Wondering what gifts to get your writer friends (or yourself) for the holidays?
Wonder no more! On today’s vlog, I share five gift ideas that are great for the holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.
Hope you enjoy watching it and hope you have a very happy holiday season!
Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also the creator of Fear & Writing, a workshop for procrastinating writers from all walks of life.
Okay, did you plan the turquoise shirt to match the INFJ book cover? It seemed to glow blue right over your heart. Nice effect, at any rate.
I will personally vouch for Ink Spots and The Contenders. My partner Tess, who is a voracious and critical reader, also enjoyed The Contenders, and she’s many long bus rides from 5th grade.
Here’s a virtual clink of an egg nog toast to you and Marcus. Cheers!
Thank you, Edgy and Tess, for personally vouching for The Contenders. I love how you put it. I’m also many long bus rides from fifth grade, but ah, I remember it well. Oh, and I did not plan my turquoise top to perfectly match the cover for The INFJ Writer book, but I’m glad you found it visually pleasing. 😀
I raise my glass of Sun Liquor Nog to you and Tess and wish you both a very Merry Christmas! ((I can’t drink and don’t drink so I figured, why not go for the gold (Sun Liquor’s supposed to have Holy Grail-like nog) in this virtual toast?))
Jesus, Cubby, it’s true–Sun Liquor Nog should be drunk from a chalice. Out of curiosity, and not knowing it’s $40 for a 750ml jug, I asked Tess to get it on her way home. And she did. Anyway it’s what supermarket eggnog want to be when it grows up, but never, ever will. A clean, non-cloying taste with a bit of edge from the brandy. (Although, to paraphrase John Travolta in the milkshake scene from Pulp Fiction, it’s great, but it’s not worth $40.) One of us will have to be careful about what you say to me, because apparently I’m very suggestible.
I think the highlight of 5th grade for me was when Randy Loyola and I got caught in the girl’s restroom during recess. We were curious, and snuck into the forbidden cave–would the plumbing be really different? What else was in there? But a minute later, a girl came in:
“I’m telling!” “No, no, don’t tell!” She was unmoved. We left.
The class was playing softball that day, and Randy and I went deep into the outfield, farther out than any 5th, 6th, or 12th grader could hit the ball. To no avail: we could see a distant figure in a dress next to the teacher, pointing us out.
Off to the principal’s office: “If you need to know about any part of this building, you come ask me!” Even at that tender age, I could tell he was a bit flummoxed–clearly, the issue wasn’t architectural. Anyway, it was my first disciplinary visit to El Hombre’s office. It wasn’t fun at the time, but it becomes a highlight in retrospect, right up there with the electric thrill of kissing Leslie Fox’s hand in a class play…So: here’s an eggnog toast to Randy, Leslie, and the girl in the bathroom, too.
Oh my God, Edgy, you always delight and surprise me with your comments on my blog posts! I never know what you’re going to write next. I was not expecting this one and it made me laugh HARD. Then, I read it aloud to Marcus and he laughed too. From the description of the ethereal Sun Liquor Nog ($40?!! Wow!) to the flashback to 5th grade, the girls bathroom, and El Hombre’s office. Fookin’ hilarious. You’re killing me. ;-D
Great recommendations, Peg! I hadn’t heard of any of these books. There are so many books out there on creativity, and the creative process, and I know that it can be very hard for aspiring writers to cut through all that noise and find the most useful, the most informative, the most practical guides available. I myself have a curated collection of writing manuals that I recommend to anyone who asks, and I always appreciate when folks like yourself share their suggestions!
Thanks so much, Sean! I’m glad you found my vlog and list of books helpful, and that’s cool that I exposed you to books that you hadn’t heard of before. I hope you’ll check some of them out and let me know what you think of them.