Friday Reads 5.2.25

Breaking Free

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you had a joyful week. I celebrated another trip around the sun, and enjoyed every minute of it.

There’s something very freeing about growing older. I have exited the primary demographics, and that’s a bit of a shock to the old ego, but for the rest? Healthy(ish), happy, doing what I love, married to the greatest guy on earth, good friends to celebrate with, a trip to see family next week… really, this is what life is about. It’s not about the things, the accumulations, the status symbols, the house car plane social signal follower count. Those are wonderful to have, sure, but life is all about the relationships. The people you love and the people who love you. I blew out a lot of candles and made a lot of wishes, and they all had to do with my people.

You are included in that, naturally.

I also had a visitation! Well, several, actually—it’s been a veritable Festivus of creatures at the Ellison Backyard Buffet—but a small box turtle came to the back door to say hello. I caught Jordan and the turtle have a tete-a-tete through the screen and knew immediately this was a sign from the heavens. Turtles are auspicious on all occasions, but on birthdays? They are a very good omen. A reminder of the joys of perseverance, of patience, of fortitude. I have many theories about this particular visitation, and you can imagine them if you read last week’s post. It was a special start to the day that included a lot of love (and a lot of cheating on the diet!)

I think the visitation was prophetic because I’ve been at a bit of a standstill on the new book. Not blocked, exactly, but not quite sure where my subconscious was taking me. The turtle reminded me to be patient with myself on this new book, that things would work out, like they always do. And lo, yesterday, lightning struck, hard, and every strange and seemingly disparate storyline came together. Every character, every scene, has a reason, a purpose, and a throughline.

Y’all, I LIVE for these moments. I trust my process enough to know this is par for the course. I start the book like my hair’s on fire, get stuck after 10k doing something else—usually editing or PR—then struggle my way to the 25k (1/4) mark. I lose faith. I grouse to friends, the agent, the husband. I wander. I read. I fret. I decide I’ll never be able to write the book. I start looking at other ideas, and plotting out how much time it will take to write that instead and still make my deadline.

And then, a spark. The idea shifts into the right spot, and my subconscious reveals what it’s been planning all along.

Frustrating process, but the joy I feel when it all clicks is worth every minute. I think I’ll write a 22 Steps piece on what to do when you get blocked, because it happens all the time, and it’s usually the story waiting for you to realize you’ve gone off in the wrong direction. I realized. I feel much better. : )

On to the books!

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I finished Lucy Foley’s THE HUNTING PARTY, which was a lot of fun, and I am very much looking forward to our conversation next week at Parnassus. I’m sorry to say the event is sold out, but I’m sure we’ll have a way for you folks not in Nashville to enjoy it ; ) More to come there.

Then I started THE GALLERY ASSISTANT by Kate Belli and it’s really great. Captivating and intriguing, set in the New York art world, a young gallery worker’s life is turned upside down when one of the artists the gallery represents is murdered. Dum-da-DUHHHH!

ITW offered up a sneak peak to Chris Pavone’s THE DOORMAN, and I lost myself in the story and preordered it. I can’t wait to read the rest. A great opening!

Also grabbed HELLO, JULIET from Samantha Bailey—this one looks outstanding!!! I’m a big fan of Samantha’s work, and the premise of this one, a TV show reunion, is right up my alley.

I’m also finishing up Katie Collum’s debut PETER MILES HAS TO DIE, the ultimate in revenge thrillers, and Karen E. Olson A DEFIANT WOMAN, sequel to AN INCONVENIENT WIFE, a Modern Tudor Mystery. The first book is a modern retelling of Henry VIII and his wives, and a blast.

Oh, and we started watching The Righteous Gemstones and it is uncomfortably hilarious. We tried The Pitt, but had to stop after about ten minutes—I can tell I’ll love it but it’s just too soon with all the hospital stuff barely in our rear view.

That’s it from me! What are you up to, and reading, this weekend? Any great recommendations for us?

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