Miracles and Gratitude

Get your copy here!

Today is Thanksgiving Eve and it so happens that my workload is just a touch light and I have a moment to write something. 

I write pretty regularly, whether it's for work or my writing, but this blog gets ignored. Rightly so. It's been on the back burner for a while as I juggle three or four jobs. But as I said earlier, the workload is lessoning, and come the new year, it will be even a little bit lighter.

Which is good news, really. It means back to more writing time for myself, which is what I want. 

Sometimes we have to walk away from what we think we love, to find out that it is indeed our passion and true love. Writing for myself is that perfect true love (with wearing, finding, and selling vintage clothing a very close second.)

I was lucky enough to be published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, a fourth time now, last month. It feels like a dream every time they publish something of mine. It took me a good ten years to get them to say "yes" to me so now that they're saying "yes" regularly, I almost can't believe it. 

I'm not sure why this is how my writing career had to take shape. I think the biggest reason is my stuff just wasn't that good. And when I look at what've I written -- and sent them -- I can see why they were rejected. Good writing takes time and I'm not even that good. But knowing I know how to improve -- and see my work get out there-- gives me and hopefully gives all of you some needed hope. 

Write all the time, edit, rewrite, and write some more. The act of writing, whether it's publishable or not at that moment, is what will get you to that point of getting published. 

This latest publication is called Miracles and the Unexplainable. My story is about a cardigan I sold, one that I wished I hadn't let go of, that came back to me. And how it happened is downright miraculous.

This entire book -- out of all the Chicken Soups I've been a part of -- is my favorite. It deals with miracles. And it is so encouraging.  Who doesn't need to read good things like that? I'm honored to be in it and thrilled to reinforce the true adage that "miracles do happen."

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving with your friends and family. And if you're reading this, know that I'm so grateful for you reading along with my writing life -- and regular life -- all these years. You're the best! 

Keep writing.

-HJS

Writing and Living the Dream

Every day I wake up and thank God I get to do what I do.

Here are those three things: writing, selling vintage, and being a mom.

While the mom thing is permanent, and I'll be that for as long as I'm alive (and I'm so glad I can), the vintage and writing are choices I make every day because I want to.

I write all the time. From articles for the magazine I work for to articles and stories, I submit freelance, to middle-grade fiction (I am working on one...I promise. It's nearly done), every now and then something gets published and it makes my day.

Selling vintage is a whole different world and genre, so feel free to go to the site to see that.◄ But it's just as amazing for me.

Just a few days ago, I was published once again by Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this time, in their latest book Kindness Matters. 

At my desk...where all the magic happens.

This is my third time being published by them and let me tell you, that euphoric feeling with the acceptance letter doesn't get old.

If you're looking for some inspirational stories -- for the concept that good people and good things happen to people all the time all around us -- I'd recommend this book. Every story creates hope and allows us a peek inside everyday people's lives to see that there are truly kind people out there.

Thank you, Chicken Soup, for trudging through submissions and picking mine...again. 

Click here to get a copy or wherever books are sold. You'll be glad you did.

Keep writing!

-HJS

Getting Published by Being Me

Today marks the latest book release for Chicken Soup for the Soul. This book, Be You: 101 Stories of Affirmation, Determination and Female Empowerment is chock-full of beautiful stories written about women by women.

I'm lucky enough to be in this book as well! This is my second tantalizing publication with Chicken Soup and I can't tell you how grateful I am for the opportunity.

In my opinion, the title of the book and my story work well together.

The story I submitted, and the one they took, was about how I started my vintage-selling business. It went through my reasons for starting my shop, why I wanted it, and the difficulties I knew I'd face once I began.

As the sage advice goes, "Write what you know."

I know how to go about selling vintage clothing online, and I'd like to think I know how to write about it. If it meant a story turned out that merited a chance at publication, then so be it.

Well, that's exactly what I did and I suppose exactly why they published it. I was just being me.

Side note: This was the second time I submitted this story to them and with five years between them. What does this say? Be persistent. Write better (I rewrote the story three times). And do this every day until you succeed.

Anyway, there's much encouragement in this book. Check it out! 

While I'm honored to be a part of it, the truth is, the sum of this book is greater than anything I could ever write on my own.

-HJS

Pleats: How the book The Help and Vintage Dresses Coincide Perfectly

In my last post, I discussed the interesting overlap of two novels in my reading world. I went over a few of the similarities of two very different books, with very different genres and subject matter, but also pointed out that the tone and type were the same.

This happened to me ... again. How apropos. Only, this time, it was the merging of my reading and vintage worlds. As I have mentioned before, I sell vintage clothing. This November marks ten years of selling vintage clothing and it's still one of my most favorite "jobs" of all time.

For those who haven't read the book The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (there has been a huge debate over it due to the resurgence of the racism topic in America, but I loved the concept, as well as the history and highly recommend it), this book is an interesting look at life for working black American women (working for non-working white American women) in the early 1960s. 

While I was getting ready to take pictures of an early '60s dress in order to list it on my vintage shop site, I had to iron out numerous pleats to get the dress to sit straight and beautiful for photos. I had plugged in my hand-held steamer and was systematically going through each pleat, which was taking forever! 

This is that dress. Pleats galore.

Ladies, if you ever complain that you can't find the right hat to wear over your four-day-old hair while wearing yoga pants and sweatshirts, just don't. The women of the 1960s, to look decent, had to iron their pleats. (Mom, you're amazing.) We've got it good today. Or rather, we have it very relaxed. Too relaxed in my humble opinion, but that's another post for a different blog. 

Later that afternoon, in the very first chapter of The Help, I read how one of the main characters is ironing pleats, and I couldn't help but relate to it in a small but varied way; in a completely contrasting time, as a completely different woman, in a completely different decade.

"She already got the blue dress on I ironed this morning, the one with sixty-five pleats on the waist, so tiny I got to squint through my glasses to iron. I don’t hate much in life, but me and that dress is not on good terms" (The Help, page 2).

Those pleats are from the devil. I know this, now. They are nearly impossible to get right. There are so many of them, it's like I'm trying to brush my dog's teeth -- while she insists on not holding still -- thereby rendering me useless. And it's never-ending.

I'm not sure if the pleats came outright, but I sure tried. 

Living in a different decade -- in the current time -- is somewhat normal for me as I wear vintage almost every day. But, getting a small glimpse into how much work goes into looking right from the 1960s, well, let's just say I'm now beginning to understand the yoga pants appeal.

Happy reading. ♥

When (Literary) Worlds Collide

Blood, Bones & Butter

I just recently read this fantastic book by Gabrielle Hamilton called Blood, Bones & Butter. If you want to indoctrinate yourself into the world of cooking, how to be a gourmet chef, and perhaps get a glimpse of life in the world of restaurant kitchens, this book is it.  Gabrielle is a chef whom I'd originally seen on the PBS show, Mind of a Chef. That show, by the way, is phenomenal. Hosted by the late Anthony Bourdain, the episodes are short and sweet and stuffed full of new foods, cooking techniques, and recipes from all over the world.

Gabrielle's down-to-earth way of cooking, speaking, and her style in general, are what drew me to her. She also happens to be a literature graduate student, so from the moment I heard her speak, it felt like I'd known her for years. But, I suppose it feels that way to all who listen to her. She's that familiar and comfortable. She's someone you'd want to have coffee with.

Are you familiar with a famous person about which you feel the same? It could be a chef, musician, actor, or singer. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, you click with their career and way of presenting themselves. And though you may not know them, a part of you does -- that intrinsic, silent one.

Beverly, Right Here

While reading her book, I was also reading Kate DiCamillo's latest book, Beverly, Right Here. This book too is fantastic, as is all of her writings. She's a middle-grade author, but I dare you to read any of her works and not think they pertain more to adults.

In this book, the lead protagonist's name is Beverly. She is headstrong, feisty, and extremely observant (with an extensive vocabulary for a twelve-year-old). She is also alone, abandoned by her family, and left to fend for herself as she turns into a teenager.

As I was a quarter way into the book, I realized why it felt like I already knew her: it was Gabrielle. It was the grown-up, famous, television-worthy, book-writing celebrity chef Gabrielle. And it was my perception of her that now lay on a child-like version named Beverly.

Has this ever happened to you before? Where the characters and backgrounds of one story could literally be swapped for another story? In this case, we have a grown-up world contrasting severely with a child's world. And though I don't know the real person, Gabrielle, I think if she read this book by DiCamillo, she would agree with my take.

I also think Beverly would greatly approve of Gabrielle.

I know it doesn't happen often, this interchanging of characters, because not only do you have to get the right books at the right time, but you have to be reading them at the same time. I read enough to remember some books and enough to forget a lot! So, the real-time evolution of both stories cemented my thought process on it.

I think it's also good to pay attention to why this happened. Perhaps it's creating a character in my own mind, one that needs to be put to paper. Perhaps, it means this character reminds me of someone I need to reach out to. Perhaps it means I need to meet (or will meet) both Kate DiCamillo and Gabrielle Hamilton. (And if that's the case, I'm all for it!) It's being aware of what we read and how it relates to us as a reader or writers, will benefit us as future readers and writers. Can I use this? Can I learn from this? Can I apply the lessons learned or experienced in the story to my own life?

As we live through this unprecedented time with this COVID-19 pandemic, the world has traveled back in time. We have gone back to a simpler "slow-living" time where cooking is normal, baking is extra normal and reading is an integral part of everyday life. If our world keeps anything from this pandemic, it would be a life filled with renaissance living: very full, very creative, and very full of family.

Full of the things that matter.

-HJS

Think Positive and Live Happier

Think positive!

I am delighted to tell you that I was accepted into Chicken Soup for the Soul's latest compilation, Think Positive, Live Happy.  

These little books have been a source of inspiration, laughter, hope, and amusement for over twenty-five years. And to be included in one of them is a privilege.

But, here's the truth of the matter: It took me eight years of submitting stories just to get published with them. Chicken Soup publishes about a dozen books a year, and they accept roughly a hundred stories per book, so after doing the math, you'd think it wouldn't be a problem getting in!

But as with all publishing and writing, timing and the right story is everything.

I'm not saying I liked waiting eight years, but I'm a better writer because of it. It kept me pushing to write stronger. And thinking positively: believing one day they would accept my work, even if I didn't want to keep submitting to them anymore.

Pretty much how you'll look and feel
reading all the wonderful
stories.♥

Some writers may be published the first story they submit. And some writers have already been accepted by them ten times! Regardless, I'm truly thankful for my first story with them.

Interested in writing for them? Click here for their website → Chicken Soup for the Soul. You'll see the current books they're interested in publishing, stories they are looking for, and how to go about submitting them.

Interested in getting their latest book that I just happen to be in? → Amazon has it.

Think positive, live happier, and anything can happen.

-HJS

Blogging 101 │ 10 Years of Fun

This right here, Fernweh,
is why writers do what they do.

I went looking for a blog post I'd written years ago for a future article that I'm working on now.

And guess what? I went back to the beginning of all my blog posts and it looks like I've been blogging for ten years.

That sure went by fast.

August 6, 2009 ◄ was my first post and hey, I'm still here and still loving it.

While my random blogging is nothing special, I've got to say it's been a wonderful place to hone my writing skills.

And as a writer, it's a good idea to have a digital footprint that shows both a writing past and a potential writing future.

There are plenty of "real" bloggers who have tons of followers and loyal fans. They're super prolific and making six figures, and writing about their successes. And that's great.

But, this blog isn't that. I never wanted it to be that in the first place. Not to mention, it wasn't even a thing ten years ago.

So, what should blogging be about if you're not looking for that "social influencer" status?

Blogging should be about you. Your life, your lessons-learned, your special moments, and pearls of wisdom. It's heart and soul. Yours! And if you want to blog, and need to write because your blood runs with words, then I'd highly recommend it.

My blog is a simple snapshot of my life of random family and literary moments. I suppose ten years of just that is a long time by any standard of success, so I'm happy with the way the last decade has gone.

I'd call it successful ... in my own little world.

And if you've got just a small bit of encouragement from it all, then I'd say I've done my work here. Mission definitely accomplished.

Thanks for following along and here's to the next ten years. ♥

-HJS