Author Archives: emma4lammers

Leaving the Novel in Progress (Part 1)

How the beautiful promise of a published novel narrowed my focus too much. I did consider stopping, once or twice, but the idea terrified me. Wasn’t the NIP (novel-in-progress) my anchor? Wasn’t it the reason I studied literature and creative writing, and read widely, and started this website – and wasn’t it my lifelong dream to be the Author of a Book? There was no other job I wanted to do. There was nothing else I was this good at. What else could I do with my life?

3 Crafts to Make with Paper: Stars, Bunting, and More

How do I decorate with little to no money? Scrap paper and wallpaper!
Fun fact: stores selling paint and other décor throw away their wallpaper sample books at the end of each season – but if you ask nicely, they might give the sample book to you instead. Apparently teachers have been using them for years as free art supplies. Now that you’re in on the secret, you can too.

3 Crafts to Make with Vines

Making tangible, beautiful things remains one of my passions. Since I’ve become more invested in sustainable living in recent years, I’ve learned to make my crafts more eco-friendly by using repurposed or biodegradable materials. Wild vines are resources that literally renew themselves each spring. In this post, I’ll show you how to turn them into wreaths, globes, and birds’ nests.

November Plans

I’ve got some catching up to do: books to read, a book to write, a new course of study on the horizon…
As always, the Halloween season has been great fun. At work as a tour guide, I introduced people to the wonders of autumn, told semi-spooky stories, and gave out countless candies. It rained, and it was chilly, but the kids wore raincoats under their capes and wings and still had a good time.

Now I’m eyeing the row of books that have accumulated on my shelf over the past few weeks – Ada Hoffman’s The Outside, Perpetual Astonishment by Tomson Highway, and Esi Edugyan’s Out of the Sun.

Links & Pursuits, October 2021

Things that caught my eye this month – including writing by Carolyn Hinds and Johnathon Flowers – plus some DIY pursuits.
October isn’t just turkey and pumpkins month.

Several weeks ago, I learned that it’s also National Disability Employment month, and this guided some of my reading and thinking, as you’ll see below.

…I read:

Review: Everyone Knows your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen

The unconventional approach to describing the legal battle, the juxtaposition of satirical characters against the cutting realism of the setting – this will definitely be a favourite book of 2021.

Links & Pursuits September 2021

Autumn is nearly here! After another summer without air conditioning this can only be good news in my house. I’m thinking of having a kind of mini harvest festival to celebrate the turn of the season – something involving apples and a bonfire.

Review of Refuse: CanLit in Ruins

My tangling together of value and production, identity and respect paralleled a similar phenomenon in Canadian literature as a whole. Refuse has shown me what lurks behind the façade of my dream job.