I’ve felt lately that I was missing a vital piece of the puzzle as an artist and a writer. I think it started during the pandemic when everything fell apart and we were all lost. Through the pandemic, I lost the ability to truly enjoy others’ company. It was very dangerous back then to be with others. However, lately, I’ve been making a concerted effort to reach back out to others and try to do this whole talking and interacting thing I’ve heard about.
Of course, we can’t just jump in head first! Not when we’re so out of practice. At first, I shared random news with a fellow unpaid protester. That went well. She even asked follow-up questions! … Which I was able to answer! Next came having a conversation with a random person in the store. That also went better than expected. Then, it was time for the big moment. Online interaction with…[wait for it] other writers!
I know! I practically keeled over too.
Somehow, inexplicably, I have not exploded, turned to salt or stone, or lost my ability to think. Instead, I’ve found people that I would consider having dinner with or a coffee. People I might even want to hang out with one random summer day. I was truly on a roll when I realized I was missing another important part of being a writer in today’s world. Interaction with other writers meant more than just chatting with them. It meant actually writing with them. Sharing triumphs and problems. Helping them with their questions and cheering for them when they triumphed as well as sharing the load when they were burdened with problems.
To that end, I decided to start reading, beta reading, and ARC reading again. This is something I used to do, ages ago but which I’d lost through the long dark winter of the pandemic and post-pandemic apocalypse. As I’ve focused on building community with my fellow unpaid protesters, I’ve realized how important it is to give to others any way that I can.
I’m getting to a point, I really am.
The point of all of this is to introduce my latest attempt at community building and engagement: Book reviews. They won’t necessarily be a regular thing and I’m probably going to add a TBR pile to my newsletter, if not my website. I don’t do anything regularly except eat, sleep, and teach. However, I will post them here and possibly pull them into a separate page on the website if I get enough of them.
