I hope you will join me this afternoon at 1 PM EST for Skip the Small Talk, a chance to burrow down straight to the heart of the matter, even if at the outset we have no idea what that is! Rules of the Halfway House for Writers #5: SKIP THE SMALL TALK. If there’s an elephant in the room, don’t spend too much time describing the wallpaper behind the couch it’s sitting on. You don’t need to waste your time or anyone else’s pretending everything is fine if it isn’t. Writing doesn’t have to be a cocktail party where everyone looks glamorous delivering witty one-liners. Get to the meat and potatoes. Don’t fill up on candied mints and forfeit the meal. Writing the truth in this way may feel awkward and messy and vulnerable but it’s a good way to bypass the fluff and cut out the fat. Readers yearn to connect with the truth. Practicing telling the emotional truth is a good way to write, and to live.

Hi Fire Writers! ✍️Join me this morning for Right Now I Am at 11 AM EST! This workshop is also free and open to the wider community outside of Skool if you want to invite a friend! They can sign up with this link right here :) 👋I'm thrilled to welcome the wonderful @Shey Khandro to our Writing Fire community. So happy you're here with us, Shey! 💗 This morning I published a piece on Substack called A Cure for the Poison. I wonder if you can relate?? _______________________________________________ After a few months of experimentation, starting next week, we will begin to have a more consistent workshop schedule! 👄 Every Monday: Skip the Small Talk with Valley from 1 - 2 PM EST. Join Valley in a safe and sacred circle to skip the small talk, dig deep, get real, write the truth, and show up as we truly are. ⚔️ Every Wednesday a different theme from Surrender Your Weapons with Valley from 2 - 3:30 PM EST. (No class 10/21!) ⏰ Every Friday: Right Now I Am with Valley from 10 - 11 AM EST. Right Now I Am is a snapshot of the present moment, a holy dumping ground, how we show up as ourselves right here and right now. Come as you are; every emotion we have is fuel for the fire. Thanks for showing up, y'all! Can't wait to write with you again. VJ💘 (some of my fave pics of the week including the fog rising off the river this morning, the rainbow staircase at Shelf Life Books RVA, and Cosmo reclaiming his roots as a wolf! 🐺🤣)

Hello Fire Writers, I'm excited about our upcoming writing experiences together! Click on the links below to add each session (with its zoom link) directly to your calendar! I hope you can join me TODAY, 10/2 at 11 AM EST for Right Now I Am! Right Now I Am is a snapshot of the present moment, a holy dumping ground, how we show up as ourselves right here and right now. Come as you are; every emotion we have is fuel for the fire. Monday, Oct 5 from 1-2 PM EST join me for PERSPECTIVE SHIFT : Find catharsis and kick-start your week by writing out your Shit List, Thank You List, and Wish List. Wednesday, Oct 7 from 2-3:30 PM EST: Session 1 of Surrender Your Weapons: Writing to Heal! Friday, Oct 9 from 11-12 PM EST: Right Now I Am! Want to learn more about my current location on the hero's journey?? Read today's substack called My Magical Elixir! Thank you so much to everyone who's showing up in classes or visiting us here in this community. It means the world to me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ MORE ABOUT the Wednesday series! ⚔️Starting 10/7 I'm starting a new SURRENDER YOUR WEAPONS: WRITING TO HEAL workshop series on Wednesday afternoons from 2 - 3:30! All sessions are included in your community membership. It's a series that gets to the nitty gritty and goes DEEP. Peel back layer after layer of story. ⚔️Surrender Your Weapons: Writing to Heal Wed, Oct 7 - Wed, Nov 11, 2026 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST Zoom Oct 7: Session 1 — Write Your Origin Story

Leo is with us right now, but his bloodwork results are not good and we aren’t sure what the future holds or for how long. I wanted to share about him today from what I wrote in our “Right Now I am…” class. I also wanted to share some photos as well. I hope you enjoy. Love on your pets a little extra for me and Leo today. As I sit here, I realize the things I never want to forget about Leo. The softness of his skin and hair on the top of his head as I gently lean down to kiss him over and over. The bridge of his snout between his eyes where I also kiss him over and over. He doesn’t like people in his face. He hates it when I wipe his eyes or clean his face up. But he lets me kiss him as much as I want for the most part. The way he looks for me in a room and when he spots me we lock eyes, because I am looking for him too. How he walks in front of the couch to show us he wants up. He turns around for us so we can pick him up. It’s so cute. The way he’ll rub his face and body against the couch when he’s happy about something. How he knows to put his leg into his pj’s and he loves to be dressed. I truly believe his clothes have become a source of comfort to him since we first noticed he got cold in the cooler weather years ago. Valley I added lots of clothing pics! I need to find a good pic of him in his sweatshirt too. It will only let me add 10 pics to the post 🤣

Thank you to the amazing writers who came to Conversations with the Goddess yesterday--it was so powerful! @Allyson Childress, @Beth Jasper, @Brenda Walker, @Mina Smith--I would love it if you wanted to share any part of your writing with us here! 🙏🙏 We drew the goddess COVENTINA which was hilarious because I was angry about it when I drew her in class last week, too! 😂 @Lee Sowder remember I re-named her Puritanica?? 🤣 I don't want anyone telling me what to eat or put in my body, but I did resonate with being more attentive to the words and thoughts I put in my head! I am ready to release all of the cruel words I use against myself. What does Coventina's message of "purification" mean to you??