April love list
wildflowers, tiny things, + a blessing
Hi, friends. April continues the wildflower wonders over here. The fact that I’m sending this on a Friday points to a nudge I’m getting about posting. Over the next few months, I’ll probably share on a more sporadic non-schedule instead of most Thursdays. There will still be Folklore Fridays. But, my brain wants a little more spontaneity.
April is when everything turns green.
I try to soak up the outdoors as much as possible in April, and this month my new job is making that easier.
Everything is green…and red:
I know I said I can’t keep plants alive–but I’m not doing it on my own, and I think being paid to water plants helps. ;)
Writing? I did very little of that in April, partly because I worked a lot more hours this month. I did finish and lunch Twice Told in its email course version, and plan to someday make it available on a widely-accessible platform.
Not writing has felt like a good break. I am planning on sharing a short story with you next month to celebrate A Land of Light and Shadow’s 5th birthday (where has the time gone?!). It’s starting to take shape in my head, and I look forward to writing it soon.
It may be a story that I expand later, or it may end up being just one of several. Either way. It definitely is a sequel to ALoLaS. If you haven’t read it, I’ll let you in on a secret: the ebook will be on sale at some point next month. Another goal is to get the paperbacks back on the virtual shelves before my first book baby turns five.
I drew a card for each month of 2025, and the Ace of Wands is April’s card. Given this card’s connection to creative inspiration, etc. I was curious about any reflection in my creative life. It’s easiest to equate creativity with drafting, something I haven’t done since I finished drafting the sequel to Double Alchemy in February. That rush of getting the messy story out for the first time is an unparalleled experience. But of course, there’s so much more to creativity than writing.
Then I read this post by Shaunté at StoryDrops…what timing.
I had a cozy book signing at a local community library last night, and as I shared The Secret Heart of Maeve MacGowan someone shared an opportunity for my book with the words, “I don’t want to light a fire under you, but…”
Talk about being handed a fiery Ace of Wands. More on that later.
In my quest to read more books on my shelves, I picked up The Squire’s Tales, Arthurian legends retold for YA readers (back when YA meant something very different than it does now). I think there are three or four books out of the ten in the series that I never read. I didn’t expect books written in the late 90’s/early 00’s–by a minister, no less–to hold up as well as they do.1 Not perfectly, of course, but it’s been a pleasant surprise. I can feel all kinds of inspiration percolating beneath the surface as I read them. Currently, I’m on book 4, Parsifal’s Page.
A blessing
May we understand that,
like wild blackberries,
the flowers are just
the beginning,
making way
for something
nourishing.
Meet you over the orchard wall, friends.*
*One of my wonderful early readers for The Secret Heart of Maeve MacGowan started signing her emails like this. I like it.
Thanks for being here. My AuDHD brain is a bit scattered and prone to change things last minute, but here in The Purple Vale you can count on reflections on folklore, fairy tales, and the seasons from my little corner of East Tennessee–which is unceded Cherokee and Muscogee land.
When you grow up steeped in white christian evangelicalism/nationalism like I did, a lot of childhood material feels yuck now. Maybe because so much of it was thinly-veiled propaganda to make kids be quiet and obey.
I always enjoy reading your posts. And thank you for the blessing!