIS BOOK
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by
High: amazing. really.
BOOK PASSAGES:
High: Typing my favorite book quotes in a Google doc. Here’s a favorite:
I wish I could tell her, Oh, my darling, that’s all behind us now. Those are very old stories about things that don’t happen anymore, but instead I take her in my arms, I want to tell her she will never be hurt, that everything will be fair, and that I will always, always be there to protect her. No one sees us but the swallows looping overhead. She puts her arms around my waist and we stand there, just like that, casting a single shadow across the grass.
-p.68, Ann Patchett, TOM LAKE
A SOFT BED:
Low: Sick this week, and quite despairing about so many world events including Lewiston, Maine, just up the road, I climbed into bed.
High: Profound gratitude. I was climbing into a soft bed with such soft pillows. What child, mother, father, journalist in Gaza, Maine, Israel, Ukraine, New Hampshire…wouldn’t give anything for a soft soft bed with soft pillows, the double bonus is knowing your children are safe, the home is warm, the fridge is full…
It’s not that I’m unaware of the suffering and the soon-to-be-more suffering in the world, it’s that I know the suffering exists beside wet grass and a bright blue sky recently scrubbed by rain. The beauty and the suffering are equally true.
-Ann Patchett, TOM LAKE
Today my friendly tater tots, is a new day. This is our lives: suffering and also beauty.
Amy
Picture of the Week
Quote of the Week
