June replay + the PDF (!!!) aka Amanda's unpublished novelette + a gift in the mail
“Hope plays the long game.”
“Hope plays the long game.”
Those are the words I’m carrying with me from our author call last week. You too?
If you weren’t able to join live, the replay is available below. You’ll also see links for:
our mailing address spreadsheet (so I can send you a summer surprise)
the WWTA quiz + Spotify playlist
Savannah Bliss’s Famous Hazelnut Pie
a drone video of the town that inspired Ansel-by-the-Sea
Up From The Sea (the prequel to WWTA)
exclusive access to A Gathering of Light (Near the end of our June call, Amanda generously offered to share her unpublished Christmas-themed novelette, set in Ansel-by-the-Sea, “if anyone that’s part of All The Things might like to read it.” LOL YES WE WOULD, thankyouverymuch. Y’all, I had no idea she would offer this but I’m not sure my hand could have shot into the air any faster. Yes, I absolutely read all 65 or so pages the next night while my roommate was at work. Also yes, I almost messaged Amanda to say “her mom! the easter egg! you are a genius!” but I refrained and have apparently saved my love for the world of Ansel and my exclamation marks for you (!). (Happy novelette reading!)
Some of the things we talked about on our call last week:
The importance of place in our stories (and how place is a character)
How Ansel-by-the-Sea came to be
Amanda’s research process that went into WWTA
When your dream is rejected
Writing and walking through grief
A scene in the book that was almost cut (and was really impactful for ATT)
The miracle of loss, somehow, lighting the way home
If hope is actually a thing with feathers ;)
How ‘God with us’ is hidden on nearly every page of the book (hello, metaphor)
Hidden gems/easter eggs woven throughout
Our favorite characters + who we want to hear more about (Is anyone else crossing their fingers for a spin-off with the people mentioned? Just me? Okay.)
The actual magic of bioluminescence + the kindness of God waiting in the depths
Navigating chaos and waves we didn’t see coming
How seemingly minor moments and people who are only briefly on the page can change the course of the whole story… in a book, and in our lives