video – Jessie Kwak

From Chaos to Creativity Powell’s Books Reading [Video]

Post published:July 31, 2019

Last Monday, I did something that terrified me: I held a creative productivity workshop in front of about 50 people at Powell’s Books.

I’ve read from my fiction before, which is its own version of terrifying. But I’d never stood up as an expert in front of a crowd of mostly strangers and tried to impart my wisdom.

And you know what?

It was pretty fun.

Plus, people seemed to find it inspiring and asked a lot of insightful questions. Honestly, the discussion with everyone afterwards was my favorite part. If you were there, thank you for coming!

And a HUGE thanks to Rebecca and the rest of the staff at the Powell’s on Hawthorne for hosting me, as well as to Elly Blue and the team at Microcosm Publishing for setting things up.

My husband Robert Kittilson put together a video of the event, editing out the “ums” and giving a really great overview of what it was like.

(Don’t worry, he left in plenty of the “Jessie being a nerd” moments.)

Video not showing up? Here’s the link.

Did you miss the workshop?

I’ll be doing another workshop at Two Rivers Books in St. Johns (Portland, OR) on September 10th. I’m also planning a mini book tour in the Seattle area mid-October.

Get on my mailing list to stay in the loop.

Or, head here to learn more about From Chaos to Creativity.

Happy October! And notes from my reading at Mother Foucault’s Bookstore

Post published:October 1, 2018

Crunchy leaves, cozy scarves, boots and tights, fall colors — having lived nearly all my life in the Pacific Northwest, October has always been one of my favorite times of the year.

Back home on the farm, it was a wonderful time of harvest parties and pumpkins and not having to drive the combine any more.

In the city, it’s a glorious celebration of knitwear and cute boots and leaves crunching underfoot.

This year, reaching October means I unlocked a pretty special Halloween achievement:

The orange globe lights we hung on our front porch for last Halloween are now seasonally appropriate again!

And because we left them up all year, they’re coated with spiderwebs, which makes them extra creepy.

Take that, neighbors.

Fall is also a time of welcome reflection for me. The busyness of summer has finally calmed down, and I can take a breath and take stock of what I where I want to be by the end of 2018, and what I’m going to do to get there.

On the writing side of things, 2018’s major goal was to write and publish another novella (Deviant Flux) and the first three books in the Bulari Saga series (set in the Durga System).

While Deviant Flux will definitely be coming out this year, I’m still finishing up the other three books. So one of my goals for October is to blast out some words and get these books written.

(By the way, if you’re excited about Deviant Flux, be sure to head here to make sure you get notified when it’s ready for preorder.)

How about you? How’s your October going?

I know that while I’m in a stereotypical autumn situation, not everyone’s October looks like falling leaves and pumpkin patches.

I’d love to hear from you: What’s typical for your location in October?

Photos encouraged!

Mother Foucault’s Reading

Thank you to everyone who showed up last Thursday to Mother Foucault’s for my reading with Francesca Varela. It was a really casual setting, and we had a wonderful time. I especially loved the chill Q&A discussion at the end.

And thank you to my friend, author Elizabeth Mitchell, for snapping the photos of me.

If you’re interested, she also took a couple of videos, which you can find below. (The sound is a bit quiet.)

In the first video, I’m introducing the Durga System series and talking a bit about my inspirations.

In the second video, I read a bit from Deviant Flux. If you want an exclusive sneak preview, give it a watch!