Dear Reader,
We have a visiting author today. Please welcome Heather Redmond. She's written two current crime series: the British historical A Dickens of A Crime series and the US contemporary cozy Journaling mysteries. Heather lives in the Pacific Northwest in the United States with her family. She also writes as Heather Hiestand.
Seattle-set Journaled to Death is her most personal mystery to date, featuring Mandy Meadows, a journaling barista amateur sleuth. When Mandy finds her cousin dead in her basement, she assumes it's an accident, until the homicide detectives arrive. Even worse, they treat her like a suspect.
Heather loves to hear from readers! So please email and say, "Hello." Email: [email protected].
I used to have the best memory...until a decade ago when I had a child. Now I can forget the most memorable things, like the time my husband lost his wedding ring in our washing machine. I vaguely remembered him losing it, and replacing the ring with a cheap Twilight branded one I had won in a contest. I believe it said "Change Me" on it, LOL. However, I didn't believe the washing machine story until the appliance died. When my husband disassembled it though, there was the ring! I can forget remembering the day-to-day stuff if I can't even recall that loss. Especially given that I was the only one doing the laundry and therefore it's my fault the ring disappeared.
After a certain point, I had to admit I needed help. I tried wall calendars, magnetized weekly boards, and customized planners for writers, but I only hit my stride when I discovered bullet journaling, which is a life tracking concept developed by Ryder Carroll. For the past few years, artistic types have combined the concept with art-focused journaling, and that's where I found my own life tracking heaven. I love using stickers, watercolors, and pens to set up my monthly and weekly calendar, to-do list, meal, and habit trackers. Tips and tricks are abundant all over social media, as are tools to help if you aren't the DIY type. And the planners! Pretty Archer & Olive, toothsome paper-filled Scribbles That Matter...every country has their own favorite brands.
Another thing I track is my reading. My bookshelves are completely stuffed, but my child is addicted to bookstore visits so I have a lot of temptation. I added a page in my journal for "Print Books Purchased" and "Print Books Read" so that I can try to talk myself into the book-in, book-out policy that is so very sensible in my small house. My Kindle doesn't count. That can be loaded continually. Last year, I only tracked my fiction purchases. This year, I should probably add nonfiction, because those shelves are out of control too. I can happily report that I almost "broke even" with my book tracker in 2019. I continue to refine what works best for me in my completely flexible journal.
-- Heather Redmond
I'd love to hear from you. It was fun to visit the book club.
[email protected].
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
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