What’s up Shabby Dolls,
It’s me again.
I’m just writing to tell you about the latest episode in the Shabby Doll Radio podcast series: Escape the Internet, Reflections on the Tour.
We recorded it this week. Sebastian Castillo is your host.
As is custom, it’s available wherever you usually listen to podcasts.
& also here in the body of this email for some reason:
If you ever want to organise a reading tour, or even an individual reading, I think this could be a helpful resource. Or if you simply want to hear some friends talking about having a fun summer, it could also be for you.
Here’s an excerpt:
Sebastian: Whenever I've done a big trip like this, you know, when it's over, I feel a mixture of relief but almost immediate nostalgia, like, oh, I wish I was back in Jordan's backyard or I wish I was wherever. Are you feeling some of that right now?
Oscar: Oh yeah. It's hard to enjoy the things as they're happening, for one thing. Like, you have to remind yourself to do that. It's so easy to get, especially when you get, the sort of back to back events, you can just be like, okay, this is just my life, whatever. And then after, yeah, I definitely now sort of miss it. And also there's definitely a dopamine crash after the fact, you know, that you're just… people have been paying loads of attention to you for a month and then suddenly you go back to your normal life, like how do I go about this? How do I do a day now, you know, you’ve sort of forgotten. A lot of gear switching involved, I guess.
Kristen: Yeah, I agree with all that. I think it's just really hard to enjoy sometimes in the moment, completely. Just because you're so focused on doing a good job or like just even getting to the place, getting to the next place. We were all working during the time too. So, I mean, I definitely did enjoy it in the moment, but I think I never was able to really think about it or process it or write about it. And so now we're kind of just doing that, but while also being a little sad it's over.
Lucy: I think it's strange because before you do it, mentally, for me, I had to kind of like, gear up. You know, I had to prepare myself, thinking about, okay, so how will I adapt to traveling all the time? And being around people constantly and all of that stuff. And now it's like the reverse. How do you get out of that loop? And even just when you're doing regular, normal stuff, it feels a little bit like this is boring, you know? Just because it's not as intense. But I think I understand myself and how to manage that well enough. Maybe if I was like 23, it would feel more crazy. But now I’m a little bit older, it feels manageable.
This is the last episode we planned for the second season of Shabby Doll Radio. If you’re just joining us, here’s what you have to catch up on:
LiveJournal & the early internet diary to autofiction pipeline with Juliet Escoria, Elle Nash, Sebastian Castillo & Kristen Felicetti, hosted by me, Lucy K Shaw.
My Fucking Birthday: Older, wiser & closer to death with Mike Young, Rachelle Toarmino, Caroline Rayner & Oscar d’Artois, hosted by Sebastian Castillo.
Fiona Apple & The power of the teenage girl with Liz Bowen, Nadia de Vries, Kristen Felicetti, Lucy K Shaw, hosted by Oscar d’Artois.
Avoiding the Void through yoga, climbing, running & poetry with Ted Rees, Carrie Lorig, Oscar d’Artois & hosted by Kristen Felicetti.
I think they’re all really great conversations that would never have happened otherwise. And I really like how we invited people to speak on subjects they have experience with and opinions on, but that they might not usually get the opportunity to discuss with other writers in a public setting. Basically I guess I like the idea of treating writers as public intellectuals. And treating subjects like LiveJournal and Fiona Apple as worthy of serious discussion, because they are.
I don’t really have a sense of whether or not it’s an effective way to spread information. I know there are still people who don’t even want to listen to podcasts at all. But I find it really comforting to move around listening to people having interesting conversations. And I find it fun to think of ideas or concepts for groups of writers to discuss. So maybe I’ll figure out a way to continue this. I don’t know yet. I have another idea too. So we’ll see. But I’m really proud of how all these podcasts turned out!
And there’s also this element to it:
So anyway, if you want even more podcast content, you should listen to Oscar d’Artois on Lo Fi Lit for in depth analysis on satanism, Paradise Lost and growing up in Paris, among other topics.
Hope you enjoy all of this book-adjacent listening content!
Have a great week,
Lucy
P.S. Final call to sign up for the August Editing Club which will begin two weeks from today. If you want help figuring out how to finish your book, you should come and be part of this great group of writers. It’s just four Sundays in August and it could change everything! The course materials are going out later this week. :)
Okay bye <3