Welcome back to Letters from the Creative Life. These occasional essays explore the quieter corners of living: small reflections on art, ambition, and the tender balancing act of building a meaningful life in a noisy world. Think of them as letters from our lives to yours. Enjoy!

xo, Joanna

“I don’t have time for my art!”

Challenging the Stories I Tell Myself

I have a confession.

Ever since I started co-running Creative, Inspired, ALIVE, I’ve had so much less time for my novel.

Running a consistent, quality Substack and podcast is a serious undertaking. I’ve had to learn video recording, editing, posting, design, marketing, narrative non-fiction writing, and community hosting all at once. It’s been exhilarating, and I love it, but my novel has languished at the bottom of my list, getting the scraps of my time and attention. I started telling myself the frantic story - “I don’t have time for my art!”

As a writer and a coach, I get particularly curious about the stories I tell myself. Especially when the stories cause me suffering. This one was prime for revision.

One of my favorite tools for revising my inner stories is Byron Katie’s “The Work.” Once I am aware of an upsetting story, The Work offers these questions to challenge my thinking and find my deepest wisdom:

1. Is the story true?

2. Can you absolutely know it’s true?

3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

4. Who would you be without that thought?

And then the most powerful one - Could the opposite story be as true or truer?

Okay, so here I go:

The Story - “I don’t have time for my art!” (Please read with great lament.)

1. Is it true?

   Well, yes, I am running a Substack, coordinating a podcast, coaching my clients, and serving as the primary parent to my two kids. My life is too full of more urgent matters than my novel. And by the end of the day, I’m spent. 😫

2. Can I absolutely know it’s true?

   Deep breath. Let me back up a little. No, I can’t know that the statement, “I don’t have time for my art,” is 100% true because I still have time in my day. I may be tired, but there is technically time. And I can see that it’s more a matter of how I prioritize my time. Hmm. 🤔

3. How do I react when I believe the thought, “I don’t have time for my art!”?

   Wow, I feel sad. I feel like the world lost its glimmer. I feel harried and tight like the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. I also feel resentment, heat starting in my belly and running right up to my throat. I want to lash out at the things taking up all the space in my life. 😤

4. Who would I be without the thought?

   In imagining that this story has disappeared from my mind, a tremendous sense of lightness returns. I feel curious, relaxed, and a sense of slowness. I want to giggle as a bit of whimsy bubbles up in me. But I can also feel the fear and sadness at the edges, asking, “But I can’t just disappear this story?”

Could the opposite thought, “I do have time for my art!,” be as true or truer?

I can see how this turnaround is true. I have time, if I want to reevaluate my activities. I can see that I respond to what is urgent over what is important, and sometimes important things need space in my day, even if there is no deadline or external demand. My art is important for my well-being. This has me wondering, “What things can I not do, delegate, or do later to make time for my art?”

I’ve been wanting to hire someone to help with the administrative tasks of Creative, Inspired, ALIVE. It would be worth investing some subscriber contributions to support myself. I can also say “no” to volunteer requests or social events on my calendar to make room for what deeply matters to me - my art. Saying “no” feels uncomfortable, but I am willing to trade that discomfort for being in integrity with my creative calling. I can also stop leaking my energy. I know this happens at night. I’m too tired to write, so I scroll social media to try to wind down, but it makes things worse. I can try prioritizing sleep to wake up rested and maybe write before the day starts swirling.

Another element of truth in the story, “I do have time for my art!,” is that this substack and podcast is my art. I can see that defining “my art” too narrowly limits my creative identity and causes some unnecessary suffering. I love almost every post and piece of this job (especially this one right here.) Even my parenting is an act of creativity! Expanding my view of art relaxes that tight feeling in my chest and brings my awareness to all the glimmer available to me without changing a thing. 😮‍💨

Now, let me play with the word time. Could twenty minutes be enough for my novel right now? Maybe I was too limited in what I considered time for my art. While my ideal would be a wide-open afternoon without anything else encroaching, what other pockets of time could I unlock if I didn’t hold my ideal so tightly? I can work to create a wide-open afternoon, but I can also use the twenty-minute wait at the doctor’s office.

Another way to play with the idea of time is to back up and see my life more broadly. Yes, this season is full of learning the ropes at Creative, Inspired, ALIVE, but not all seasons are the same. My children will need me less soon. My calendar opens up in the summer. “No time” right now does not mean “no time” forever. I’ve had so many seasons when I’ve had to put my novel down, yet I always pick it up. She is an old friend, waiting for me to call again and fall right back into our rhythms together. Phew, changing my unit of time helped my belly relax and my chest expand. 😌

So after all this, I interviewed some fantastic women to help with administrative support and defended some space for my novel this week. I was so delighted that I shared a photo of my writing desk to celebrate with my writing friends. One friend responded - “Oh, sigh, seeing a manuscript on a laptop makes me wistful. I am non-stop grandma-ing!” I felt deep camaraderie reading this message. These feelings are so common among us. Understanding our seasons, challenging our stories, and reclaiming our outlook on art feel essential to our calling.

May we all see the time for our art!

Share your experiences in the comments.

⏰ How do you make time for your art?

🎨 What could be considered art in your life if you broadened the definition?

💫 What are you creating this week?

Leave a comment

Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.

Our next guest, Laurie Frankel, is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author known for emotional, character-driven fiction exploring modern family dynamics, including This Is How It Always Is, One Two Three, and Family Family. Her latest book, Enormous Wings, is out now.

Today, we talk about:

• writing about issues on the edge of society’s comfort zones,

• the courage and freedom to throw out your writing,

• how teaching helps you learn,

• the advice she would give to an English major, among other delights!

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Watch the Conversation

You can watch the full video on:
→ Our Website | Youtube | Substack app

Captions and full transcripts are always available on the website version (just click the “CC” button or the transcript tab below the video).

🎧 Prefer to Listen?

Stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts:
→ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | or your favorite platform

🎙️ Browse all past episodes HERE

📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?

We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!

Connect with Laurie Frankel:

You can find Laurie on Instagram. Her newest novel, Enormous Wings, is available in bookstores everywhere or from your favorite online retailer!

Another month is upon us, which means it’s time for a favorite ritual: previewing some of the upcoming book releases we’re excited about—the ones that have caught our eyes, tugged at our curiosity, or made us whisper, “Gimme gimmie gimmie.”

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

Note: We don’t receive affiliate commissions or payment for these mentions. We haven’t read these yet; these are genuine picks based on love of the author, intriguing premises, or early buzz that feels promising.

📚 May’s Most Anticipated New Releases

Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel (May 5th release)

After reluctantly settling into a Texas retirement community and finding unexpected love, seventy-seven-year-old Pepper Mills is shocked to discover she is pregnant. As a chaotic media frenzy descends upon her, Pepper must fight for her bodily autonomy and the right to make her own choices in the urgent novel Enormous Wings.

» Laurie Frankel will be on our podcast next week!

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (May 5th release)

Set in 1933 Mississippi, the lives of fiercely independent orphan Meg, outspoken Birdie, and down-on-her-luck Charlie unexpectedly converge amidst the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Banding together, these underestimated women hatch an audacious and dangerous plan to reclaim their futures, proving that even in a highly restrictive society, calamity can spark triumphant new beginnings.

Our Perfect Storm by Carly Fortune (May 5th release)

After being unexpectedly dumped by her fiancé on her wedding day, Frankie is left heartbroken and unsure of her increasingly strained relationship with her lifelong best friend, George. Determined to heal her heart and mend their fractured bond, George convinces her to go on her planned honeymoon to Tofino with him, embarking on a trip that will force them to confront long-buried feelings that could change everything.

Mind Drama: The Science of Rumination and How to Outwit Your Inner Defeatist by Donna Jackson Narazawa (May 19th release)

In Mind Drama, veteran science writer Donna Jackson Nakazawa gets inside the strange magnetism of rumination, explains why we're all doing it now more than ever, and shares the new science for decoding, outwitting, and repurposing this dark mental habit. Using her own ruminative mind as a test case, she walks us through the actionable neuro-hacks that can help us escape unhealthy brooding.

» Donna Jackson Narazawa will be on our podcast this month!

Pixie by Jill Dawson (May 26th release)

Following the loss of her parents, the gifted and fiercely determined Pamela “Pixie” Colman Smith navigates the complex, esoteric world of fin-de-siècle art to forge her own path. In the novel Pixie, author Jill Dawson vividly reimagines the globetrotting life, struggles, and triumphs of the real-world illustrator behind the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig (May 26th release)

A magical, time-travelling love story, from the world of The Midnight Library. No one can change the past, but the Midnight Train can take you there, giving the chance to re-live the moments that meant most and to see what kind of person you really were. For Wilbur his best days were with Maggie, the love of his life. Before he gave it all away. He wishes he could go back and live differently. But to do so risks everything . . .

A Curse of Beast and Magic by Jeaniene Frost (May 28th release)

Harboring a violent, supernatural Beast within her since her family’s murder, vigilante Raine Stone accidentally exposes herself to a hidden realm of mythic creatures and its guardian, Warden Remy Byrne. As a sinister plot threatens the fragile barrier between worlds, Raine and Remy must navigate their explosive attraction and decide whether to forge an alliance to save humanity.

🥰 What Are You Looking Forward To?

What’s been your favorite read this month?

What new releases are you most excited about?

Leave a comment below — we’d all love to grow our TBRs together.

Leave a comment

In this post, you’ll find:

🎥 The video replay of our April meeting on The Tainted Cup

📚 Invitation + discussion questions for our next Book Pick: Writing, Creativity, and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd

🗓️ Upcoming Book Club Picks

💛 RSVP & Zoom link (below the paywall)

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Replay: The Tainted Cup

We LOVED this book club meeting. So many hot takes on genre, trusting readers, and character construction. And finally settling the question - What does a Leviathan look like?! (There were encyclopedias involved… goodness, we love this group.)

If you missed our last Book Club meeting, you can now watch the full replay above.

We had such a fantastic discussion of The Tainted Cup and talked about:

• Genre: Fantasy and Mystery

  • After debating if the novel was fantasy with mystery or mystery with fantasy, David J offered a fascinating perspective on genre: Fantasy/sci-fi are setting genres, mystery is a plot genre, and romance is a character genre. The Tainted Cup excelled across all of them.

  • We discussed the expected story beats in mystery and how we can all learn to plant reader questions by drawing inspiration from this genre. We all wanted to re-listen to the podcast episode with Andrea Bartz to learn more.

• Character: The Balance

  • All of us adored Ana and Din's partnership, which had strong Sherlock-Watson vibes, and the found family elements gave the mystery a sense of coziness despite the high stakes.

  • The characters were well-balanced in both personal and magical strengths and flaws. Bennet avoided the “Superman problem” of having any overpowered characters, with each power having a cost.

  • We discussed the expert strategy of introducing the characters in well-timed waves to avoid overwhelming readers at the start.

  • We marveled at the tricky balance of engagement and confusion maintained throughout the novel. Things were not over- or under-explained, demonstrating the author’s trust in the reader’s intelligence and patience.

• World-building: What worked, what didn’t?

  • We all struggled picturing the Leviathians. So, David J looked up Leviathans in his Mystical Beastry reference. The picture captured some of our imaginings, and we learned that Leviathans have a biblical origin. We all wanted to know more about the Leviathans, sparking interest in the next book of the series.

  • We talked about the blend of magic and science, called Biopunk.

  • The choice of modification and the social commentary of the magic system in society raised questions about power, class, and agency.

  • Recommended fantasy resource: The Magic System Blueprint

• Theme: Memory

  • We discussed the difference between lossy and eidetic memory and the impact of each on an individual and society, which had insights for our culture with ubiquitous cameras and AI.

  • We brought up the protective effects of forgetting on the psyche.

• Bonus Goodies

  • Christine recommended Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott.

  • David J told us all about the inaugural week-long writers’ retreat he ran on a cruise ship called Wave Writers! It went so well, they’re doing it again! Enrollment is open for next year.

During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we explored:

• After discussing the theme of memory in the novel, we talked about how our brains can often suffer from a negativity bias, remembering the harsh critiques and failures more than the positive experiences.

• Joanna led the group on a grounded reflection, asking each member to recall a concrete positive memory in their creative life, including all the sensory details. We then shared our memories and left the meeting on a connected, creative high.

As always, the replay is available to paid subscribers to keep our discussions cozy and private.

📚 You’re Invited: Writing, Creativity, and Soul

Whether you’re a curious reader or a fellow writer, we’d love to have you join us. No need to be “an expert”—just bring your thoughts and love of books.

Our next Book Club pick is:

Writing, Creativity, and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees was one of our favorite books, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see inside the mind that wrote it and enjoy the creative wisdom found along the way.

Meeting Date:

Sunday, May 31, 2026
8pm ET / 5pm PT
Zoom link below

💬 During the book discussion, we’ll chat about:

In Writing, Creativity, and Soul, Sue Monk Kidd blends memoir with practical craft advice and deep philosophical inquiries into the creative process.

The Soul of Writing

• Kidd grounds her book in the belief that writing is a spiritual act, drawing from a wellspring between imagination and feeling. How does this framework align with your own experience of writing? Do you actively try to tap into your “soul” when you draft, or does it happen inadvertently? Or do you not experience this?

• Drawing from Maya Angelou, Kidd notes that writers need something to say, the ability to say it, and the courage to say it. Which of these pillars comes most naturally to you, and which challenges you?

Process and Craft

• Kidd talks about the balance of chaos and order in the writing process, saying that “Creativity begins in chaos...The challenge is to bring form and order to it.” How do you go about this balance in your work?

• Regarding plot pacing, Kidd strives for “hurrying slowly.” What did you think about that concept, and how does it relate to your reading and writing experience?

The Realities of the Writing Life

• Referencing Virginia Woolf, Kidd discusses the necessity of a “Room of One’s Own” and the tension between making art and managing daily life. How do you actively protect your writing time and physical space against the demands of your day job, family, or other obligations? What are your “self-ordred patterns of time”?

Literary Mentors

• Kidd emphasizes that you cannot write fully from the depths of your soul without reading the best writing you can find. What is one book that shifted your understanding of what prose can do?

• Throughout the memoir, Kidd pays homage to the literary voices that shaped her. If you were to set your own “Brontë Table” of literary mentors, who would be sitting there?

What was your biggest insight, quote, or concept from the book that might shape your writing practice or creative outlook?

💬 During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we will talk about:

Kidd quotes Marion Woodsman: “In our creating, we are created.”

Joanna will lead a reflection on how our creativity has transformed aspects of ourselves. We will pay attention to how our art has impacted our internal and external experience of the world and share what we learned with one another.

We think this is going to be a wonderful conversation!

Share

✨ Introverts welcome: Cameras on or off. Your presence is enough.

Upcoming Book Club Picks

In case you missed it, here are our book picks for the first half of 2026:

Announcement for the second half of 2026 coming in May!

🔐 RSVP & Zoom Link

To protect the privacy of our discussion space and prevent Zoom-bombing, the RSVP and Zoom link are posted below the paywall.

If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:

Subscribe now

Or refer friends to receive complimentary months:

• 1 referral = 1 month free

• 2 referrals = 3 months free

• 3 referrals = 1 year free

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In this newsletter, I share a fun perspective on creative thinking and one of my favorite tools to use when I’m stuck or lost in a creative endeavor. I hope this brings a smile to your day and maybe an “ah-ha” to your own experience.

xo, Joanna

Which Muppet Do You Need?

Order and Chaos in Creative Thinking

Several years ago, my partner asked me, “Are you an order muppet or a chaos muppet?”

He didn’t need to explain the question any further. I knew my answer immediately: I am an Order Muppet. But for those of you who may not immediately understand the world in muppet terms, allow me to elaborate.

This all started with Dahlia Litwick’s Chaos Theory: A Unified Theory of Muppet Types. And the short of it is:

Chaos Muppets are frenetic and emotional characters like Gonzo, Cookie Monster, Grover, Ernie, and Animal. They make their way through life in a swirling maelstrom of food crumbs, small flaming objects, and, for whatever reason, tend to be blue and fuzzy.

Order Muppets, on the other hand, are neurotic, highly regimented, and averse to surprises. They may resent the responsibility before them, but also revel in the knowledge that they make everything happen. Think Big Bird, Bert, Sam the Eagle, Rowlf the Dog, and Kermit the Frog.

Now, maybe we tend toward one or the other muppet type, but instead of picking one, I propose that we have both muppets within us, and knowing which muppet we need during challenging creative moments can help us.

Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Instead of muppets, creativity research discusses convergent and divergent thinking. Understanding these two different cognitive processes has helped me see what I need when I hit a wall.

Convergent thinking narrows down the options to reach a single logical answer for the situation.

Divergent thinking generates multiple ideas from one starting point. This orientation expands possibilities and explores many ideas.

Everyone uses BOTH of these states in their creative endeavors.

Maybe Order Muppets tend to be outliners or plotters, and Chaos Muppets write a bit more by the seat of the pants, aka pansers. But even pansers get locked into convergent thinking, and plotters get lost in a swirl. So, whichever muppet you typically play out, it helps to know the tools of the trade for each.

Muppet Awareness

The first key to working with this concept is awareness of your thoughts. Once you observe your thought patterns, you can notice which muppet is gripping the wheel, and then see if a shift might be helpful.

When I’m Stuck

Here’s how my awareness goes. Since I have strong Order Muppet tendencies, I often get stuck in convergent thinking. When this happens, my body might feel tense and constricted, while my thoughts crawl over the same options like a spotlight searching a limited space for the answer. I try to logic my way through it, but I don’t have enough fresh material to see an inspired way forward. I am trying to converge with too little data, and I need divergent thinking to unlock me.

But, of course, the Order Muppet in me resists divergent thinking with the statement, “I just have to figure it out.” Or “I just have to focus more or think harder.” But to reach a satisfying solution, I need new ideas, fresh energy, and to expand my vision.

So, I invite Animal over to scatter the stale options in front of me, Gonzo to lead me to some weird places, Grover to brainstorm with me, and Cookie Monster to revel in all the delicious options we find.

Practically, this might look like taking a walk while brainstorming with a friend and their inner Chaos Muppet, letting myself daydream while gardening, or making a Pinterest board to activate a visual sensory experience. It’s changing from a head-down to a head-up orientation and exchanging the spotlight for a lantern to expand my scope for imagination.

When I’m Lost

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, I can also get lost, foggy, or overwhelmed by my creative options, especially at the start of a project. My body feels unrestrained and swirling, and my thoughts feel scattered. I am full of ALL the possibilities, and I ask, “What should I choose? Which way should I go?” At this point, I need convergent thinking and an Order Muppet to support me.

But, of course, my Chaos Muppet might resist convergent thinking with the fear, “I can’t limit my options! There might be something better out there…a better idea, a better partner, a better method.” But, to move forward, I need to pick something and learn from converging on a choice.

I need Bert to shake my shoulders, then Kermit to take my hand and direct my focus down to the options in front of me, and Sam the Eagle to hold me to a choice.

Concretely, this means using tools to help center my attention and evaluate options. With my goal in mind, I can delineate the pros and cons, outline the concrete steps forward, or make checklists to assess my needs. Asking friends with strong inner Order Muppets to sit down with me can really help here.

Tools for Each Muppet

And My Favorite Tool: A List of Ten

It may seem silly in its simplicity, but a List of Ten always helps me because it combines both convergent and divergent processes.

Whenever I get stuck or lost, I get out a sheet of paper, write the question I am struggling with at the top, and brainstorm ten solutions. Most likely, the first three or four ideas I scribble down have been the answers that I’ve been mulling over and over. I usually resist going further, but I must fill the list.

With all the clichés out of the way and a list left to complete, I activate my divergent thinking. I say hello to the crazy options. After hitting number seven on the list, the technique really pays off. For example, in considering career options for my 1950s farm girl protagonist, I clear out teacher, nurse, secretary, and finally get to zoo keeper, lingerie designer, and Russian spy.

“But those are just unrealistic answers,” you might be thinking. “Where is the real solution?” Well, now that I have fresh ideas, I bring them back to my novel. This is where convergent thinking enters the picture.

Yes, some of the solutions on my list fall into the cuckoo crazy camp. I don’t want my farm girl aspiring to be a Russian spy, leading me out of historical women’s fiction into spy thriller territory, but maybe, in converging on one solution with these wild options circling me, I get an additional idea that my protagonist has a best friend who is Russian and experiencing loads of discrimination in the Cold War era. So, this list can infuse energy into my book, beyond the original question I am trying to answer. The solution could be one of those initial options, but with the additional element of this new friend, my novel gains depth.

Most often, though, I find a fresh solution to a sticky problem because I couldn’t get out of the rut of the first three clichés or couldn’t focus my imagination. It often doesn’t drastically change the shape of my novel, but I can finally move forward with an inspired choice. And sometimes one of the options takes me on a wild ride of a country girl who finally decides to follow her dream of designing racy lingerie and taking on the raging patriarchy that is trying to reassert itself after a world war.

What Muppet do YOU need?

I hope you play around with your muppets. They might help you shrug off the debilitating state of stuck or the overwhelming sense of “I don’t know.” I even use these tools for real-life decisions, planning activities, buying birthday presents, or deciding on my dreams. After all, I am my own protagonist. Party on, Animals!

Share your muppet experience in the comments.

🪽 What’s your favorite way to get unstuck?

💫 How do you make challenging creative choices?

🐸 What Muppet do you need right now?

Leave a comment

Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.

Our next guests are three amazing book publicists from Lavender PR–Carla Bruce, Brittani Hilles, and Amelia Possanza. This team has over three decades of combined experience at publishers like HarperCollins, Little, Brown, Riverhead Press, Flatiron Books, St. Martin’s Press, Algonquin Books, and more. They craft high-impact campaigns for diverse genres, from literary fiction and memoirs to propulsive thrillers. And, as published authors and established freelance writers themselves, the team offers an insider’s perspective on the publishing landscape.

Today, we talk about:

• what book publicists do for authors,

• how to find and hire a book publicist,

• differences between publicity in indie and traditional publishing,

• how book publicists decide who in media to pitch,

• the role of social media influencers in book publicity,

• and so much more!

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Watch the Conversation

You can watch the full video on:
→ Our Website | Youtube | Substack app

Captions and full transcripts are always available on the website version (just click the “CC” button or the transcript tab below the video).

🎧 Prefer to Listen?

Stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts:
→ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | or your favorite platform

🎙️ Browse all past episodes HERE

📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?

We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!

Connect with Lavender PR:

Check out their latest publicity campaigns on their website, Lavender Public Relations. You can find Brittani, Carla, and Amelia on Instagram, too!

Welcome to April’s edition of Happiness Sprinkles—a vibrant, joyful roundup of small pieces worth smiling about and a few wonderful things you in this community have been creating.

In this post, you’ll find:

🌸 Happiness Sprinkles

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight - You’re the Hero of the Story

📖 Book Club Details + Zoom Link

• Reminder! Our “Reading with Wonder” Book Club meeting is this Wednesday, April 22nd at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

• Zoom Link at the bottom of this post

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🌸 Happiness Sprinkles

A few quiet delights we’ve loved this month—and hope you will, too.

• Flower Walks! We shared color hunting during the winter months, and now that spring has sprung, what about a flower walk? Check out Michelle Tirronen's simple, whimsical activity of filling a cardboard vase with fresh blooms.

• Reading vs. Listening to a Book. While science has demonstrated that the brain processes words similarly, whether you are reading or listening to a book, audiobook listeners still get judged. The article argues that audiobooks can offer a more relaxed gateway to reading, and stigma against them is counterproductive to learning. Let’s celebrate reading in all its forms!

• Librarians are the best. Please enjoy these fierce competitors from Lake Villa District Library in Lindenhurst, Illinois. Librarians’ work to create democratic access to information, and this humor does just that. They are reaching across a digital divide to make libraries vibrant and welcoming places for everyone.

• Minions meet chocolate art. We love this intersection between the precision art of patisserie and the silly fun of the Minions. We want one of those bananas!

• Easter in Space. The NASA pilot, Victor Glover, reminds us that we are all together on a spaceship called Earth in an inspiring share from the furthest humans have been in space. Did anyone else follow every broadcast from Artemis 2?

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight

Every month, we love highlighting what you are creating. Here are a few wonderful projects and milestones from our community:

Katrina Anne Willis’s memoir, Hurricane Lessons, came out April 7th! Wow.

Belle Gayer released her book, Are Relationships For Suckers? Go Belle!

Rachel Johnson, founder of ah.mi!, fed her creative juices doing a guest post with Favorite Daughter. We love some creative collaboration!

Christine Ahh just finished the polish edit of her novel and is ready for beta readers!

Jen Ratcliffe had some exciting opportunities for her new book podcast centred around water & the environment - the local paper & magazine want to write features. Go Jen!

Want to be featured in a future post?

Just reply to this email or leave a comment with a 1–2 sentence description of what you’ve been working on. Or, hang out in our community chat, where we share our recent smiles and successes.

📖 “Reading with Wonder” Book Club — This Wednesday!

You’re invited (even if you haven’t read the book):

🗓️ Wednesday, April 22nd at 8pm ET / 5pm PT - ZOOM link below

📚 Book: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet

💬 During the book discussion, we’ll chat about:

• Genre: Fantasy and Mystery

  • How did Bennett play with or subvert mystery and/or fantasy tropes?

  • What do you think of the term “biopunk” as a genre descriptor?

• Character: The Balance

  • How did Bennet balance the strengths and flaws of the characters?

  • What are some foundational character qualities that make detective-assistant pairs work? How are these dynamics similar or different to character pairs in other genres?

• World-building: What worked, what didn’t?

  • What did you think of the world of the Empire of Khanum? Which parts were the most intriguing?

  • How did Bennet establish the rules of magic in the novel?

  • What questions remain about the world?

• Theme: Memory

  • What did the novel communicate about memory on a personal and societal level?

💬 During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we will talk about our own memories:

• We’ll discuss the nature of our memory and how it enhances and impacts our creative life, including the negativity bias, where we may prioritize negative experiences, criticism, and failures over positive ones.

• Guided Positive Memory Recall Exercise

  • Focusing on a small, ordinary, positive moment in your creative life

  • Recalling the sensory details of the moment

  • Writing down and sharing the moment

Zoom link is posted below the paywall to keep our gathering cozy and private.

(This also prevents any non-book-loving Zoom crashers!)

If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:

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📹 This session will be recorded for those who can’t attend live.

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Welcome back to Letters from the Creative Life. These occasional essays explore the quieter corners of living: small reflections on art, ambition, and the tender balancing act of building a meaningful life in a noisy world. Think of them as letters from our lives to yours. Enjoy!

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

Every morning for the past 15 months, I’ve been doing a slow read (10 pages or so) of a classic book. It started with War and Peace, then Les Misérables, then A Farewell to Arms, then Wuthering Heights. In the evenings, I read something contemporary, whatever on my TBR shelf that’s happened to catch my eye.

Holding nineteenth-century Russia in my head alongside a novel published last year can be a little discombobulating sometimes. But I’ve come to love the way different centuries and sensibilities rub against each other, and how it keeps me from settling into any single mode of thinking.

Then the other day, it hit me: I’m hungry for people who think for themselves.

Not the ones who agree or disagree with me in predictable ways. I mean people whose conclusions surprise me, because they arrived at them through their own wrestling, their own analysis, rather than by simply absorbing whatever was handed to them by an algorithm or a headline.

These minds feel rarer than they used to. Or maybe I’m just more aware now of how much I crave them. So much of what I encounter—online, in conversation, even in books and TV and movies—feels pre-sorted. The opinions come in familiar clusters. If someone believes X, I can usually predict they also believe Y and Z. The packages are so tidy that I’ve started to wonder: did this person actually think this through? Or did they just adopt a worldview wholesale?

Admittedly, I’ve done it, too, sometimes without even noticing. We all have. It’s easier and faster and feels safer to belong somewhere, to know which ideas are “ours.”

But I’ve grown a little restless with safe.

In The Incredible Kindness of Paper, I wrote about small acts of generosity and how they ripple outward. Now, I keep coming back to the idea that listening is one of those acts of generous kindness. Really listening—not rushing to judge someone, not mentally sorting them into a camp, but staying open to the possibility that they might have arrived somewhere interesting through their own thinking. That’s a kind of respect we don’t offer each other enough.

And maybe it starts with offering it to ourselves, by letting our own conclusions be unfinished, contradictory, not quite fitting anywhere. By trusting our brains to do the work and allowing it to be messy.

I don’t know what I’ll read next. But I know what I’m looking for: Minds I can’t predict, and the pleasure of encountering a thought I’ve never had before.

I look forward to someone else’s thinking challenging me to do even more of my own.

Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.

Our next guest, Stacey Lee, is a NYT and Indie bestselling author of historical and contemporary YA and middle grade fiction, including The Downstairs Girl, a Reese’s Book Club pick, Kill Her Twice, a school Library Journal best book of the year, and her most recent novel, Heiress of Nowhere. Stacey is a fourth-generation Chinese American and a founder of We Need Diverse Books.

Today, we talk about:

• venturing into Gothic literature,

• the fun of historical research,

• the current landscape of YA fiction,

• and promoting books with the heart of an introvert.

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Watch the Conversation

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📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?

We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!

Connect with Stacey:

You can find Stacey Lee on Instagram. Her newest novel, Heiress of Nowhere, is available in bookstores everywhere or from your favorite online retailer!

Spring is feeling lovely over here. If you’re looking for a book to read in the sunshine, here are the new releases we’re excited about—the ones that warmed our hearts, tugged at our curiosity, or whisper-shouted “Read me!”

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

Note: We don’t receive affiliate commissions or payment for these mentions. We haven’t read these yet; these are genuine picks based on love of the author, intriguing premises, or early buzz that feels promising.

📚 March/April 2026 Most Anticipated New Releases

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie (April 7th release)

In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for Saturday Night Live; instead, she’s stuck working in a video rental store, with slim odds of escaping her small Massachusetts town. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty, and her life changes forever. Despite wildly different upbringings, the two forge a deep, cosmic bond, first as friends, then as acting partners—until one day, Noah disappears without a word.

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (April 7th release)

Rainy March is a proud, third-generation Book Witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes, real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps in and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes like a modern-day magical Nancy Drew.

Start at the End by Emma Grey (April 7th release)

A "sliding-doors" romance about Audrey and Fraser, two soulmates whose epic love story is upended by a tragic event, forcing them to confront guilt and "what-ifs" as they try to start over, told with a unique structure exploring how different choices could have changed their lives.

The Midnight Show by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne (April 7th release)

A Daisy Jones & The Six-style novel about surviving as a funny woman in the 1980s male-dominated world of comedy—and what happens when Lillian Martin, the most promising female star of her generation, vanishes. Forty years after her unsolved disappearance, a young journalist investigates the story, stirring up decades-old secrets from the Friday night live comedy show's original cast and crew.

Love and Other Monsters by Emily Franklin (April 7th release)

Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet meets Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice in this historical fiction novel focusing on Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley's step-sister, during the bizarrely cold, scandalous summer of 1816. As a group of famous young writers gathered at a mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, Claire strives to escape her sister’s shadow and find her own voice, documenting the dangerous secrets of a summer that birthed some of literature’s most enduring monsters.

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell (April 7th release)

As her husband’s viral, semi-autobiographical comic turns her into a public caricature, Cherry struggles with a looming divorce and a lost sense of identity in Omaha. Her life takes a turn when she encounters Russ, an old flame who sees her for who she truly is, and, mercifully, has no idea her husband’s comic even exists.

Your Turn: What Are You Looking Forward To?

💗 What have you read recently that you tell everyone about?

🤩 What new releases are you most excited about this month?

📚 Leave a comment below — let’s grow our TBRs together!

In this post, you’ll find:

🎥 The video replay of our March meeting

📚 Your invitation + discussion questions for The Tainted Cup, our next book pick

🗓️ Upcoming Book Club Picks

💛 RSVP & Zoom link (below the paywall)

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Replay: The Correspondent

If you missed our last Book Club meeting, you can now watch the full replay above.

We had such a fantastic discussion of The Correspondent and talked about:

• Epistolary novels!

  • We discussed how the novel's structure impacted our understanding of the characters. The letters helped set an intimate and gentle pace from the start, but it took time for us to learn the characters’ voices such that several of us needed to check the signature before starting each letter to get context.

  • We compared this novel to other epistolary works, including The Geurney Literary Potato Peel Pie Society.

  • Some of us guessed the unaddressed correspondent; others did not!

• Grief was a major theme in the novel.

  • We talked about the different types of grief Sybil experienced and how they created cascading layers of loss and contributed to her questionable choices.

  • We considered the magnitude of losing a child compared to any other loss, and understood the ripple of trauma throughout her life.

• Famous authors

  • We respected the courage it took to write as other famous authors in a work.

  • We wondered if Virginia Evans needed permission to use the identity in the letters of the book. Maybe that’s how Ann Patchett came to blurb the book?!

  • We enjoyed tossing around some book recommendations for Sybil. Can you imagine her reading Fourth Wing? :)

• Slow-burn, word-of-mouth hit

  • We discussed how Evans was close to giving up on writing fiction before this success, and how wonderful it was to see a novel succeed because readers loved it, rather than due to a pricey marketing campaign.

  • We considered whether this novel could be adapted into a movie or TV series.

  • We questioned if this could be called a “feel-good” read, which some of the word-of-mouth buzz led us to believe.

During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we explored:

• We each named elements of our creative lives that we’ve needed to grieve. Putting words to our creative losses and knowing that losses happen at every stage of a creative career was powerful.

• We owned the honesty of our disappointment and the importance of dedication to the creative process rather than the outcome.

As always, the replay is available to paid subscribers to keep our discussions cozy and private.

📚 You’re Invited: The Tainted Cup

Whether you’re a curious reader or a fellow writer, we’d love to have you join us. No need to be “an expert”—just bring your thoughts and your love of books.

Our next Book Club pick is:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
We chose this book because several readers we love with wildly different book preferences all enjoyed it. We can’t wait to discuss all the elements that gave this story such broad appeal.

Meeting Date:

Wednesday, April 22, 2025
8pm ET / 5pm PT
Zoom link below

💬 During the book discussion, we’ll chat about:

• Genre: Fantasy and Mystery

  • How did Bennett play with or subvert mystery and/or fantasy tropes? Which genre did you think served as the primary one?

  • What do you think of the term “biopunk” as a descriptor?

• Character: The Balance

  • How did Bennet balance the strengths and flaws of the characters?

  • What are some foundational character qualities that make detective-assistant pairs work? How are these dynamics similar or different to character pairs in other genres?

• World-building: What worked, what didn’t?

  • What did you think of the world of Khanum? Which parts were the most intriguing?

  • How did Bennet establish the rules of magic in the novel? And what questions remain about the world?

• Theme: Memory

  • What did the novel communicate about memory on a personal and societal level? When should we forget, and when should we not?

💬 During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we will talk about our own memories:

• We’ll discuss the nature of our memory and how it enhances and impacts our creative life, including the negativity bias, where we may prioritize negative experiences, criticism, and failures over positive ones.

• Guided Positive Memory Recall Exercise

  • Focusing on a small, ordinary, positive moment in your creative life

  • Recalling the sensory details of the moment

  • Writing down and sharing the moment

We think this is going to be a wonderful conversation!

Share

✨ Introverts welcome: Cameras on or off. Your presence is enough.

Upcoming Book Club Picks

In case you missed it, here are our book picks for the first half of 2026:

🔐 RSVP & Zoom Link

To protect the privacy of our discussion space and prevent Zoom-bombing, the RSVP and Zoom link are posted below the paywall.

If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:

Subscribe now

Or refer friends to receive complimentary months:

• 1 referral = 1 month free

• 2 referrals = 3 months free

• 3 referrals = 1 year free

Refer a friend

💛 💛 💛 💛 💛

Read more

Welcome to March’s edition of Happiness Sprinkles—a fun, joyful roundup of small pieces worth smiling about and a few wonderful things you in this community have been creating.

In this post, you’ll find:

🌸 Happiness Sprinkles

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight - You’re the Hero of the Story

📖 Book Club Details + Zoom Link

• Reminder! Our “Reading with Wonder” Book Club meeting is this Sunday, March 29th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

• Zoom Link at the bottom of this post

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

🌸 Happiness Sprinkles

A few quiet delights we’ve loved this month—and hope you will, too.

• Laundromat art! Harriet Riddell stitches magic while strangers clean their clothes. This piece helped us appreciate how making art in unexpected places is a gift to the artist, to the place, to the audience, and to the world. Check out the link to see her creativity in action. Do you create in any interesting places?

• “SMALL IS WORTHY” - The Happy Urbanist explains that small business is worthy because of what it is, not because of what it will become. He shares the important argument that growing big shouldn’t always be the point. We enjoyed applying his perspective to our creative lives and imagining how the joy, connection, and impact of small audiences, intimate releases, and special niches can sustain and fulfill us.

• Yogurt Delivery Women in Japan Combat Loneliness - This lovely article is about a job where responsibility and kindness overlap. So often, our society treats making money and being kind as oppositional, but this article shows something symbiotic. How can we infuse service into our work?

• The Anne Hathaway “Reincarnation Theory”- In the 16th century, William Shakespeare and a woman named Anne Hathaway were married. Fans of the modern actress Anne Hathaway have noticed that her husband, Adam Shulman, looks remarkably similar to historical depictions of Shakespeare. The fun speculation is that this is a romantic reincarnation that spans centuries. Anne Hathaway herself played along this week, sprinkling a bit of happiness for us.

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight

Every month, we love highlighting what you are creating. Here are a few wonderful projects from our community:

🎤 Mary Beth Kaplan added a new interview series for her podcast available for everyone called My Morning Pages Podcast. Season 2 debuted last week!

🎲 Trista is teaming up with a local pizza/smokehouse to host a board game night!

✍🏽 Barb Natividad published her short story, “Snowflake,” in the January House Literary Journal!

🎬 Dawn Sellers launched Season Two of the Oregon Indie Film podcast and finished a draft of her screenplay!

📚 Laura Hepworth was part of the Third Coast Book Fest in Grand Haven, Michigan this past Saturday!

🎨 Nimita Kaul was interviewed as an artist for the first time this month, and shared her second illustration for an author on Substack!

Want to be featured in a future post?

Just reply to this email or leave a comment with a 1–2 sentence description of what you’ve been working on. Or, hang out in our community chat, where we share our recent smiles and successes.

📖 “Reading with Wonder” Book Club — This Sunday!

You’re invited (even if you haven’t read the book):

🗓️ Sunday, March 29th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT - ZOOM link below

📚 Book: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

💬 During the book discussion, we’ll chat about:

• Format: An epistolary novel is a work of fiction told through a collection of documents rather than a traditional narrative, most commonly through letters, diary entries, or, in modern contexts, emails, blog posts, and text messages.

  • How did the novel’s format shape our understanding of the protagonist?

  • What did contrasting the tone, style, and information across letters reveal?

  • How did the epistolary format help and/or hinder the plot development?

• Themes: Grief was a major theme in the novel. Sybil grappled with a devastating past and new loss throughout the story.

  • How did the protagonist’s grief transform?

  • How did the layers of grief work to establish the theme beyond the stated?

• Famous Authors: Some authors that the protagonist writes to include Ann Patchett, Joan Didion, Kazuo Ishiguro, Larry McCurty, and Diana Gabaldon.

  • What do her letters reveal about the authors as characters?

  • How do these relationships develop the protagonist?

  • What book would you recommend to Sybil?

• Breakout novel: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans achieved breakout success in 2025 as a “slow-burn” hit, driven by “strong word-of-mouth, a crucial endorsement from author Ann Patchett, and its unique epistolary format.”

  • What gave this novel strong word-of-mouth travel?

  • What does The Correspondent’s success say about the publishing industry?

  • What other novels grew slowly in popularity? And what can we learn from this as writers?

💬 During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we will talk about:

• Although it may seem paradoxical, experiencing grief around our creative process is an essential part of our creative vitality.

  • In our creative lives, we can feel grief over rejections, incomplete projects, failed partnerships, and more. What part of your creative process no longer feels alive for you?

  • How might we release these things to make room for what needs to come next—new inspiration, ideas, and callings?

• If you were to write a letter to your past self, what would you tell them?We think this is going to be a wonderful conversation!

Zoom link is posted below the paywall to keep our gathering cozy and private.

(This also prevents any non-book-loving Zoom crashers!)

If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:

Subscribe now

or:

Refer friends to receive complimentary months:

• 1 referral = 1 month free

• 2 referrals = 3 months free

• 3 referrals = 1 year free

Refer a friend

✨ Note for fellow introverts:
You are welcome to come as you are—cameras on or off, display names changed or unchanged. No pressure, just presence.

📹 This session will be recorded for those who can’t attend live.

💛 Join the Book Club:

Read more

Hello, Protagonists!

Welcome to another entry in Author Diaries—where we explore a behind-the-scenes topic of the book world. In this post, we’ll take a deep dive and explore the distinction between genres that contain magic.

As always, thank you for being here, not just as readers, but as fellow story-lovers and co-dreamers of this beautiful, bookish life.

xo, Joanna

Flavors of Magic

Fantasy vs. Magical Realism vs. Speculative Twists

I love a little magic in my books, and lucky for me, the supernatural has flourished across and between genres in the book world. But now, when I walk into the bookshop, I wonder what to order. One scoop of historical, a second scoop of magical realism, and a sprinkle of time travel?

Genre-bending books and the professionals who market them have created and overlapped categories such that I’m often unsure about what I’m getting. So, this essay is my attempt to understand some of the genres and subgenres with unreal elements.

Why even care about categories?

Sometimes when I talk about genres, writers and readers feel ruffled and say something like - “Genres are limiting,” or “Categories are arbitrary–who cares?!” And I see the truth in these sentiments. As a writer, I’ve felt both penned in by a genre and also how easily I can write straight through these imaginary lines.

However, as a reader, I’ve often felt frustrated when the category was misleading, such as being told something was magical realism and then discovering it was a cozy contemporary fantasy about witches, or picking something from a contemporary romance table and finding out halfway through that the protagonist is a vampire.

It felt like I ordered strawberry and got chocolate chip cookie dough. Now, I like both flavors, but the surprise of biting into an unexpected genre mid-cone threw me out of the reading experience. Ultimately, I think these categories help set readers’ expectations.

As I bend genres in my own writing and pitch my work to readers, I strive to be clear and helpful. So, I’m setting out to understand the difference between fantasy, magical realism, speculative fiction, and several twists of these flavors.

Speculative and Fantasy and Magical Realism, Oh My!

I often find these three terms used interchangeably, so I researched how experts distinguish their differences.

Speculative

Speculative fiction includes any story that departs from strict realism by exploring scenarios that could not possibly happen in our current world. In reading about the meaning of speculative, I discovered some fun drama between two titans in the sci-fi fantasy world: Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Atwood offers this definition for speculative fiction:

“For me, the science fiction label belongs on books with things in them that we can’t yet do, such as going through a wormhole in space to another universe; and speculative fiction means a work that employs the means already to hand, such as DNA identification and credit cards, and that takes place on Planet Earth. But the terms are fluid. Some use speculative fiction as an umbrella covering science fiction and all its hyphenated forms - science fiction fantasy, and so forth - and others choose the reverse.”

It’s reported that Le Guin questioned whether Atwood’s distinction was made to distance her novels from the less esteemed genre roots of sci-fi and signal literary elevation. In the end, Atwood and Le Guin agreed on the definitions and admire one another to this day. Reading about this schism, I took away the importance of respecting all forms of fiction and the caution of conflating literary with superiority.

Fantasy

Atwood and Le Guin readily agreed that the fantasy genre features supernatural elements that could never exist in the real world. The flavors within fantasy are as prolific as the creatures found on its pages, with a major distinction between high fantasy (epic, magic-filled quests in other worlds) and low/contemporary/urban fantasy (blends magic into modern life/this world). Then there are so many subgenres: dark fantasy, historical fantasy, steampunk fantasy, cozy fantasy, romantasy, portal fantasy, and more, which are further defined by setting, tone, and magical rules. Magical realism is sometimes listed as a fantasy subgenre, but more often it’s classified as its own separate animal.

Magical Realism

Magical realism is one of those genres that many people struggle to pin down, but this seems to be intrinsic to its very nature. Magical realism is the dream genre of fiction. Is it real? Is it a dream? It’s slippery like a fish that laughs at you as it dissolves into a cloud.

Magical realism in literature arose soon after World War II, with Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia Marquez in South America, Gunter Grass in Germany, and Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco in Italy. In magical realism, “the frame or surface of the work may be conventionally realistic, but contrasting elements –such as the supernatural, myth, dream, fantasy–invade the realism and change the whole basis of art.”

Reissenweber at Gotham Writers provides the distinction: “While magical realism situates readers in a predominantly realistic world, fantasy takes place in an unreal world with unreal characters.” Woodson at Writer’s Digest goes on to differentiate, stating magical realism has an intentional lack of explanation about why the magic exists, less of a traditional plot structure, and uses magical elements as more of a continuous metaphor…In fact, magical realism is a closer relative to literary fiction than fantasy—which helps in identifying it in the books we read.”

For me, the simplest defining feature of magical realism is that the magical elements are not explained or acknowledged. If the characters discuss the magic at play, it’s fantasy, whereas if the magical elements unfold without comment, it’s magical realism. In my own reading and writing experience, I could even interpret the magical elements in MR as figurative language or occurring within the protagonist’s imagination. I enjoy wondering, did it really happen?

This and That

I posit that the post-2010 boom in the fantasy market contributed to the blurring of these categories. I imagine that marketers called light contemporary fantasy “magical realism” before this category caught on as a legitimate subgenre all its own. Or since magical realism can be interpreted as literary writing with fantasy elements, maybe some used the term to “elevate” work beyond the fantasy genre, similar to the Atwood/Le Guin kurfuffle. But now that adult fantasy has gained mass appeal, maybe magical realism can return to its more unique self.

In the spirit of blending and bending, I asked myself: could fantasy and magical realism be combined? While I am in no position to police these categories, only discuss them, my opinion is that one disrupts the intention of the other. The technique of magical realism creates the question: Is this even real? The power of leaving unreal things unexplained is that you allow the reader to explain it themselves. That’s the delight of magical realism for me. So if fantasy is added by explaining the magic with backstory, establishing unreal character types, or building a new world, the element of magical realism I like best–the metaphoric mystery–breaks down. I love fantasy as fantasy and magical realism as magical realism.

Flavor Descriptions

I found this distinction helpful and added magical realism to the rubric:

Genre vs. Twist

In this discussion of magical flavors, I think it’s important to talk about twists. Sometimes novels are firmly planted in one genre (i.e. romance or mystery), and then have a twist or elements of another genre (i.e. fantasy or sci-fi). How delicious! So, I wanted to know: what makes something a genre vs. a twist?

In deciding the main genre of a novel, the time period, writing style, setting, and target audience all matter, but the trickiest question, in my opinion, is: What is the story’s main plot-line and/or central question? For example, in determining whether a novel is romance with fantasy or fantasy with romance, we ask: Is the central question whether the love interests will end up together, or will the protagonist overcome the supernatural odds to survive/succeed? Now both questions can be posed, but the one that feels most central determines the primary genre.

Compared to a genre, a twist is a subtle or isolated element within a novel. It often indicates a “what if” plot device in the story rather than the overarching basis of the narrative. Speculative twists can be added to any genre: fiction, romance, thriller, mystery, etc. For example, in a romance, “what if” science can determine your soul mate (The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren). Or in a thriller, “what if” you saw your son commit murder and then restarted the day and had to figure out his trigger (Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian Flynn).

The speculative twist informs the premise and impacts the plot but does not change the foundational realism. In addition, the twist does not usurp the central question of the novel. The Soulmate Equation is not primarily about using DNA matchmaking, it’s still about the protagonists’ relationship - will they end up together?

Let’s Order a Few Off the Menu

Enough with all these definitions, let’s apply them to some stories we know and love. To keep things simple, I set the audience to adult and then played with two time periods: historical and contemporary fiction.

Historical

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gramis - Historical Fiction with Magical Realism

In the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist forced out of research, reluctantly becomes the beloved host of a TV cooking show. Several chapters are written from the perspective of Zott’s dog, Six Thirty, adding a twist of the unreal to the novel. Since this magical element is a real being and never acknowledged by the characters, but is layered into the story to depict the protagonist’s emotional life, I consider this an element of magical realism.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Swab - Historical Fantasy

In 1714, Addie LaRue makes a bargain with a dark, god-like entity for immortality but is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets, leading to a centuries-long, invisible existence. These are clearly unreal characters, putting this into the fantasy genre. In addition, these elements provide more than a twist but also the driving question of the novel. Will Addie break free of this fantastical bargain and finally be remembered?

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Historical Romance with a speculative twist

Claire Beauchamp, a WWII nurse, is propelled through time by an ancient stone circle. While surviving 18th century Scotland, she falls in love with clansman, James Fraser. The central question shifts from will she survive or return home, to will the lovers end up together, making this primarily a historical romance, while the speculative twist of time travel serves the love story. In addition, the magic of time travel is discussed and explored by the characters, making this a fantasy element rather than magical realism.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - Magical Realism

This one is my absolute favorite. Tita De La Garza, a young woman in revolutionary-era Mexico, is forbidden by tradition from marrying her love, Pedro, because she must care for her mother. Tita expresses her intense emotions through cooking, which affects those who eat her food–an unreal, but also unexplained phenomenon in the novel. The magic imbues every chapter to express the restriction of desire and forbidden love, delivering the central idea of whether passion can triumph over oppression and serving as a classic example of magical realism as a genre.

Contemporary

The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye - Contemporary Fiction with Magical Realism

Chloe Hanako Quinn, a down-on-her-luck guidance counselor, leaves encouraging messages hidden in origami roses around the NYC. These roses have an unexplained magical ability to find people in need, leading her to a second chance with a childhood friend. The roses are a subtle, unexplained element that serves the realism rather than disrupting it to support the central theme of kindness, making this contemporary fiction with a magical realism element or twist.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman - Contemporary Fantasy

Sally and Gillian Owens, raised by eccentric aunts in a town that shuns them as witches, are cursed in love such that any man they love dies. The sisters must face their curse and embrace their magic. As witches, these characters are unreal beings and seek to understand the magic in the novel as part of the main plotline. Using the rubric above, the novel fits into the contemporary fantasy genre despite it being often labeled as magical realism.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams - Contemporary Romance with a speculative twist

Ricki Wilde moves to NYC to open a florist shop in Harlem and falls for Ezra, a mysterious musician cursed by a scorned lover to live forever and lose his true love. The central question is whether the lovers will end up together, indicating the primary genre of a romance. And Ezra’s curse has an extensive backstory, and the lovers try to undo it, making the magical element a speculative twist.

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - Magical Realism

Zoey Hennessey moves to Mallow Island, South Carolina, to claim her deceased mother’s apartment in a building filled with quirky neighbors, ghosts, and mysterious turquoise birds. These ghosts and spirits are unexplained, integral parts of the character’s transformation that serve to enhance the realism of confronting fears and releasing past stories, giving us a contemporary example of magical realism.

Yum!

Each of these categories and everything in between lets us revel in our imaginations to see ourselves and our world differently. Exploring distinctions between these traditions helps me understand the craft, clearly set my readers’ expectations, and supports me in creating just the flavor of ice cream I crave. Now, what’s your favorite flavor?

Share your thoughts on this menu of magic in the comments.

🧚‍♂️ Do you prefer fantasy or magical realism?

🧐 Do you agree with Atwood or Le Guin?

🍦 What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Leave a comment

Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.

Our next guest, Rebecca Serle, is the New York Times bestselling author of Once and Again, Expiration Dates, One Italian Summer, In Five Years, and The Dinner List, to name a few. Serle also developed the hit TV adaptation Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in LA with her husband and daughter.

Today, we talk about:

• creative brainstorming,

• motherhood and writing,

• when time travel isn’t really time travel,

• and so much more!

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Watch the Conversation

You can watch the full video on:
→ Our Website | Youtube | Substack app

Captions and full transcripts are always available on the website version (just click the “CC” button or the transcript tab below the video).

🎧 Prefer to Listen?

Stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts:
→ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | or your favorite platform

🎙️ Browse all past episodes HERE

📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?

We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!

Connect with Rebecca Serle:

You can find Rebecca on Instagram. Her newest novel, Once and Again, is available in bookstores everywhere or from your favorite online retailer!

I originally sent this out over the weekend on my personal Substack, but in case you’re not subscribed to Spare Time with Evelyn Skye, I’m re-sending it here. 💛

A couple months ago, I wrote about how tightly the word “novelist” can hold you, about how identities can become efficient, familiar, and almost too simple, until one day they start to feel narrow.

Since then, I’ve been thinking and experimenting with different ideas about what’s next for me, and what I realized is that I’m not leaving writing behind… but that I’m curious about new ways of being inside it.

At the same time, I’ve been learning French, and one of my favorite words is atelier—a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer, where serious work happens, craft is examined, and process is shared.

I used to feel a little jealous that artists got ateliers. Chefs do, too; here in San Francisco, Dominique Crenn named her restaurant Atelier Crenn. But we writers too often work alone in the dark corners of our apartments or in loud, impersonal coffee shops.

Unless…

What if we created an atelier for novelists—a studio where a small group of serious writers could bring their pages, examine the architecture of their openings, and learn from each other in real time?

So this spring, I’m going to try a small experiment: a live studio for writers who are actively working on a novel, where I’ll read your opening pages and we’ll work on them together, live.

If you are a writer and that feels aligned with where you are in your work, I would love to invite you into this.

Atelier Skye: The Studio for Serious Novelists

Here’s what this will look like:

Twelve writers.
Six Saturdays.
Live sessions.
Direct developmental critique.

No recordings. No passive consumption. This will be our working studio.

Who This Is For

This studio is designed for writers who:

• Are actively drafting a novel

• Have 8–10 strong opening pages ready

• Want developmental-level critique

• Care about both craft and industry positioning

• Take their work seriously

This is not an introductory writing class.

It is a professional room.

How It Works

Duration: 6 weeks
Format: Live on Zoom
Sessions: 2 hours each
Enrollment Cap: 12 writers
Minimum Enrollment: 6 (otherwise full refund)

Each week includes:

• A focused craft and industry insights session

• Two rotating hot seats that include structural diagnosis and revision strategy

  • Every writer will receive a dedicated half-hour hot seat during the cohort

• An optional, private WhatsApp group (for atelier members only, not me—this gives you space to collaborate, ask “dumb” questions, or find critique partners in between our Saturday meetings and even after the studio is over)

At the end of our six weeks:

• Each writer will receive a personalized, one-on-one “next steps” mentorship call with me (1 full hour)

The Hot Seat: Direct Developmental Critique

Each writer will submit 8–10 double-spaced pages from the beginning of their novel.

During your designated week, we will spend half an hour focused entirely on your work. This is our live studio, our atelier for novelists.

I will have read your pages closely in advance, as will the other writers in the studio.

In that session, I will examine your opening at the architectural level:

• Does your first line hook me? The first paragraph?

• Is the narrative authority clear from the first page?

• Is the protagonist actively driving the story?

• Are stakes visible and escalating?

• Is tension embedded in the scene, or only suggested?

• Where does momentum stall?

• What is the book promising to the agent/editor/reader? Is that promise compelling?

I will speak directly to what is working and what is not yet working.

This is not line editing.

It is developmental diagnosis.

You will leave with concrete, actionable direction for revision: clarity about what to strengthen, what to cut, and where the deeper structural opportunity lies.

The rest of the writers listen and learn as we dissect the work in real time. They will also have opportunity to offer their observations and suggestions.

Seeing someone else’s opening examined at this level often sharpens your own manuscript immediately, making you a better self-editor as well as a better critique partner.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have a New York Times bestselling novelist sit with your opening pages and tell you exactly how they’re landing—this is that room.

There are no recordings. The energy is live. And the work—your work—is taken seriously.

What We Will Cover Across the Six Weeks

Alongside the hot seats, we will focus on craft and industry insights, including:

• Opening-page authority

• Character as narrative engine

• Scene architecture and momentum

• Emotional stakes and urgency

• Thematic layering and depth

• Market positioning and submission optimization

• How to revise an opening strategically

This is big-picture developmental work, the kind that changes a manuscript’s trajectory.

One-on-One Mentorship Call

At the end of our six-week studio, each writer will get the opportunity to schedule a personalized, one-on-one, 1 hour call with me. This is your chance to take everything you have learned during our atelier and figure out “what’s next” for you.

We will use that hour on any publishing-related topic of your choice:

• feedback on a query letter,

• another live critique of your revised opening pages,

• agent submission plan,

• career guidance,

• or something else that would be helpful to you.

My attention will be solely focused on you and what you need. This is your time.

About the Studio Lead

(Most of you already know me, but in case you are not a Substack subscriber and received this post because someone forwarded it to you):

I’m Evelyn Skye, a New York Times bestselling novelist and the author of eleven books, published by major houses including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Disney, and translated into sixteen languages worldwide.

I have also written for Netflix in a literary-film collaboration starring Millie Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright.

My work has been featured in PEOPLE, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, CBS New York, The Morning Blend on NBC, The Mirror, Woman’s World Magazine, South China Morning Post, Book Riot, PopSugar, Bustle, Psychology Today, Mochi Magazine, and more.

I’ve been a Featured Speaker and Guest of Honor around the world—at the Festival du Livre de Paris, the Danish Fantasy Festival, San Diego Comic Con, Emerald City Comic Con, and many other places.

I also have a Bachelor’s degree in Russian literature from Stanford University and a law degree (J.D.) from Harvard Law School.

Over the past decade, I’ve developed a deep understanding of what makes a manuscript not only compelling on the page, but viable in the marketplace.

In this studio, I bring that experience directly to your opening pages.

Tuition

Full tuition for the Studio is $2,500.

Because this is the founding cohort, tuition is $2,000 for this inaugural group.

Future cohorts will be priced at the full rate.

Enrollment is capped at 12 writers.

If fewer than 6 writers enroll by March 31, 2026, the studio will be canceled and all payments will be fully refunded.

Why I’m Doing This

Over the years, I’ve mentored writers informally, spoken at conferences, and taught behind-the-scenes of publishing sessions, but I’ve never opened a contained, small-group studio like this.

I’m interested in what happens when serious novelists gather in a focused, high-level room for a defined period of time.

This founding cohort will shape the rhythm and rigor of what Atelier Skye becomes.

Dates

We will meet on Saturdays:

April 11 - May 16, 2026

1:00pm - 3:00pm ET / 10:00am - 12:00pm PT (each meeting includes two short breaks)

Please be prepared to attend live and ready to work and learn. There will be no recordings.

Enrollment

Enrollment is first come, first served until the atelier reaches 12 writers.

I’m looking forward to building this first studio together.

Enroll Now

Hello, Protagonists,

We had over 800 (!!) applications for the Ryan Stripling “Words Create Worlds” Scholarship for Young Writers, our scholarship for high school seniors.

This scholarship is very personal to me and my husband, Tom. We give it in honor of his late brother, Ryan, an English teacher in Bentonville, Arkansas who passed away from cancer in 2019. Ryan was a fierce believer in young writers and always encouraged them with the motto, “Words create worlds.”

Now, I am thrilled to announce our 2026 scholarship winner…

Congratulations to Sabana Escalona!

Below is her winning essay, which you can also read on the official scholarship winner page HERE:

Sabana’s winning essay:

When I was younger, there wasn't much to do around me. Growing up in the Venezuelan dictatorship didn't give me much time to think beyond how dinner would be made or how much water we had left for the week. In such a small, repressed world, I only felt alive in the moments when my mother sat beside me to read me stories, stories where little girls like me grew up to be princesses, warriors, movie stars; in places where the least of their worries was being trapped between the wars and conflicts of adults. I thought it would be my only window to freedom.

But when I got older and words ceased to be the property of books and became my own tools of creation, opportunities that had seemed impossible opened up before me. I grew up telling my own stories, my own fantasies, putting on paper a future that years later would become a reality, dreaming of being the person I am today. I wrote about escaping my political and economic confinement. I wrote about studying at a good school. I wrote about finding love, traveling, working, eating without counting pennies, about having a little house in the mountains, about painting my nails a thousand colors, about seeing snow. I felt I could achieve anything; the sky was the limit.

Writing became a way to visualize, feel, and almost attain everything I wanted to experience in my life. I managed to leave Venezuela, I went to an excellent school that gave me the critical and creative mind I needed to spread my wings. I met people, I went to parties, I ate apple pie, I participated in competitions, I discovered playwriting and screenwriting. I had the opportunity to present my story at a theater festival where the ovations and support given by those closest to me made me understand that this is my path, that everything I have achieved and will achieve, everything began and will begin on a blank page, with a pencil or a keyboard, on paper or a screen. The sky is not a limit, it's a new challenge, a challenge that begins at university, somewhere where it snows.

And in the middle of my journey, I will take time to look back and see them, the girls of today, so many young women like me, wanting to escape their cages. Writing is the rescue I will use to teach them to look between the bars of fear and need, to give them the courage to break free. I want to be in a creative writing program, or at least in a club or workshop, so I can write stories that inspire them, that fill them with joy, sadness, rage, whatever works as a catalyst to help them achieve their dreams. That is my mission for this new chapter in my life.

Sabana will receive $2,500 to use toward college tuition!

Congratulations to the four other finalists, as well, and thank you to all the young, talented writers who sent in essays. Your words make the world a better place. 💛

It’s the end of the month, which means it’s time for a favorite ritual: previewing some of the upcoming book releases we’re excited about—the ones that have caught our eyes, tugged at our curiosity, or whispered “You’ll love me.”

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

Note: We don’t receive affiliate commissions or payment for these mentions. We haven’t read these yet; these are genuine picks based on love of the author, intriguing premises, or early buzz that feels promising.

📚 March/April 2026 Most Anticipated New Releases

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Houchhauser (March 3rd release; out now)

As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the world’s most famous fairy tale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (March 3rd release; out now)

In 1977 Rochester, New York, a restless Nina Larkin seeks a midlife awakening through a scandalous affair that threatens her family’s reputation and fractures the world of her teenage daughter, Clara. Years later, a successful but haunted Clara returns home for a family wedding, forcing her to confront the lingering impact of her mother’s actions and make a life-altering decision of her own.

» Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney was our podcast guest this month!

Frida’s Cook by Florencia Etcheves (Translated by Beth Fowler) (March 10th release)

In 1939 Mexico City, a young Nayeli Cruz becomes Frida Kahlo’s cook, forging a deep and life-altering bond that results in a secret hidden within a mysterious painting. Decades later in present-day Buenos Aires, Nayeli’s granddaughter, Paloma, discovers this artwork and must unravel long-buried family secrets to uncover the truth about her grandmother’s past.

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle (March 10th release)

Born into a family where every woman possesses the one-time power to reverse time, Lauren has spent her life waiting for the inevitable catastrophe that will require her gift. However, after returning to her childhood home in Malibu and reconnecting with her first love, she begins re-evaluating her past and wonders if she should finally use her power to undo an old choice.

» Rebecca Serle will be on our podcast this month. Stay tuned!

Heiress to Nowhere by Stacey Lee (March 17th release)

An orphan races to uncover a killer—who may have come from the sea—when she and her beloved orcas fall under suspicion in this “atmospheric . . . beguiling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) historical gothic mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl, Stacey Lee.

» Stacey Lee is going to be on our podcast next month!

Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich (March 24th release)

Written over the past two decades, Louise Erdrich’s magnificent story collection features a range of characters—a tribal newsletter editor whose son tells her a story that nothing in her experience can encompass, immigrant farmers whose tenuous hold on the earth, and sanity, is challenged, and ordinary people, bird lovers, artists, grade-school teachers, and romantics.

🥰 Your Turn: What Are You Looking Forward To?

What have you read recently that made you feel something?

What new releases are you most excited about this month?

Leave a comment below — we’d all love to grow our TBRs together.

Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.

Our next guest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling novels The Nest (named a best book of the year by People, the Washington Post, and NPR) and Good Company (a Read with Jenna selection). Her work has been translated into more than 28 languages, and The Nest is in development as a limited series with AMC Studios. Sweeney holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars.

Today, we talk about:

• writing distinct and integrated POVs,

• finding the right pace of writing for yourself,

• how we sometimes scare ourselves out of taking risks in writing,

• the truth of having work developed into a TV series,

• and so much more!

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Watch the Conversation

You can watch the full video on:
→ Our Website | Youtube | Substack app

Captions and full transcripts are always available on the website version (just click the “CC” button or the transcript tab below the video).

🎧 Prefer to Listen?

Stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts:
→ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | or your favorite platform

🎙️ Browse all past episodes HERE

📝 Want to Ask a Future Guest a Question?

We invite the community to submit questions via our community chat—available in your browser or in the Substack app. We love including your curiosities in the conversation!

Connect with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney:

You can find Cynthia on Instagram. Her newest novel, Lake Effect, is available in bookstores everywhere or from your favorite online retailer!

🎥 The video replay of our February meeting

📚 Your invitation + discussion questions for The Correspondent, our next Book Pick

🗓️ Upcoming Book Club Picks

💛 RSVP & Zoom link (below the paywall)

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Replay: The Way of Integrity

If you missed our last Book Club meeting, you can now watch the full replay above. This meeting was particularly special.

We had a deep, poignant discussion of The Way of Integrity and talked about:

• Martha Beck used Dante’s Divine Comedy as the guiding structure for the book.

  • How the intensity of the epic poem matched the intensity of the life experiences Beck shared throughout the novel and invited the reader not to shy away from facing their own deep challenges.

• Everyone shared specific concepts or exercises that impacted them. Favorites included:

  • The goal of integrity or wholeness achieved by tuning into internal direction rather than external expectation.

  • The challenge of not lying - how to share your truth and protect yourself.

    • One-degree turns toward sharing your truth

    • How to tell the truth in fiction

    • White vs gray lies

  • Paying attention to how the teacher “arrives.”

  • Understanding the impact of nature and nurture on our own compass.

During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we explored:

• Hell: The Inferno (Identifying the Lies)

  • Culture vs. Nature: As creatives, what cultural scripts are we following?

    Traditional publishing is superior. Our worth is separate from our success.

  • The Lie of “Should”: What is one thing you are writing or pursuing right now only because you think you should?

    • i.e., Writers “should” have a social media presence.

• Purgatory (The Practice of Alignment with Self)

  • The Withdrawal from Praise: Separating our worth from publishing success. In working on seeing our worth as more than what we do, we asked: What do you want more than money/publishing deal? The answers warmed our hearts.

• Paradise (The Flow and Wholeness of Integrity)

  • The Feeling of Flow: Beck describes the state of integrity as one in which magic seems to happen and things become effortless.

    • We discussed how flow is not a constant state and how facing fear and embracing struggle help lead us to opportunities for flow.

    • We talked about Alysa Liu’s statement: "I love struggling, actually. It makes me feel alive,” connecting this month’s discussion to last month’s novel on ice sports.

P.S. If you had any difficulty logging into Zoom for this meeting, please let us know.

As always, the replay is available to paid subscribers to keep our discussions cozy and private.

📚 You’re Invited: The Correspondent

Whether you’re a curious reader or a fellow writer, we’d love to have you join us. No need to be “an expert”—just bring your thoughts and your love of books.

Our next Book Club pick is:

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
We LOVE an epistolary novel! It was such a thrill to see this one break out and beat the expectations of the publishing world. We think this will provide a fun discussion of form, character, and slow-burn publishing hits.

Meeting Date:

Sunday, March 29, 2025
8pm ET / 5pm PT
Zoom link below

💬 During the book discussion, we’ll chat about:

• Format: An epistolary novel is a work of fiction told through a collection of documents rather than a traditional narrative, most commonly through letters, diary entries, or, in modern contexts, emails, blog posts, and text messages.

  • How did the novel’s format shape our understanding of the protagonist?

  • What did contrasting the tone, style, and information across letters reveal?

  • How did the epistolary format help and/or hinder the plot development?

• Themes: Grief was a major theme in the novel. Sybil grappled with a devastating past and new loss throughout the story.

  • How did the protagonist’s grief transform?

  • How did the layers of grief work to establish the theme beyond the stated?

• Famous Authors: Some authors that the protagonist writes to include Ann Patchett, Joan Didion, Kazuo Ishiguro, Larry McCurty, and Diana Gabaldon.

  • What do her letters reveal about the authors as characters?

  • How do these relationships develop the protagonist?

  • What book would you recommend to Sybil?

• Breakout novel: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans achieved breakout success in 2025 as a "slow-burn" hit, driven by “strong word-of-mouth, a crucial endorsement from author Ann Patchett, and its unique epistolary format.”

  • What gave this novel strong word-of-mouth travel?

  • What does The Correspondent’s success say about the publishing industry?

  • What other novels grew slowly in popularity? And what can we learn from this as writers?

💬 During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we will talk about:

• Although it may seem paradoxical, experiencing grief around our creative process is an essential part of our creative vitality.

  • In our creative lives, we can feel grief over rejections, incomplete projects, failed partnerships, and more. What part of your creative process no longer feels alive for you?

  • How might we release these things to make room for what needs to come next—new inspiration, ideas, and callings?

• If you were to write a letter to your past self, what would you tell them?

We think this is going to be a wonderful conversation!

Share

✨ Introverts welcome: Cameras on or off. Your presence is enough.

Upcoming Book Club Picks

In case you missed it, here are our book picks for the first half of 2026:

🔐 RSVP & Zoom Link

To protect the privacy of our discussion space and prevent Zoom-bombing, the RSVP and Zoom link are posted below the paywall.

If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:

Subscribe now

Or refer friends to receive complimentary months:

• 1 referral = 1 month free

• 2 referrals = 3 months free

• 3 referrals = 1 year free

Refer a friend

💛 💛 💛 💛 💛

Read more

Hello, Protagonists, and Happy Lunar Year of the Fire Horse!

Welcome to this month’s edition of Happiness Sprinkles—a soft, joyful roundup of small things worth smiling about and a few wonderful things you in this community have been reading and writing.

In this post, you’ll find:

🌸 Happiness Sprinkles

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight - You’re the Hero of the Story

📖 Book Club Details + Zoom Link

• Reminder! Our “Reading with Wonder” Book Club meeting is this Wednesday, February 25th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

• Zoom Link at the bottom of this post

xo,

Joanna & Evelyn

🌸 Happiness Sprinkles

A few quiet delights we’ve loved this month—and hope you will, too. (Links included if you want to learn more).

• Color Hunting: Inspired by her Being a Creative Villager post, Joanna went on a color hunting date! She and her partner wandered the city together, each looking for a different color. It was such a fun, vibrant way to practice attention, capture beauty, and share our creativity.

  

• Artist Arranges Ocean Stones in Hypnotic Art - Jon Foreman walks along beaches and transforms what might seem like ordinary rocks into beautiful art, often in wave formations that echo the seascape. Read the article to see more of his mesmerizing work.

• Lost Michelangelo Sketch Sells for $27M - The owner of this drawing had no idea what it was, because it was just part of a collection that had been passed down in his family. Then he submitted a request to Christie’s to evaluate it for possible sale, and they discovered it as a lost Michelangelo study for the Sistine Chapel! (I would not mind finding one of those in my attic.)

• Virtual Class: The City of Paris and Its Impact on Culture - Last fall, Evelyn took a “Love and the French Novel” course with Professor Chloe Edmonson at Stanford and learned so much. Now she’s back with a class about Paris, tracing its cultural and literary influence from the Enlightenment to the Belle Epoque. Looks like the “homework” will include films and books by Mercier, Sand, Baudelaire, Zola, Colette, and Barthes. It doesn’t fit in my schedule, but I would take it if it did! Registration for the online class is open now to everyone.

• Acrobatic Ballet: The athleticism and artistry in this piece are stunning! You just have to watch it.

• Ringtones in the style of classical composers: This blend of silliness, nostalgia, and talent made me grin. What a perfect way to end this month’s Happiness Sprinkles!

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight

Every month, we love highlighting what you are creating. Here are a few wonderful projects from our community:

🤩 One of Bill Hiatt’s books is being made into a movie!

🥳 Barb Navidad published a micro memoir in Tiny Memoir Literary Magazine!

🙌🏼 Michael Teferi put out his debut poetry book “Transformation” on Kindle!

💗 Belle Gayer is publishing her book, after 7 years of posting on Quora with over 33 million views, sharing insights and hard earned wisdom acquired in 54 years with her beloved.

CONGRATULATIONS, everyone!

Want to be featured in a future post?

Just reply to this email or leave a comment with a 1–2 sentence description of what you’ve been working on. Or, hang out in our community chat, where we share our recent smiles and successes.

📖 “Reading with Wonder” Book Club — This Wednesday!

You’re invited (even if you haven’t read the book):

🗓️ Wednesday, February 25th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT - ZOOM link below

📚 Book: The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck

💬 During the book discussion:

We’ll walk through Beck’s version of the Divine Comedy, focusing on our creative life.

• The Dark Wood of Error (Recognizing Misalignment with Self)

  • The Body Compass: Beck argues that the body doesn’t lie. Have you ever had a physical reaction to a project you were working on? Did your body try to tell you that a certain story, genre, or plot point was “wrong” for you before your mind admitted it?

• Hell: The Inferno (Identifying the Lies)

  • Culture vs. Nature: One of Beck’s core concepts is the battle between our “Nature” (who we are) and “Culture” (who society tells us to be). As creatives, what cultural scripts are we following? For example, “You can’t make money from art,” “You must publish by age 30,” “Real writers suffer.”

  • The Lie of “Should”: What is one thing you are writing or pursuing right now only because you think you should? If you dropped the “should,” what would happen to your work?

• Purgatory (The Practice of Alignment with Self)

  • The Withdrawal from Praise: Creatives can be hungry for the “hit” of validation—likes, publication, glowing reviews. Beck warns that stepping into integrity often means disappointing people. Are you willing to write something that your current audience (or family) might dislike, if it means telling your truth?

  • The “One Degree” Turn: Beck suggests we don’t need to blow up our lives, but rather make small, one-degree turns toward truth. What is a “one-degree turn” you can make for your creative life this week to bring it closer to your integrity?

• Paradise (The Flow and Wholeness of Integrity)

  • Defining “Integral” Success: Beck redefines success not as achievement, but as alignment. If you removed sales, agents, and reviews from the table, what does “success” look like for your creative soul right now?

  • The Feeling of Flow: Beck describes the state of integrity as one in which magic seems to happen and things become effortless. Have you experienced this specifically in your writing or other area of your creative life? What conditions allowed that flow to happen?

💬 During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion:

We’ll do a creative exercise inspired by the book.

• The 10-Minute Truth: Beck challenges readers to go 24 hours without telling a single lie. We’ll make this challenge a 10-minute writing sprint with the prompt: “What I am really trying to say is...” Write without stopping or censoring, even if what comes out is scary or “bad.”

We hope this will be a connecting experience!

Zoom link is posted below the paywall to keep our gathering cozy and private.

(This also prevents any non-book-loving Zoom crashers!)

If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:

Subscribe now

or:

Refer friends to receive complimentary months:

• 1 referral = 1 month free

• 2 referrals = 3 months free

• 3 referrals = 1 year free

Refer a friend

✨ Note for fellow introverts:
You are welcome to come as you are—cameras on or off, display names changed or unchanged. No pressure, just presence.

📹 This session will be recorded for those who can’t attend live.

💛 Join the Book Club:

Read more