Holiday sale on new delightful books! Who doesn’t like free fancifulness? Each of my books released this year comes with a magic feather for a bookmark and a handwritten inscription, if you order from me. Plus, free shipping in the continental US throughout December!
MY BONES ARE LOVE GIFTS is my debut book of poetry and drawings, out from Shanti Arts Publishing, with cover art by Irene Hardwicke Olivieri. It’s $20.
NOW, THAT’S A TRICK is my debut flash fiction chapbook, out from Finishing Line Press, with cover art by Alexandra Eldridge. It’s $15.
Reach out with a DM for info about how to place your order! ❤️
🔥❤️
Wishing you all kinds of good stories,
Dawn
Vallie Lynn Watson recently wrote an evocative review of my flash fiction chapbook, Now, That’s a Trick (Finishing Line Press, 2022). Read it now in The Paper.
Pick up a copy of Now, That’s a Trick from the publisher or your favorite bookseller. It’s a perfect holiday gift for all the eclectic, weird-fiction readers dear to your heart.
❤️
-Dawn Sperber
After a very long wait, it’s out! My first full-length book, MY BONES ARE LOVE GIFTS, containing my poetry and drawings, is now available from Shanti Arts Publishing.
This book has a lot of magic in it. I feel like the world is at a low-energy place right now and we’re all shaken in our foundations and searching for ways to feel like life is meaningful and still beautiful. That’s what MY BONES ARE LOVE GIFTS is tapped into. It’s a channel into the intimacy of being connected with life, no matter what’s going on, and the power and beauty that can be found by claiming your own moment.
Even though I am currently dealing with many challenges, this book is full of a lot of the shiniest bits of me, with poems and drawings that span decades. It contains that inspiring light that spoke through me and guided me, that voice that’s mine but not mine, which I’ve been so grateful for throughout all the years that I wrote these poems and drew these pictures. Many of these poems are like old friends who have taught me a lot, and I’m happy to introduce them to you too.
I feel like I am fulfilling a goal of my lineage by being a woman publishing my soul truths and art in a world that has really tried to squash that and over-edit and silence me, like it did to so many women in my bloodline before me. But as you must know, there’s a lot of power that can come from listening to your soul and claiming your own multidimensional moment and sense of self. My hope is that this book is a touchstone that reminds you of your own private magic.
You can learn more about it here at the Shanti Arts website, where you can also pick up a copy, or you can order it at your favorite bookseller.
Book cover art by Irene Hardwicke Olivieri.
Wishing you a lovely new moon and Thanksgiving weekend,
Dawn
I have a couple offerings for you today, two stories: a video and a podcast. They’re both magical and odd, and they’re from my debut flash fiction chapbook, NOW, THAT’S A TRICK, which is currently available for preorder from Finishing Line Press. (!!)
First, the video. Hello! 🖖🏼 This is the title story, ”Now, That’s a Trick,” from my chapbook. It was first published in Zizzle Literary last year. (In this video, you may also notice evidence of the indoor mosquito that was haunting me. (Summertime.))
Now, the podcast. Maybe you could use a 15-minute break to listen to a story about love and river men. Yes? These have been awful days in the news. Claim some downtime and listen to a story. The newest podcast mini-episode from Plume: A Writer’s Podcast (my amazing crew! 💜) features my story, ”If the River Men Take You” (first published in Annalemma).
Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts:
(You can learn more about what we’re all doing with the writing community at Plume: A Writer’s Companion, here.)
I hope you enjoy these story offerings, and if you’re inspired to buy my chapbook, I’d just love it. My advance sales period (which determines my royalties rate) ends on July 1, so it would be awesome if you ordered your copy of NOW, THAT’S A TRICK by then, though preorders will still be available after that date. Chapbooks are scheduled to ship August 26.
I hope your days are full of good stories, and your goals are supported! ❤️⚡️
~ Dawn
At my mom’s house, I see her thoughts in what’s in the room and where it’s placed. It helps me feel closer to her. It’s healing to be surrounded by her evidence and decisions and her mind reflected in all of these details. The tangibility feels like a blessing during this confusing loss, while I try to understand her absence and this pivot to my life’s trajectory. I love seeing the big ceramic S on the kitchen counter next to her tea supplies, her crystal bowl full of Stevia packets, her pile of neatly folded linen dish towels with quaint patterns.
The main place to sit in the house is on her blue-and-white checkered couch, so while I sit here, I can imagine her seated countless days in that spot over the past almost-30 years, and imagine her taking so many naps with different sleeping bags and blankets, tucked in cozy with the TV on (maybe playing Out of Africa again or a British murder mystery).
In front of the couch, there’s a framed picture that hangs in the wall’s inset area that it fits perfectly, making the theme for the room. The frame holds an Impressionist print of two women reading a large book, sitting by a window, and the colors are pinks and maroon and emerald and moss green, and the light is shining through the window, and it totally shows my mom‘s vibe. My mom had another large framed print with three young girls looking down at a large open book, and one of them looked a lot like me, and I looked a lot like her when we were both young.
I love how she encouraged reading and learning in all of these subtle and overt ways. Now that I’ve become a person who’s devoted her entire life towards writing and words, I can really see my mom’s influence and encouragement and what a blessing that has been on me, and I love looking forward as I sit on this checkered couch and gaze at those two women reading the book by the window, and how one has her hand up to her chest like she is overtaken.
⚡️❤️⚡️
#findingauthentichealingrituals
⚡️❤️⚡️
It’s almost my birthday, and my birthday wish is that you buy my debut fiction chapbook, NOW, THAT’S A TRICK — available for preorder now. My preorder sales determine my royalty percentage, so if you want a copy, this is the perfect time to order yours! This chapbook of magical realism stories will ship August 26.
Thank you, and I hope your dreams are supported too.
⚡️❤️⚡️
This year, I’ve been grateful to share support and inspiration with the wonderful Plume writing community. Our Season 2 Finale episode is a group reading, “A Plume Collage of Voices,” consisting of featured writers, roundtable panelists, and community members, which turned out beautifully. Check out the authentic, skillful writing gathered in this episode of Plume: A Writer’s Podcast, including short works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. I contributed my flash sci-fi story, “Inoculation,” published earlier this year in Daily Science Fiction. I really love the wide range of short works in this reading.
“A Plume Collage of Voices” features work by these excellent writers (pictured above, left to right): Samantha Tetangco, Melanie Unruh, Dawn Sperber, Cynthia Sylvester, Cynthia Patton, Elsa Valmadiano, Jameela Fay Dallis, Brenna Gomez, Cassie McClure, Arlaina Ash, Julia Halprin Jackson, Rhea Ramakrishnan, Nari Kirk, Suzanne Richardson, and Marlena Chertock.
You can find the episode on your favorite podcast app under Plume: A Writer’s Podcast, or listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1204304/9598434-season-2-episode-14-a-plume-collage-of-voices. Learn more about Plume: A Writer’s Companion at plumeforwriters.org.
Wishing you good stories!
~Dawn
Are you ready? It’s time for “Inoculation.”
I’m thankful to Daily Science Fiction for publishing
my weird little story about aliens and microbiomes.
Come along for the ride.
You can find the story here.
(Image by Miriam Espacio.)
This Christmas Eve, I’m wishing you peace.
Here’s a poem about Christmas Eve that I wrote almost a year ago exactly, at my friend Jennifer Simpson’s drop-in writing group. She was a powerhouse of community effort and encouragement, and she recently passed away, but her influence shines on. In honor of all that Jenn inspired in the writing community, I share the light of this poem, published today at ONE ART: A Journal of Poetry.
In my bio, I share a little about Jenn’s wide-ranging work. Check out the links to her organizations, like Plume and Dime Stories, and the many beautiful collaborations she helped empower. Explore the fine books that her press, Talk Story Publishing, came out with in the past few years, and read some of Jenn’s own writings and her Plume blog posts, full of her insight, candor, and compassion.
Peace and blessings to you and yours.
I wrote a little story to lift your heart right now, if you’re interested in reading. It’s a social justice fantasy fiction, a fun, quick spell of hope.
Check it out here: 
https://medium.com/@DawnSperber/walking-trees-take-over-white-house-2d1506aeb8e6
Dawn Sperber 