Jan 16, 2024 | January 2024 Newsletter
Patti Callahan Henry
Dear Reader,
Here I am in your inbox with loads of things to chat about!
I’ll tell you about my New Year’s Rituals, what inspires me now, and news and events!
But first, I want to tell you about our FIRST LIVE show of the year on Friends and Fiction.
Almost four years ago, we started Friends and Fiction – a live web show and podcast– and our first guest was Kristin Hannah. Now, with a quarter million members on our Facebook page, this is our 200th show and our first guest returns!
Kristin Hannah
You won’t want to miss this LIVE SHOW with a pre-publication chat about her newest novel,
Watch Live: Wed Jan 17th at 7 pm ET
Listen: Fri Jan 19th Podcast
New Year's Rituals
Who decided that New Year’s is for resolutions? I’m not much for them. I’ll feel bad when I fail, so years ago, I found my rituals to begin the year with reflection, a pen, and a notebook.
First, I take some quiet time and look back at the year to marvel at the good things, to mourn the sad stuff, and to acknowledge and be present with everything that happened. I am still trying to wrap my thoughts and feelings around 2023! As I poured over the calendar and photos to remember, I was overwhelmed with pure delight! Oh, THIS and THIS and THAT and OH THIS!
I write it down this way: “Last year I….” and then I keep going with awe. The trips, the book tour, all the simply astounding things that happened with The Secret Book of Flora Lea, the moments with all of you, the travel with family, the full moons, and the waning ones too.
Then, I write down my intentions for the coming year. Think of it as a vision board but with words. I write about goals, but the things I write down concern who I want to become in the world. This is as important as solid goals like “finish the next book." Those goals are so innate now – meditation and spiritual growth, staying healthy, writing what matters, traveling with curiosity – that they don’t change much from year to year. So, I try to make my intentions specific to what I want my work and life to look like this year.
Will I fulfill them all? Nope. Did I last year? Nope. Were there hard moments? Oh, hell yes! Goals not achieved? Sure! But growth and learning and sheer delight! Another YES!
This ritual works for me – looking back, looking forward, and then choosing a word for the year.
This year: INTENTION. I want to be part of the world with intention and presence.
For all of you who were on so much of this ride with me - family, readers, friends, publisher, agent, and YOU! We most assuredly went after life with all we’ve got!
Let’s do some more of that this year with HUGE LOVE!
Things That Are Inspiring
My New Year
Book: The Women by Kristin Hannah. This is such an adventure and chock full of a woman’s perseverance and wisdom I could not put it down.
Listen: The Enneagram Journey with Suzanne Stabile – using the wisdom of the enneagram for personal growth. Suzanne blows me away and I love listening to this podcast to understand myself and those I love.
Look: The Art of Beatrix Potter. She was partly the inspiration for the book I am writing now, and I often look at her art when I pause the work.
Watch: Slow Horses. This show is so dang much fun, and it cheers me with such great storytelling!
In The News
Flora Lea Links
Check out the new 2024 Events added.
Spring Paperback Tour—coming soon!
Once Upon A Wardrobe
There's nothing like cosying up with a book in the colder months! Kate Townshend explores the perfect books to warm you up this time of year. As the weather turns and the sky darkens, autumn and winter can often feel like the perfect time for curling up with a good book. (Crackling fire and hot drinks are optional!)
Friends & Fiction
Winter 2024 Schedule
We’ve got some incredible shows in store for you in January, February & March! And we are so glad that you can now WATCH and LISTEN to these author interviews since they will air in video on Facebook and YouTube AND get published on our Podcast. We hope you never miss a thing in the new year! And remember, those "Pick of the Month" web shows will be LIVE and hosted by all four of our founding/host authors @marykayandrews @kristinharmel @kristywharvey @pattichenry!
Our New Substack
Newsletter
Beginning January 10th, our Friends and Fiction newsletter introduced a new look!
We will begin publishing our free weekly newsletter—still shipping each Wednesday—through the platform Substack. The design capabilities on that platform are a bit different, so—while we will still deliver you details about our weekly guest and updates on all the goings-on in the F&F universe from the Fab Four, it will all just be formatted slightly differently. Read More
Featured Bookseller
Look at all these great upcoming books for the first part of 2024!
These are all the authors and their new titles, which we will showcase during F&F’s winter season. You can start pre-ordering and stocking up in the F&F Shop at Bookshop.org.
Happy New Year!
—Patti
About Patti Callahan Henry
New York Times Bestselling Author and Podcast Host
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of seventeen novels and podcast host. She is the recipient of The Christy Award—A 2019 Winner "Book of the Year”; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020 and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019.
Patti is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast
A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama, with her husband, Pat Henry. Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and was released on May 2nd, 2023, with Simon & Schuster Atria.
Be sure to follow me on social media and visit my website for the latest updates and announcements! READ MORE