Hello, New Friends and Loyal Readers!
Welcome to Pink Dandelions, my new Substack author newsletter. As you can see, I’ve put my old Remarkable! News author newsletter to bed. It was time to pivot for lots of reasons, most of them tech-related, but also because I’ve been enjoying the other newsletters on the platform. I hope this works and I hope to stop here awhile.
This author newsletter is still free. I’ll never force you to pay to read it. Later, I might have additional offerings behind a paywall or give readers the opportunity to support me with a subscription, but you’ll always be able to get the monthly letter for free.
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About This Newsletter
Pink Dandelions aims to inspire with stories and ideas about purpose, creativity, the pleasures of reading and writing, and cultivating our own beautiful and meaningful lives. Synergistic topics include books, journaling as therapy & art, cooking & food, home decorating, slow fashion, localism, gardening, knitting, relationships, and conversations between friends about all of the above and more. I’ll also share news & updates about my published books and stories.
About Me
If you don’t already know me, I’m Shelley Burbank, a writer from Maine and San Diego where I live with my husband, Craig, a.k.a. Hubby. (I’ll be introducing you to several “friends” over the course of the newsletter, using noms de plume and amalgamations of characters).
I’m the author of two fun mystery novels about a female private investigator named Olivia Lively. So far the books have been published by a traditional small press. I’m also the co-writer/ghostwriter of a nonfiction memoir about end of life choices published by an academic press, and I’ve placed several short stories in national and regional magazines and a San Diego crime fiction anthology. You can learn more on my website ShelleyBurbank.com.
For 40 years, I’ve studied and practiced the craft of writing. I took college and non-credit classes, worked on a slew of manuscripts, and read more books, articles, and blogs on the craft than I can count. For journalism practice, I once created a blog about sustainability and localism and kept that up for six years. I then wrote for my community’s weekly newspaper for over a decade, focusing on human interest stories.
I also wrote on Wattpad for a time in order to benefit from the feedback of readers and to encourage others on their writing journey. While there, I started a short-lived magazine called Pink Dandelion Quarterly where I published works by a diverse group of women writers from all over the world. This newsletter is an outgrowth of that initial idea.
As for a writing/publishing philosophy, I believe in quality over quantity and that artisanship should be celebrated and embraced by everyone involved in the publishing industry.
Readers deserve our best efforts. I’ll die on that hill.
In addition to pursuing a writing career, I worked at a bunch of random jobs and dreamed of cultivating “a good life” full of books, good food and drink, arts and culture, cozy cottage rooms, serene gardens, and a close circle of friends and family. I pictured my ideal life as a fabulous mash-up of a Victoria Magazine spread and Carrie Bradshaw typing away in her NYC brownstone on Sex and the City.
Every day, I’m getting closer to living the life I’ve imagined.
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life that he has imagined, he will be met with a success unexpected in common hours.
–Henry David Thoreau
So Why Pink Dandelions?
According to one seed company’s description, pink dandelions are “Not your average backyard dandelion!”
With sunny yellow centers surrounded by a delicate, rosy fringe, pink dandelions attract and support pollinators. They help purify the air. They are even nutritious to eat, providing several vitamins and minerals.
As a symbol, dandelions represent so many qualities we need to thrive. Hope. Strength. Resilience. Healing.Transformation. Simple beauty.
We are pink dandelions. We root ourselves in our communities and reach for the sun. We send our creativity into the world like seed puffs. We believe that one day those seeds will blossom, but even if we don’t see the kind of success we dream of, we will, at the very least, have transformed ourselves in the process.
Once a month, look for the latest Pink Dandelion in your inbox. You can unsubscribe any time. No questions asked. No feelings hurt. I only wish you the best in your endeavors.
I’m so happy to have you here!
Have Questions?
Send me an email! I love to hear from readers, and I write back. Let me know what you want to read about. Share you stories and I might include them in an upcoming letter. Let’s enjoy this together.
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