Under the Surface

I keep saying I'm going to write this post, but so much of this year has been overwhelming and traumatic in ways that make me run and hide from having to look back. I also recognize that's part of why I need to write this post. I need to see the places where creativity and exploration grew through the cracks like dandelions in the sidewalk. Remind me to tell you the dandelion story someday. Not today, though. I've already got a lot to cover here.  (Three very large piles of origami cranes in a variety of colors.) I started the year with a commitment to folding one thousand origami cranes, and I did it! I'm thankful for everyone who told me how much they loved seeing the pictures each day. Each crane was folded as a prayer, but I don't know how far I would have made it if I hadn't had those little messages of joy and hope. (Green cherry tomatoes growing on a plant with a red brick wall in the background.) After too many years of not growin...

I was going through organizing the poems I've written this year (current count: more than I thought!) and I had an idea for a form based on one of my favorite numbers.  Okay, this may be important information because you will see me make mistakes with numbers. If not now, it will happen eventually. It does happen in me talking about what I was doing with this. I have dyscalculia. It is a learning disability often called "the mathematical dyslexia" because it's similar enough, in some ways, that people who have never heard of it don't have to sit through a long explanation when that isn't the focus of the conversation. I make mistakes with numbers that people don't usually expect from someone who has made it through first or second grade. It's not because I don't understand basic math. It's because a learning disability makes it hard for me to add without counting on my fingers, read maps, remember which coin has which value, and a list of other...

I have a "What I Did During Our Year of Dumpster Fire 2025" post in mind, but we're not there yet. Where are we, then? We're at a point where my writing is more widely available!  You can now get  my work on Kindle . That means you can also gift my work to someone else on Kindle. Yes, it's still available  on Itch.io  and through  my ko-fi . Some people would prefer not to buy from Amazon, others will find it easier on Kindle, and I'm keeping options open.  You can also find those books on goodreads now! I'm working on getting in with their author program, but for now you can find my work on goodreads by searching for "LK Nesse". I admit I'm nervous about reviews. I don't think everyone would love my work. If that's what I was aiming for, I wouldn't be putting enchanted forest stories and American cinquain poems out there. Ideally, I think reviews are important for helping people find what is right for them and avoid what isn'...

It's after 3:30 am, so I can tell you where I should be going, and that's to bed. Sleep isn't coming easily, though, I have a little cat friend curled up close to me, and I said in the beginning that I would likely use this blog to talk through things for myself more than anything else. Welcome to Me Talking to Myself!  I started Our Year of Dumpster Fire 2025 determined to finally make good on a promise I made to myself many years ago when I was in elementary school. Become an author! Which, okay...I guess I had already done that. I've written a lot of things over the years. But I meant an author who has books available for people to buy! The problem at the beginning of the year was that I was scared. Information about Amazon seemed overwhelming. Everything else looked even more overwhelming. There were a few options I read information about and didn't understand enough of it to know if I thought it would be overwhelming or not.  Let's not forget my dear friend...