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

Our guest, Jessica Goldstein, is a style, arts, and humor writer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, Vulture, and the humor site McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Her debut novel, Retro, published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is out now.

Today, we talk about:

• the ins and outs of time travel,

• crafting humor,

• books in pop culture,

• writing opinion pieces in major publications,

• and so much more.

💕 Joanna

🎥 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 Jessica Goldstein:

You can find Jessica on X, Bluesky, and her website. Her newest novel, Retro, is available in bookstores everywhere!

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!

💕 Joanna

The Green Eyed Goddess

Tapping the Power of Envy in My Creative Life

Envy has claws. She slinks around, and seemingly out of nowhere, she pounces. While visiting with a friend, scrolling the internet, or even walking through a crowd of strangers, I see something, I want it, and suddenly it hurts not to have it. The feeling is tight and sharp, and then, sometimes, it makes my own claws come out.

Cutting thoughts that diminish the person who has the thing I want or disparage the thing itself slice through me.

Look at her with all that time to create, she’s so selfish.

Look at him trying to create a brand on instagram, how cringe.

Look at their creative friendship, I bet it’s all fake.

Next would come the shame. What kind of person thinks such things when another finds success or lives their best life?! I’d chastise myself, “Bad Joanna,” and quickly push the ugly thoughts and feelings away.

Until one day, I didn’t. I gathered up my courage and curiosity and faced my envy. Within this ferocious cascade, I found two precious gifts. The first is often obvious, and the second is always surprising.

The First Gift

At the root of it, envy is about desire, and desire has been one of the most powerful forces in my life.

However, coming to know and allow my deepest desires hasn’t been easy. Growing up, I never got the message that my intrinsic wants were something to pay attention to, explore, and celebrate. I learned to look outward before I looked inward. And the world around me was happy to tell me what I should and should not want. Learning to hear my inner voice over the noise was difficult, but I found help in an unexpected place—envy.

Envy is a powerful spotlight on my wanting. And chances are, if that spotlight is green, then I might not have access to that desire, the desire might not be comfortable for me to own, or I might not understand what my desire is truly all about.

The Want Under the Want

After feeling envy, my first step is to understand what it is that I really want. It can seem like the object of my desire is straightforward. I want that book deal. But when I ask myself, “What’s the want under that want?,” I often find something deeper.

For example, I want that book deal so that my work can reach readers. I want that book deal so that I can feel like a legitimate writer. I want that book deal so others will respect and celebrate me.

Once I understand what is more deeply important to me, I’m able to entertain more ways to meet my needs. The solution space expands. Is traditional publishing the only way to be legitimate, respected, celebrated, and read by the world? Sharing my work on Wattpad or Substack would lead me to feel celebrated and enjoyed by others. Submitting short stories to contests might help me feel respected. Or even more amazing--I could come to believe that I don’t need anyone other than myself to make me a legitimate artist.

When I was a young mother, I envied my friends without children. I didn’t want to be childless, so I had to keep going—what did I really want? I paid attention. I lusted after their wide-open weekends, their carefree travel plans, and their ability to prioritize their own needs. I wanted to reclaim some individuality, freedom, and creative time for myself. Unlike childlessness, these things were within my reach. I could formulate a real plan—an independent writing retreat and more regular childcare to restart work on my novel. But, there was another catch…

Understanding my desires is the first gift of envy, but sometimes this isn’t enough because sometimes, I won’t allow myself to want what I want. And envy helps with this, too.

The Second Gift

Here’s where those nasty judgments come in.

It’s a lot easier to focus on the object of desire and push away those cruel thoughts or cutting resentments that can accompany it, but then you would be only getting half the answer. As ugly as they are, the judgments I have about others often show me why I won’t let myself have what I want. The judgement is often the quality I am scared of, disallow in myself, or make wrong. And exactly what I need to permit in myself to align with my desired life.

Let’s go back to the list at the beginning.

Look at her with all that time to create, she’s so selfish.

Look at him trying to create a brand on instagram, how cringe.

Look at their creative friendship, I bet it’s all fake.

In judging someone else as selfish for dedicating time to their art, the belief that needs to be challenged within me is: Creating art is selfish. If I view creating as indulgent yet want desperately to create, I’m stuck in a finger trap. In challenging my judgments that I project on someone else, I can find my own freedom. How is spending time creating incredibly generous and essential to all?

If I judge experimenting on social media as cringe, but desperately want to have a public voice, I’m stuck; and cringe is the key to my freedom. Cringe is not a problem for someone else, but in my own mind. I need to face my own fear of social embarrassment to get what I really want—a vibrant platform to share my ideas with an audience.

As for those creative friendships, by betting they’re fake, I save myself some pain from missing out, but I prevent myself from seeing that real, creative connections are possible, but only if I lean in with openness and curiosity. What can I do to genuinely reach out and get what I deeply desire?

Instead of thinking “Bad Joanna,” I use the critical thoughts that sometimes accompany my envy as a spotlight to understand my blocks. The critic in my mind that takes someone else down is the same one that’s keeping me from climbing up. It can be hard to see what we don’t allow ourselves, but seeing what we criticize others for is a sure-fire way to find our own limiting beliefs.

Going back to me as a young mother, I saw that I wanted time to myself, but I wouldn’t allow it. Prioritizing my art was selfish. Paying for time to create was indulgent. And challenging those judgments was the key to my freedom. I had to see how those beliefs were not only causing me harm, but were also untrue. And it wasn’t until I did this work that I allowed myself to write again.

Envy led me back to myself. First, by showing me what I wanted, and second, by showing me why I wouldn’t let myself have it.

Here, Kitty Kitty.

Every time I feel envy now, I get excited. I get to see something I want, but may not allow myself to have, and the beliefs I need to reexamine to feel more alive.

Envy gets me in trouble when I direct my discomfort outward. When I put down the object of my envy or pull away from the person, it creates more suffering and, ironically, moves me even further away from my desire. The important thing I need to remember is that when envy shows up, it has a lot to do with me and very little to do with the other person. It’s not comfortable, but I have to go inside myself to reach the wisdom.

So next time you feel envy, welcome her. Make psst pssst psst sounds. Look inside to understand what you really want, and look even deeper to understand why you might not let yourself have it. Let me know how it goes.

Share your creative desires with us.

What do you yearn for in your creative life? 🤩

What has envy taught you about yourself? 🪩

What’s your favorite shade of green? 💚

Leave a comment

Welcome to another entry in Author Diaries—where we take you behind the scenes of publishing—querying, book auctions, cover design, how authors make money, book publicity, and more.

In this post you’ll find:

📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well—books or articles that are lighting up my brain

🕵🏻‍♀️ Deep Dive: a Closer Look at Hardcovers vs. Paperbacks

🎁 Exclusive Preorder Gift: Handmade Bookmarks by Me!

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,

Evelyn

📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well

Currently reading:
These Summer Storms by Sarah McLean — This story is about estranged siblings who must go through a series of challenges in order to access their inheritance, only to discover that perhaps the greatest gift their father could have left them was forcing them together again.

This was one of my favorites last year, and I’m re-reading it because it’s our upcoming book club pick!

• We just had Sarah McLean on our podcast!

• Reminder: Our Book Club meeting is on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Discussion Qs and more info HERE.

🕵🏻‍♀️ Deep Dive: Hardcovers vs. Paperbacks

The Incredible Kindness of Paper is out in paperback! It was published first as a hardcover last year, and now, 9 months later, it’s in paperback just in time for summer travel bags.

At the same time, my newest novel, Ideal Life, will skip the hardcover edition and come out straight to paperback in August.

Why the different publishing strategies? Why did The Incredible Kindness of Paper “get” a hardcover edition, but Ideal Life won’t?

The Changing Economics of Publishing

The list price is the price that is physically printed on the back of books.

The Incredible Kindness of Paper hardcover list price: $27.99

The Incredible Kindness of Paper paperback list price: $18.00

Ideal Life paperback list price: $17.99

The list prices are before discounts. Big online retailers (like Amazon) and box stores (e.g. Target, Costco) rarely sell at list price, which means readers can buy the books for cheaper.

Author Royalties

Most readers (and even many aspiring writers) don’t realize that an author’s royalty rate is different for hardcovers and paperbacks.

Royalties are calculated based on the list price, so even if Amazon or Target discounts the book, that does not affect the author’s royalties.

For traditionally published authors, hardcover royalties typically start at 10% of the list price and can escalate to 15% after a certain number of copies sold (e.g., 10% for the first 999,999 copies sold, then 15% after 1 million copies are sold).

Paperback royalties are usually around 7.5% of the list price.

(For an even deeper dive on how authors make money—advances, royalty rates, agent commission, etc.—check out this Author Diary.)

You can see why publishers (and authors) love hardcovers. The margins are better for everyone. A hardcover sale is worth two to three paperback sales in terms of what ends up in the author’s pocket.

But a hardcover only works financially if people actually buy it.

Reader Price Sensitivity

We are living through a time when readers are more price-conscious than ever. The economy has made people more careful about discretionary spending, and as much as it pains me to say it, books are discretionary. When someone is choosing between groceries and a $28 hardcover, the hardcover loses, as it should.

So publishers are increasingly asking themselves: Will this book sell enough hardcovers to justify the hardcover print run? Because printing hardcovers is more expensive. If those copies sit in a warehouse or get returned by bookstores unsold, the publisher loses money.

Why Is Ideal Life Going Straight to Paperback?

I know some authors might panic if their publisher decides to go straight to paperback. The author might think, Oh no, does this mean my publisher doesn’t believe in my book?

No. Paperback originals are a strategic choice, and they’re becoming more and more common across the industry. For Ideal Life, my publisher and I looked at the landscape—the economy, the genre, my readership, the price sensitivity of the target audience—and decided that Ideal Life would reach more readers at a $17.99 entry point than at $27.99.

More readers finding the book at a price they’re comfortable with:

—> more sales overall

—> more word of mouth

—> more momentum.

And momentum is a huge part of what drives book sales.

The Takeaway for Writers

If you’re on the path to traditional publishing, know that the hardcover vs. paperback decision is a business decision. It’s not a reflection of your worth as a writer or the quality of your book. It’s your publisher’s best guess at how to position your book for success in the current market. (And of course, things change year by year).

And remember: the format your book comes in matters far less than the fact that it exists in the world at all. Hardcover, paperback, ebook, or audiobook—every format is a door, and every door lets a new reader in. 💛

Buy now for your summer vacation bag:

The Incredible Kindness of Paper ebook is $2.99 for a limited time. Hardcover edition is also on summer sale, and the paperback is out now, too!

🎁 Exclusive Preorder Gift: Handmade Bookmarks by Me!

Last year, I made beaded bookmarks to send out to influencers as part of my publisher’s marketing campaign, and many of you asked if you could get one. But I ran out!

I’m not making that mistake twice. This year, I am making plenty of book-themed bookmarks, and you can get your hands on one by preordering from Fireside Books, my beloved local indie bookstore. (Preorder instructions at the bottom of this post.)

I had so much fun browsing jewelry-making materials to choose just the right pieces for these bookmarks:

• pink book charms to match the cover of Ideal Life

• purple star charms, because purple stars are the logo of the “Ideal Life” company in the book

• pink beaded chain to complement the charms + a slender gold metal bookmark because I like the slim ones that fit between the pages of my books without bending them.

Plus, my husband Tom is super crafty so he had every kind of pliers and cutting tool I could ever need.

I am so excited to make these bookmarks for you!

Preorder soon because my little hands can only make so many of these, and when they’re gone, they’re gone…

Autographed Books with Exclusive Preorder Gift available only from Fireside Books!

• I will personalize the book if you like, just include (in your order) the name I should write in the book. (i.e., “To Andrew”)

• Fireside Books will ship to you or you can pick up from the store if you’re local!

Please pre-order via email at orders@firesiderwc.com.

• Fireside Books is a small husband-wife run store, so they’re taking orders by email (they don’t have a website that takes orders).

  • (Important note: ordering from their Bookshop.org page will not ship an autographed copy or gift, since those orders go through Bookshop.org’s centralized distribution, not Fireside’s actual store.)

» This post is part of our Author Diary series. You can find past entries HERE.

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

Our guest, Sarah MacLean, is a New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestselling author. Vulture Magazine writes - “MacLean is a master at weaving passion and vulnerability equally in her characters. When it comes to historical romance, she’s one of the best…” These Summer Storms is her first contemporary novel. In addition to her novels, Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place as a feminist text and a cultural bellwether.

Today, we talk about:

• putting everything on the page,

• romance vs. women’s fiction,

• what romance teaches us,

• the power of our pleasure,

• 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 Sarah MacLean:

You can find Sarah on Instagram and on her podcast, Fated Mates. The paperback of her newest novel, These Summer Storms, is available in bookstores everywhere.

June has arrived, which means it’s time to preview some of the upcoming book releases we’re excited about—the ones that have caught our eyes, tugged at our curiosity, or whispered, “Take me on vacation.”

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.

📚 June’s Most Anticipated New Releases

I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney (June 1st paperback release)

Obituary writer Bud Stanley isn’t really living his best life. He’s fallen into a funk after a divorce. And he’s about to be fired for accidentally publishing his own obituary one mildly drunken night (though technically the company can’t legally fire a dead person). As Bud awaits his fate at work, he does the only logical thing: He goes to the wakes and funerals of total strangers to learn how to live again.

Whistler by Ann Pattchet (June 2nd release)

While visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her husband, fifty-three-year-old Daphne Fuller is shocked to discover she is being followed by her former stepfather, Eddie Triplett. Although Eddie was only married to her mother for a brief time when Daphne was nine, their unexpected reunion decades after a life-altering event instantly rekindles a powerful bond that they refuse to lose again.

Every Beat After by Sara B. Larson (June 2nd release)

Years after a life-saving heart transplant, Liv Karlsson lives in the fragile space between gratitude and fear—thankful for every heartbeat and afraid of when they might stop. Running her family’s cozy Swedish bakery gives her purpose, but mounting financial pressures and an annoying yet attractive new neighbor leave her wondering: Is she truly living . . . or simply existing?

The Long Con by Jenna Voris (June 2nd release)

Desperate to pay off her family’s medical debt, hotel caterer turned thief Chloe Bly is recruited by a billionaire for a high-stakes heist at an exclusive Miami island resort. To secure her freedom and the massive payout, she must partner with her infuriatingly gorgeous rival conwoman, Harper Parisi, while trying not to let their simmering attraction sabotage the job. We’re looking forward to this slow-burn thriller.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See (June 9th release)

In 1870, three drastically different Chinese immigrants—Dove, a scholar’s sheltered daughter entering an arranged marriage; Petal, a peasant girl sold into American servitude; and Moon, the educated, English-speaking wife of a doctor—arrive in the rough pueblo of Los Angeles. As fierce anti-Chinese sentiment culminates in the violent Night of Horrors, the women must rely on their unlikely friendship and sheer endurance to survive the brutal realities of their new home.

This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint (June 9th release)

In this mythological retelling, the free-willed goddess Aphrodite finds herself irresistibly drawn into a passionate romance with Ares, the volatile god of war. As their love affair spans across mortal lifetimes, Aphrodite begins to question the cruel games of Olympus and must ultimately choose between her divine purpose and a love destined for ruin.

Retro by Jessica Goldstein (June 23rd release)

Desperate to escape her debts and unemployment, Ash takes a glamorous job as a time-travel tour guide for wealthy vacationers, finding herself swept up in historical adventures and a era-crossing love triangle. However, as her temporal trips begin to mysteriously erode her memory and real-world relationships, she is forced to confront the dangerous reality that living in the past threatens to destroy her actual life.

» Jessica Goldstein will be on our podcast this month!

The Revelation of Dionne Daphne by Mara Brock Akil (June 30th release)

Dionne Daphne’s curated life as a high-society beauty editor shatters when an ex-boyfriend delivers news that forces her to confront a long-buried childhood secret. To find the truth, she embarks on a spontaneous road trip with a stranger, navigating a reckoning with her fractured family to discover a more authentic future.

» Mara Brock Akil will be on our podcast next month!

💛 Evelyn’s latest book is on sale! 💛

The Incredible Kindness of Paper is on sale right now for $2.99 on Kindle.

It’s also now available in paperback, just in time for your summer beach bag!

🥰 What Are You Looking Forward To?

What have you read recently that made you squeal or cry?

What books are you most excited to read on the beach this summer?

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

Leave a comment

🎥 The video replay of our May meeting

📚 Your invitation + discussion questions for our next book pick, These Summer Storms

🗓️ Upcoming Book Club Picks

💛 RSVP & Zoom link (below the paywall)

xo, Joanna & Evelyn

🎥 Replay: Writing Creativity and Soul

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

We had a beautiful discussion of Writing Creativity and Soul. We talked about:

Writing as a Spiritual Act: We talked about how art requires one’s whole being and discussed the difference between the subconscious and the soul during those “aha” moments in creation. We wondered if the state of flow—requiring patience and expansion—could be synonymous with accessing the soul or spirit, and contrasted this with the brute-force state of thinking through a problem.

Maya Angelou’s Three Pillars: We talked about how writers need something to say, the ability to say it, and the courage to say it. We shared how we found different pillars challenging at different times in our careers. Struggling with the courage to call oneself a writer at the beginning. Having a hard time finding something to say when the well is dry. And learning how to say it by studying craft.

Protecting Creative Space and Time: The group talked about our own units of “self-ordered pattern of time” to write. Evelyn shared how author Laurie Halse Anderson gave her permission to “say no” to PTA requests, validating that her time to write as a young mom, even before publication. We talked about how avoiding distractions is essential to preserving energy and attention for our creativity. A participant recommended Chris Hayes’ The Siren’s Call about the attention economy.

Chaos and Order in Creative Process: Several of us felt the comfort of structure and the need to allow more space for the chaos. We shared ways we allow unstructured space in our creative process, including walks, showers, daydreaming during the in-between times of the day, and the essentialness of boredom and rest.

Hurrying Slowly: Kidd’s phrase “hurrying slowly” about plot pacing and the process of writing resonated with participants. Several members write fast and noticed that some slowness might be an area of growth, allowing the scenes or drafts space to breathe, especially in later drafts.

We also chatted about how many books we read in a year, reading speed, audiobook recommendations, and, of course, our June Book Club read, These Summer Storms.

During the Mini Creativity Coaching portion, we did a Future Self Visualization.

Joanna led a guided meditation (based on Tara Mohr’s Playing Big) where participants traveled 20 years into the future to meet their future selves and ask questions about what matters, how to write their truth, and receive other guidance. Many found deep guidance and reassurance from the experience.

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

📚 You’re Invited: These Summer Storms

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:

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
An estranged billionaire’s daughter returns to a private Rhode Island island for a memorial, only to find her late father has left the family in a manipulative inheritance game. This was one of our favorite reads late last summer, so we obviously want to talk all about it with you!

Meeting Date:

Sunday, June 28th, 2026
8pm ET / 5pm PT
Zoom link below

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

• Constraints - MacLean uses the “one week on an island” premise as a creative constraint. Did the bounded time and place make the story feel tighter, more theatrical, more artificial, or more emotionally pressurized? Is the container of the book the island, the will, the storm, the week, Alice’s return, or the family reckoning?

• Birth Order - In our podcast interview with MacLean, she talked about taking pleasure in turning birth order tropes on their heads. How well did she accomplish this? Which characters transformed and which characters failed to transform?

• Posthumous characters - MacLean also talked about her decision to never have Franklin alive on page, so the character is absent but still structurally powerful. How did she keep a dead character active in the plot?

• Reveals - Which secrets landed because they were carefully seeded, and which surprised you through timing or emotional context?

• Wealth - The Storm family’s wealth creates spectacle, but also emotional distortion. How did the book make you feel about family wealth?

• Career Transitions - This novel is a transition for MacLean, going from Historical Romance to Book Club Fiction. Did this feel like a debut? Where did you feel her romance-genre roots most strongly: banter, pacing, emotional legibility, sensuality, character arc, or payoff?

  • Do you perceive traditional publishing as supporting or inhibiting the creative evolution of authors?

  • What other authors have successfully transitioned to other arenas?

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

• MacLean stands for the power of pleasure and joy in our world. How does pleasure have power in your creative life? How can you invite more pleasure into each day?

• In our podcast interview with MacLean, she talked about her admiration of Jennifer Lynne Barnes (whose most popular series is called The Inheritance Games) and her advice to find your “id buttons,” which are the small and big things that you adore, and fill your book with them. We will take time to list our personal “id buttons” in writing and life.

We think this is going to be a wonderful conversation!

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✨ 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 second half of the year:

🔐 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

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Welcome to May’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 - Celebrate Our Creativity Community Members

📖 Book Club Details + Zoom Link

• Reminder! Our “Reading with Wonder” Book Club meeting is this Sunday, May 31st 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.

• Balancing Challenge and Comfort - The floral art and furniture design in this piece by TK Fareed stunned us. Then, we enjoyed hearing about the artist’s challenge with it, too. It made us reflect on our own balance of challenge and comfort in making art. How far do we push ourselves? Sometimes we can only find that line when we try something audacious.

• Art for the Birds! - We’ve been loving all the creative bird content on social media this spring. Artists building bird nest supply stores and bird lovers offering amazing charcuterie boards. All the bird content, please.

  

• The Power of Nature - Across a large international sample of 38,000 people, scientists found that those who felt more connected to nature consistently reported higher levels of well-being and mindfulness. This was true not just for feeling satisfied with life but also for deeper aspects of flourishing, such as having a sense of direction and meaning. Maybe we should write outside :)

• The Thinker of Tender Thoughts- Although originally published in 1963, we saw this Shel Silverstein piece for the first time this month. Seeing the danger of cruelty, cynicism, and conformity depicted so succinctly moved us. We felt awash with gratitude for this community of thinkers of tender thoughts. Let’s grow our flowers together.

🔦 Protagonist Spotlight

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

💛 Teri Stevens celebrated the book birthday of her middle grade mystery, Makenzie's Ring, on May 1! Keep the readers coming Teri!

🌊 David J ran an amazing inaugural week-long writers’ retreat on a cruise ship called Wave Writers! It went so well, they’re doing it again! Enrollment is open for next year.

🎉 Amy Gabrielle launched her book this month with She Writes Press: "Widow in the City, A Memoir of Heartbreaks and Hookups." Congratulations Amy!

🗡️ Canon Robertson has been busy finishing and publishing a debut fantasy novel. The Olive Branch and The Sword is available for preorder now! Way to go Canon!

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, May 31st at 8pm ET / 5pm PT - ZOOM link below

📚 Book: Writing, Creativity, and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd

💬 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-ordered 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.

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

Welcome to another entry in Author Diaries—where we take you behind the scenes of writing and publishing.

In this post, you’ll find:

✨ What’s Filling My Creative Well: The Coaching Way Course with Tara Mohr

🕵🏻‍♀️ Behind the Scenes: A list of great craft books and resources crowdsourced from the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE community

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

✨ What’s Filling My Creative Well

Currently learning: The Coaching Way course with Tara Mohr. I am really enjoying learning more ways to help others find and align with their inner wisdom, while meeting amazing people interested in deep connection. If you’re not into coaching but love Tara’s idea of using your voice in a bigger way, I heard great things about her Playing Big course, too.

Currently reading: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett - I enjoyed The Tainted Cup for our April book club so much that I picked up the next in the series right away. I have yet to meet someone who didn’t enjoy this novel! I’m looking forward to the third in the series, A Trade of Blood, coming out in August.

All the Craft Books, but Not All at Once

Do you remember when you first learned about the craft of writing?

I wrote an entire novel before knowing that story structure was even a concept. Then Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer, blew my mind during her session at the San Francisco Writers Conference. Ever since, I’ve collected all the craft books. And this month, I polled the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE community about your favorites too.

Along the way, I realized that different resources are needed at different parts of the creative process, and having them sorted by stage might help us find the right book at the right time.

Before you scroll through, one of our members shared the best piece of craft advice she had heard: “Don’t try to implement all of the advice at once, and when choosing a method for structure, pick ONE. Otherwise, it gets too overwhelming.” Thanks, Cate! I second that. So, here are all the craft books, but take them one at a time.

Plot and Story Structure

Books to help you outline if you’re a plotter or figure out the spine of the story in revisions if you’re a panster.

• Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland

• Hooked by Les Edgerton

• Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

• Wired for Story and Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Developing Character

Books to help you discover your characters’ strengths, flaws, and paths towards transformation.

• Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland

• The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson (Not a craft book, but an amazing tool for developing cogent characters.)

Refining Sentences and Language

Books to help you make each line sparkle during your later revisions.

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

• Sin and Syntax: How to Create Wicked Good Prose by Constance Hale

• How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell

• The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

Memoir + Craft Advice from Famous Authors

Books to serve as wise mentors on our journeys.

• On Writing by Stephen King

• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont

• Writing, Creativity, and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd

  • This is our May Book Club pick! Join us for our meeting on Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Discussion Qs and more info HERE.

Genre/Form Specific Recommendations

Even if you don’t write these genres, learning from them helps expand your writing in unexpected ways.

• Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

• Romancing the Beats: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes

• Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer

• The Magic-System Blueprint: A Fiction Writer's Guide to Building Magic Systems by CR Rowenson

Deep Craft with a Spiritual Perspective

Books that go beyond content to touch on the deeper meaning of our work.

• The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass

• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

Creative Inspiration

Books that are particularly helpful when you’re stuck, uninspired, or even a bit crushed by it all.

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• The Creative Act by Rick Ruben

• We Need Your Art by Aime McNee

Workflow and Habits

Books to help you get your butt in the chair and do the work every day.

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

• Deep Work by Cal Newport

Other Community Recommendations

• All of K.M. Weiland and Sacha Black

• Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin

• Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?: Finding Peace of Mind While You Write by Bella Mahaya Carter

• Gentle Writing Advice: How to be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself by Chuck Wendig

Share more in the comments!

📚 How many of these have you read?

💙 Did we miss any of your favorites?

💡When did you learn about the craft of writing?

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, Donna Jackson Nakazawa, is an award-winning science journalist and an internationally-recognized speaker whose work explores the intersection of neurobiology and human emotion. Her book, Girls on the Brink: Helping Our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety, Depression, and Social Media, was named a best book of 2022 by The Washington Post. Her latest book, Mind Drama: The Science of Rumination and How to Outwit Your Inner Defeatist, is out now.

Today, we talk about:

• rumination - what to do about the negative looping stories in our heads,

• protecting space in our brain for creative insights,

• the creative process of non-fiction writing,

• among other delights!

xo, Joanna

🎥 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 Donna Jackson Nakazawa:

You can find Donna on Instagram. Her newest book, MIND DRAMA: The Science of Rumination and How to Outwit Your Inner Defeatist, is available in bookstores everywhere!

Welcome to another entry in Author Diaries—where we take you behind the scenes of publishing—querying, book auctions, cover design, how authors make money, book publicity, and more.

In this post you’ll find:

📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well—a book that is lighting up my brain

🕵🏻‍♀️ Behind the Scenes: Ten Books and Ten Years as a Published Author—the Top 10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Becoming an Author

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, Evelyn

📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well

Currently reading:
Writing, Creativity, Soul by Sue Monk Kidd — the author of The Secret Life of Bees tackles the mysteries, frustrations, and triumphs of being a writer. This is also our book club pick this month!

• Reminder: Our Book Club meeting is on Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Discussion Qs and more info HERE.

Ten Books and Ten Years as a Published Author

This weekend is the 10th anniversary of the publication of my first novel, The Crown’s Game!

Wow wow wow. This is bonkers.

It’s hard to believe that time has flown so fast… Some of you have been with me since the very beginning, when this newsletter began as a street team called the Tsar’s Guard. Some of you found me along the way over the past decade, and some of you are brand new. But no matter when our paths crossed, GOSH I LOVE YOU ALL!

In these ten years, I have published ten books (#11—called Ideal Life—comes out later this summer in August), and I have learned a lot along the way.

So let’s go down memory lane and see what Baby Writer Evelyn might have known, if Present Evelyn had been able to tell her what the vantage point looks like from here.

The Top 10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Becoming an Author

10. You will write books that flop but also books that surprise you with their staying power.

My first novel, The Crown’s Game, remains my biggest seller even today, and that’s not because it’s been out the longest. It flew high straight out of the gate and then kept going because of reader love and word of mouth. Then it got a little quiet for a few years. But then romantasy hit the book world and readers rediscovered The Crown’s Game, so it had a resurgence.

On the other hand, my kids’ series with Disney (Princess Private Eye) was supposed to be at least two books, but the sequel got canceled, even though I’d already written it and it was edited and there was cover art and we were close to going to print. Middle grade readers were declining, and sometimes you, as the author, can’t control what the market does.

9. You can change the genre you write.

An agent once advised me to write four books in the same genre (fantasy) before I switched to something else, if I ever wanted to do something different. Her rationale was that it’s good to build a reader fanbase first.

I think it was solid advice, but you don’t have to follow it. Because I also think that if you want to write something different, you ought not pigeonhole yourself. Accept that some of your previous readers might not like it as much, but also that you will find new readers who do.

At the end of a day, you are a writer. Not a fantasy writer or a YA writer or a contemporary upmarket women’s fiction writer. Just a writer, period. Write what sings to you at that moment, because that’s what will make your work great.

8. External success does not mean the author isn’t quietly carrying secret wounds.

As world-famous ice skater Ilya Malinin said after a devastating Olympic performance, “On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside.”

This is also true of publishing. It’s a brutal field where art is pitted against art, and commercial sales and social media virality purport to determine your worth. You are literally able to compare yourself against the world’s best, and it is easy to come up feeling wanting.

If you want to persevere in the publishing industry, you’re going to have to develop a thick skin. But if you love writing and stories, it’s worth it. Ten years later, I would still do it all over again.

7. Nothing is forever, and that’s okay. Even good.

I have had three different literary agents. I have had six editors and five publishers (Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Disney). Each one was the right one for that moment in my career.

It is not failure to part ways with an agent or a publisher. It is often recognition of where you are now, and therefore, growth.

So have faith in your talent and carry on, believing that you will land next where you need to be.

6. Book publicity can be super fun or it could be the bane of your existence.

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Substack are wonderful because, unlike writers in the past, you can actually hear from your readers.

Those platforms can also be stressful, because what if you really just want to write stories, not become an influencer?

You will feel unspoken pressure to be online, sharing your life, all the time. You will think that this is something you must do to give your book any chance at all at success.

And then you might waste hours and weeks and months filming TikTok videos when you could have been writing your next brilliant book.

Instead, do the platforms you like and ignore the rest. That said, you should do at least one of them, or your publisher will probably be grumpy at you. For writers, Substack is often the most natural fit, because you can write here! (Feel free to ignore Substack Notes and video/audio posts if all you want to do is write. Really. Your job is not to become a Substack influencer—unless you want to!—it’s just to have a place where you can communicate to your readers.)

You can also consider hiring a freelance (a.k.a. external) book publicist. (If you’re curious, we interviewed my phenomenal publicist about what book PR firms do and how to find the right publicist for you.)

5. Writing can strain relationships.

Early in my career, I had a writer friend who complained that her spouse was not supportive of her writing. “He’s always whining about wanting to watch TV together, and he gets mad when I tell him I have to write.”

I understand why my writer friend felt that way. She had a full time job, and if she wanted any time to write, she needed to do it in the evenings after the kids had been put to bed or on the weekends. At the same time, I also understand why her partner was upset—if they wanted any time with each other in the busyness of jobs and raising a family, they also needed to do that in the evenings after the kids had been put to bed or on the weekends.

Writing is fun, it is fulfilling, it can be addictive, and it can also become all-consuming and destructive if you don’t set boundaries. You can forget to keep in touch with your friends. You might neglect your spouse. You might even sacrifice time with your kids for the siren song of writing.

The balance will look different for every writer, because everyone’s personal life is different. I just advise:

• (a) be aware of this tension between the imaginary characters in your head and the real people in your real life, and

• (b) know that there are rhythms to life. Some seasons require more focus on your personal relationships, and others are more amenable to deep immersion in creative pursuits like writing.

As long as you can see that, you’ll be all right, and so will your art.

4. Hollywood is nothing like the publishing world, and publishing is better.

When you get a book deal, it is 97% certain that your book will be published.

When Hollywood options your book, it is only 3% (or less) that your story will ever make it onto the screen. Hollywood is in the business of collecting ideas, not necessarily turning those ideas into something concrete.

These are rough percentages I heard from someone who had worked at a very senior level in both industries.

If you are lucky enough that a producer or studio wants to option your book, take the option money and celebrate and dream about seeing it on Netflix or the big screen. But then come back down to earth, knowing that Hollywood dreams are ephemeral, and focus instead on writing your next great book.

3. Celebrate every single milestone, no matter how “small”

When you’re just starting out as a writer, you might hold off on celebrations because you think you’re supposed to wait for a big thing, like getting an agent or signing a book deal.

Then something else happens when you’ve been in the industry for ten years and ten books—even those once-big things now seem mundane. You get tired of book launch parties (I know, I know. This is an incomprehensible concept from where you’re standing at the beginning of your career. But trust me.)

Anyway, the same advice holds true no matter where you are on the journey—celebrate everything.

Celebrate finishing a first draft, even if you don’t have an agent yet. You have accomplished something that a very very tiny percentage of people have done. They only dream of doing it—but you did it.

Celebrate sending your first query letter. Putting your heart and your work out there is a huge act of bravery.

Celebrate going on submission. Do this before you start hearing back from editors, because the celebration is about you and what you accomplished, not about their rejections or revision requests or offers.

Celebrate book launches, even if it’s your twentieth book and your introvert self doesn’t want to do a bookstore event. In that case, invite your best friends out for a nice dinner (or order in). Just treat yourself.

The publishing industry is wonderful but also unpredictable, and there are market forces you cannot control. But you can control your writing, and your courage, and you deserve to celebrate every single milestone you reach. You worked damn hard to get there. Be proud and be kind to yourself and pause for an hour (or two or three) and recognize what an amazing thing you’ve done.

2. Aim for a long career, not the Big Bang.

If you truly love writing, you will want a long career. That means some books will do better than others (see #10 above). And that also means you should not pour all your expectations into any single book, nor stress yourself out too much over the sales numbers of any single book.

You are not writing just one novel or piece of non-fiction. You are aiming to build a body of work over many years.

As one of my favorite writer friends once told me, “If you build a castle in a day or in a year, it’s still a f—ing castle.”

1. Your friends are the best part of an author career.

Dear Baby Writer, You don’t realize it, but you will meet some of your very best writer friends when you are all still nobodies.

You will find them at conferences, hungrily learning how to write first pages and lining up to talk to agents.

You will see them again and again in the audiences of bookstore events, and eventually you will strike up a conversation in a signing line.

You will meet them online, in communities like this one.

Years later, after the ups and downs and more ups and more downs, they will be the ones who know you best and who will never let you down.

In good times, they will preorder your books and come to your launch parties.

In bad times, they will scrape you up off the floor and growl curses at the anonymous internet jerk who dared write you a horrible, obviously idiotic 1-star review.

They will come to your wedding.

They will watch your kids grow.

They will visit your husband when he’s in the hospital, and you will hold them tight when their loved ones are sick, too.

They will love you no matter how many books you sell. They will love you when you tell them the industry is too hard and you’re going to quit. They won’t make fun of you when you quietly change your mind and decide to start writing again.

These people that you don’t know yet are going to walk beside you on this long, rocky, wondrous path.

And their company will make all the difference.

» This post is part of our Author Diary series. You can find past entries HERE.

Hello, Protagonists!

We previously revealed our first six Book Club picks for 2026, but now we have filled out the schedule to get us through the end of the year!

Each meeting is approximately 1 hour long:

• 30-ish minutes: Book Discussion

• 30-ish minutes: Mini Creativity Coaching session

Our Book Club Picks for the Second Half of 2026

July:

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke - Natalie Heller Mills is a high-society influencer who has built a massive empire by curating a sanitized, “traditional” lifestyle for her eight million followers. Her carefully constructed facade shatters when she wakes up in a gritty, primitive reality where she must trade her industrial kitchen and nannies for blood-stained labor and survival.

🐝 Everyone is talking about this one! Let’s see what the buzz is about. 🐝

Meeting date: Sunday, July 26, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

August: VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY!!

Ideal Life by Evelyn Skye - After a catastrophic glitch threatens her neuroscience startup, Talia Morgan discovers a mysterious watch that allows her to rewind the last twenty-four hours and endlessly perfect every detail of her life. However, as her addiction to rewriting the past alienates her loved ones, she uncovers a dark conspiracy surrounding her work and must decide whether to keep cheating time or embrace a messy, authentic reality.

🎉 Come celebrate and support our amazing Evelyn!!! 🎉

Meeting date: Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

» Zoom link to come - This book club meeting will be open to the public.

September:

We Need Your Art by Amie McNee - By dismantling the fear and shame associated with being a creative, this empowering guide helps aspiring artists overcome impostor syndrome and build sustainable daily habits. Featuring a practical two-week reset plan and insightful journal prompts, this book provides the emotional framework needed to confidently celebrate your ambition and consistently produce your work.

🎨 Let’s recommit to our art as we head into the fall! 🎨

Meeting date: Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

» ZOOM link to come

October:

The Everlasting by Alix Harrow - Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories—but her life, as it truly happened, has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs. But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story--they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

💫 It’s the perfect time of year to disappear into some fantasy. 💫

Meeting date: Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

» ZOOM link to come

November and December / CIA Holiday Party:

Winter Hours by Mary Oliver - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver presents a deeply personal collection of essays, memoir, and poetry that explores her intimate connection with both the natural world and the craft of writing. By weaving together meditations on her daily life with insightful critiques of literary masters like Frost and Whitman, Oliver provides readers with a rare, graceful glimpse into her private and natural self.

🕯️Make a warm drink, get cozy, and reflect on your year with us. 🕯️

HOLIDAY PARTY date: Sunday, December 6, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

» ZOOM link to come

🫶🏼 Mini Creativity Coaching sessions

The second 30-minutes of each meeting are creativity conversations or mini coaching sessions!

Each month, Joanna chooses a topic (such as creative goal setting, the grief of rejection, the psychology of writer’s block, the power of play) and book club members will get to share their experiences, as well as receive reflection and support.

Together, we’ll see deeper into our creative selves, bask in the camaraderie of our community, and find ways through our challenges. 💛

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

The more the merrier, so go ahead and invite your friends!

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 story?

4. Who would you be without that story?

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!

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✨ 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

Refer a friend

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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:

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

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

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 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!