As I travel along in my writing life, I often stumble on things–products, services, books–that I think would be of interest to others.
So don’t be surprised if you catch me dropping some suggestions here and there. I promise to only mention things I think will enrich your creative life.
Here are a few of my new favorite things for writers:
Crabtree & Evelyn Citron, Honey, Coriander Products
One of the hotels I stayed at for a conference–I think it was in New York for the Writer’s Digest Conference–gave samples of these products in the rooms. I wanted to drink them all, they smelled so good. Kudos to Crabtree & Evelyn for putting together such a pitch-perfect scent.
I’ve used what made it home a couple times since. And I have shared them with my daughter a couple of times, and I can’t help notice are powerfully mood-shifting.
I’m linking to an assortment here, so you can see what they have, but naturally, you can find these products in many combinations at various price-points.
You should probably also know that I have a thing for coriander. So lemon and honey on their own probably would not have swayed me. But add in the coriander and, oh my gosh, an amazing scent! Any of these products would make a great summer gift (especially for yourself).
A New Favorite Pen
I hosted Heather Vogel Frederick at the Northwest Author Series and discovered we share a love of Apple products. While we were discussing the latest in laptop advances, Heather shared a couple of other products with me. One of them was something simple. A pen. But as a writer, I love a good pen. And this is not just a good pen; it’s a great pen.
Check out the Pentel EnerGel. Heather gave me one in purple with a 0.7 metal tip and I LOVE it. I love just anything in purple for that matter. And if you do too, check out these pens.
GRID-IT! The Ultimate Organizer
Heather also introduced me to this helpful organizer for people like us who have too many gadgets that have too many gizmos. I just thought this was brilliant when I saw it. So I got one to help me organize my gizmos for my gadgets. And I’m thrilled with it. Any visual person would love it. Check it out. It even comes in colors! (I wish I had known that.)
Mother-Daughter Book Clubs, Anyone?
Something else I highly recommend you buy this summer is Heather’s Mother-Daughter Book Club book. I just ordered the rest of the series to read with my daughter this summer.
By the way, summer is a great time to consider starting up a Mother-Daughter Book Club, if you have a daughter anywhere from 8-18. I have to say I was skeptical that I could make the time to really do justice to participating in a mom-daughter book club with Samantha, who is now ten years old.
But you know what? It’s not hard at all because all the moms and daughters spread the responsibilities out for hosting equally. And I love reading book with my daughter that spark conversations on tricky topics. We’ve been reading the books out loud as a family and this has been working out great for us.
If you are on the fence, I highly recommend Cindy Hudson’s book, Book By Book, The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs to help you make a more informed decision.
And PS, to get ready for our night of hosting, I purchased Cindy’s Book Discussion Guide, and it made all the difference. So, whether you are thinking of a book club or you are in one, know that Cindy Hudson has a wealth of resources for busy mom book club hostesses.
That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more favorite things for writers coming soon.