When Determination Comes at the Pace of a Bear Crawl

August 16, 2018 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

They tell me bears are fast. If we see one when we’re hiking, the worst thing we can do is run because they will chase us down and eat us.

Okay, not really, but mauling for sure. Maybe.

My kids participated in a bear crawl this morning because the bear is their school mascot (of course because we live in the mountains) and this fun run raised lots of money for their school. Specifically the teacher’s classroom libraries, which I think should be stocked with Cynthia Rylant and plenty of gorgeous picture books.

(I told this to my youngest’s kindergarten teacher from last year. I don’t know his first grade teacher well enough yet to go all book bossy on her.)

Thirty-five laps around a “track” made of tiny cones and discarded water cups. I have no idea who long the actual footage was, but I know it took most kids about thirty minutes to complete. I expected my turbo charged little boy to run his heart flat out.

He did. He also made his hair look like this which is why I cannot bring myself to cut it.

But my third, my youngest daughter, who has given us a history that involves words like atrophy and MRI and oligloconal banding, the girl who wears a brace to walk so she doesn’t get too tired, the child who had a complete meltdown at my kitchen table Monday afternoon BECAUSE THIRD GRADE IS SO HARD, I didn’t have any expectations. I just hoped she wouldn’t get run over.

Y’all.

She ran and ran and grinned and ran and cheered and laughed. She beat her friends. She never stopped, never gave up, never worried that she couldn’t do it. Watching her reminded me she’s stronger everyday. She’s better every scan. She’s living with a new normal that’s been her normal for over half her life now.

This is her life.

And she’s determined to live it at high speed–not crawl through it cowered down by the what-ifs.

I think it’s time I took a cue from my baby girl and found my own endurance.

I adore this book. It is wonderfully written and tells the story beautifully.-2

just write life · Recipes · summer · writing

Creative Summer Suppers

July 3, 2018July 3, 2018 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

These days supper might be my most creative moment. Four busy summer kids is a lot to handle, making the moments we gather around the table all the more special. Summer cooking is its own lesson in creativity and color, and there’s nothing I love better than the simplicity of yellow squash and green zucchini tossed with a sliced onion and sizzling in my cast iron skillet… Read more.

Sharing simple creative summer suppers over at Soulful Ink today. Join me there?

just write life · writing

Still Waters Wins Selah Awards!

May 30, 2018May 30, 2018 Lindsey P. Brackett1 Comment

My writing career launched in 2014 through the connections I made at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. So last week, when I was double nominated as a Selah Award finalist for First Novel and a fiction finalist for the Director’s Choice Award, I felt like I’d come full circle.

Four years ago I sat in that crowd and wondered if I’d ever cross that stage to accept a plaque with with mine and my book’s name on it.

Last week I accepted three.

My oldest daughter, Madelynne and my husband Joshua came with me. Joshua, to be a my support. Madelynne, to fangirl over fellow writer, Kristen Hogrefe, whose book The Revisionary was also a double winner for Speculative and YA.

Still Waters won the Selah Award for First Novel and to my everlasting surprise, I also won Selah Fiction Book of the Year.

Eva Marie Everson is the contest director, but she wears many hats, and one of those is as my editor. She’s a great secret keeper.

Then, conference directors, Edie Melson and DiAnn Mills, talented and accomplished women who trusted me enough to name me a member of their prestigious faculty in 2017, announced the Director’s Choice Award for Fiction.

And I received another decoration for a wall I didn’t know I needed.

I’m deeply honored and humbled to have my story recognized for its merit in the very place where I first believed I could write and sell a novel.

As Cora Anne learns, there’s nothing like coming home.

Photo credits: Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and friends.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Friends · just write life · reflections · writing

Lessons Learned from Red Shoes

November 8, 2017November 7, 2017 Lindsey P. Brackett2 Comments

My friend Kim (aka The Well Dressed Writer) loves red shoes. She says they’re sassy and classy and can elevate an outfit from boring to brilliant.

She’s right.

I like comfortable shoes. Clogs. Crocs. Converse. These go-with-everything clearance finds that slip on easy when I’m headed out the door for the elementary school drop-off.

Y’all. I’m all about the easy.

But sometimes, sometimes, it’s good to be all about the brilliant. Good to find a new place to connect–even if it’s over something as simple as shoes. When I wore these fun (but so-not-me) plaid heels of Kim’s at the Ohio Christian Writers Conference last weekend, they sparked conversations and broke down barriers.

One pair of sassy red shoes. All it took. Because suddenly, I wasn’t just a writer talking about her book. I was a writer wearing cute shoes and others–even the men–made commenting on my shoes a thing.

And I made it through the whole day in the highest heels I’ve ever worn. I’m not going to lie. My feet hurt at the end of it. But isn’t that the way of life? Don’t we sometimes let ourselves hurt and sacrifice just a little so we can pour into others?

Obviously this is about more than red shoes.

I can get pretty obstinate at times about wanting to do things MY way. MY plan. MY goal. MY expectation. But sometimes, when I let myself be given a piece of advice and then I take it (i.e. these shoes will look better), I find myself experiencing a whole new world. One where I can suddenly connect with a woman I wouldn’t have known how to approach. One where I can praise my friend for her fancy and frugal eye. One where I can wear a pair of shoes that caused me fear–what if I trip? What if everyone can tell I don’t usually dress this way?

What if everyone still sees me as just that mom scribbling words in her yoga pants and praying they get read?

Or… what if I wear these shoes and I feel smart and confident and well-dressed? What if all that spills over and out as I talk about my book and my writing journey and motherhood and the chaos of everyday life that makes a non-ordinary day with it’s non-ordinary shoes so very, very special.

Get yourself some red shoes, friend. Or your equivalent. Do something outside your norm and embrace the doors that open, welcoming you inside.

Sweet shoe buddy. Apparently red plaid is a thing I didn’t know about.

just write life · writing

Why I Don’t Enjoy My Grocery Store (and other things I’m learning)

September 26, 2017 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

We moved over a year ago. Ten miles down the road, jumped the county line. New schools, new community, new grocery store.

But I keep going back to the old one.

Because I like my routine and I like what I know and I don’t like it when I have to figure out something new. That takes time. And energy. And mental capacity.

It would be fine if every Ingles or Walmart or Target or –insert your favorite chain store here–was the same. But they’re not. And now my local Ingles has gone and REMODELED. It was bad enough the frozen foods were flanked by the rice aisle instead of the cereal like my old store, but now the register counters are different and there’s sushi next to the fried chicken.

Come on, people. Can’t we let things just stay the same?

Ahem. I think we’ve found Lindsey’s issues.

Whenever I find something that’s working, I want to keep it working. I don’t want to change it. I don’t want to make it better. I want to keep what I know because that’s easy and not mentally taxing. I don’t have to make any new decisions if the old decision is STILL WORKING JUST FINE.

This marketing for a book business has thrown me under the bus, y’all. Seriously. I feel run-over and run-down because what works for twenty-four hours may not work for the next forty-eight. I’m trying to learn a whole lot of information at once because–spoiler alert–I have perfectionistic tendencies/procrastination issues.

I know you’re all shocked by that little revelation.

But as a result, I’m struggling to figure out what’s best for my little book’s sales gain and my emotional capacity. Because–this post is full of random Lindsey trivia–I am on social sensory overload and this experience has me teetering right off the edge into full Highly Sensitive Person meltdown.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go over to Amazon (or a local indie) and buy Anne Bogel’s Reading People. She explains it better and also has figured out how to navigate social media life as an HSP. I’ll be on the porch with my iced coffee and my highlighter if you need to join me.

But I’m still shopping at the Ingles in my old town because I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE EVERYTHING IS ALREADY. Also, I know this: word of mouth sells books way better than the Canva ad I spent 30 minutes creating. So if you like my book, tell a friend, please and thank you.

Anything making you feel a little crazy today?