Newsletter

Don’t forget! Book Club today! Author Q&A next Thursday.

Jul 31, 2025

Hi everyone, Just a quick note with a few exciting things on the horizon! Book Club is Today – Junkyard Girl I'm looking forward to seeing you today for our book club discussion of Junkyard Girl by Carlyn Montes De Oca. Whether you’ve finished the book, are halfway...

Book Club Next Week, Author Q&A + Anthology & Community Ideas

Jun 6, 2025

Hi everyone, Though I have hit the summer slump in writing, where I can’t seem to find the time to work on my memoir, I have sure been thinking about it a lot. Ideas are flowing, now if I can just get them to the page! I’ve also been thinking about how grateful I am...

Special Events in May and June

Apr 25, 2025

Hi everyone, I know I just emailed yesterday with an anthology update, and I hope it doesn’t feel like I’m flooding your inbox. I just wanted to make sure you’re in the loop about our upcoming meetings, especially since a few are coming up soon and one is already...

Social Media for Authors

Mar 13, 2025

Social Media for Authors Share and Support There’s been a lot of conversation lately in our group about how memoirists can (or should) use social media, so I've scheduled an event on Thursday, May 1. The intent of this session is to share what we know, brainstorm...

Your Voice Belongs in Our Anthology!

Mar 6, 2025

Your Voice Belongs in our Anthology!Our anniversary anthology is shaping up to be something really special! If you haven’t submitted yet, now’s the time—the deadline is March 31, and I’d love for everyone who wants to be included to have a spot in the book. A...

More Memoir, More Meaning, More Ways to Grow

Feb 13, 2025

Hey everyone, Winter may still have its grip on us, but the longer days and occasional bursts of sunshine make it a great time to cozy up with a good book. If you didn’t get around to reading Paula Balzer’s Writing and Selling Your Memoir, this is the perfect chance...

Call for Submissions – Five Years of Memoir Mentors

Jan 10, 2025

Looking for stories for our first anthology! The theme is “The Day that Changed Everything”

Accountability & Goal-Setting Session: Reflect, Celebrate, and Plan for 2025

Jan 5, 2025

Starting Strong: Reflections, Goals, and an Exciting New Year AheadDearest Memorists, As we close 2024 and look ahead to 2025, I’ve been thinking about my writing journey and the incredible progress I’ve seen in this community. Like many of you, I start each year...

This Newsletter is Packed with Updates!

Dec 10, 2024

Writing & Selling Your Memoir - Book ClubDearest Memorists, Happy holidays to you and yours! As usual, the end of the year is coming at me in a rush. I can't believe the new year is right around the corner. As the year winds down, I’m reminded of how far we have...

What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding – Book Club Today!

Oct 3, 2024

What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding - Book Club today!Hello Memorists! I'm running late on sending this newsletter out. It's been a hectic time for me while I prepare to move to Berlin sometime in October. I'm looking forward to seeing some of you tonight for our...

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Book Club Next Week, Author Q&A + Anthology & Community Ideas 10/02/2025

Oct 3, 2025

Hi everyone,

It’s been a minute since my last newsletter, but it’s not because nothing is happening, it’s because so much is!

I’ve taken a little break from my memoir to focus on other writing activities like posting more regularly over on Substack.

Speaking of Substack, I signed up for a class with Jane Friedman called Substance over Substack. I’m sure you know by now how much I love Jane! This class looks like a good one, and usual, it’s affordable!

Another thing that’s been keeping me busy but also on-task is the Pen Your Masterpiece Accountability Hub. I started a pilot program early this year and got some great feedback along the way to make this into something really special. I’m excited to roll it out again in January for paid Substack subscribers. (If you’d rather not use Substack, there’s also an option to join directly via Stripe.)
More about the Accountability Hub here

📚 Book Clubs & Author Q&As

We have two memoirs in our book club lineup, both paired with special Author Q&A events:

Oct 9 – Book Club: Once Our Lives: Life, Death, and Love in the Middle Kingdom
https://www.meetup.com/memoir-mentors/events/310354245

Oct 16 – Author Q&A with Qin Sun Stubis
https://www.meetup.com/memoir-mentors/events/310354319

Mar 19 – Book Club: The Dirt Beneath Our Door: My Journey to Freedom After Escaping a Polygamous Mormon Cult
https://www.meetup.com/memoir-mentors/events/311340254

Mar 29 – Author Q&A with Pamela Jones & Elizabeth Ridley
https://www.meetup.com/memoir-mentors/events/311270122

If you missed our most recent Q&A with Carlyn Montes De Oca, you can find the replay (along with other past interviews) here:
Author Interviews & Videos

🎨 Canva for Authors

Thank you to everyone who joined the Canva for Authors workshop! If you missed it and would like me to offer it again, let me know—I’m happy to run it again if there’s interest.

Anthology Update + Brightspring Books

Okay, confession time: the anthology has taken a bit of a backseat while I’ve been juggling everything else. But I haven’t forgotten it! I’ve been slowly making progress, wrapping up the book design and putting together a marketing plan so it will be ready to order in time for Christmas.

I’m also incredibly proud to announce that I’ve officially jumped through the hoops of German bureaucracy to set up my own publishing imprint: Brightspring Books. The anthology will be the first title released under the Brightspring name, and I’m hopeful this will open the door for more opportunities—for me and for the writers in this community.

Warmly,

Christina

October 9 Book Club: Once Our Lives

Once Our Lives is the true story of four generations of Chinese women and how their lives were threatened by powerful and cruel ancient traditions, historic upheavals, and a man whose fate, cursed by an ancient superstition, dramatically altered their destinies. The book takes the reader on an exotic journey filled with luxurious banquets, lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens, kidnappings by pirates, and a desperate flight from death in the desert – seen through the eyes of a man for whom the truth would spell disaster and a lonely, beautiful girl with three identities.

Awards for Once Our Lives:
MS. MAGAZINE’s choice for “Reads for the Rest of Us”
GLAMOUR UK Best New Books for June
2023 Gold Winner – Nonfiction Book Awards
2023 First Place Winner – Chanticleer International Book Awards’ (CIBAs)
Nellie Bly Awards for Journalistic Nonfiction
2023 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards
2023 PenCraft Book Awards #1 winner for literary excellence in culture/history
2023 Best Book Awards winner in cross-genre nonfiction

Find our Book Club Questions here: https://memoirmentors.com/book-club-questions/