Out of context gothic liminal space in my weird century old house.

I sort of love that I'm more or less doomed to spending my life wandering from one strange, history thick place to another.

This is Red Dog mine. It is the largest producer of zinc in the world. It also produces a crap ton of lead. It's also the reason Kotzebue, my mother's hometown, which is majority indigenous, is the most toxically polluted town in the US, according to the EPA.

Now you know.

Me: What are you doing?
Teen. Drawing the cover page for my new bullet journal
Me: Cool! What are you drawing?
Teen: Oh, you know, girl things. Hearts.

The hearts:

I'm probably late to this game, but friends? Tracking my word count like this has been such a game changer.

When I'm unmotivated and I've only written 200 words, putting them in and watching the word count for the next 6 weeks drop is so exciting. Seeing the total word count, not only this week, but for the whole future if the project rise? Also inspiring.

This is the last year's log of short story submissions.

Red is rejection, green is acceptance, and blue? Blue is for waiting and hope.

The green is wonderful, but if there's no green? You can always make more blue.

Behind every success is a long history of failure. Let's keep going. You can't get it if you don't ask. The worst they can say is no.

Everyone deserves someone as supportive my husband in their life.

On that note, if you want to know what I did, sign up for my newsletter that is going out TOMORROW.

I hate keeping secrets. I want to tell you this one.

https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/5849/sites/53092917229651311/3YKvOO

This is the face of someone dying to tell you her very happy *writerly* secrets.

I'm telling my newsletter subscribers one of them a week early, so you should sign up to get the tea delivered to your inbox on F R I D A Y.

https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/5849/sites/53092917229651311/3YKvOO

Crawling out of my post-summer luddite glory to tell you beloveds I'm alive!

Apart from being almost nonexistent on social media all summer (IT WAS MARVELOUS, 10/10 RECOMMEND)

to let you know that apart from absconding with my little family of 8 to the wilds of this beautiful land and getting buried up to my neck in sand and children

I've gone back to school full-time.

It has been glorious