THISBY
A playground of monsters.
But also home to the boy in the collar,
pressing his lips against my pulsing wrist.
And so we’ll stay.
Image credit: Engelhardt Photography
Thisby
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Monthly Archives: July 2014
What are you passionate about?
Leave me a comment of the three things you’re most passionate about right now. Also, let’s assume that you’re passionate about family and friends and (if you’re religious) God. I want to hear about everything else.
The Best Part of Wikipedia
I can’t tell you how many amazing things I have found through simply clicking that “Random article” button (and also from hopping from page to page through links). The premise of Truest was inspired by a Wikipedia article, believe it or not.
I love knowledge.
Blogs I Love
I follow a lot of blogs, so many that the only way I can keep track of them is through a reader like Bloglovin. I wanted to share with you a handful of my favorites.
Faith & Culture
Addie Zierman | My friend and fellow writer Addie blogs about faith, family, and writing, and every single post is brilliant and beautiful in ways that slice deep into your heart.
The Rabbit Room | A group of Christian musicians, writers, and artists talking about anything and everything in a very articulate and artistic way.
The Redeeming Things | My church’s blog!
Books & Literature
InkSplotch | My friend Elyse adeptly weaves beautiful narratives about life, literature, faith, and beauty.
Book Rock Betty | Betty has some of my favorite book reviews around! Plus she also blogs about healthy beauty products, several of which I’ve purchased and LOVE.
The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh | Tara’s reviews and features are awesome, and she covers a wide range of books from YA novel to adult non-fiction.
The Perpetual Page-Turner | I LOVE Jamie’s blog, especially since she loves contemporary YA the way I do! If Jamie likes a book, I usually go buy it.
Tumblr
Maggie Stiefvater | Maggie is hilarious and sarcastic and artful, and you should follow her now.
John Green | DFTBA.
Courtney Summers | I am such a huge fan of Courtney Summers; she warmly and thoroughly answers so many questions from young writers on her Tumblr. She’s also gotten me thinking a lot about feminism.
Katherine Tegen Books | My publisher’s Tumblr often posts exactly what I need right when I need it.
Writing
Adventures in Agentland | My favorite feature is Love/Hate Wednesdays, when literary agent Natalie Lakosil talks about things she loves and hates in the world of agenting.
Books & Such | The wonderful literary agents at Books & Such offer so much helpful insight into publishing industry. I learn so much from them every single week.
Brooks Editorial | I love Ashley’s helpful tips and encouragement for the writing life!
Rachelle Gardner | The single most important blog for writers to follow. I learned almost everything I know about querying from Rachelle’s blog.
TERRIBLEMINDS | Chuck Wendig swears like it’s his job, but he’s freakin’ hilarious and has great writing advice.
Kathy Ellen Davis | Children’s author Kathy Ellen is one of the most creative people I’ve ever met in my whole life. You’ll love her book reviews and original artwork!
Well, there you go. Just a few new blogs for you to check out! What ones do you recommend I follow?
Image credit: Unsplash, modified by me
Healing This Way
I’ve heard from several people that healing and recovery have not looked or felt the way they had imagined. I know this was true for me too. This is a poem I wrote about the dissonance:
HEALING THIS WAY
seems so vague and transient and distracted,
as if you could catch it chewing its nails
or sitting exhausted on the winner’s podium,
weary legs dangling before the number one.
Where is the magical trip across a definitive line,
the diploma, signed and dated and official,
the raw victory cry from the top of a mountain?
I had always dreamed that rescue would be shiny,
but a dull dime is still worth ten cents.
For (lots!) more about OCD and ERP, go to jackieleasommers.com/OCD.
Image credit: Kevin Dooley
Mid-Year Survey Giveaway Winner!
Thank you to all who took my mid-year survey! The results were fascinating and thought-provoking (and will prompt many future posts!).
The winner of the drawing was Lisa!
Lisa, a poet herself, had Billy Collins on her wishlist, so I sent her Nine Horses. Enjoy, Lisa! I hope it inspires you!
Enjoy, Lisa!
Vigil
VIGIL
The weight
of the wait
pulls at my heart.
I want to
know my friend’s
infant son.
I want to
see my story
in young hands.
I want to
finish the beautiful
shelves that mock me.
What—if anything—stops
when eternity
starts?
Image credit: Engelhardt Photography
Jackie’s Team
Back in January, I met for life and writing advice with my college writing instructor, the brilliant and beautiful Judy Hougen. Although I didn’t blog about it at the time, one of the things she encouraged me to do was to pull together a team of people who would support and encourage me during the crazy rollercoaster publishing journey.
I did that.
I have a hidden group on Facebook with carefully selected members, and they are absolutely my team. These people (who span five states and two countries) hear my prayer requests, calm my extreme panic, celebrate my victories, help me process decisions, dialogue with me when I get stumped while writing. They do it all.
I can’t tell you how much my team means to me and to my sanity. Yes, of course, I had/have each of them individually, but to cull them all together into one secret platform where I can vent and complain and cry and fear and rejoice has been unbelievable. They have allowed me to be completely unmasked and vulnerable with them so that I can maintain my composure in front of the rest of the world.
This post goes out to the members of my team. Thank you, all of you, for everything.
Image credit: Dawn (Willis) Manser
Mid-Year Survey (& Giveaway!)
I know surveys are no fun (at least for most of us), but your feedback really does help to improve my blog, especially since I write about a wide variety of topics. The anonymous survey below is just 4 questions, and they are all optional. They are also open-ended. The goal of this survey is to collect questions from my readers that will become future blog topics.
If you would take just 2-3 minutes to think about what sort of content you’d like to see at jackieleasommers.com and then respond, I’d be so terribly grateful to you!
As I said, the survey is anonymous, but if you post in the comments that you took the survey, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a FREE BOOK! After the winner is randomly chosen, I’ll ask you what kind of book you would like, then I’ll personally select a book just for you. Shipping only available in the US, sorry!
Click HERE to take the itty-bitty survey! And remember to leave a comment after you’ve taken it so that you’ll be entered into the drawing!
Image credit: Chris/Shutterhacks, modified by me
Black Dot: My Narrative Therapy
Today I’ll share with you one of the tools in my toolbox; some (most?) of you will probably think it’s bizarre, but it works for me. Maybe it could work for you too!
I picture my OCD as something completely separate from me. I think of it as a black dot about the size of my fist. It is not a part of me; it is only in my vicinity, and when it is, it has a horrible influence.
But I have learned that I am stronger than the black dot. I am in charge of it, not the other way around. My OCD/black dot takes itself very seriously, and so it absolutely hates to be belittled. It is also masculine, somehow, someway.
So, when my thoughts start to go to ugly places (these days, this usually only happens at night before I fall asleep), I recognize that my OCD/black dot is in the room with me, and I make it put on a tutu or something else that makes it feel ashamed, and then I give it specific instructions for where it needs to go. I mean this literally. Most nights, I banish my OCD/black dot to the balcony outside my apartment.
It has to listen. (Which still amazes me sometimes.) (P.S. It’s ERP that helped me realize my immense power.)
In fact, sometimes it’s so ashamed of the tutu I force it into, or of any number of strange and childish dot-sized outfits I make it wear, that it doesn’t even want to be on my balcony where others could see it, so it crawls down the block to hide in the nearest doghouse.
Weird. I know. Believe me, I know.
But it works for me.
Do you have any weird methods to keep OCD beneath your heel?
For (lots!) more about OCD and ERP, click here.
Image credit: Josh Rokman
JACKIE LEA SOMMERS 