5/26-31 BB Updates!
Hello Book Buddies!
Apologies for the Tuesday email this week. I was thrown off by Memorial Day, and Bella has an injured paw so it’s been a little chaotic over here. I hope those of you doing graduation season activities are having a sweet month, and that you all had a really relaxing three day weekend. Hopefully you got some writing done!
Mark Your Calendars! Summer Book Buddy Weekend is BOOKED!
Last year in August we had a lovely weekend extravaganza here in Easthampton starting with a daylong retreat on a Saturday then we gathered at Nonotuck Park for a little party on Sunday. Good news! We’re doing it again! I’ve just booked our usual retreat space for Saturday August 8th! Remember, you get a discount using the BOOKBUDDY10 code upon check out (10%), and if you’re itching to register early you can do so using this link.
I’m in process planning a little party for us on August 9, but if all goes well, I’ll hold it this year at Darlings where we do the reading series in the afternoon. I have to be sure I can book the space, so I’ll get back to you once it’s secure, but it’s a little bar/cafe set up and is family friendly. They have desserts, coffee, cocktails, wine/beer, mocktails, and other snacks. My hope is that we can hang together, and then at the end have a little open mic! Stay tuned. Will let you know when that’s all settled.
If you hope to come that weekend and are traveling from outside of western MA, let me know! I might be able to help you find lodging.
Book Club
I’m moving book club back to Mondays! So this means our next one will be June 15th not the 16th. Garth is going to sub for me on 6/16 so I can attend Heather Abel’s book launch at the Odyssey Bookshop. Are you interested in coming to see Heather with me? Let me know, and register using this link (it’s free!)
For this one we’re reading Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Here’s the publisher’s blurb:
Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.
I think it sounds rad and hope you read it.
Feedback Group Submission Schedules!
IRL Group Wednesdays @ beautyland 6:30-8:30: The next meeting is tomorrow, May 27 and Aimee and Rich are up for floor time, Rich’s pages are in, and Aimee’s are forthcoming. This week we’ll welcome a new buddy, Paul, so we will reset the schedule when we’re together tomorrow.
Noon Crew Thursdays 12pm - 1:30: The next meeting is Thursday May 28 and Jill is up with pages in already. We’ll meet again on June 11 and Ezra will have the floor then.
Weirdlings Wednesdays 12pm - 1:30: Ed has the floor for the May 27 meeting, pages are already in. We’ll meet again on June 10 and Dana will have the floor.
Kool Kids Thursdays at 7pm - 8:30: Our next meeting is June 4th and Morgan has floor time. If not, we’ll work in the schedule next time!
OG Crew Thursdays at 7:30pm - 9: The next meeting is on May 28. Malavika and Kristina will have floor time in honor of Malavika’s last meeting before she’s traveling this summer. Pages are in. The following meeting is June 11 and Danae and Garth have floor time then.
Saturday besties 12:30pm - 2: The next meeting is June 6 and Nora and Helen have the floor, pages due June 1(ish).
Gen Writing Prompt 5/26 and 5/30
Playing Pretend
I watched a clip last night from a short film called “Homeschooled” which starred a very young Jeremy Allen White, the guy from The Bear, who played a high school aged homeschooled kid. In an effort to give his character the illusion of a normal high schooler’s social life, his parents given him a fake girlfriend, Jenny, who is actually a mop. The scene I watched featured new neighbors at the house, witnessing Jeremy Allen White announcing he’s going to the movies with “Jenny” then holding up the mop doll while the parents all played along, acting like Jenny was real. Lars and the Real Girl, a movie with Ryan Gosling from 2007 has a similar premise where a man starts dating a blow up doll and everyone around him has to humor him until he moves on.
This week I want us to play with scenarios where one person insists something they made up is real, and everyone has to play along. Here are some scenarios to play with:
A person falls in love with an inanimate object or a bot they pretend is a human
A child insists a stuffed animal is alive
A person believes they are a time traveller from the future
A person believes they have developed a magical power
A person believes they are an animal
A person believes they are possessed by a ghost or can speak to the dead when they really can’t
A person believes in a conspiracy theory that causes them to go on a false “world saving” crusade
Lastly, did you have something published recently? Are you looking for a beta reader, a writing buddy to meet outside of gen writing times, or some other type of thing the BB community could help you with? Email me! I’ll put your announcement/request in this weekly note!
Thanks so much for being just the best around.
Your bestie -
Kate
