Quote of the Day: 

If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed quickly, to trap them before they escape. –Ray Bradbury
In the midst of my party prep for my son’s graduation, I nearly forgot to contribute to the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, hosted by the Super Ninja Blogger Alex J. Cavanaugh.
During this week of prep, I attended a book launch party for local Brainerd area author Theresa M. Jarvela for her debut cozy mystery, Home Sweet Murder. Coordinated by my great friend and Publicist Extraordinaire, Krista Rolfzen Soukup, at Blue Cottage Agency. 

Many special guests were there, but she was most surprised when her daughter walked up to have her book signed. She had traveled all day to arrive on time and support her mama. (Love the finger point!)

The thing is, I can make myself crazy by thinking about and doing all the external prep involved in hosting a party, but the truth is, relationships win out every time. I spent last weekend tidying up the place, washed the floor, put things away, did laundry. Monday, I came home from my workout and all the boys, who are now home for summer vacation, and half the neighborhood boys as well, were having a Nerf gun war in the house – the WHOLE house! The cat was in and out. Dirt was on the floor. Nerf bullets were everywhere, and I just said, “Please clean it up afterwards.” So, we’ll have a party in my imperfect house, with stray Nerf bullets, a touch of clutter, but filled with fun. I don’t have time to stress about the outward appearances. It’s too late to powerwash the house and stain the deck. Besides, the most important part is the food, for which I am getting excellent assistance. My good friend helped me find fun decorations – going with a Southwest theme for the party, and it’s all about the boy.

So, what does this have to do with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group? Everything. We can be insecure about everything we do. We can obsess over the external. But, what we really need to do is connect and keep it real. The clients of Blue Cottage Agency are doing that by attending each other’s events. The other authors came to my play. I’ve been to their readings and launches. I feature them on this blog. I plan to write about them for magazines, or whatever. We are a support network in real time. You readers are a support network in a global and spiritual sense. Thank you.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What can you do to support local artists in your area?