Jennifer Shaw

Hi, friends. I hope you’re having a nice November.

For many of us, this month has been difficult, given the rapidly-changing political landscape. I have long been a believer in the power of mindset, however, so I’m pausing now to reflect a little more on the good things. Specifically, those things my writer self is grateful for.

I am grateful for The Writer’s Sanctuary and the endless support, encouragement, opportunity, and instruction I’ve found through their “secret” publishing community, The Red Herrings Society. I learn just as much from my fellow members as I do from editors/book coaches CJ Redwine and Mary Weber, and I’ve made some wonderful connections and virtual friendships in RHS this year.

Most recently, I’ve enjoyed the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie I think we’ve all felt in RHS’s 2024 anthology, All The Promises We Cannot Keep, which released this past Monday. The collaborative marketing has been fun, and our book continues to do well, ranking #1 in Fantasy Anthologies & Short Stories and #1 in Fiction Anthologies in general, as of early this morning. The average customer rating? 4.9/5 stars.

I’ve truly enjoyed sharing this project with my fellow writers, and I feel closer to them than ever before. I think it’s really united us, in many ways.

Because this anthology is so special, I’d like to review 3-5 stories here each month, as a way to continue spreading the word about how awesome it is. I’d love to review all 50 tales, and chunking it this way makes it manageable. Be on the lookout, then, for more ATPWCK reviews in the coming year!

Beyond my writing group, I also appreciate all the small indie presses that have been cropping up lately. Many of their visionary editors want to make publishing more accessible, so they often welcome young and emerging writers, and they are usually willing to provide editorial support even after accepting submissions. This gives newer, rawer writers like me the chance to develop certain skills while also gaining entry-level publication credits. For me, these experiences have been educational, encouraging, and validating– invaluable, really.

My craft and understanding of the publishing process have certainly improved thanks to the opportunities and edits from the staffs at Writerly Magazine, Paper Cranes Literary, Ditch Life Magazine, and Amaranth Publications. They believed in my potential enough to accept my developing pieces, and then their wonderful edits made those pieces so much better. I have a much stronger understanding now of the collaborative and iterative nature of publishing, and honestly I like it. I see how imperative it is, and it feels like I have colleagues again, even if my time working with these colleagues is short-lived. The shared endeavor is still special, satisfying, and sometimes even inspiring.

On a more personal note, I am ever so grateful to my husband, Jeremiah. When we uprooted our lives to start over here in Vermont, we made specific choices that allowed me to be a stay-at-home mom. Jer then said, do exactly what you want with the time you have to yourself. Pursue any endeavor you’d like, and I will support you.

Not wanting to waste this dream opportunity, I started writing, which at the time seemed like a good way to combat my initial loneliness and boredom. It’s since turned into a passion, and for over two years now, Jer has been my steadfast supporter. He has truly given me a wonderful, rare gift–the chance to be a creative adult in ease and comfort, without worrying about how we’ll pay the bills. He is such a wonderful, selfless, nurturing partner, and I cannot imagine doing this–or life–without him.

Thank you, babe.

Finally, I have a renewed appreciation for my parents, who’ve always been my biggest cheerleaders. My mom, in particular, is amazingly supportive of my writing. She will read any weird, bad thing I send her and then give me her honest feedback, and I’ve found it incredibly helpful.

When she was here in April, in fact, I’d just finished an early draft of my Usher retelling for ATPWCK. I needed to know how a general reader would respond to this piece, especially someone who wasn’t familiar with the original story because I wanted my retelling to be clear and engaging even for people who weren’t familiar with Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

She was eager to read it, so I gave her a printed copy and a pencil, and then I sat in another room while she marked it up. My stomach was in knots.

When she was done, she poked her head in the living room, her brows knit. Then, she crooked her finger at me and said in her best teacher’s voice, “Jenny, come here.”

We sat together at the dining room table while she went over her comments. She’d written marginal notes documenting her inner voice–a reading comprehension technique she taught her elementary students for many years– and it was fascinating to see her inferences, questions, connections, predictions, and personal responses.

She pointed out places where she was utterly confused, places where I’d been metaphorical but she thought were literal, something about Madeline turning to stone, for example, which Mom thought was actually happening, given Madeline’s illness and the supernatural element. These moments were illuminating to me but also hilarious, and we both just guffawed.

The best was her comment about Roderick’s unnamed friend, who comes to visit in both Poe’s story and in mine. In Poe’s masterpiece, this friend is the storyteller, the unnamed “objective” narrator describing Roderick’s descent into madness (a descent that drags him down too).

I felt I had to include him in my version–how could I not, given his role in the original? But I’d done a poor job of relaying who he was and why he was there. Mom was like, “Who is this guy, Jen? Who is this ‘friend,’ and why doesn’t he just get the hell out of this house?” She looked at me like I was crazy, and I about peed my pants laughing.

I realized, in short, I’d given him too much page time, and eventually, by the final draft, I only included him in one scene, at the end when Madeline emerges from her premature burial to terrify him and literally scare her poor, crazed brother to death. It worked much better, and, thanks to Mom’s help, I had a much cleaner, clearer story to send Mary, who was my developmental editor for this submission.

Mom and I had such a fantastic time that day! It really underscored how much we’ve re-bonded, this time over my writing, and I love how I can include her in these pursuits. Truthfully, I need her. She’s now my go-to alpha reader, and because she’s always teasing me about her “friend” from the Usher story, I had to get her a Friend mug as a joke for Mother’s Day.

I think she really likes the mug, though.

I have so much to be thankful for. It’s been a good year, despite the inevitable lows.

Because Thanksgiving is so late this November, we’re planning to start decorating for Christmas this weekend, though usually I view putting up a Christmas tree before Turkey Day as holiday heresy. If we don’t, though, we won’t have enough time to enjoy our Xmas decor. And I must say, Yuletide here in Vermont on a Christmas tree farm is definitely special.

Speaking of Christmas prep, in the last week or so, the Xmas tree farmer who leases our land has been harvesting several of the Balsams and Frasiers. His crew cuts the tagged trees, sends them through a machine that wraps them in twine, then packs them into trailers. We’ve listened to the buzz of saws everyday, and sometimes they’ve been out there at work as early as 6:30 am. I can hear the chainsaws right now, as I type this.

It’s a little bittersweet for us. We’ve watched these trees grow up–they came to about my waist when we moved in–and to see so many of them go is a little heartbreaking. But, they’re going to good homes for Christmas, and the farmer has planted saplings in their places, so we’ll have a whole new round of trees to watch grow up.

It’s quite festive, really, and the trees smell so good–it’s hard to rival that sharply-sweet scent of Christmas, and right now it’s all around us, whenever we step outside.

Soon, we’ll have the scent inside our farmhouse, too.

If you celebrate the holiday, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

If you don’t, I hope you get to enjoy a little time off before we’re all back at it again, prior to our various Xmas/winter breaks.

Feel free to share any fun thing you plan to do next week. Or, feel free to share something you’re thankful for. I hope you have so many things, it’s difficult to pick.

Happy Thanksgiving!

XOXO,

Jenn