“All this talk about war is ruining every party this Spring!” —Scarlett O’Hara
I haven’t posted a proper Museletter since last June. There was a Mini-Museletter long ago last fall—in a different world. 🍂
Happy Spring, Happy Solstice. Walking, walking, earbuds in, going down all the 🐇🐰🥕rabbit holes of breaking news and breaking hearts, I still notice the calla lilies unfurling, the fruit trees blossoming like popcorn. I think a lot about pulling oxalis and cleavers…but my muses are keeping me hopping!
I meant to post a Winter issue but you know, things went awry? To paraphrase the husblogger, “How onerous and difficult being a thinking individual has become over the past four months.” I’m quite worried about my readers who have been “efficiently Muskhandled.” Please let me know how you’re coping. (Also, pro tip: don’t drop your portable backup drive just after you’ve backed up all your data and erased your laptop to install a new system.)
Quick recap since the last Museletter:
I reconfigured this Substack, (just calling it my ‘Stack now ‘cause that’s way cooler. Also I’ve just re-christened The Cave, since I’m tired of hiding my jewels in the dark, plus I’m a book person).
Then I published a new Book of Mills Memes, a sad story that is still in progress.
There was an election that surprised us all…. but it really didn’t.
(Does anyone need to read The Mouse, the Monster, and Me again?)
I got a New Car! And freaked out about the War on America as we entered the lunar Year of the Snake.
Since I finished recording The Winning Family Audiobook, I’ve taken a break from blogging to power through the final polish. HUGE shoutout to my team of beta-listeners! It’s now in the publishing pipes and on its way to all the audiobookstores! The launch is just one of many creative rodeos I’ve got coming up this year!
April
On the 24th of next month, I’m repeating my fall lecture about the Gilded Age headliner and iconoclast Joaquin Miller. I’ll post more about it soon but if you were to, say, grab a ticket now, I’d get really excited about seeing you there! Tix are sliding scale donations that support my work as a historic literary instigator.
Like, for example, the Literary Avengers Earth Day Write-In on April 19th! Join us if you’re in the area! It’s an official Earthday.org AND City of Oakland event!
(Can’t come? Make some clicks right now! Tell US Lawmakers: Stop Rollbacks and Promote Renewable Energy | Sign the Renewable Energy Petition)
Also in April, I’m looking forward to all of the special elections coming up (including the one in my town), hoping to begin righting some of these very off-balance wrongs!
May
Big news! We’re planning the Mother of All Launches from Mother’s Day (when the Audiobook hits the audio shelves) to Father’s Day, when the Uplift Family Upshift course goes live! You’ll get special invitations to everything, of course, and the grand finale, the ebook will go into The Library!
Also in May, Dave will make history with twenty years (20 years!) of daily blogging at Entropical Paradise, which I also Stack weekly (and we don’t post to Facebook anymore…they made it too unpleasant).
Summer
I’ll do some literary readings, engage with new readers, and continue seeking the perfect agent for Ten Days, Ten Pounds, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the story in the memoir.
I’ll also be biting my nails and hoping the data Election Truth Alliance is finding blows up bigly. (No, I’m not a retaliatory fantasy election denier. Trump always tells us just what he’s up to. And he’s already been impeached for trying.)
Then maybe I’ll catch my breath for…
September
A poetry packed month! We’ve got a group hosting Poet’s Parlor at Gatsby, and The Wiki I launched (MillerLight.org) is getting some interest. Joaquin Miller fans want to do another conference…and I’ve got bigger ideas! I’m pulling together a fun walking symposium in the Park that brings together writing and historical communities in the lineage of the first artists, environmentalists and social progressives who were connected through California’s “Golden Era.” Watch for more about “In the Hights” — and let me know if you’d like to be involved, or on the guest list!
October
More big news! I got my grant again for another Dirndl Day! Then after Oaktoberfest, if all goes well, I’ll get on a plane for a trip to Paris with some friends to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Exposition internationale des arts decoratifs et industriels modernes!
All these events are on my events calendar on my website! Watch for invite links on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky and Linkedin!
Meanwhile, books keep me sane.
I liked…
Self Made by Tara Isabella Burton
IT by Eleanor Glyn
Diamonds and Deadlines by Betsy Priolieu
The Leopard by Giuseppi di Lampadeusa (the Netflix series is also great!)
The Travels of Marco Polo (Il Millione) by Rustichello da Pisa
Thanks for keeping up with me, let me know what your muses are having YOU do under the stress of these times; I’ll share in upcoming posts!
This newsletter is made possible by my supportive community & my Generous Muse. Please buy my books & attend my things. Paid subscribers to the Museletter (a.k.a. $upporting $ubscribers 🥰😇🙏🏼 ✍️) get access to the growing list of offerings in The Library.
Thanks for your $upport! 100% of what I earn goes into submission fees, art business expenses, following muses, and supporting of other creatives!
A few of my favorites:
Fascinating (Comix) Geniuses:
Caitlin Cass at Postal Constituent
Thaddeus Howze (Cognitive Dissident & The Answer Man),
Other anti-authoritarians:
Mary L. Trump, (God bless her),
And my money best spent,
Remember: If you’d like to get ONLY this semi-annual Museletter instead of all those weekly postings, check the bottom of the About page for how to adjust your subscription.
I believe your muses keep you hoping as well as hopping.