Announcements:  Group Coaching Sept 12-  $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off) Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month. I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023. I'M READING: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Erick's Reading:  Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, July-August 2023 "Bridges"   Show Notes: Mastermind groups, accountability groups, networking groups all benefit you because you have community, camaraderie, hive mind--plus the added drive to finish your projects because you have to report back to the people in your group.   Creative thinking about my (Erick's) business: The minute you know what you are doing, you've stopped growing, talking with other people keeps you curious   Next Episode: Writing Prompts for Neurodivergent People (interview)   Zachary Jeffries hails from the southeastern United Sates where his first jobs were lawn mower, pizza cook, and stable hand. His overactive imagination and love for reading led to to various routes of storytelling through improv, screenwriting, and the Chicago theatre scene. After working under a myriad of names, Jeffries now writes contemporary Young Adult fantasy brimming with tropes, humor, and action. Along with The Unseen Curse and Angel of Fate, Jeffries also publishes middle grade books under the pen name Z Jeffries. You can read books from either pseudonym by signing up at ZJeffries.com.