Hello, my dear lit lovelies!
I had to share the above photo, which was hidden deep in the Red Mountain archives. That’s your truly and my amigo Nick almost two decades ago, shortly after we left our Wall Street jobs to go chase a dream in the wine biz in Washington State. Can you believe that banjo-playing numbskull in his long underwear can string even one sentence together, let alone make a living doing it?
Anyway, where to begin. Let’s not ruminate over the end of summer, or I’ll start weeping. Riggs is back in school, but I’ve still got one foot back in July, fondly recalling Maine island life: the lobster rolls, the sunset boat outings, the long walks along the shore, the bottles of rosé with friends and fam, the mesmerizing conversations over long meals.
And yet, I can feel the icy fingers of a Maine wint-uh wrapping themselves around my ankles. I am secretly excited, though, as I love hiding out in my literary cave and spitting out words for you whilst (don’t you dare tell me I can’t use whilst!) the sky dishes out snowflakes.
As always, you can hear yours ramble and riff my way through these newsletters in all of my unfiltered messiness by hitting “LISTEN TO POST” above, or via my Drowning in Words podcast on Apple and Spotify.
I’ve mostly wrapped up the dev edits of my next book, called (for now) Salvation Isle, and it’s a sizzler, my friends. There’s something special brewing in those pages. It’ll hit shelves next August.
Today, after I check in with you and share some of the art that’s moved me lately, I’m going to start finishing up this how-to-write craft book that’s near completion. Then, time for a new story idea! There’s simply nothing like knowing that my next novel is due in ten months while having ZERO idea of what it might be about. I adore the faith in creativity required. It’ll come to me when it damn well pleases.
Books first!
Y’all, I’m burning through an advance copy of The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon, which lands September 8th. She’s fictionalized the life of the Irish pirate Grace O’Malley and done so with swashbuckling storytelling mastery. The research she put into this book and the way she so easily takes you back to the 16th century is staggering, and I’m already desperately pulling for Grace. I wrote Ariel and told her that the opening pages are as good a start as any I can remember. I bet a lot of you have read The Frozen River; I’ve added it to my ever-growing stack.
Next up, on the suggestion of my supremely talented friend Barbara O’Neal, who has a new one out that I can’t wait to read (A Thousand Painted Hours), I tore through The One Day You Were My Husband, about a British woman whose wedding on a Thai beach is ruined when authorities arrest her husband. Following the aftermath and trying to keep up with the twists were absolute delights. Rosie Walsh knows how to keep you turning pages.
TV
Who here has not seen Hackson HBO Max? My friends Hunter and Nyree urged me to watch this show, and I was totally consumed and obsessed, not to mention heartbroken that the series has concluded after five marvelous seasons. I’m not the easiest to make laugh with television, but this show breaks me wide open, while also putting my heart through the wringer. It’s a buddy-love kind of show, about an aging comedian and her younger writer who endlessly butt heads while building a beautiful friendship. If you’re easily offended, it might not be your bag. It is HBO, after all. For my money, it’s one of the best shows made in a long time. Here’s the trailer:
Music
Mikella and I had the pleasure of stumbling into Yebba’s afternoon set at the Newport Jazz Festival, and we came away absolutely obsessed with this singer from Arkansas. What do I even say? Yebba and the audience were in tears as she pulled out notes from her soul that shattered us. I can’t wait to see her live again. I felt like I was seeing something really important and can’t wait to follow her as she disrupts the music world.
The marvelous Cassandra Wilson died this week, so I’ve been revisiting the tune below. How good is she? And check out that sax solo that rolls in at the 2:30 mark. That’ll run up your spine and make everything alright.
Look what you guys did, by the way, taking The English Bookstore in Bologna to #1 in all my categories. After a couple of releases that didn’t do what I’d hoped, it’s so satisfying to be playing with the big dogs again. If I could, I’d give you all a kiss. A wet one even! Thank you for leaping into my new story and giving it so much love.
Lastly, mark your calendars for Friday, September 11th at 11 a.m EST. My longtime friend Kevin Kermes and I are going live to chat about writing fiction and our mutual obsession with self-development. He’s an interesting cat; I think you’re gonna like him. Here’s the link.
If you’re up for it, let me know what’s going on in your world.
All my love,
boo
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