The incredibly brilliant Lara Willard is currently conducting a virtual book club/writing seminar, all focused around my novel! It kicked off earlier this month, but the good news is that IT’S THE INTERNET, so you can still see all the posts and comments and easily join in! I hope you will!
Click here for the passwords to the posts and here for more general information.
If you do, be sure to use #TRUESTsem to join into the conversation on social media!
Go read this. Please. One of my favorite creative pieces I’ve read all year. Brianna Flavin is a poetic genius.
Also: you’re welcome.
Song of the Mango
Where men threw metal scraps to knock the mangoes down. They gave one to me, which I took to the small kitchen with a window and countertop of blue tiles. The sun was rising through that window, with my mango ecstatically alone. I had a thin knife, stood there paring and peeling the very smell of a mango, which smelled deeper yellow, golder than it looked inside, smelled like butterfly drought down the neck of a flower. Covered me and took me over—honey-flesh, ambrosia, juice-leather. When I buried my teeth to the hilt in its slippery meat, and the fragrant shine ran down my neck, over my breasts swathed in India linen. When the sun came in just then, the sight of God falling on me, covered where I stood in carnage of nectar, more sexual, more sexless than I could ever be. When I pulled…
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I’m tired from out-of-state travel without my meds (ugh, that was an accident). No meds means I don’t sleep well (plus my serontonin stuff gets outta whack) which means I’m a mess.
I’m a mess over the Syrian refugee crisis. The stories are so heartbreaking. You can help here.
I’m a mess of nerves about this upcoming weekend– I’m going to a YA lit conference in Chicago, and I’m scared no one will like me (this fear is perpetuated by three days of no meds).
OCD Awareness Week is coming up, and I’m reflecting on how much LESS of a mess I am after ERP in 2008.
I’m up to my neck in novel #2. It’s messy work, but I love it. I love these characters.
Life is confusing and delicious and messy. It’s good (for now) for me to wade right in.
A little interview with incredibly thoughtful questions from the lovely Mariella Hunt …
When I was sent a review copy of Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers, I was immediately captivated by the poetic writing. Not only that, the plot was beautiful–so many sad and joyful feels! It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year so far. You can read my review here.
I’m excited to have spoken with the author, getting the opportunity to ask about Truest, her writing process, and many prominent themes in the novel.
Laurel has a peculiar illness that warps her sense of reality. It’s intriguing and looked difficult to pull off. What does it take to get an illness like that “right?” Was she the most difficult character to handle?
In the novel, Laurel Hart struggles to draw a line between reality and dreaming. You would think that this would be the hardest part to write about, but in reality, it came quite naturally because solipsism…
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This week was crazy.
Tuesday night I had a recruitment event and got to spend time with some lovely young writers and future English majors. It’s fun to get to chat with people who remind me so much of myself at their age! Then we all heard Karen Swallow Prior speak about how important it is for people of faith to read, and not only that, but to read great literature, even if it includes content that may be contrary to our faith. She talked about the Areopagitica, a speech given by John Milton, in which he says that truth is truth, wherever we find it. That’s a paraphrase of a paraphrase, but it was just what I needed to hear this week.
On Wednesday, I had writing group. It’s always so good to get together with these lovely, talented women. They are so smart, and their fiction is so sharp. I’m so blessed to benefit from their brilliance.
Yesterday, I taught a biblical counseling class at Northwestern– I spoke about OCD and brain disorders, better defining what OCD is, debunking myths, and talking about treatment. It was really great; the students were wonderful and responsive, and they asked very thoughtful questions. Then, last night, I spoke to the Emerging Artists Collective about faith and writing and their intersections in my life. It was a great crowd, and again: great questions. I read them a pre-parable draft of a scene in Truest as well as the parable-ized version. I think everyone agreed it moved in the right direction.
So, then, of course, today I was sick. I spent basically the entire day in bed, finally crawling out around seven PM or so. Now I have Deathly Hallows pt 1 on while I work on my blog and eat pizza. Self care. Love.
I hope you’ve all had a great week. I did. It was just a lot!
❤
Thank you to everyone who took my blog survey. Your answers were so thoughtful and encouraging. I am really excited about your ideas!
The winner of the signed copy of my novel was Mary, who has been contacted! Thank you again– you can look forward to some fun new blog content in the coming days and weeks!
Love,
JLS
I miss blogging. I miss engaging daily (or, okay, three times a week) through fresh content. I miss my blogging friends. I miss getting a slew of comments. I really miss the excitement of generating fast, new content and putting it out there, especially when I’m doing so much writing behind the scenes that no one is seeing, you know?
That said, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my website. Will you help with my direction by taking a brief survey? All the questions are optional, and you’ll get five entries into my giveaway just for taking it.
So, two steps.
First,
Take this short survey. Four questions.
Next,
Enter my giveaway for a signed copy of Truest here. (There are a couple other ways you can get additional entries. Use them if you’d like to up your chances.)
Thanks, everyone. Miss you guys.
I hope this helps someone.
Here are a couple hard truths:
1) I hear from more OCD sufferers dealing with HOCD than with any other theme.
2) Many of these sufferers are quite young, still in school, unsure how to seek out help, and scared to share their hard-to-explain concerns with parents or other trusted people in their lives.
I want so much to do something meaningful to help them find their footing.
So, I’m writing here a letter that they can show their parents/trusted advisors. I’m hoping to be a voice if they can’t find their own.
Friends, feel free to share this as needed.
Dear friend of a reader of my blog, hello.
You’ve likely been sent to this blog post by someone who wasn’t able to articulate what he or she is going through– suffering from– or someone who was too scared to trust their own voice and explanation. I hope I…
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JACKIE LEA SOMMERS 