Betsy Mikel

New year, new newsletter. The Akenside Project is about the extraordinary old house that shaped my childhood.betsymikel.substack.com/p/the-call-com…

@RachelYoder S'ok, I think I will! I am a big fan of your work and of your guest lecturers. See you in a couple weeks, most likely. :)

@RachelYoder Hi! I've been eyeing this course and if you have any discount codes left I'd love to use one.

This essay took me 3 years to write. It began as an impulse to shit talk Miami, and slowly morphed into the realization that we—shit talkers—are often implicated in the overall shittiness of things. Thanks @acentosreview for giving this piece a home. acentosreview.squarespace.com/flavia-monteiro

@jhedelstein Never been myself, but have been eyeing: highlightsfoundation.org/personal-retre…

@RichVague I did, too! Have you heard about how Barnes & Noble is making a comeback? nytimes.com/2023/01/28/opi…

In my younger years I spent a lot of Friday nights at big book stores. I haven’t done that in a long time, but it’s still fun.

I’d always wondered about the artist who designed the transom window. Then I found a clue. open.substack.com/pub/betsymikel…

@PSLiterary I immediately thought of Linnea from a book I loved as a kid called Linnea in Monet's Garden. It's about a little girl who visits the places Monet painted and learns about his technique. Haven't thought about it in years. Funny how some books stay with you even decades later.

What's your favorite book character whose name starts with the letter L?

@nicoletellsit You can do it! There are lots of Reddit subs for good advice about traveling with babies. It will be different than adults-only travel, but can still be rewarding. But you know your kid/yourself best and what you can manage.

Is it a bad idea to do a solo trip to a big city with an 11 month old? Talk me into or out of it please.

@RichVague From a book I’m reading.

@BetsyM Really tho, if it works for you then I love that for you

My wife to me when someone says “I love a good pen, too! Mostly I use the G2.”

@annmrose Tossing my hat in the ring. Thank you!

Day 18: #SpreadTheJoy - Thanks to all who participated and helped spread the joy this holiday season. I was really blown away by the generosity. To close us out how about another query and 1st 10 page review by me. To win, comment below, and never stop trying to spread some joy!

Brooklyn Public Library's Nick Higgins, Amy Mikel, Karen Keys, Jackson Gomes, and Leigh Hurwitz have been named LJ's 2023 Librarians of the Year for their work on Books Unbanned. ow.ly/RijY50MhL2Q

Is the mom in Home Alone a good mom? "Goodness doesn’t matter," @Nancy_Reddy writes. "You can deeply love your kids and also significantly screw up. Showing up is how you show your love." Read this essay on Kate McCallister as a messy model of motherhood: catapult.co/stories/nancy-…

@RichVague Pics or it didn't happen.

I know it’s bad because when I told my wife “I just got my new license, the picture is horrible” and showed her, she didn’t say it wasn’t bad, she said I can go try and take a new picture if I want

@happy_stomach I came on Twitter to log out and this was the first tweet I saw. Even if the 2nd half didn’t go how you’d hoped, I hope you can still feel proud of this amazing accomplishment! 🙌

@RichVague I’ve never actually seen it. 🤫

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure is perfect. Every choice is perfect. Every shot, every prop, car that drives by, wardrobe - perfection.

@RichVague I’ll see if I can get a covert recording.

@BetsyM I’d LOVE to hear that

My kid gets the dumbest songs stuck in my head. For a long time I would wonder around the house randomly saying “in a minute, ima need a, cinnamon roll”. Now I just burst out with a “I know Victoria’s Secret”

@jtewwrites Thank you Jill! This resonates with me. When I think “ugh I’ve been at this for two years and have little to show for it,” this reminds me that I’ve been cultivating the soil. ☺️🌱

One of my favorite new hobbies while on sub has been gardening. I’m planting lots of native perennials 😍. There’s a saying about these plants’ growth pattern that I found helpful in thinking about my writing: Sleep, Creep, and Leap. (1/7) #amwriting #WritingCommunity