129 ratings | 8 reviews | avg rating:4.26

Natalie Essary’s Followers (10)

Natalie’s Bookshelves

to-read (29)
currently-reading (29)
read (136)

Natalie’s Friends (167)

Brian Larson

40 books | 4,246 friends

Leslie Georgeson

780 books | 49 friends

K'Leigh Searcy

242 books | 112 friends

Josephine

5,101 books | 1,751 friends

Terri Lazzari

175 books | 10 friends

Alyce Jo

280 books | 27 friends

Andrea Menzies

555 books | 89 friends

Salt Publishing

671 books | 6,619 friends

More friends…

Natalie Essary

Goodreads Author

Born

in Fort Worth, The United States

September 12

Website

http://natalieessary.wix.com/spiderlily

Twitter

SpiderLilyPublishing

Genre

Gay and Lesbian, Fiction, Cookbooks

Influences

Armistead Maupin, Steve Martin ...more

Member Since

September 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/natalie_essary

edit data

Natalie Essary is an Austin DJ, the owner of SpiderLily Publishing, and the author of 10 books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Natalie Essary questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Natalie Essary The idea for my most recent book, StreetHearts, came from my seven-year-old son.

A couple of years ago, he started obsessing about seeing hearts in un…moreThe idea for my most recent book, StreetHearts, came from my seven-year-old son.

A couple of years ago, he started obsessing about seeing hearts in unusual places and photographing them. We shared our findings on Facebook just to have something positive to post, but before long, hearts started finding their way to us from family and friends, and our collection was huge. So for Valentine's Day 2015, I decided to surprise my son with a full-color, 8x10 picture book that not only included the photos and stories he would remember, but new ones from loved ones, as well.

I might have given my son a fantastic present, but he gives me the gift of presence every day. (less)

flag

1 like · like
Comment

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Natalie Essary For at least 20 years, I mistakenly believed that writer's block involved the torturous act of staring at a blank page, blinking cursor, humming typew…moreFor at least 20 years, I mistakenly believed that writer's block involved the torturous act of staring at a blank page, blinking cursor, humming typewriter, or some such like and having nothing to say. As if the ability to string words together had merely abandoned the author. I foolishly claimed I never suffered this calamity.

I have since come to realize, writer's block has many flavors. For me, the only time I am unable to write is when I "just don't feel like it." I know exactly where my project is headed, but the idea of sitting down and valiantly attempting to fall into "the zone" exhausts me completely before I can even open a document.

Bottom line, my flavor of writer's block is a wake up call. I simply adore cooking, and if I don't feel like it, something is up. Likewise, if I don't feel like writing or reading, something is definitely wrong. Stress, sadness, fear, depression, anxiety, guilt-- These beasts are rarely conducive to the type of uplifting writing I aspire to release into the world. But they can be. After years of struggling, I've decided that the hurtful stuff can save you and your writing if your goal is to heal.

If you take one thing from this monologue, entertain the possibility that "writer's block" can be defined differently for each individual writer, so don't give up. Since my epiphany and the acceptance of it, I have cultivated many exercises that have a high success rating. (Again, this is personal and merely suggestions.)

Read something outside your comfort zone.
Meditate.
Try Yoga.
Take a walk with a notebook and turn off your damn phone.
In fact, take a notebook everywhere you go--It is possible to finish a novel one snippet at a time, and writing a paragraph a day is better than nothing.

I know admitting that you've fallen prey to this malady carries a bit of a stigma. It shouldn't. We all have different processes that are magical and inspiring and beautiful and completely validated. You simply have to allow yourself to laugh about it as opposed to beating yourself up. Even if you can't work on your current "Baby," write something. ANYTHING. You never know when a muse is hanging around looking for something or someone to do...

Happy writing, my sweets! Try dusting off some of your favorite old classics that made you want to rip your own heart out and smash it between the pages in the first place. (less)

flag

like
Comment

See 2 answers from Natalie Essary…

Combine Editions
Natalie Essary’s books

Average rating: 4.18 · 28 ratings · 2 reviews · 7 distinct works

	Helluva Luxe really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love My Ashes: A Guide to Finding YourSELF After Divorce it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love is a Many Splintered Thing by G10 Writers, Sally Jean Genter (Contributor), Steve Boudreault (Contributor) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spooky Chicks it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	StreetHearts by Natalie Essary (Goodreads Author), Bear Carter (Contributor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Back to the Street (StreetHearts #2) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heart-Shaped Wonderland 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Natalie Essary…

12 posts
Natalie Essary's Blog

Practicing Drama Queen

Someone who has now become a good friend of the family warned my husband to avoid writers when we started dating. The word "crazy" was tossed about. Luckily, my husband had already known me for over a decade and decided not to heed the warning. However, fellow pencil jockeys, I have to ask--How much validity is there to this common opinion/misconception? Do writers have a tendency to create chaos Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag