Hey folks, I figured it was time to update my About video. What do you think? It’s getting harder to keep it under 1 minute!
Month: April 2024
100 Rejections Challenge Complete!
I received my 100th rejection today! In celebration, I posted the rejection along with my all-time favorite rejection, free on Patreon. Read it here.
I also created a video:
Sunday’s Snapshots: Constructing Days
My latest Sunday’s Snapshots column is available now at The Sanders County Ledger.
Read Constructing days.
Enjoy!
Sunday’s Scrips: Is Moving!
Newsletter Migrating to Patreon
Hey folks, I’m so glad you’re here and wanted to give a quick note to let you know that last Friday’s newsletter, April 5, 2024 was my last newsletter sent from MailChimp. Starting in May 2024, my monthly newsletter will be posted on Patreon as they now have a free option! Hooray!
You may have some questions, and I have some answers:
FAQS
| What do I need to do to access your monthly newsletter in May? | Head over to Patreon and click “Join for free.” This will also give you access to other free things I randomly post 😊 |
| I didn’t even know you had a Patreon; can I sign up for a paid membership? | Definitely! Simply choose the tier you wish to sign up under (I currently have three in addition to the free one). If you want to switch to a paid tier later, that’s easy to do too! |
| Will the Newsletter look different in May 2024? | I hope so because it won’t have monkey fiber all over it. 😂 But seriously, I’m hoping the new version is better, and I’m hoping you’ll tell me what you think. |
| Can people still get your awesome free Submission Tracker when they sign up for your newsletter? | Absolutely! If you sign up on Patreon after the May migration, just let me know you’d like a copy. I am happy to get it to you 😃 |
| Why are you switching? | I am a one-woman show, which means I do everything: the social posts, the writing, the editing, the marketing, the distribution, the creation, anything and everything is done by me. Having so many platforms is simply too taxing and I feel I’m burning out, which no one wants. Moving my newsletter to Patreon also gets you all the other free stuff I post there and I don’t have to keep paying MailChimp. win:win (except for 📧 🐒) |
| Is this a Patreon scam to start charging me for your newsletter? | Nope. The newsletter has always been and always will be free. Free free free. (If you want to pay a wee bit here and there to help support me, I certainly won’t say no though 😉 .) |
| Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near? | Just like me, they long to be, close to you (on Patreon) |
Do you have additional questions or concerns? I’d love to hear them! Please contact me sundaydutroauthor (at) gmail (dot) com
Whatcha Readin’: The Dreaded DNF
Looking for your next great read? My monthly column with The Sanders County Ledger is available now. And be sure to let me know Whatcha Readin’:
Someone had asked if there’s a simple way to see all these books at once. The best thing I can come up with is my affiliate link to Bookshop.org (Some titles may be missing if they are out of print).
Thompson Falls Public Library Book Talks
My amazing local library asked me to do BookTok-like videos for them every month. We’ve been working in collaboration with The Sanders County Ledger and my monthly article there called Whatcha Readin’
These are super fun to do and I get quite a bit of feedback from them which is always a pleasure. Enjoy!
Writer’s Digest April PAD Challenge
I randomly stumbled onto the Writer’s Digest April Poem-A-Day Challenge yesterday and decided to try my hand. I haven’t written poetry since college, but I do love it and I think it’s always good to stretch your muscles. It’s not too late to join yourself, if you’re so inclined.
Yesterday’s Prompt: write an optimistic poem
My poem from yesterday:
Moving (On)
I left and expected she’d follow
It was certainly too much to ask
Certain she’d make good on her desires
To have agency in her life at last
It’s not like I went out of country
I simply went diagonally three states away
She checked it all out on Realtor
Then found a new boy to date
At first, I was wary but cheerful
She deserves to find happiness too
But the further things got with the boyfriend
The clearer it was she’d never move
Now, everything happens for a reason
Or at least this is what I am told
So to get a save-the-date in the mail
Was expected and logical and bold
She may not be moving as planned
She may not be moving at all
She may be staying in Califonia
But her life isn’t staying small
Today’s Prompt:
- Write a happy poem, and/or…
- Write a sad poem.
My poem from today (although I’m not enamored of the title):
Love
The children are expanding
Their bones aching
Gone the salty flour sacks birthed over twenty-seven hours
The children are evolving
Their noses elongating
Gone the snubbed stubs required for the breast
The children are growing
Their feet flaring
Gone the smooth inked marshmallows I gobbled up
The children are flourishing
Their minds extending
Gone the requirements for my outdated knowledge
The children are becoming
Their personalities blooming
Living the dreams we nourished
Writing Prompt Winner: Janet Muirhead Hill
March 2024: Janet Muirhead Hill
“to cause pain was a disease”
I didn’t know. I wish I had known. It would have made a difference in my decisions. I wish I had known that the compulsion to inflict pain is a disease. An overpowering disease that is passed from one generation to the next. The person who has this disease will hurt anyone he has contact with, if he can. But most of all he will hurt those closest to him. Those he loves the most. In doing so, he will push away the love he is convinced he does not deserve. He will inflict this pain with all the force of every pain seared into his brain that he suffered as a child. As those who would have cared, those who were responsible for protecting him, for loving him hurt him deeply, teaching him the best ways to cut others deeply, inflicting the most insidious, long-lasting wounds. And by hurting them, he hurts himself, and thinks he takes pleasure in it.
Hill writes from her rural Montana home which she shares with her husband, two cats, and two ponies. She writes for the joy of writing as she learns about life and herself through the characters in her novels and in the random poetry she occasionally pens. http://www.janetmuirheadhill.com