Dear Reader, This year, more than ever, I wanted to honor Black History Month, at a time when attempts have been made to erase it. So I invited my friend Terry Newby to help me do that. As a white woman in America, I loved literature, but I did not grow up reading many marginalized voices. While I knew the name James Baldwin, I couldn't have told you what he stood for. And now? I know him as a Black man and a gay author. And what else? I've admired his interview clips. He feels important. How...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
My 100th Episode Boundaries Make Things Possible. Dear Reader, I recently came across my final project from my Master Coach Training in the fall of 2017. It was a PowerPoint-presentation meets-screen-recording in which I told everyone what I had done all summer, which was... branding my business, curating thematic images, and amassing a mess of unfulfilled goals. It was humbling. I had to upload something to our group forum by midnight Eastern Time (I am on Central) and I had run out of time....
2 months ago • 3 min read
Dear Reader, I released a new / old podcast episode this week, and it feels very timely. Let me explain. This episode, in which my dear colleague and peer Orla Collins interviewed me in 2023, introduces my 52-card Tiny Altars oracle deck. I didn't release it back then. My books are available through distributors other than me, and I haven't been interested in opening a storefront to sell these decks. I already tried that with my first book and my first products, and I could do that again, but...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Happy New Year's Eve! This time between two years is always a liminal space. But these years in the twenties have felt extra liminal space-y, individually and for humanity on Planet Earth, never more so than now. I have new adventures on the horizon that I want to embark on; I suspect you do too. Part of me knows from experience: We'll move through this new time, and if we are intentional about it, we'll look back and be amazed at how far we've come, given what we didn't yet know...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Happy Winter Solstice. After today the days become longer. As I look out on the snowy Minnesota landscape, I am grateful to have made it to here. Recent dark nights have felt even darker and colder when there's no snow to offer balance. I'm clearing out clutter, preparing to start my first new book writing projects since 2010, when I began dabbling with the content in my two memoirs. Come 2025, I have fresh stories to tell. And so do you. AND may I add... starting over with...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, As you look forward to the holidays... I hope you're thinking about how you'll make room for your version of creative expression. And here's what I mean by that: When my teaching job became so ridiculous that everyone (I mean, seriously everyone) would tell me I couldn't possibly be expected to do all that (but I was expected to, and I was trying my hardest)... I started painting the walls. Repeatedly. It got really compulsive. And then to save my house, my budget, my children's...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hi! I'm sending this updated message because today we will have ice storms across Minnesota, and I'm postponing my appearance with Amy Sundby in Northeast Minneapolis. I still invite you to enjoy these treats from home. Dear Reader, Something has been coming up lately and I want to correct a misconception. Because I keep sharing big, completed projects, people seem to think that project completion comes easy to me. This is a fallacy. Anyone who knows me can tell stories about me falling...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Something has been coming up lately and I want to correct a misconception. Because I keep sharing big, completed projects, people seem to think that project completion comes easy to me. This is a fallacy. Anyone who knows me can tell stories about me falling asleep when I get overtired and sit down for a moment. When I talk about my new audiobook, it represents cumulative moments of showing up this past year. Tiny Altars represents fifteen years, total. I'm not saying that your...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Can you believe it's December? I'm so excited to wrap up (pun intended) this year with some really fun announcements. ONE: Audiobook Yesterday, my Tiny Altars audiobook went live on Audible. Now both books are published in three formats and can be purchased through links on my website. In case you're wondering, the direct links on my website for both paperback and audiobook get me the highest royalties at a good price. Thank you for supporting my work at a good value to you. TWO:...
5 months ago • 2 min read