You Are Awesome: Billie’s Best Blog

You have changed my life this year. Knowing that you are reading what I write gives me motivation and inspiration to keep working and investing in myself. Sometimes my brain explodes with outside information about current events, global truths, and spilled tea, but I push through these distractions because I have a purpose, and that purpose is you. I want to interest you. If you don’t read what I write, my words don’t exist. Sure, there’s a voice in my head that keeps talking and talking, no matter what anyone else reads, but my own voice doesn’t produce dopamine. I get my dopamine hit from you, dear reader. So, thank you.

The year begins with the February 2024 publication of my novel Clitapalooza: The Power of Her Flowers. Kirkus Reviews called it “a cheeky exploration of sexuality and feminism.” I learned a lot. My motivation for telling this story is concern about the connections between our personal lives, our sex lives, and the technology that uses our data to manipulate what we buy. I’ve delved deeply into anatomy and sexual techniques, and some of you think I’m smart, while others think I’m trash. But I love you both. I don’t want to be surrounded by clones. I appreciate those readers who disagree with me. My heart is open to you. Thank you fans and reviewers for reading my books.

This summer I started writing my second novel, tentatively titled Esmeralda. It is now run by subject matter experts and editors. After gathering their feedback, I anticipate a rewrite in February 2025. Esmeralda is a chaotic thriller set in the American West that follows four women who share a cell and form a high-stakes friendship. It’s an upbeat escapist entertainment about finding a prison escapee who disappeared into a book.

To keep it real, I’ve joined discussion groups that are regular face-to-face meetings with real people sitting together for the purpose of sharing different opinions. It is an affirming experience to witness accountability play out as speakers consider the reactions they may receive when expressing themselves. People care. They know they will be remembered. That’s the excitement and the risk, and that’s why it’s worth doing. I highly recommend it. Gather a group around a topic area and plan to regularly disagree on a shared experience (such as an article, music, a piece of art, or a meal). Our goal is not to agree, but to experiment with our differences and develop our perspectives.

Speaking, listening, writing, and reading are all linear experiences that rely on alphabet, vocabulary, sounds, thoughts, and memories, all of which reside in a brain enhanced by endorphins and influenced by gut bacteria. We are living organisms, meat socks stewing our feelings, exporting them through our emotions, and importing them through our senses. Many things can go wrong. But when things are going well, sharing is a high that connects us to the ethereal realm. We expand. We grow. We love. We are grateful for this experience.

Words work for me. I’d rather put it into words than watch. I’d rather read or talk to the person across the table. The exchange between meat socks and meat socks, this is my pleasure. I have many questions. how are you feeling? how is your family? What are you reading? What do you think? The answers fuel my brain. I compare notes with myself. I realize new ideas. These thoughts swim through my biology, mingle with my history, become my dreams, a whir of biochemistry that creates new stories in my sleep. When I wake up, I am all of these things. As fresh as the sunrise, it happens every day, but even though it’s old, it’s still inspiring.

I hope you get the same thrill. We discover ourselves spiritually and become so physically. This is a process. life process. Sometimes it’s scary. But other times, it’s a glorious adventure and it doesn’t get much better than this. We learn from both ends of the spectrum and find a balance between the two. So, stir up your brain soup, spice it up with some new ingredients, try new flavors, and stay curious and discovering. Determined to regroup, regain interest and get back to your best. Draw the star symbol and bless yourself. You are amazing. Thank you for being there for me. forward.