2.8.20

February 8th, 2020

“Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration.”
– Thomas Edison


 Today is a full moon and it is also the first weekend after I began a new book, and so it makes sense that my first thought upon sitting down at my computer this morning was about cycles and beginnings and endings.

I used to hate Twitter, and although I still am on the fence about it, I post there a few times a day. You can follow me here.

This is what I posted on Twitter:

Thinking it through, I’ve realized that over the years I have come to fully believe that we have the ability to remake our lives each day. It can be in small ways — like making the decision to change our environment or our diet—to big changes, like quitting a job or leaving a relationship.

As a writer, I make my schedule (which is another way of saying ‘creating my life’) each day. The first thing I do in the morning (after coffee of course) is go to my agenda, and figure out my plan for the day. I can’t believe I’m sharing my messy scribblings with you, but here is a page from my agenda from last month:

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I have smaller things to do (meaning they take less time, not that they are less important) and bigger projects (meaning they will take a long time to complete).

New beginnings are necessary and, as a writer, I’ve come to learn to embrace them. As I mentioned, I’ve begun working on a new book and I’m very excited about it. It is a fun time for me, my favorite part of the creative process, actually. I’m doing a lot of research and imagining all the possibilities of this new story.

I found this engraving by Albrecht Dürer that has been immensely inspiring to me:

Also inspiring: my canelles de Bordeaux! If you have not tried these incredible French cakes, get thyself to a patisserie my friend and try one. I love them, but they aren’t easy to find, and so I made my own last weekend.

They turned out beautifully and were gone in two days.

It has been dreary and gray here in New York, but I shouldn’t feel too bad: my book is getting a lot of sunshine. A librarian with an advanced copy sent me this picture from a beach. My book leads a charmed existence:

As many of you know, I sent out an excerpt of The Ancestor last week. If you didn’t get it, and you would like the first three chapters (plus exclusive pictures of my research trip to Italy), please send me a note (just hit reply) and I will get it to you right away.

If you don’t have time to read an excerpt, and you just want to do something nice for The Ancestor, you can add it to your shelf on Goodreads. Adding a book to your shelf helps boost the book’s profile, and helps other readers find it. 

Thank you to all of you who read the excerpt and put it on your Goodreads shelf (or even pre-ordered it)! I’m so grateful to my readers, whose support allows me to continue writing.

I hope you have an inspired week, and that you find beauty and joy in your work.

Yours,
Danielle

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