A Year's Worth of Writing Invitations, Unexpected Shame & Frosted Flower Cupcakes
Weekly Literate Love: April 25, 2025
Happy Friday!
Research shows that just one 45-minute act of creativity a month can help you live longer. I’m really good at sharing that statistic and encouraging this community to take time for their preferred form of creativity, but I am not always as good at taking my own advice.
But I did this week.
On Easter, I baked cupcakes and prepared lots of colored frosting bags so we could create a beautiful cupcake flower bouquet on the table like the one I saw on Instagram.
Well, not REALLY like that one, but I wanted to at least try to turn my vanilla cupcakes into frosted works of art. With my daughters help, here they are (just ignore the ratty sheet pan!):
They may not look Instagram-worthy, but it was great fun and they tasted terrific! Besides, the research shows it is not the outcome that matters, it’s the process.
Thank goodness. =)
Keep reading for your weekly dose of literate love and click the button below to share with a bookish friend!
Happy reading & writing!
Stephanie
P.S: My KidLit Love Summer Book Club experience went LIVE this week! Join now to read children’s books with me all summer long…..WIOTH THE AUTHORS! Click here for more information and join me for this exciting dream come true!
What I'm Reading:
Mind Your Body: A Revolutionary Program to Release Chronic Pain and Anxiety by Nicole J. Sachs
I have been battling chronic pain for a long while now and have tried absolutely everything: doctors, medications, yoga, supplements, diet and everything else I can think of. Each thing I’ve tried has brought me closer and closer to the pain-free life I hope for, but Mind Your Body by Nicole Sachs is closing the gap. Nicole provides the undeniable science behind the Mindbody field that reminds readers that our pain may live in our bodies, but the solution lies in our minds: emotional exercise is directly connected to physical transformation. Step-by-step, she walks readers through the JournalSpeak process and is the most steadfast cheerleader that I have ever had (even though we have never met!). I’ve been journaling for a while and I know that it is a life-changer, but Nicole is teaching me that it is a life-SAVER, too. If you struggle with chronic anything, please read this book.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon was an incredibly moving, emotional, full-body reading experience. Truly. In it, we meet Martha, an incredibly strong, smart, determined and empathetic woman who is completely invested in her community as the local midwife. We learn her story through her present life, her memories and the commonplace journal she keeps. Love, loss, sorrow, heartbreak and hope are stitched into every page. My heart stopped and my breath hitched more than once as I sat with the emotions that took over my reading heart. This is a book about the strength of women, the power of community, the need for the written word and so much more. I’ve talked before about the power of fictional characters to act as real-life mentors and Martha will now sit on my shoulder as a trusted guide for my future. Please read this book. I’ll be heading to Ariel’s backlist to devour every book she’s ever written.
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
I love when the right book finds you at just the right time and I'm forever grateful that Arthur Pepper came into my reading world when he did. A kind man deeply entrenched in his routines, Arthur is grieving the loss of his wife and struggling with his current, rather isolated, reality. When he finds his late wife's secret charm bracelet, he's swept back into the past and a life he never knew she lived. And while it was difficult to learn the secrets of her former life, they might be just what he needs to jumpstart his own future. Oh, this book has my heart and will stay there for a while.
The Reading Cure: How Books Restored My Appetite by Laura Freeman
This book is a beautiful, lyrical emotional journey through one woman's recovery through an eating disorder and the books that helped her heal. Part memoir, part personal transformation, this book will deeply resonate with anyone connected to disorders and anyone who believes in the power of books to heal.
What I'm Writing:
I’ve continued to dive into Nicole Sach’s Journal Speak practice and by dive in, I mean become completely obsessed. I used to think I was writing honestly on the page as part of my Morning Pages practice, but this takes it to a whole new level.
The best part?
It. Is. Working.
I feel differently. I breathe differently. I hold myself differently. My chronic pain feels different, too.
It’s a beautiful gift tor realize you have more control than you think over some aspect of your life and Nicole has given me that gift in relation to my own health.
Much more to come later. =)
What I'm Learning:
In last week’s weekly literate love letter, I shared the fun I was having creating my own action figure using ChatGPT. It prompted reflection, it was a boost of creativity I desperately needed and it was just plain old fun.
But then.
Then I received an email from a reader who was disappointed in my use of AI and shared some ideas that I had not known or thought of. I instantly had that feeling in the pit of stomach, the one you get when you feel bad about disappointing someone or realize things you should have known before.
I knew the trouble with my graduate students (and others) using AI to write and/or plagiarize. I knew the trouble with training AI using books and writing without the permission of the author. I knew the trouble behind automating tasks better suited for humans.
But I didn’t know that AI was also stealing art and other works of expression from artists to train it to create images and other media. I didn’t know that it could damage the environment because of the massive energy consumption needed to train and execute it. I didn’t know the water is was consuming to cool it down after.
So after that initial gut-punch of shame, I was grateful for the chance to explore these ideas and make more conscious decisions behind if and how I choose to use it.
Honestly, this is why I love this space and sharing my work, passions and projects here: the community here supports me and helps me learn and in the process, I become better.
If you have more resources to share on this topic, please post them below!
What I'm Loving:
Space & Quiet shared their new May printables. They’re simple and perfect.
This life-sized Tetris game needs to be the next purchase for my family. I hate to brag, but I spent A LOT of time on this game as a kid and I think I’d kill it. =)
My dogs are going to be happy after I whip up these easy-to-make applesauce dog treats.
Keep scrolling for my latest podcast posts and updates!
Podcast Highlights From the Last Week:
A Year’s Worth of Writing Invitations
Let’s build a writing calendar to sustain you all year long!
A few weeks ago, I shared how you could create a thematic year-long reading calendar to sustain joyful reading life all year long.
In this episode, I’m diving into the power of creating a year-long calendar for WRITING all year long: harnessing the power of the page to plan and dream, reset and heal, grow and change.
Whether you want to explore renewal in spring, creativity and adventure in summer, or gratitude and deep work in fall, I’ll share why you need to create a year-long personalized writing plan and how you can do it in the most joyful way possible.
From My Private Substack Community…
Every Sunday, I post additional content for my private Substack community to bring even more literate love to our lives. Here’s what I shared this week:
A Fun Way to Spark Renewal: Create a Personal Action Figure!
Be sure to subscribe and add them to your TBR stack. Click the button below to subscribe. It’s just $5 per month!
Let’s Work Together!
I love to connect with others around our shared love of reading and writing.
Here are some ways we can work together to create a life you love where restorative reading and writing is at the center of it all:
🩷 Join my private Substack community for themed book calendars, bonus posts, book clubs and events each month!
📚 Connect 1:1 for personalized coaching to unlock the transformative power of your reading and writing life.
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I adore your cupcakes! They look very cheery & munchable! I am so interested in the Journal Speak practice and I think I have just the need for it coming up in May. I have been hit & miss with my writing life lately, and I'm looking forward to getting back to it! Thank you for the reminder, resources and encouragement!