We spent the nor’easter at the beach, which might seem like a strange choice, but was relaxing. I love the beach in all weather, but rain is my favorite. The storm high tide moved the sand around, transforming the coast, making mountains between the jetties, and wind blew leaves out into the water.

We’ve been in a drought, pond low, river low, so rain is a welcome change. The big nor’easter this weekend brought in cozy hibernation vibes. Time to take down the winter clothes from the attic.

Later, we’ll dig up hundreds of dahlia tubers and put them in the cellar for winter, but not yet. It’s nice to have a pause after the wild frenzy of flower picking last week. Following the frost came days of rain—the first we’ve had in a long time.

We sold the fresh ones—dahlias, zinnias, etc—at the farmers market, our last of the year, and saved the dried flowers to make bouquets for winter. Now the house is full of dried bouquets every color of the rainbow, hanging from fireplaces and windows.

Last Thursday the first frost of the season came early. Before that we had a ninety degree day, and the temperature dropped sixty degrees, putting an end to the long summer. We rushed to pick as many flowers as we could before the freeze killed them.

Impossible Australian wildflowers, on various things: www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/5371... Also on fabric and wallpaper: www.spoonflower.com/en/fabric/10...

This one goes out in honor of Jane Goodall for her work in conservation and moving science forward in the understanding of other species on this planet 🌊🌊

September being my birthday month, book club took a break from anti-fascism to read a “gothic nightmare full of buried secrets and shambling horrors”! I loved this book.

On the farm, the flower gardens are peaking. Dahlias put out new pink, purple and orange blooms after the rain, and cosmos are starting to go by and turn brown.

Remember: If we allow ourselves to fall into fatalism, or wallow in disappointment, or become resigned to what is rather than what should be, we will lose the long game. The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.

We all need to be civil liberties advocates and defenders of our Constitutional rights.

Whether or not we retain the right to free speech depends on everyday people being willing to speak freely about the things we care about. You have a voice. Use it.

That’s how censorship operates in the USA (and many places) government pressure is used to force people & groups to self-censor. It’s a constant pattern: The majority of censorship is self-censorship, but the majority of self-censorship is deliberately cultivated by an outside power. It’s the goal

After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

Free-to-use Picture Resources for Writers www.jordanacosta.co/p/free-to-us...

What's the literary equivalent of an EGOT? Fiction, nonfiction and fantasy? Or Poetry, nonfiction, and fiction?

Yesterday feels like a dream, yet all the more special knowing it was real. If you weren’t able to join last night, I’ll be in conversation tonight with @casskhaw.bsky.social at 8pm EST, hosted by @loyaltybooks.bsky.social! Link below, hope to see you in cyberspace! loyaltybookstores.com/thefox

We're witnessing the most aggressive, fanatical crackdown on free speech in my lifetime. The speed and breadth of government censorship and private sector and nonprofit capitulation has been astonishing. As has the lack of urgency/silence from people who've long claimed to care about this stuff.

I’ve always believed that writers need to immerse themselves in the world, occupations, people, and places, in order to write about the world as it is, to create stories that enrich readers’ lives.

As George R. R. Martin says, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

Authoritarians thrive on your silence — be loud — for America.

This captures well how being a successful self-pub author involves a 2nd skill set being your own publicist. As a trad-pub author myself, when aspiring writers ask me for advice on whether 2 self pub, I stress this: Not every writer also has the personality/skills to enjoy being a publicist; do you?

Top 5 steps to tackle as a new author of sapphic fiction thesapphicquill.com/start-as-a-n... #Jae #gclswa #gclsinstructor #sapphic

#writing #booksky #🌈📚#sapphic #novel #writingcommunity #querying #queerwriterschat

ICYMI: A Heart Full of Hope by Cheyenne Blue is an enemies to lovers ice queen romance set in a quaint small town in Australia. #booksky #amreading

This looks fun!

👋 Oh hey, we’re Bywater Books—Foreword INDIES Publisher of the Year! 🏳️‍🌈📚🔮Come for the queer stories, stay for the magic: bywaterbooks.com Books. Bold. Brilliant. Bywater. #SapphicBookSky #LGBTQSky #LGBTABookSky #BookSky

September is my birthday month, so I chose something different and fun for my Substack book club! This month we’ll read Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings, which came out yesterday. I’m curious to read it because she lives in Queensland! @tanaudel.bsky.social

Writing groups continue to give me energy and enthusiasm. It’s easier to do in community.

Fall is in the air, with the pleasant weather and perfect seventy-five degree days, but to the flowers it is still summer.

Follow me on substack where I write about writing, queer lit, farming, and democracy!

Campaigning for Better Drinking Water in the Bush medium.com/@heelextensi...

Baby steps in a positive direction. Join local groups. Talk about the changes you want to see. Talk about what is important to you. Have faith.

Hi friends, I’ve been traveling this week on a road trip to Virginia for a family reunion.

No brush, no pencil. Just a typewriter. Artist James, using a 1930s Smith Premier typewriter, typed out this painting. #art #printer #unique #typewriter #illustration

Attempting to rig elections on his behalf. Turning the military on citizens. Toying with the idea of declaring martial law. Attacking political enemies and punishing those who speak out against his regime. If this were happening in another country, what would you call it?

Now, in August, the butterflies are here. Ruby-throated hummingbirds visit the gardens every morning. Pollinators flock to the flower field and other gardens. This is “peak bloom”, a phenomenon which lasts a month.

In November 2024, when I started writing this journal of a sure-to-be-fucked-up year in America—wanting a record that I could look back on to see how and when specific things changed, mindsets, attitudes, political realities, etc., I was digging up dahlia tubers.

Since it’s been a while (nine months) since I started this newsletter back in November one week after the election, I want to circle back to the reasons behind the two names for people who have joined.

If you've been to a writing retreat on a farm, how was it structured? What worked? What didn't?

The alarming @lairdbarron.bsky.social on HONEYEATER

The world needs queer books now more than ever.

Who will popularize science? We will. All of us, together. Spark the sense of wonder.

The world needs storytellers who can teach science in other ways, through television, music, books, and media of all forms.

Even if you don’t have a dual background in writing and science, or religion and science, this book would feel fresh and relevant today.

-Participate in politics -Reclaim accurate language -Don’t disengage and retreat to your private sphere

The Queen of Night (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) blooms just once a year at night and only for a few hours.

I had a magical time at the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) annual conference in Albany, NY.