November 2023 Newsletter

Justin here! Sorry for missing last month, things have been hectic.

Current Events

We had the Sugar Loaf Fall Festival on October 7-8, which was great experience. While the weather on Saturday was absolutely terrible—from pelting rain to intense wind gusts—Sunday was more pleasant, albeit cold. We had great conversations with people who stopped by and had a few sales! I posted up some Instagram reels here and here.

Here are some pictures from the event!

The tent was graciously provided to us from a good friend of mine.

I printed and laminated QR codes for all our books and our Instagram page so people could scan with their phones to buy online if they wanted.

We had bookmarks, pens, and little stickers as freebies!

Ashley got little decor pieces and added some pizzaz to my utilitarian table setup.

I spy a grumpy Twyla!

A nice family picture! Unfortunately the Shades of Resilience picture wouldn't stay put with all the wind so I took it down.

Writing Updates

I am happy to announce I am on my fourth draft for Shades. After getting through a few rounds of edits on my own, three beta readers (two paid, and one a friend) provided very valuable feedback, which is now being incorporated. My editor is working on looking through the manuscript again as well, so looking forward to her comments.

Here are some of the comments I got from beta readers:

-Beta Reader 1

-Beta Reader 2

"Overall, I loved it. Like really loved it. You'll notice that I make less and less comments as the story goes on. I think this is because I started getting absorbed in the story. I had to keep reminding myself that my role was to edit/provide feedback, not read for leisure. So I think that is a really great sign. The story also made me cry at two points, which wasn't so great since I was reading this during downtime at work today (whoops), but does show how absorbed I was." -Beta Reader 3

As for the Heart Warrior book, we are almost done with the illustrations and expect them to be completed by the end of the year. The next step after that will be formatting Ashley's poems to the illustrations and putting the book file together.

Writing Inspiration

I love this page and wanted to share a sneak peek with you. It captures such a serene moment and reminds me why we embarked on this path. Fostering creativity in children is so important. It all starts on Day 1, by reading books, exploring nature, singing and listening to songs, playing instruments, painting, I could write a list pell-mell on this.

We live in a world that is increasingly difficult. Whether it's the economy, rising racial hatred, climate change, or still reeling from a pandemic that killed millions, there is no doubt the times we live in are more unstable than ever. Art is how we can maintain sanity, provide our minds respite, and recharge our spirit to face the hurdles ahead. It's much harder to do as a hardened, bitter, and grumpy Grinch. Trust me, I've been there more times I can count.

The more we connect with each other as humans, the more we will realize we are not so different after all.

Happy Writing!

Elli Twy Publishing