Jennifer Simpson

My Love Affair with the Alphabet

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A was for A New Romance

The first time I read a mystery I was visiting my aunt and uncle’s house in Aptos, California, a small town just south of Santa Cruz. They had a sunroom on the west side of the house with a wall of bookshelves. Filled with books. For some reason I picked up A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton.

Although the book was a cozy mystery with a murder victim no one really cared about and a simple plot, I fell in love with the characters, most of all Kinsey Milhoun. Kinsey is a private detective who drives a Volkswagen beetle (so do I!) who hates to exercise (so do I!) but she does it anyway, running along the beach every morning and complaining the whole time (if I were a runner, this is how I would run). She owns one little black dress for the occasional occasions and has cobbled together a family that includes her neighbor Henry, an elderly man with twinkly blue eyes who reminds me of my granddad—if my granddad had been a baker—and Rosie, the Hungarian who runs the local restaurant/bar where Kinsey gets many of her meals. She lives in Southern California (so did I!) and is a no muss no fuss kind of woman, the kind I imagine myself to be.

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Taking Stock of your Creative Writing

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Plaza in Trinidad, Cuba

Defining Creative Writing Success

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time, but I’ve been struggling. How can I advise you to take stock of all your writing accomplishments last year when I’ve not done my own list? How can I do my own list when I feel like I’ve not done anything this past year in the creative writing department? Or any other department for that matter.  How do you define creating writing success anyway?

2017 started out pretty well. I’d taken a job at a marketing agency. In the negotiation process I’d successfully argued for more money, and felt proud of myself. I was excited about this new opportunity and looked forward to not only contributing to this company, but to learning more. Then the red flags started popping up. The first day of work it was something like 12 degrees and my car was frozen: driver side door lock frozen, windshield covered in ice and back window covered in ice. I could only enter through the passenger side and crawl over the gear shift. I couldn’t see, but managed to get to my local coffee spot and park my car in the sun long enough to melt the ice before continuing the 2 miles to work.

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Best Holiday Gifts for Writers

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If you have a writer on your Christmas list, finding the write gift can be pretty easy–there’s always the option of buying a gift card to Amazon.com, or even better to a local independent bookstore.  If gift cards aren’t your thing, here are some other ideas.

Writerly t-shirts, scarves, gloves, and more!

raven_tee_02_1024x1024One of my favorite places for literary t-shirts (not to mention fingerless gloves, scarves, and more) is Storiarts where classic literature becomes wearable!

I have The Raven (Edgar Allen Poe) fingerless gloves but the t-shirt has been on my wish list for a while.  Love this long-sleeved Raven tee. (pictured left). They also sell book-themed items from Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, The Secret Garden,
and many more.

Pop Poe coastersAnother great place for literature inspired products is Out of Print.  Continuing with the Poe theme, you’ll find Poe coasters, along with tons of fun products for the literary mind:  jewelry, tote bags, tea towels, and even books!

I can’t wait to start shopping for myself here!  There are some great banned books socks, fun bookish scarves, and a cat pin!

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Submitting Your Work?

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Want to know what to do when you’ve finished a story?  crafted a slick, concise, gut-wrenching piece of flash memoir?  written a poem? Do you have tips for finding publications for your work?   How do you steel yourself for the expected rejections?