6/1- 6/8 Book Buddies Updates
Book Buds! Hi hi hi! How was the weekend. Bella is recovering from her paw injury, and everything is going smoothly. What a ride.
Looking for a little more writing accountability? Casey Liston is looking for a zoom writing buddy to co-write with once a week or so. Interested? Email me and I will connect you if you don’t have her contact already.
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
Our next one will be June 15th! SO SOON! 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.
The following book club will be a special summer beach read on July 6 — Heart the Lover by Lily King. Watch out, it’s a big ol’ tear jerker! More on that soon.
Next Week Gen Writing Reminder
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!)
Feedback Group Submission Schedules!
IRL Group Wednesdays @ beautyland 6:30-8:30: The next meeting is June 10. Paul and Johanna have floor time, and those pages are due on June 7th.
Noon Crew Thursdays 12pm - 1:30: The next meeting is June 11 and Ezra will have the floor then. Pages due by June 4th.
Weirdlings Wednesdays 12pm - 1:30: We’ll meet again on June 10 and Dana will have the floor with pages due by June 3rdish.
Kool Kids Thursdays at 7pm - 8:30: Our next meeting is June 4th and Morgan has floor time. Pages are already in. Next meeting is June 18 and Susan and Eli I believe have the floor with pages due on June 11.
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 4(ish). Nora’s pages are already in!
Gen Writing Prompt 6/2 and 6/6
June 2 and 6, 2026
Fashionistas (a repeat from the Fall)
I loved this prompt in the fall, so I’m bringing it back for us to use again. Feel free to spend some time googling your own outfit choices! Fashion moguls and cultural icons will all attest to the idea that clothes are a way to externally perform the self, to creatively assert personality and character. SO for this week’s prompt, I’m going to offer you a selection of outfits and you are tasked with designing a character inspired by the clothing.
Generate Something New OR Revise
Begin a new essay, poem, story, novel chapter, or heck - a whole novel if you want! - that includes a character you invent based off of one of the following fashion aesthetics OR insert a character wearing one of these outfits in a scene you’re trying to revise in a WIP.
You can see all the images in the shared google doc.
Thanks all folks for this week!
See you on the flip!
Your bestie -
Kate
