All posts tagged: creativity

Musings & Meanderings

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! I am getting excited for the winter solstice, this gentle turning-in, these cozy darker days. What is it about the darkness that conjures creativity? Maybe it’s the way it encourages a hibernation, a slower pace, a time to go fallow? For me it’s a bit like crawling into the cave of creativity, having nothing else vying for my attention–at least outside–no garden to water or plants that require nurturing. Reading, contemplating, playing on the page, listening, looking out the window, observing patterns. Just this past weekend, I took a workshop with Esme Weijun Wang, most recently the author of The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays (Graywolf Press, 2019), and it was so warm, generous, validating, with really great tips for setting intentions and looking back on the last year. Here are just a few things that we discussed, which I wanted to pass along to you: …

Musings & Meanderings: Is time linear? Does it fold over itself? What about time-travel? For real? In a book? Susen Edwards talks about that, plus her debut, WHAT A TRIP, plus the frenzy to the finish line of 2022, planning for the new year, more

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A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! I don’t know about you, but I feel I have upped my normal frenzy to my fancy holiday, year-end frenzy. It can be a little overwhelming between work, kids, end-of-semester, prepping for the holidays, and more. I like busy. I might thrive best when I have a few spinning plates. Sometimes, though, those plates get a little full. And they all seem to be made of my grandmother’s fine china, delicate and fragile, should I drop one. Is it always crunch time? How do you manage? Is there a way to balance or pre-plan? Hey…I’ve got some tips for that in my obsessions section–and a workshop you may want to attend with Esme Weijun Wang. I just signed up! There’s another one I have my eye on, too (DailyOM has some really great offerings). Be sure you scroll to those offerings below. In the spirit of thinking …

Musings & Meanderings: In-box zero, clearing the slate, childhood homes, art, architecture, space, memory, where to submit, recently published stuff, moderately creepy reads, gorgeous green photography

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! Is in-box zero a thing? Is it really attainable? I used to think no. But today, I deleted an ass-load of emails. They’ve been piling up since April or so, that’s near-six months of newsletters, updates, pleas for my money, time, and more. Some of them were from well-meaning friends offering support when I was struggling. A few were from my agent. Others touched on deep themes: ancestry/vital records…the self as character…’this week in writing history’…submission calls…writing craft class…author spotlights/events to attend…I leave all of this stuff in my in-box because I think I’ll go back to it, it might serve as inspiration, it might be ‘important,’ and I’ll miss out. None of it was serving me. It was all clutter. They were all deleted. Years ago, I heard the adage that a messy desk is the sign of a busy mind. That’s true, …

Michael Rose talks about his debut, THE SORTING ROOM, about delaying creativity, how business informed his writing life, why he loves historical fiction, modernity, & so much more

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By Leslie Lindsay An epic family saga, THE SORTING ROOM is a captivating tale of several women’s struggles, perseverance, and more set in Prohibition/Depression-era NYC. ~WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS~ ALWAYS WITH A BOOK Leslie Lindsay & Michael Rose in conversation After serving in executive positions in global companies, Michael Rose retired from the corporate world. The Sorting Room is his debut fiction. He grew up on a diary farm and now resides in San Francisco. COMING SEPTEMBER 2021 ABOUT THE SORTING ROOM: It’s the beginning of The Great Depression and Eunice Ritter is a living in squalor. She and her brother, Ulrich–Uli–are not exactly close– she’s alone, living on the edges of his world of marbles and friendship. He throws a rock at her, but Eunice may actually be more industrious and skilled than Uli, and even their parents. She’s just ten years old when she gets a job at a local sweat shop–an industrial laundry–a job no one wants. In fact, Eunice was sort of ‘dared’ into the job by adult men who suggested she would become …

B.A. Paris talks about her new domestic suspense, THE THERAPIST, about a London community, how her formative years in the U.K. has shaped her storytelling, hitting a wall, self-doubt, how ideas come best in that liminal state between wake and sleep, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  An unsettling tale of a London couple who move into a gated community rife with dark secrets—a murder and more. WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS ALWAYS WITH A BOOK B.A. Paris & Leslie Lindsay in conversation With an absolutely gripping central mystery, U.K. author by way of France, B.A. Paris delivers a hit readers will surely devour as quickly as Behind Closed Doors, and joins a cadre of authors who’ve produced unforgettable books, like An Anonymous Girl, The Silent Patient, and You Should Have Known, about tortured and mysterious therapists. B.A. Paris burst on the scene in 2016 with her break-out bestseller, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, which had me racing through the pages. She’s back now with THE THERAPIST, (St. Martin’s Press, July 13), about a close-knit suburban community where everyone is a little on-edge, and with good reason: there’s been a murder and everyone is still reeling, and grieving, and more. Plus, there are newcomers, a therapist, a private investigator, and so much more. Alice feels compelled to get to the bottom of this …

Laura Lippman chats about her hallucinatory new novel, DREAM GIRL, about fear & isolation, how books formed her, backstory and creativity

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By Leslie Lindsay Such a masterful, slow burn of a literary thriller. Highly unique, deliciously dark and complex. WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS ALWAYS WITH A BOOK Laura Lippman & Leslie Lindsay A distinctive voice in crime fiction, Laura Lippman has been named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. She’s a New York Times bestseller and has won more than 20 prizes for her work and been shortlisted for 30 more. ABOUT DREAM GIRL: Gerry Anderson is a big-time author, his book, DREAM GIRL catapulted him onto the bestseller lists and he hasn’t come down since…his sense of self is up there, too. But now, he’s been injured in a freak accident, laid up in his Baltimore penthouse, which, in essence, is pretty ironic and hilarious. Gerry doesn’t exactly want to be in Baltimore, he says he’s happiest in NYC, where he had been living. He has relocated to care for his ailing mother, who had issues with delusional dementia. Here is where this synopsis and review gets a bit tricky: are we …

Fun & FAB YOuTUBE DAD, WARREN NASH TALKS ABOUT HIS LEGO PASSION, CREATING WITH KIDS, PROBLEM-SOLVING & CRITCAL THINKING, plus, parent-child bonding in his new book, LEGO DAD

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By Leslie Lindsay  A fabulous resource for anyone–not just dads–who love LEGOs, the little people in their life, and time together inventing and being creative. ~APRAXIA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Child’s Play + Book  It’s time to break out the bricks–the LEGO bricks, that is! LEGO WITH DAD: Creatively Awesome Brick Projectsfor Parents and Kids to Build Together by Warren Nash (October 2020, Rocky Nook) is a gorgeous, glossy, all-color guide to creating with LEGOs. It’s jam-packed with fabulous fun ideas, hints, tips, and ideas that will have you digging up all of those misplaced LEGOs you have around the house. Seriously, some cool stuff. Nash says you don’t need to run out and purchase sets and build them exactly as the directions say–you can create your own fun designs with just a few basic pieces you may already have at home. For years, LEGO has been an endless source of imagination and joy for kids of all ages–and for many of us, that goes back our own childhood, too. LEGO WITH DAD is a …

10-year old environmental activist, creative girl, and bookworm pens diary-style book of vintage clothing during a rainy ‘boring’ summer in LEGENDS FROM MOM’S CLOSET featuring inspiration from fashion icons

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By Leslie Lindsay  10-Year-Old Girl Uses Imagination and Vintage Fashion to Emulate Female Icons A lesson in using creativity and learning at home.  ~BOOKS ON MONDAY| ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ My 15-year old daughter, Kate, regularly states she wishes we lived in a large, Victorian home with an attic filled to the rafters with vintage clothing. Girl after my own heart. I think she’d get along great with Sasha, the 10-year-old author of LEGENDS FROM MOM’S CLOSET (BCH, May 19, 2020). When this book came across my desk, I knew I had to share it. Here’s the quick take: Sasha Olsen was forced to spend a summer indoors because of rainy weather, but she refused to spend all her time in front of a screen. Instead, she read through a stack of books detailing the lives of famous women throughout history. From Frida Kahlo and Audrey Hepburn to Billie Holiday and Joan Jett, Sasha’s imagination began to run wild as she learned about these accomplished and creative women who had become legends. Soon, Sasha was in …

Dreams, creativity, the plasticity of children, plus child endangerment, not ‘meaning’ to write a novel, and so much more in the stunning new book from Lauren Acampora, THE PAPER WASP

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By Leslie Lindsay  A stunning foray into the brilliant unconscious of one very creative, yet disturbed woman, THE PAPER WASP is about friendship, but equally about art and dreams. In 2015, I tore through Lauren Acampora’s debut, THE WONDER GARDEN, a collection of linked short stories which dazzled and intrigued–and yes, unsettled me. I was thrilled to come across her newest book, THE PAPER WASP (June 11, Grove Atlantic), which is her first novel. Abby Graven is twenty-eight. She lives at home with her mother and father (and maybe older sister, who seems to have some concerns with the law). Once a bright student on the cusp of a promising art career, she now languishes at her job at a discount store in Michigan. Each day she is taunted by her best friend from school, who made it big as a Hollywood actress. Elise is gorgeous and talented, having escaped the pedantic life of Michigan, she’s the awe of all in her hometown. Abby painstakingly purchases every magazine Elise is featured and constructs collages of her. And then Elise …

Can you find the power to heal? And maybe that comes in quirkier ways than expected. Twins, NYC, & more in this interview with Marcia Butler

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By Leslie Lindsay  A tale about siblings, architects, New York City, and so much more, PICKLE’S PROGRESS (April 9, Central Avenue Publishing) is about healing, getting what we want, and so much more…but maybe in some quirkier ways. Oh! I have a fun treat today–instead of me doing the interviewing, the lovely Amy Poeppel is. Amy is a writer and author of two novels, SMALL ADMISSIONS (Atria, 2016) and LIMELIGHT (Atria, 2018) her work has appeared in The Rumpus, Working Mother, Bookish, In The Powder Room, and Literary Mama. Pop over to her website and learn more. So a bit about PICKLE’S PROGRESS: “Renowned architectural team, Karen and Stan McArdle, are drunk again and driving home over the George Washington Bridge to their Upper West Side brownstone after a tedious dinner party with suburban friends. A young woman, Junie, flags them down, frantic because her boyfriend has just jumped to his death. They call Stan’s identical twin brother, Pickle, to rescue not just Junie, but also help them avoid a potential DUI. Karen invites Junie to stay in the perfectly decorated lower …