Ever wonder what we’re all really doing here on this pale blue dot spinning madly through the speckled purple cosmos?
Whether you believe in the divine, or that we’re all fleas on the back of some cosmic dog, or that the Earth is actually flat, or what we’re all destined to become worm food, one thing is certain: We have but one human life to live in our current carbon bags. I don’t know about you, but my carbon bag is destined for a fulfilling, creative life.
Books & Bullshit is a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lotta fun. Here, you’ll find:
Original speculative flash fiction stories
The brain droppings that fill up my noodler when I read books
The terrain-focused musings of a suburban mom working to build a sovereign life and show her young daughter how exactly one may be free in this world which can feel so like a prison at times.
Whether you’re strapped in for the ride or totally rubbernecking it, come on in and enjoy the show.
I’m also a story development coach and editor helping busy moms (and other cool people) finally write that book, the one bouncing around in the ole noodler for far too long. If you’re in need of a push to get you started or through a writing hump or two, step into my digital office:
Designing a fulfilling, creative life ain’t easy (and I know because I’ve done it) but it’s necessary.
You know how people say changing the system starts from within?
Well, I spent more than a decade in corporate health insurance advocating for patient rights and choice in a sick-care system that hates them. But changing the system from within was impossible — too much government red tape; too few sturdy spines. Even in the non-profit arm of the health insurance industry, the problems were vast and systemtic, coming from the top down (and I don’t mean from the CEO), and nobody was willing to tell people what the real problems actually were.
Health starts from within. It’s something you do, actively, not something you just have. Without a proper human diet and appropriate hydration, without good sleep habits and stress management, without enough fresh air and sunlight and exposure to the awesome microbiome of which we’re all a part, it’s no wonder people are sick and tired. It’s also no wonder they’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.
After nearly a dozen years, I found I could no longer listen to folks weep, openly or quietly, while screaming at me, the voice who happened to give a shit enough to listen to them. While I’d told a lot of people back in 2015 that I needed to leave that hellscape of a corporate job where I was emotionally beaten down daily, it took a divorce, a move, a daughter, a vaccine mandate, and a supportive partner to actually make the leap.
I’m so glad I flung myself off the edge of the corporate world because it led me to my primary passion in life: Stories and the authors who pen them.
Yes, you can life the creative life you always dreamed about.
I used to moonlight as a book pro. Now, I get to do it full time using a blend of editorial, project management, coaching, and communication skills from the comfort of my home office here in Vermont.
Working for myself, while not exactly a cake walk, also gives me some much needed time in my day-today for organic gardening and food preservation, re-wilding efforts, thinking through my actual opinions and thoughts about life, love, and the state of the world, and homeschooling my daughter, which I do in tandem with my partner, a skilled musician and fellow dreamer.
You’ll find a variety of stuff here in my corner of Substack. I write:
Reading - Unhinged book reviews rife with tangential thoughts, practical application musings, quotes of interest and intrigue, and the bullshit that runs through my head when reading.
Thinking - Heart-led anti-government rants from a staunch individualist and voluntaryist who knows that freedom and diversity are synonyms, and one person’s disgust factor need not be anyone else’s problem.
Divining - Everyone needs a support system in this chaotic world. I happen to like chatting with my Haindl tarot deck, a gift from my partner, for personal therapy and life coaching.
Listening - Nobody teaches an adult how to mine through the trenches of available tunes to find that spark (you know the one)
Writing - Original speculative flash fiction pieces and flash serials, as well as an essay or two about things that are important to me.
I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people don’t even like tea! But if I’m your cup of tea, allow me to clink my mug against yours in solidarity. Because this world is a little nutty, and the only way we get through the grayest of middles is by being each other’s light.
Why subscribe to Books & Bullshit?
You value real writing penned by a real human without the use of artificial intelligence tools that churn out, more often than not, absolute schlock.
Subscribe to the sections of my newsletter that make sense to you, and leave off the rest, though curious browsing is always welcome. I’m an “assume good intentions” person, and there’s no sense in adding further inbox clutter to your day.
I’m rather socially awkward when it comes to reaching out to new folks (like, what do I say?), and nobody teaches adults how to make friends. So if you want to talk about any book I’ve read and written about, want to discuss the cosmos, philosophize about life, or debate, in good faith, the realities of the terrain theory of disease, come say ‘hello!’
I believe in community, and if you’re a cool person with interesting things to say, you’re welcome here in mine.
I like knowing who’s here and what cool shit you’re doing in your life.
As Joe Dirt says, “Keep on keepin’ on,” y’all.
