This has been a loooooong January.
My joke with myself each year is that January lasts five months and February lasts five minutes. This year, the contrast feels even more intense. Besides the strain of world events, fires very close to where much of my family lives, and our ongoing application for permanent residency / citizenship in Germany, I also launched a new version of my writing community, now called Your Writing Year Intensives. It was a LOT to get everything going, and we’ve got a couple of tech gremlins to sort, but what a joy to work alongside such a passionate and dedicated group of writers.
Our next 10-week session begins March 31, and you can get more details here.
In other exciting news: as this issue reaches your inbox, I am recording the first episode of Season ELEVEN of The Secret Library Podcast. How fun to be back! Look for new episodes starting in February.
If you’re looking for fun listening in the meantime, and are curious about my move to Berlin, you can check out new episodes of my second show,
in the meantime. ✨Reading that’s kept me afloat this month:
Book highlights from January:
The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker. A beautiful reflection on how to create more intentional experiences with others, written by a brilliant facilitator. It’s given me so many ideas about ways to hold events and I’m eager to explore this in 2025.
The Vegetarian, Han Kang. This was on my shelf for ages, and I finally picked it up and devoured it in a day, if you’ll pardon that metaphor with this title. Riveting and vivid, I cannot stop thinking about it. If this doesn’t distract you, I’m not sure what will.
O Caledonia, Elspeth Barker. Friends raved about this enough that I had to grab it immediately. Gothic and absorbing, I floated in its thrall the entire time I read. I particularly recommend this edition, as Maggie O’Farrell’s introduction (read after finishing as it contains spoilers) includes multiple anecdotes of her interactions with the author that I found delightful.
Article highlights from this month:
I’ve been inspired by
to look at my book collection differently, based on her thoughtful approach to frugal living. Members can watch my tutorial on how I set up a library database for my books using Molly’s template.- ’s post on the Aquarius New moon this week gave me all the feels. The imagery of how we can support each other in community made me misty-eyed, but also so motivated to stay strong together as writers.
I’m participating in
’s Wolf Crawl over at and every week this month I’ve adored the slow pace as I reread Wolf Hall and gawk at the incredible posts full of history and insight produced by that team. It’s not too late to dive in, if you’re inspired.Bookshop org will now enable indie bookshops to sell eBooks in the US (Here’s hoping the UK as well, soon?) They have a tablet app, making this an excellent option for those wishing to avoid major outlets for eBook reading.
I’ve removed the paywall from this post for the next 7 days. If you enjoy it, and want full access to all articles, workshops and tutorials, consider becoming a paid member.
Writing is important now.
It may feel challenging to stay motivated when the world feels scary, but when times are hard, that is the time we most need art. Speak up. If you see something happening that you don’t agree with, write about it.
The arts are a powerful force. If the choice is between burying our heads under blankets or wringing our hands and writing, we must choose writing. We can write slowly, but it’s essential to keep going. Art is a force that creates the vision of a better world. We need to keep that vision alive.
This space is here for us to support each other. Take a seat when you’re worn down, make a cup of tea, and we can read and restore together. But then we get back to the page. That’s where the magic happens, after all.
cheering you on,
Caroline
PS. Looking for some calming-yet-motivating writing music? I’ve found this channel excellent in the background, as it helps me focus and drowns out background noise really well.
PPS.
and I have rescheduled our Write Like a Wolf 🐺 workshop! It’s happening February 28, and you can get all the details here.