Happy June, friends!

How are you? Was your June as fiery hot as mine? (What a swing from May’s weather!) I hear that July is going to be slightly cooler in the South… We’ll see what that really looks like.

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By the way, did May’s newsletter end up in your Spam folder? If you missed it, here’s the link. Remember to mark these emails as “Not spam” so they go directly to your inbox.

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This month, I’ve been re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with my son, who’s seven. Every time I read a book as magical as Harry Potter, I’m reminded of the power of the written word to transport us, not just to faraway castles or enchanted forests, but to realms of self-exploration and healing we never knew possible.

What, after all, did Harry go to Hogwarts to discover? How to be a wizard? How to save the world? Sure. But more than that, he learned what it meant to belong. How to love and be loved. How to choose courage over fear, to rely on friends, to face the darkness and overcome it.

The real magic of stories isn’t in the spells or dragons; it’s in the way they show us what’s really inside our hearts, asking us who we are and what we might become.

Sometimes, instead of reading my kids a bedtime story, they ask me to make one up. They give me a prompt – a character, or a spark of adventure they’d like to see – and away we go. There’s no outline, no plan, just a loose idea and a willingness to follow where the story goes. Inevitably, my children are woven into the adventure alongside a wild cast of characters and a plot twist we never expected. It may end up funny or strange, but without fail, it reveals something in them and in me.

That kind of playful, unprompted storytelling sparks new depths of connection and fun between us. It’s an invitation to see creativity, not as a carefully sculpted, finished product, but a wild, roaming, animated practice of freedom and discovery.

This is why I love story prompts, too. A well-crafted story prompt is like the sign at the beginning of a hiking trail. The path twists and turns into mystery, revealing just enough to see the first hints of the journey beyond. Sometimes all it takes is a single word, phrase, or image to propel us into a new, creative adventure.

And at the end of the story, we look back at that prompt in awe and wonder. How did we get here, of all places?

Story prompts invite us into the practice of storytelling. It’s not something we wait for, a burst of inspiration like a pop-up rain shower. It’s something we cultivate and share. In the end, it changes us.

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This month, I invite you to participate in the journey of creative adventure with me. Whether you’re reading published books, making up bedtime adventures, or writing from a spark of inspiration, storytelling can be a transformative, imaginative, and deeply healing act.

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Story Prompts

Here we go! My challenge this month is: take two or three of these prompts together. What happens when they collide? Allow your curiosity to spark a story, a poem, a sketch.

Where can you go from here?

1. In the middle of the woods, you find an ancient arched doorway made of crumbling stone. It’s wrapped in jade-colored vines and sprouting thick, earthy moss. It looks like it may tumble over at any minute, but just as you’re walking away, from the corner of your eye, you notice: the land on the other side of that doorway is not ours.
2. Fire, smoke, and searing heat wake you, curling and blackening the wallpaper beside your bed.
3. You’ve known Mr. McCannon for years, but this crumpled letter reveals that he’s not who he says he is.
4. You wake to sunlight streaming through your windows – only to discover that whatever that is, it’s definitely not sunlight.
5. Two words: Go. Now.

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I’d love to see what you come up with! Hit reply and let me know where your creativity took you today.

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Book Review: The Story She Left Behind

I just finished Patti Callahan Henry’s most recent novel, The Story She Left Behind. Mother and illustrator Clara Harrington’s own mother was a child prodigy who wrote a bestselling novel in an invented language when she was only twelve years old, taking the literary world by storm. She did it again when Clara was eight – this time, by disappearing without a trace, leaving a grieving daughter and husband to pick up the pieces. She also took away any hope of ever translating the sequel to her bestseller, which Clara and her father kept in the decades after.

Then Clara receives a call from Charlie Jameson, a Londoner who claims to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language, plus a letter written for Clara’s eyes only. Though skeptical, Clara is compelled to investigate, and she takes her daughter with her across the pond, launching an adventure of discovery into what Clara’s mother may have left behind.

The most compelling aspect of this story is its prose. Patti Callahan Henry’s writing is beautiful. She easily transports us from South Carolina’s rocky coastline to London’s Great Smog in the 1950s to the crisp, magical air of northern England. This isn’t a fast-paced, high-intensity read; it’s more a wandering through fields to discover what one might find. But the story is sweet and the characters are believable. If you’re looking for a cozy read that reaches straight to the feels, this is the story to pick up. Mothers with mother-wounds especially will find themselves (and, perhaps, even some escapist catharsis) within these pages.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Writing style

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Characters

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Premise

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pacing

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Impact
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Now, I recognize that I’ve given you two cozy reads back to back. Not to worry – I’ve got a crime thriller, a deadly impersonation game, and a magical dark fantasy on the docket, so there’s plenty of interesting reads to come!

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Writing Update

So how’s my writing going? Well, all I can say is, I’m still plugging away! I’ve finished my analysis of The Crimson Alchemist and had hoped to be 1/3rd of the way through edits by now, but alas, I’m only on chapter 3! Nothing like summertime to slow us down. Still, I’m editing away and enjoying the process. One of the elements I’ve focused on is adding sensory details to scenes. How does a room smell? What does the street feel like? How can I transport readers the way Patti Callahan Henry does? Shaping words into stories is, like many aspects of life, a long obedience in the same direction. But I’m going for progress, and I’m happy to say that I’m still making it.

I mentioned last month that I’ve also been distracted by a couple of other short stories I’ve been working on. Aaaaand… I’m still working on them! I hope to have one ready to go by next month. In the meantime, I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy other great reads on the beach, by the pool, or among family.

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That’s all for June! Hit reply and let me know where your creativity took you this month. I’d love to hear!

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See you in July, friends.

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Liz

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