It's December 18th. This will probably be my final newsletter of the year. Let's go out with a bang! (A bang of positivity, inspiration, and optimism—not a scary bang.)
Here are a few recent projects & other things that you
might enjoy. Nothing in this email is super-time-sensitive, so you can tuck this away in your "Read whenever I feel like it" folder and enjoy at your leisure...
NEW PODCAST
My friend Nicole hosts a podcast called Real Talk Radio. She invited me to pop into the studio for some "end of the year reflection." It was a lovely conversation spanning so many topics—goal setting, time management, fitness, writing, developing the discipline to "do hard things," how I "accidentally" started a restaurant business with my partner this year, and why I'm completely obsessed with
magicians like Criss Angel and David Blaine. For starters.
NEW BOOK
Last weekend—on my 32nd birthday—I released my newest novel.
The novel is called So This Is The End. It's a love story with a tiny bit of
sci-fi swirled into the mix. The story was inspired by the question, "If you knew that you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do with that time?" and also, "What if you met the love of your life... on the last day of your life?"
It's 115 pages long. It's digital (PDF) and you can read it
on your phone, tablet, or computer. For the rest of December, it's FREE. You can download it HERE.
(To everyone who already read the
book, and who emailed me to say "I loved it!" or "I cried so much!", thank you! I appreciate your emails... more than I can say.)
(ANOTHER) NEW BOOK
Earlier this year, I released a book called You're Going To Survive. It's a collection of true stories
about people who have experienced intense criticism, public humiliation, terrible Yelp reviews, and other miserable things—and how they got through it.
I interviewed all kinds of people—like athletes, dancers, musicians, attorneys, chefs, writers—to find out, "What's your best advice for dealing with criticism and rejection?" I love how this project turned out. I hope it brings some hope
and encouragement into your day.
It's 83 pages long. It's digital (PDF) and you can read it on your phone, tablet, or computer. For the rest of December, just like my novel, it's FREE. You can download it HERE. RETREAT
In 2017, I'm planning to do THREE retreats: one in Portland, one in Hawaii, and one in London.
If you want info on the Portland & Hawaii events—hang onto your hats! I'll announce everything soon.
If you want info on the London event, here it is!
My new friend Clare, the founder of Urban Curiosity, is organizing a wellness/creativity retreat in London: June 16-19, 2017. She invited me to be the "special guest instructor" at this retreat, and I replied with an immediate, ecstatic "YES!" I fell in love with London this year, and I can't wait to return.
The retreat package includes:
- 3 nights’ accommodation at a very cool hotel
- All of your meals plus a fancy afternoon tea party
- A fabulous spa treatment
- A guided walking tour of London
- Art supplies and a painting/collaging class
- A writing/book-making class (with me!)
- A 1-on-1 meeting with me to discuss your
writing/creative aspirations, outline a new project, brainstorm—or talk about pretty much anything you want. ;)
- Black cab transport all around London. (You'll be whisked around like a prince/princess!)
- A goodie bag filled with lovely things.
You can see all the retreat details HERE. If you'd like to register, send an email to clare@urbancuriosity.org. Also, if you have any questions about the retreat, Clare is happy to answer your q's via email or on the phone/Skype. She's a delightful human being and she'll take
excellent care of you.
GOALS GOALS GOALS!
What are your top 3 goals for 2017?
If you want to share, hit REPLY to this email and tell me. I can't promise that I'll
reply back super-quickly, but I will definitely read your list of goals and smile and shimmy and cheer inside my brain for you. :)
Here are my top 3 goals:
1. Run a half-marathon in February and a full-marathon in November.
2. Find a new literary agent and then get a DOUBLE BOOK DEAL: one deal for a non-fiction project plus one deal for a fiction project. Double whoo!
3. Complete the training seminar so I can start volunteering for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
How about
you?
LOVE
I really appreciate YOU. Thank you for being part of my extended online family. I hope that, one day, we can meet in a non-digital setting. Non-digital meetings are my favorite kind.
I'm wishing you a peaceful and rejuvenating end of the year.
Don't forget to take a moment to celebrate everything that you wrote, created, produced, experienced, learned, survived, and contributed to the world this year. I bet it was A LOT of things.
Happy holidays.
Merry everything. I'll see you next year!
-Alex
PS. I love to declutter my home, workspace, and digital life at the end of each year. If you want to unsubscribe from a whole bunch of email newsletters all at once, here's a great tool for that. (And no, I won't be offended if you choose to unsubscribe from my newsletter. Decluttering is always a good thing!)