Ciao, fellow book caterpillars, 

 

I want to giveaway a t-shirt of your choosing from my merch store. To enter into the drawing, all you have to do is reply with your favorite book or two that you read this year. It need not have been published in 2025. I'll collate that list and share the greatest hits with you next time, as we all need to buy more books, right?

 

Also, I'm offering signed books by Boo for the holidays! You can buy one for yourself or anyone else you love. I'll inscribe it however you like: your choice or mine. They mail out mid-month. $17 each ($14 for A Marriage Well Done), including shipping. Hit reply and we can work out the details! Thank you.

I'd like to share my latest literary discovery, a writer on Substack called Tamara. She's a bit of a mystery, as I know nothing else about her other than what I see through her prose: which is actually more than enough. 

 

Before you go any further: Substack is a place to strengthen your attention spans, a lit garden where writers can get away with sharing a piece that might take the reader an entire cup of coffee to consume. I'm enjoying it immensely, as I have found both a swarm of wonderful prose masters and a place to share my own creative process. 

 

Here are three pieces by Tamara. I dare you to get to the end of one without feeling your soul dance. She writes with a bazooka pointed at your chest.

 

Flirting with the Future - This piece is how I came upon her, shared by my friend, Barbara O'Neal, who you may have read before. It hit me hard as I've been pondering the topic a lot lately, finding that balance of creating/manifesting our lives while also letting the great divine do most of the heavy lifting, letting the magnetic draw of the source pull us forward.

 

Hollow in the Dresser - Only Tamara could make a story about a woodpecker set you on fire--in the best of ways. This post is from her newest project, called The Semicolon Affair.

 

Dating Labyrinth - Her words made me fall back in love with my wife all over again, reminding me what it takes to sift through the noise and find your soulmate.

 

There you go, friends. I'll go back to books next time, I promise, but there was no way I could keep Tamara from you. If I'm being honest, it feels like one of my spirit guides led me to her and is maybe even speaking through her.

 

Lastly, make sure you're following me on Instagram and TikTok, etc., as I've carved out time to share more about my life in short videos. Yesterday, while discussing my biggest author mistakes of 2025, I read aloud my favorite hate mail of the year. Maybe I'm the one who needs a bazooka--for protection.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

P.S. Please forgive me if I don't respond to your emails. Know that I joyfully read each one. Your notes keep me going, but I best put my energy into meeting the next deadline. Thanks for understanding.

Catch up on old newsletters here.