The creative world just lost a good one. Susan DeFreitas crossed over to what’s next after a short, fierce battle with cancer. Susan and I circled each other for years. We attended the same college a couple of years apart and had mutual friends. Somehow, we became acquaintances through social media, engaging with each other’s content over time. I had always hoped we’d find a way to collaborate on a bigger scale. She was a brilliant editor and a beautiful writer. You can support her young son—and learn a thing or two about writing activist literature—by reading her novel Hot Season.
Because Susan would never want to end on a low vibe and spent her life supporting other writers, I want to use the rest of this letter to shout out a few other writers doing cool things with their creativity—people we can all learn from.
A huge congratulations to Diane Ford Craig, who took her distinct voice and unique approach to memoir storytelling and released Women, Heroes and A Dawg. I’ve worked with Diane on her based-on-a-true-story novel, and, friend, let me tell you—it is so good. Like, so, so good. I can’t wait for you to read it. In the meantime, for those curious about diverse ways to bring your life to the page, Diane honors her adventurous spirit and the lives of those around her through mini-stories and snippets in her new release.
During the strange times of 2020-2021, S.L. Linton pivoted from the author platform she had been building around her fantasy novels and shifted to an entirely different style—going full digital on Substack with serial releases. She’s consistent, dedicated, and creating something entirely her own. If you’re looking for alternative ways to showcase your work or build an audience, check out what she’s doing on Substack.
In a similar Substack vein—but still publishing in print as well—Charlotte Dune has built a thriving community over at The Lagoon. Her newsletter is packed with resources for creative minds, and her marketing is compelling as hell. There’s a lot to learn from what Dune is doing over there.
Props to my dear friend Andrea Brown, who has been crushing the 75 Hard Challenge. If you’re not familiar with it—for 75 days, you must work out twice a day (two 45-minute sessions), drink a gallon of water, read 10 pages of a nonfiction book, follow a diet aligned with your personal goals, and take a daily progress picture. Andrea challenged me to do it, and I said, hell no. That is a beast of a challenge. I don’t feel like I’m in a place to consistently do even one of those things. But I did accept her challenge for a 75 mini, setting a goal to get out of bed by 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. I’ve been sticking to it (though I admit I missed it by two minutes one day). I’m proud of myself and even prouder of Andrea for her commitment. Have you ever tried 75 Hard or something like it? What results did you see?
And lastly—congrats to the unionized NYC Barnes & Noble workers who successfully negotiated a better contract for themselves!
My creative projects are moving slowly—oh, so slowly—but still steadily. I wrote a killer line last night that helped bring my novel’s arc full circle. This is why I keep doing this, even when it feels like I’m perpetually riding the struggle bus.
I’m anticipating an incredible summer of writing and growing my business while housesitting for friends and family both locally and nationally. I’m available to care for pets and homes for multi-day stays in Minnesota from June 4 to August 30, but I’d love to housesit outside my state—especially in the Southwest—between June 19 and August 20. I’m looking for longer stays (a few weeks or more) to make the travel worthwhile. If you know anyone who needs a responsible house-sitter this summer, send them my way—I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!
How are your creative projects coming along? Write me, will you?
We write, we struggle, we write again. That’s the game. Keep at it.
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