How You Shine
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Hello friends, It’s a rainy summer solstice here in beautiful Portland, Oregon. The sun is hiding, but, as I move my way around the city, I still see all the ways in which things shine. There are roses in full bloom everywhere. People don’t call this Rose City for nothing. Some roses are fragrant, others, not so much. But each flower is gorgeous in its own way, whether pink, red, yellow, or white. What else is shining? The glint on a crow’s beak. Rain on the sidewalks. People. Yeah. People. Some people shine by showing up to protect their neighbors. Some people shine by making music. Some people shine by painting city walls. Some people shine through kindness. Some people shine by writing poetry, or telling stories. Whether the sun shines or not, so many things shine. I know many people are going through tough times right now. I know, for some of us, it may feel really hard to notice what is shining, let alone to shine ourselves. So, how can we polish some of what may be dulling our shine? Some of us can listen to our favorite song. Some of us can take our medications. Some of us can reach out to a trusted friend. Some of us can burrow into comfort for a while. No matter how you are feeling during this solstice-tide, I encourage you to remember all the ways you have shone in the past, and the ways you might shine today. Some of us have simply forgotten we’ve been shining all along. So, today, I ask two questions: What shines around you? and How do you shine? Best wishes — Thorn 50% of profit on my Witches of Portland bundle is still going to people fighting tyranny in the US. I also added 100% of profits from the Resistance Matters ebook to the pot. Thanks for your support.
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, Years ago, writer Starhawk penned a novel in which city neighborhoods had fruit trees growing on the sidewalks, so anyone who was hungry could partake. It was a beautiful vision of a world we could live in, if we chose to. I now live in a city neighborhood with fruit trees growing on the sidewalk. Pear. Apple. Plum. Fig. Cherry. But, more often than not, the fruit falls and rots on the concrete in the sun. This happens unless the person who lives in the home near the tree...
“I’m always writing about the same thing, which is the human condition.” — Terry Brooks, fantasy author, WorldCon 2025 Hello friends, I’m writing this from WorldCon—the World Science Fiction and Fantasy convention—in Seattle Washington. I’ve listened to some interesting panels and talks so far: on Indigenous futures, on Afrofuturism, on the unsung heroes of the space program and magical systems in fantasy, plus some indie publishing business panels. I’ve talked with writers and readers both,...
Hello friends, On a walk the other day, I encountered a big metal sign covered in layers of peeling stickers. One read “Don’t look back! You are not going that way!” I snapped a photo and headed forward. But, as intended, the old sticker got me thinking. First, it reminded me of an old card I kept in my office for years. A Mary Engelbreit print, it wasn’t my usual style, but the message was clear. It was a person at a crossroads and the street sign read “Your life,” in one direction and “No...