Recent Reads #1

I’ve been reading nonstop all year. More now with a purpose than ever before. Thanks to grad school, there is a more analytical focus to my reading than ever before. Don’t get me wrong, I still read for mindless fun, but I also read to grow my gargantuan brain. And it all varies by what’s on the agenda and what I’m writing. For example, I’ve spent a good part of this year reading possible comparable titles for my own novel, so my list is very YA heavy.  And I’m usually always working my way through something nonfiction, usually on the craft of writing, which I probably won’t bore you with. 

I’m trying to get back in the habit of sharing my Recent Reads, so here it goes… 

Rating System

(And since I know how hard it is to write a book, my rating system begins at three stars; yes, you get two free stars just for finishing and publishing a book). 

⭐⭐⭐ Eh, at best. Proceed with caution.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good, especially if it’s your genre.  Admittedly, a WIDE range.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FANTASTIC. Read it. For real.

The Handmaid's Secret by Freida McFadden ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Millie has her secrets, which is why she can’t be too picky when it comes to employers, especially those who pay well. I’ll be honest. I thought Millie might have wisened up since the last time, but no. For fans of Jane Eyre and book one in the Handmaid’s series, this is a quick read. 

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (YA) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

A professor of mine introduced me to Jennifer Lynn Barnes at a St. Louis YA Book Festival, where I watched teenagers FREAK out for her work, so I had to know. And I loved it! Avery Grambs, the twists, turns, puzzles and mysteries, not to mention the entire Hawthorn clan, good, bad, indifferent, manipulative, sneaky, and as sinister as they can be. This book lived up to the hype. After finishing book one, I ordered the next two. 

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hilarious magical realism about a nanny who finds her place caring for the senator’s children. They aren’t bad kids; they just happen to catch on fire. 

I read an excerpt of this in one of my MFA classes, and swooped it up on Kindle with digital credit when it went on sale.

The Witness by Nora Roberts ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cute. Fun. A bit twisty. It’s been a while since I read Nora, and she’s still a quick read. A little sappy for my tastes in my cynical, jaded old age, but the ending was a good one, and the dog lived. 🙂 

What are you reading? What do you recommend? Have you read these? I’d love to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Until next time, find your creative, embrace your wild side, stay sane(ish), and happy reading!

Best, Aspen Hite

Setting Inspiration via the Haunted Mansion

Sunlight flittered through the trees as a warm breeze ruffled my hair, sending it in all directions. I pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head to contain my wild tresses and stepped into the shade. The temperature dropped, but it wasn’t just the loss of the sun; it was the house. Inside, my skin prickled under the air heavy with history, reeking from every corner. Bits of plaster and original crown molding hung here and there, and new boards supported the dilapidated, once-condemned building, and people milled about with smiles, like it was just another day, in just another place. But it wasn’t. 

I was standing in the very legendary and very haunted McPike Mansion…

They say to write what you know. The unspoken trick here is to keep fueling the Know Pile. This adventure started as a bit of setting research for my latest novel, and a bona fide interest in hometown history. Once I discovered that one of the most haunted homes in the nation was on the list, I sent out the group text, and, lucky me, I was able to gather a few of my favorite gals (we love hauntings), and we made a day of it. And a great day it was. All around.

There were other houses on the tour, and they were also pretty cool, with all their history and nuances, as well as their restorations, renovations, and modernizations.

Still, weeks later, it's the haunted mansion that sticks with me, not just the known history: Henry McPike, the abolitionist, lived on his 21-acre vineyard, intricately tied to the Underground Railroad, leading a life of mystery and intrigue, followed by a death and legacy shrouded in the supernatural.

But the unspoken history—the stuff only the ghosts know. The unanswered questions underneath the raw reconstruction, or the dark, dank wine cellar, or that mysterious crypt behind the house. What had that wine cellar seen? What secrets were hidden in the home? Who was buried in the mysterious crypt? All the things we don’t know on this plane and beyond.

For now, we know what is known and can speculate about the rest, but perhaps as the owners work through the long, laborious process to restore the home to its original glory, more secrets and unknown histories will be revealed.

Until then, the McPike Mansion has inspired a bevy of ideas. In fact, it might make the perfect backdrop for the Grey Mansion. What if the McPike Mansion had never fallen into ruin, but instead had been lived in by a prestigious Lycan family?

Inspiration is everywhere in everything, all around us. How will you find yours?

Thank so much for tuning in. And a special nod of gratitude to my gals for embarking on this adventure with me. 💜

Until next time, find your creative, embrace you, stay sane(ish)

Best, Aspen Hite

94th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition

Death and Theft

Entering contests has been a thing of mine for a while, and I’ve earned an honorable mention here and there, even had a story (or two) published once upon a time.  I find contests, with their deadline and confines, to be a challenge, an exercise that allows me to hone my craft.

Gotta say, it was super cool to get an email that started with Congratulations!

Read the full announcement: 

94th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition Winner List

Thanks so much for stopping by. Until next time, find your creative, embrace you, stay sane(ish).

Best, Aspen Hite

Blog Reboot 2025

 

The Barker and the Destroyer

It’s been a hot minute and then some. Crazy how life just takes hold, and before you know it, another year has passed, and you haven’t even posted a blog. Yet on we go.

Life keeps us busy, but the time has come to think about all that writing-adjacent stuff that comes with the writing (blogs, and social media, and promo, oh my!).

Admittedly, that stuff is hard for me. Hard for me to say, ‘Hey, world, look at me’, but here I am giving it a go… 

A fairly pressing question: Do people even blog anymore?

Here's a call to my Gen X reading-non-video people: Get those reading glasses and enlarge the screen. This Blog Reboot is for you (us)!

Books (writing and reading), dogs, yoga, glimmers, smiles, inspiration, haunted mansions, and all things in between, especially anything that raises the vibration. 

To kick off this reboot, I thought I’d share a few favorites of my two greatest muses. BoRegard (Bo) and Oliver (Ollie) Twist. These two knuckleheads are lunatic jerk-faces. The black one is the Barker with his deep yet sharp ear-piercing, blood-curdling barks, startling enough to make you jump out of your seat. The white one is the Destroyer. He looks sweet and innocent, but in thirteen minutes alone, he’ll shred a newspaper. Give him a few hours, and he will devour books and yoga mats, along with a bit of the couch, any dog bed, rugs, boxes, paper, plants, and crystals. Most recently, my favorite annotated writing craft book, which is beyond priceless, so he’s lucky he's cute. 

As much as they drive me nutso facto, they're as sweet and snuggly as the day is long. They would do their best to rip an intruder’s face right off. And they make me laugh. Everyday. Would I trade them for dogs with opposable thumbs who can pitch in and generate revenue? You betcha. Kidding. #lovemydogs

Looking forward to sharing more on this #blogreboot journey of mine. If there’s anything you’d like to see on here, drop me a note in the comments, and I’ll do what I can. Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Until next time, find your creative, embrace you, stay sane(ish)

Best, Aspen Hite

Thirteen Years

 

📷 credit: Tumisu

Thirteen Years 

I had to be in 8th grade, sitting on the back patio with my younger brother as he taught me to inhale a cigarette. We grew up with a smoker (in the car, the bathroom, the kitchen, and the living room). A cloud of smoke was normal, and for a LONG time, I thought of it as a sign of fun and sophistication.

Thank the heavens, perspectives change.

For many years (nineteen, to be exact), I was a die-hard smoker. I mean, it was so "relaxing" anytime. There was nothing better than a smoke after a good meal, especially if wine and adult beverages were involved. Or in the morning with coffee. Enjoying a book. After sex. In the car. On a break from work. Getting ready for a night out. All the time.

I lit up for just about any reason and was one of those young 20-somethings who would roll into the gym parking lot with a cig hanging out of my mouth and then light one up before I pulled out of the parking lot afterward. 

For many years, I justified my smoking by telling myself I’d quit when it caught up to me physically. I mean, I made it to the gym five times a week. I was 'healthy." One day, I noticed the new lines around my mouth and under my eyes. My skin was dull. And then, I had to pause at the top of the stairs. 

For the following six months, I smoked in blinding denial of the damage and havoc I was inflicting on my sweet meat suit, my temple, my body, the only home I have. Until one day, I saw things clearly and my denial fell away.

That day was Saturday, March 19, 2011.

I’d just returned home to Arizona after meeting my youngest niece for the first time. This entailed a quick (long) roundtrip cross-country road trip with a husband and two dogs, none of whom traveled well in a not-so-large vehicle. 

Upon returning to my cozy ranch outside of Phoenix, I made sure all was well, and all creatures were accounted for before I toddled out to the patio with my bottle of wine, a pack of smokes, and a stack of gossip magazines to decompress from travel. 

That Saturday night, I devoured the magazines, polished off the wine, and inhaled half the pack. 

It was the last time I smoked a cigarette. 🚭

Between sheer willpower and support (data) from an app (ironic because I hate apps), I quit smoking cold turkey thirteen years ago. 

Not a single drag since, and by far one of my favorite decisions.

***Side note: I also ditched gossip magazines unless I’m flying. Then, the mindless flipping keeps my mind at bay during take-off when I often imagine the plane spontaneously combusting at 10,000 feet – the joy of anxiety and a writer’s imagination. ✈️

Also (more) noteworthy: What happens when someone kicks the habit? The effects of the health benefits begin immediately and last the rest of your life.

According to the American Cancer Society:

Within minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your body begins to recover:

20 minutes after quitting		Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
A few days after quitting		The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
2 weeks to 3 months after quitting		Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
1 to 12 months after quitting		Coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Tiny hair-like structures (called cilia) that move mucus out of the lungs start to regain normal function, increasing their ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
1 to 2 years after quitting		Your risk of heart attack drops dramatically.
5 to 10 years after quitting		Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, and voice box (larynx) is cut in half. Your stroke risk decreases.
10 years after quitting		Your risk of lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking (after 10 to 15 years). Your risk of cancer of the bladder, esophagus, and kidney decreases.
15 years after quitting		Your risk of coronary heart disease is close to that of a non-smoker.

These are just a few of the health benefits of quitting smoking for good, but there are others, too.

Quitting smoking lowers your risk of other cancers over time as well, including cancers of the stomach, pancreas, liver, cervix, and colon and rectum, as well as acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Quitting also lowers your risk of diabetes, helps your blood vessels work better, and helps your heart and lungs.

Quitting smoking can also add as much as 10 years to your life, compared to if you continued to smoke. Quitting while you're younger can reduce your health risks more (for example, quitting before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%), but quitting at any age can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke.

Sadly, I remember puffing on and then eating those candy cigarettes when I was a kid –  a great idea to hook them young. I knew then that I would be a smoker. I also knew someday I would be a non-smoker. 

Thirteen years.

As always, thank you for stopping by. I’d love to hear your comments below. 

Until next time: Be creative. Find your wild side. Stay sane(ish). ✌️

The Soul Takes Time

 

📷credit: geralt

In the Darkness of the New Moon, I'm embracing new beginnings, letting go of endings, seeing new perspectives, and facing fears...

Behold my symmetrical gathering of words, a mini story in poem form, a menagerie of free verse and chaos with a dash of rhythm, rhyme, and repetition.

The Soul Takes Time

I am right where I need to be

To be right where I need to be.

Time after time

It could have gone differently,

That’s true, you see.

Lacking a readiness

A new purpose to the past.

Thirsty with desire

Push and shove

Zoom zoom to the top

Reach the goal

Gather the prize

Achieve it all

Take it home

Make it your own.

Over and over

Essence was lost

Nothing but an empty

Only a void

Filled with the unfulfilled

Dark and dreary

Such a heavy cost

For all that was lost.

Sing into the song of the wind

Find your sway in each day

The soul sought takes time,

And time again.

Lesson after lesson

Wisdom and strength

Grow from within

Blossom and bloom

Again after again.

I am right where I need to be

To be right where I need to be.

It's been a while since I've dabbled in poetry, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on this latest WIP.  

Thank you so much for stopping by. 

Until next time: Be creative. Find your wild side. Stay sane(ish). ✌️

Happy International Writers' Day

 

📷credit: Chen

Can I See Your ID? 

Last night, I cruised through Hit-N-Run (a drive-thru convenience store where a human comes to your car, takes your order, gathers your items from the store, and then brings them to you in your car).

The young clerk (probably 20-ish, but he looked 12) took my order.

Him: Can I see your ID?

Me: Aww…aren’t you sweet.
Him: Why’s that, ma’am (the tell-tale lingo for an old lady)?
Me (as I reach for my ID): Well, I’m gonna be 49 this year.
Him: You know, ma’am, 49 isn’t that old; it’s like middle age.
Me: I’m not sure I’m gonna make it to 100.
His face drops. Him: Oh yeah. I guess not. (Then he works really hard to recover). But you know, ma’am, you really only look about 32, maybe even 30.

He smiled at me and collected payment before he walked back inside. Grinning and giddy, but without any cash on hand, I rifled around the vehicle gathering, every last quarter I could find and gave them all to him as a tip. He thanked me profusely. And I him.

He was a sweet kid, and he's gonna need all his extra cash for a good eye doctor. 👀🤷‍♀️🤣

The End

I appreciate you stopping by. Feel free to leave your thoughts on this super-short Creative Nonfiction in the comments section. 

Until next time: Be creative. Find your wild side. Stay sane(ish). ✌️

~Aspen Hite