Hey ,

Three weeks into 2023 and I'm thinking a lot about my time and energy.

Where I want to channel it, how to juggle it, how to organize my life in service of prioritizing quality time (with myself, my loved ones, my hobbies and calling).

I don't have answers, but it's what's been on my mind lately.

With the new job taking up a good chunk of my time, I'm feeling a shift away from the work I've done over the last few years on my courses, newsletter, website, online communities, and even writing & publishing itself. 

I'm not sure what that means for the newsletter long term, but for the time being, they will be a littler shorter and more focused on sharing outside resources / events / announcements, rather than the more time-intensive curation of topics I've done in the past. The focus will continue to be info relevant to writers, readers, parents, and lovers of all things Puerto Rican.

If over the next few months you find the new-ish format no longer resonates with you -- no hard feelings. When you signed up, I promised you could unsubscribe at any time -- just click on the "unsubscribe" at the end of any email you receive from me.

As promised, I'm including links to a few of my favorite things below. It's a fairly random and eclectic list, but hoping you'll find at least one thing that serves you that wasn't even on your radar.

Home & Life Organization (one of my 2022-2023 projects)

• Sunday Basket System 
  • FYI: price jumping up from $97 to $250 on Wed 2/1.
  • This organization system -- the physical basket itself, the course, the online co-working sessions, and the actual weekly habit of processing the basket -- helped me get a handle on all the active papers and active projects in my daily life. No more mail piles and no more misplacing important documents anymore. Totally worth the $97 and even the $250 it will cost on 2/1, but wanted to share, so you could snag it at the lower price while you still can. I'm not getting a commission on this one. I just love this thing so much, and wanted to spread the organizational love.
  • PS The system can totally be adapted to manage writing projects.

• Write Your Year: Reflect, Set Intentions, and Chart a Course for Your Writing Life.
  • Just $20.23
  • It's never the wrong time to plan and organize your writing life! My workbook and the additional resources I share in the course can help you do just that.

On the Literary Front

• Preorder Now: Melissa Coss Aquino's novel Carmen and Grace 
• My literary comadre and fellow Boricua Melissa Coss Aquino's novel drops on April 4th! Show her some love and preorder it today! Use my bookshop link above or find wherever you preorder books.
• About the book: An emotionally riveting coming-of-age drama about two cousins lured into the underground drug trade at a young age and the inextricable ties that bind them, as one woman seeks power and the other seeks a way out--the debut of a vibrant and stunningly original new voice in fiction.

• Sustainable Arts Foundation Applications Open 
  • Deadline: Friday, February 24th (noon PT/3pm ET)
  • This year, they will make awards of $5,000 each to twenty artists and writers with children. Their awards offer unrestricted cash, which recipients can use as they like. The selection process is focused almost entirely on the strength of the submitted portfolio. 

Just for fun: Pop Culture

• Shakira's new diss track and the nostalgia it evoked of listening to decades worth of incredible break up songs.

• Michelle Yeoh & Everything Everywhere All At Once for their 11 Oscar Nominations. Amazing actress; excellent film. 
  • (as per usual, I'm still side-eyeing the academy for some of their snubs of other notable films and actors -- ahem Viola Davis -- but still over the moon for the cast of EEAAO).

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