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Right before I began writing this newsletter, I was doing my nails. This may sound trivial, but what if I told you that it was three days before this email was supposed to go out and I still had no idea what I would write. Thursday afternoon with Sunday as my deadline (Saturday night, really), staring at a blinking cursor I'd already been staring at for the best part of two weeks, nothing but the whooshing of wind in the space between my ears, and yet I had chosen to delve into a mindless project that would delay me even longer.

“Why should I care about your nails?” You may wonder. Because, had I not sat down to go through the process of placing the little stickers on each nail, I may not have finally come upon my topic for this week or even had anything to deliver at all.

Here’s the thing about me doing my nails: It’s July 30^th. For me, this is a completely random day of the year. I have no birthdays or special events lined up, today or any time soon. And if you know me, I only ever do my nails when there’s a special occasion coming up. It’s simply too much effort, and honestly, sometimes even when a special occasion is coming up, I can’t be bothered.

But I love the way my nails look when I do them. I don’t do fancy gels because those have destroyed my nails before. But I do occasionally paint them myself and put decals on them. I feel so special and pretty and glowy when I do.

But the thing about me is that I’m practical to a fault. I lean towards a frill-less lifestyle. I love color and whimsy, but my practicality bleeds into not wanting to put the effort in. I was also conditioned into exaggerated frugality in my childhood years. Growing up with scarce resources, I was taught that you should only spend money on what was needed. And if you had any special items, taking care of them meant that you should never use them. The leather jacket. The silk dress. Your favorite M&M’s shaped mug that you got from the M&M’s store in Times Square. All items that were supposed to bring you joy eventually becoming spectators of your life.

I didn’t want to do my nails today because there was no special occasion. But I’d bought these pretty rose gold decals like a year ago and I still hadn’t used them, waiting for the perfect occasion. But suddenly I wanted to. Finally, defeated by the lack of newsletter ideas coming to me, I decided to say screw it and decided to do them anyway. No special occasion. Zero productivity. All pure, unadulterated self-indulgence.

A couple of weeks ago I was at a crafting retreat where I spent four days doing absolutely nothing but painting. I was surrounded by other crafters, most of whom were scrapbooking, some of whom were bejeweling objects, one was quilting. For 90% of my waking hours, I ate and breathed crafts. And it was glorious.

While there, I kept thinking how freeing it was, to be able to take four days of your life and submerge yourself in color and creativity. I thought about how I myself wasn’t scrapbooking because I would likely never look at them again. My scrapbooks were more likely to collect dust in a closet than serve some purpose.

And that’s when the question hit me.

Does art and creativity always need to serve some purpose?

I myself was working on a paint-by-numbers that my friend Brittani gifted-me with the objective of hanging it on my bedroom wall. And I realized that’s why I had chosen that project. Because it had a purpose. Because I would feel the most productive working on that project. There would be a reason for it to exist and my time could be usefully accounted for.

But that weekend I was surrounded by people who were probably not so different from me, who were likely to never look at those scrapbooks again once completed, and they were fine with it.

Because that weekend wasn't about the purpose of our crafts. It was about being there, immersed in creativity.

About an hour ago, when I started doing my nails, I was reminded of that moment. And I thought: Here I was, once again refusing to lose myself in some fun, completely self-indulgent task because there was no true purpose for it.

However, even though I did it purely for funsies, for the sake of spontaneity—something I never really let myself do—it was in that moment of whimsical abandonment that my brain loosened its wheels, they started turning again, and that's when a lightbulb went off above my head.

Now I have a newsletter that I feel has a message that matters. One that came from an authentic place inside of me, as opposed to a forced idea, churned out for the sake of it, and one that I think many of us can relate to.

I stopped trying. I started having fun. And my creative mind gave way.

So, the answer is no, art and creativity do not have to have a purpose. They do not need to fulfill some prerequisite. You don’t need a single reason under the sun to have fun with arts and crafts. Or to dance. Or to sing. Or to bake a cake. Or to wear makeup. To finally wear that fancy silk dress. Or to spontaneously put your running shoes on and go for a jog. You don’t need to be learning anything even. In fact, creativity becomes richer when it’s purely for play.

As humans conditioned to always be productive, it’s easy for the guilt to creep up on us when we do something just for the sake of it.

But when you’re someone who delves in creativity, or if this is how you make your daily bread, finding freedom from reason is sometimes one of the best tricks hiding right up our sleeves.

So let randomness be the guide of your heart. Even if nothing comes from it, the mental clarity you’ll gain from finally freeing your mind from the thinking chains that keep it turning will be so refreshing. So do it for the fun of it, and maybe you'll surprise yourself like I did, and find that with your creativity off-leash, it can redouble its benefits.

This month in novel-writing land...

I’ve finally finished revisions of my physical manuscript. I’ve reread my novel from start to finish, looked at what needs to change, what needs to go, and what I’m grappling to keep. This week I rewrote my new structure into cue cards, and while I still have some holes to cover up, it’s already looking more cohesive.

The best part of it all? I get to dive back into my story and rethink scenes, lines of dialogue, play with puzzle pieces as I try to make it line up congruently. I get to have another shot at this story and sit with it for a few more months. I get to dip myself back into the waters of the lives and emotions of these characters and hold them close to my heart for just a little bit longer.

I’m excited to see the novel finished, but I know that overall in my writing journey this is the part that matters, the part where my soul gets to bask in the joy of creating. I suspect that by this time next year (or sooner), this novel will be wrapped up and I’ll be looking to head into line edits and copyedits. So I’m relishing this final lap around the track while I still get to mold this universe I’m bringing to life. It already feels so bittersweet.

On my author site this month

In July, I’ve mused about what it means to give your story room to grow on its own in this blog post Give the story what it’s asking for, not what you think it needs.​

I also talk about how I approached writing spicy scenes for my novel in To write spice or not to write spice, that is the question.​

Why not romance?

I’ve breathed life back into my old bookish substack this month. It’s undergone a full rebrand, and, moving forward, it’ll be focused on romance genre books. My hopes are to make this a romance rolodex of sorts and create a space where you can read about the vibe of a book before deciding if it’s for you or not. This month I’ve completed an entry for Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard, and you can find it here.

What fed my dopamine addiction in July

This month I relished a huge order from World of Books that was sinfully economical. I went on a romance rampage and Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard was one of these books. I heard about the movie starring Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester coming out later in 2026, and my curiosity peaked. Let me just say here that it was refreshingly cute, and it just makes me so glad to know we can always count on soft, happy novels like these to exist in the world.

I also read The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston who is an author whose books never disappoint. Steady voice, reliable lighthearted magical realism vibes, and so much pure emotion pulsating with every turn of phrase. Her books are just lovely. Having read three of her novels, all of them landing in the 4.5 to 5 star mark for me, I cannot recommend her enough.

I’m now working my way through Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth, a book I'd been scouring the second-hand stores for months because the ratings and reviews are incessantly stellar. But I finally found a copy, and six chapters in, I’m absolutely loving it! This feels like if A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman was about a murder mystery told by an octogenarian woman whose narrative is dripping with sass and sarcasm. It’s funny, but all the while it’s handling heavier topics with expert finesse. I can’t wait to say more about this.

The World Cup ended and Spain won. Yay... To be completely honest, it was over for me when Norway was kicked out. It was the last team I cared about seeing win. However, that England vs France match was whiplash inducing, to say the least. And imo, Spain was the most deserving of all the finalists for the cup, so good for them. Women’s world cup next year, anyone? Imma definitely be sat.

The husband and I made it through our rewatch of The Good Place, descended into an existential crisis again after the final episode and then opted for something lighter. We rewatched Fresh Off the Boat which always causes me to wonder why this show isn’t more popular? It’s so freaking funny. I wish there was a Latinx equivalent but there isn’t. My husband says George Lopez, but while that show was fine, I disagree. Fresh Off the Boat is so good at landing cultural jokes and blending them in with ones referencing the absurdity of the 90s that we all so desperately reminisce about. And also, Jessica Huang is who I want to be when I grow up.

Also, we were finally able to catch up with the new season of The Bear, and while I'm pretty sure the general consensus is that season four was a bit of a flop, can we agree that this final season was possibly the best season??? Omg. What a way to land the jump. Every episode of season five is an absolute masterclass on storytelling. I'm going to miss this show. And Jeremy Allen White. For reasons.

As I mentioned above, I spent four days at a crafting retreat, and it was everything my soul needed after this topsy-turvy month of Mercury retrograde in my rising sign of Cancer. By the end of the weekend, I was physically exhausted (we’d get there around 9am and leave around 10 pm), but I spent all of it painting and surrounded by creativity and good vibes so my dopamine was on a total high. The mental clarity I felt when I got back home is one I haven’t experienced in a long time. The soul needs art y’all. It needs color. It needs play.

Summer is ending. Whaaaaa. I’m trying to enjoy what’s left of the sunny months and the warmth, but I’m not gonna lie, I’m excited for fall. I love summer but not like I love the drowsy quiet that fall brings. I hate that the bitter cold and the shorter days will be just around the corner then, but it’ll be more of an incentive to practice presence.

I’m excited to start rewrites as the summer begins to wind down. And I’m also fully intending to reserve weekends for arts and crafts—starting this weekend. I plan to paint all weekend. I've pushed my need for art aside long enough, and I've set my mind on finding my own painting style the way I once found my own writing voice. It'll probably take me years, but I'm determined.

I’m not kidding about the mental clarity I experienced after the crafting weekend. It was shocking how productive I was the following week. I totally recommend it. You don’t need to go away or pay anything to enjoy a couple of days of creating just for fun. Just reach for a few tools (paints, knitting, sketch books, coloring books, etc. You don't need to buy anything new, even scribbling in an old magazine would do—art is everywhere!) and allow yourself to just live in the color and the motions of creativity for the sake of it. No ulterior motives. No “I can sell this.” No “I can gift this.” No [insert reason why the craft should or must exist]. Create whatever you want, without judgement. Glue for the sake of glueing. Strike your canvas with paint like a mad person. Do it. I swear, you’ll feel liberated afterwards.

Until next time,

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Have you been looking for a cozy novel to dip into over the summer? Well, then, let me recommend my friend B.A. Franc's novel, A Daisy in Lily's Valley.

This is a novel full of heart and charm, following sweet and optimistic Emiliana as she tries to find her own space in the world outside of her mother's overbearing and critical gaze. It's a story about finding your power and learning to stand up for yourself, especially in front of those who'd like to mold you to their own will and for their own benefit.

If you're into quiet novels full of charm, set in quaint little towns, with food descriptions so vivid they'll leave your mouth watering, then you should pick up a copy of A Daisy in Lily's Valley. Get the paperback here, or if you prefer the ebook, then get that here.

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Second-hand, lightly used books at really low prices!

Buying second-hand books is not only a great way to practice sustainability, but it’s also super easy on the pockets! My home library is quite modest, but with an appetite for books bigger than my five-foot-five frame, I need to keep the books rotating or I run out of space.

So check out my PangoBooks store for some well-loved, well-preserved volumes. I have quite varied tastes, so you’re bound to find something that sparks your fancy.

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