The Weekly Catch up
On reading, writing & me.
We hosted a game night on Saturday with three couples. Think: Telestrations, Wavelength—the best games ever—and I can honestly say I haven’t laughed that hard in weeks. Anyway, one of my closest friends’ husband arrived with some big news: The comic book he’d been working on was suddenly being illustrated by a real comic book artist. This was years in the making with lots of failed of attempts, and to have a shot at his dream made him giddy. It made all of us giddy too as he scrolled through the illustrations and showed us his work. The story was really fantastic; the images were incredible.
Later, over salads at Chopt, my friend told me that she thought I inspired her husband to go after his writing dreams. I tried to keep a straight face. Me? Inspire someone? But she was being serious, and she put it like this: I had written four novels and I had been able to get them published, and after years of working as an attorney, it made her husband believe in his own creativity. Rather than just read comics, he began to try his hand at writing them. He enrolled in a class and found a mentor.
Even if this is ten percent true, that I inspired him at all, I’ve been really touched by the notion. It felt like I’d just received the best review of my life, and this wasn’t about my books, it was about me. Just doing what I love to do had inspired someone else to do what they loved to do. I felt all floaty for the rest of the day. When I told my son, Harper, about our friend’s comic book and showed him the sketches, he was floored. Then he felt inspired to go draw himself.
It made me think that this is what life is really about. Inspiring each other to strive to be better. To listen to what those around us can teach us in the very mundane. Sometimes the smallest of moments can be an inspiration to us all.
I’m in Love…
It’s been raining for a few days in the northeast but I have to say that I’m enjoying all of the romantic moody London fog rolling in every morning. Best of all, my garden is really loving it too. Something has happened to my husband and I this spring. We’ve been tending our garden together like it’s a new baby. We wait all week to go to the garden center, and we stroll our wagon around the aisles placing flowers inside and conspiring about where we may plant them.
This is what we’ve planted so far: Morning glories to climb up a trellis on the side of the garage. Two strawberry plants and a chamomile plant; I plan to ask my friend Silvana how to dry out the leaves and make my own tea. We’ve planted several floral plants that attract butterflies, like the beautiful purple coneflowers, a coreopsis, a hot pink hibiscus and pansies everywhere you look. There have also been some pretty hybrid pansies at the garden center with hot pink petals and florescent yellow centers. I call them my 1980s plants. Maybe I should start gardening in neon spandex.
I joked with my husband the other night as we were falling asleep in bed that we were going to dream about our garden. When he got home from work yesterday, he said, “How are our plants doing?” Ha! What is happening to us?
I’ve Been Writing…A lot.
I’ve been working on my fifth novel, which is set in the eighties, and as such I’ve decided to do some unconventional research that involves watching grainy movies from the time period. Someone in my writing group suggested I revisit “Working Girl” with Melanie Griffith and I sighed with adoration. I’d forgotten how much I loved that movie. No idea if it will hold up. I also plan to watch Diane Keaton in “Baby Boom”—can a woman have it all? Definitely not! Best of all, what about the super sexist “Mr. Mom” starring Michael Keaton? OMG, you couldn’t be a stay at home dad in the eighties without being referred to as a “mom.” I will report back!
Media Diary
What I’ve Been Watching: “The Four Seasons,” Tina Fey’s new sitcom on Netflix that is hilarious and sweet. We also started the last season of Survivor, since I haven’t watched it in literally twenty years but my 15-year-old is intrigued. It’s fun to watch together.
What I’ve Been Reading: Chiamanda Ngozie Adiche’s latest Dream Count, and I absolutely love reading about the lives of these Nigerian women before, during and post covid times.
An Article Worth Sharing: “The Surprising Ways that Siblings Shape Our Lives.” So much of my next book Our Last Vineyard Summer is about sibling relationships and the way in which birth order impacts the Whiting sisters. I found this article a really fascinating read. Gift link.
Podcast I’m enjoying: “Don’t Write That Book” by AJ Harper and Mike Michalowicz, which offers smart and insightful advice for writers.
Love your inspirational story 🩷My daughter just started her teaching career & I keep telling her on tough days that she is going to change lives.
Enjoy the 80s movies! SO many great ones - don’t forget St. Elmo’s Fire, Ferris Bueller, Breakfast Club & all the John Hughes masterpieces 💕
I love that you inspired someone to follow their dreams! So great that your research takes you back to the 80s. Those movies will be fun to watch and discuss. Sign me up if you want to watch and chat about one of them!