It was another Dickens of a week, but let’s focus on the positive, shall we? I had an amazing therapy session that sparked some deep reflection; in time, I feel like this will turn into valuable new insight. It’s funny, being at an age when that’s an exciting feeling. Not funny “haha”, more like funny “huh”. But, seriously, personal growth is exciting. In the current world, it feels like winning – and at a rigged game, no less. I’ll take my wins wherever I can get them.
A separate insight I had this week has to do with my purpose/mission, aka how I define and create meaning in my life. My husband and I have been talking a lot about this lately, as it’s something we are both in the process of grappling with. I’m realizing that mine is twofold (but interconnected) and it has to do with creativity (writing) and mentorship. Both involve connection and both, for me, are about helping other people access joy – through a fun book, or through conversations that spark self-reflection. In the next couple of months, I’m going to set aside time to work on my intention- and goal-setting for 2026, and I’m really looking forward to thinking about how I can weave my purpose into the work I will be doing next year. The writing part is easy (in the sense that I already know what I want to do, haha!) but it will be an interesting challenge to think of how I can create mentorship opportunities.
It was an exciting and busy week on the writing front, not least because I finished the first draft of book #5. Writing it was a sprint but super fun – it’s my most bonkers plot yet. The actual draft is very rough, I’m sure, but that’s okay. I’ve got it tentatively scheduled for publication in 2028, so there is LOTS of time to work on polishing it. Lots of developments on the publication front for A Party to Murder, but I will save that for my mailing list newsletter, which should be going out any day now. It’s not to late to join the list 😉
With writing off my plate (for now), I had time to squeeze in some reading of my own. Managed to breeze through The House of Versace – fun, gossipy read – and The Last Death of the Year, which is the new Hercule Poirot book by Sophie Hannah. That one was fun too, although I have to admit that I have complicated feelings (and a lot of thoughts, lol!) about the series as a whole.
What I’ve had almost no time for is thrifting. Actually, that’s been the case for a few months now. Not coincidentally, I’ve been buying less and less – in part because thrifting frequency directly correlates to thrifting success (aka finding good stuff) and in part because I genuinely don’t feel any desire to add to my closet. And that, I think, is mainly due to two things: 1)I am very happy with my current clothes, and 2) all of my creative self-expression has been shifted to a different channel (writing) so I feel less need/desire to experiment with my personal style. I still love clothes and love getting dressed, but it is less a creative endeavour and more a pleasurable ritual of daily life. Does that make sense? I hope it does.
Fellow Canadians, please do not come for me … I do not follow baseball and wear the hats purely based on aesthetic vibes. My entire family is cheering for the Blue Jays, and will probably disown me if they see I posted this photo today. I wore this a few weeks ago and I picked the hat because the colours matched my outfit, ok? This is not, I repeat, this is NOT an endorsement!
Have a great weekend!
Ha! I wondered about the hat. I am also interested to hear more about your Poirot thoughts! I have read the Sophie Hannah versions except for the most recent one. I’ve liked them quite a bit though I tend to be disappointed in the resolutions (though that’s an issue for me with most mysteries). If you haven’t read it, try and read the AJ Finn piece in the New Yorker and Sophie Hannah appears in it (and reading it, I think there are some connections to Closed Casket). My idea of Poirot has really been taken over by the David Suchet series (such that other depictions in movies don’t really seem like the same character) and he also seems different in the Hannah series.
I did read that AJ Finn piece a while back … kinda wild!!
I started off enjoying Hannah’s Poirot novels a fair bit (I’m a sucker for anything Agatha Christie vibed) but am finding them progressively less satisfying. There is almost nothing Christie-esque about the latest one. It’s superficially enjoyable and a fast, propulsive read, but I found the characterization pretty abysmal. I don’t mean just Poirot, I mean every single character. They all felt like plot devices, not real people. They spoke and behaved so implausibly, I had trouble understanding what was happening and, as a result, the plot twists just seemed completely random.
Reading this book, I did begin to understand why A Party to Murder (which is my homage to Christie) did not land with any agent. Because if this book is what publishers (and general audiences?) are looking for in this sub-genre, I am def barking up the wrong tree, lol!