Clouds, Magic, Hope

Hello Friends,

Well, the hideous heatdome has abated and cloud cover has returned to the Pacific Northwest. They’ve been a welcome respite to humans, birds, and animals.

The nesting baby chicks on our front porch died during the unprecedented heatwave, as did 94 people that we know of.

But the chickadee parents? As soon as it cooled down, they started to build another nest on the opposite side of the porch. They failed miserably and gave up after a day, but it still filled me with hope, to see them even try.

How often do we try after physical challenges or emotional devastation? How often do we try because we simply need a few moments to feel hopeful again?

I hope you are finding ways to try this week, regardless of the Gulf of Mexico being on fire, or your own personal travails or joys.

As prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba reminds us: “Hope is a discipline.”

Speaking of hope, I’m part of a Storybundle called “Wild Magic” right now. It features novels from some of my favorite authors, all with the theme of magic. The editor, Jamie Ferguson, did this fun interview with me. She asked: Your tagline is “Magic is real. Justice is worth fighting for.” Tell us what this means to you, and how this phrase comes through in your fiction.

I answered: I live my life as if those words are true. We can change our consciousness through actions and beliefs, and changing consciousness is one step toward greater justice. I believe in a world filled with wonder—both seen and unseen—a world that embraces paradox and the unexpected. I live with the sense that magic is always just around the corner…

You can read the rest of the interview here, and pick up this limited-time magical StoryBundle for as little as $5.

I’m wishing you well.

In magic and hope — Thorn