It was so good! + Next Co-writing Sept 2.

I grew up in a very literary family. My grandpa, who held a PhD in linguistics from Stanford, used to make my dad and his siblings recite Shakespeare before being able to eat dinner. Luckily that exact ritual didn’t get passed down, but the expectation that we were exceptional in our ability to think critically, know our works of fiction, and cull the trash from the treasure was always there.

Twenty-nine years ago, I started a job as a receptionist in one of the first interactive design agencies in San Francisco in the first dotcom boom. The job was in SF and I lived in Oakland, which means commuting every day on BART, and so if was wasn’t journaling, I was reading. On the job, in between guests I was encouraged to spend my time either reading or “surfing the web.” In short, I had a lot of books with me.

I used to put actual book covers (like the ones we used to put on our text books) on my trashy books so that I could read them shame-free on BART. But when I arrived at work, I was sure to swap them for my OTHER books. The famous ones I had always meant to read or re-read—the literary ones: Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, etc.

This behavior was reinforced when the Head of the Editorial + Content department approached me and said, “You’re clearly too smart to be a receptionist, so… what department are you interested in?”

His. I wanted to be in his editorial and content department. I had always wanted to be a writer and this was my chance to get paid for it. And that moment was the beginning of my long career in UX and Content Strategy. It was my highbrow books, they had paid off. Which meant, I had to keep the covers on my trashy books.

It wasn’t until I was older that I understood what I was getting from the romance books I was reading and all the romcoms I watched. I am no longer ashamed of loving smutty romance. I love that I love it. It delights me.

There is something beautiful and comforting in the promise of a happy ending. Something that resets my nervous system. Plus, I (and millions of other people) also love the smutty parts. 💘🔥 🙂

So last week, not only did my partner and I shout to the rafters about the books we wrote, but we actually read our slutty little books.

Out loud.

To people.

Who were watching us do it.

And then they cheered us on.

Our ability to talk ourselves out of things in unparalleled. Sometimes, we even have data to prove what we shouldn’t do it. Luckily, it was our friends who talked us into it. It was a true gift to look everyone in the face and share the work we’ve been doing. I am so grateful for the people and for the push.

So I’m here to remind you that there is very likely something you should talk yourself into this week. What if you knew, deep in your heart, that the work/play/creating you are doing is not only wanted but needed in the world?

What would you do?

Do tell. ❤

xo Nova

P.S. Next week I’ll have an update on my upcoming book!

Hope to see you there!

xo

Nova