New Book, New Class, New Word

The ups and downs of staying open to new experiences

Dear friends,

Here we are, already in March, despite the fact that I’m fairly sure Christmas was last week. In Western Oregon, the crocuses are blooming, the osoberry trees are budding out with wild abandon, and the sky gives periodic tantalizing hints of springtime sun and blue—making it all the harder when most mornings still dawn cold and drizzly. Hold on, I keep reminding myself, we are in the final weeks of dreary winter. Hold on.

New things have been on my mind lately. No Matter the Distance launched last week, as wonderful and overwhelming as any new book; I got to do my first in-person book launch since 2020 at Powell’s Books Friday night; and in the last few months, life has thrown a lot of new curveballs at the Baldwin family.

As 2022 was drawing to a close, I decided my focus word for 2023 was going to be Open. But as the year pulls into March, I’ve found another word on my thoughts a lot: Complicated. In many ways, 2023 feels like a year hallmarked by complications. My husband, who was laid off at the beginning of December, is still caught up in the turbulent moment the tech world is experiencing, and he has yet to find a new job. I’ve been juggling the release of No Matter the Distance with working on future projects, some of which have had complicated and uncertain paths. And I’ve been hurtling headfirst into parenting a preteen, as my daughter prepares to turn ten in a few weeks and tries—both intentionally and unintentionally—to lean in as much as possible to the preteen ideal.

It is not lost on me that probably, my attempt to be “open” in 2023 encompasses the need to be open to complications and new opportunities, like the ones peppering my life right now… but I’ll be honest, y’all. It can be daunting!

Keep reading for some of the more exciting new things and opportunities I’m working on right now.

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First, I have another online class coming up in just over a week! It’s called “Poetic, Not Purple,” and is a fun and funny exploration of how to level up your line-level writing without veering into the realm of the dreaded “purple prose.” If you’ve ever wondered how to write like a Laini Taylor or a Maggie Stiefvater without tipping into the pretentious tones of GuyInYourMFA on Twitter, this is the class for you.

Because I’m still figuring out this online class thing, I’ve changed the payment structure for this class. While offering these classes is definitely supplementing my family’s income in important ways right now, I also want to make sure that my classes are financially accessible, particularly to writers from marginalized communities.

You can see more information about the class and sign up here!

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On the subject of new things, I of course must celebrate the release of No Matter the Distance! It released on February 21st, and I was able to have my first in-person book launch since February of 2020 on Friday night. I also did a really fun Meet the Author event on Instagram Live with Anderson Bookshop on February 20th, and you can see the recording of that interview here.

I also have another public in-person event coming up: I’ll be part of the Local Authors Expo at the Hillsboro Brookwood Library on March 18th from 12-4:30. I’ll be there with about 30 amazing local authors! Come for storytimes, book signing, and book sales.

If you’ve read No Matter the Distance already, I’d love if you’d consider leaving a review at Amazon or Goodreads! Reviews really help books get seen online, which is a huge driver for sales.

And finally, I’m thrilled to say that thanks to the pre-order campaign, I was able to donate $100 to the Oregon chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Thanks so much for helping me to support a cause that is so dear to me!