Hi! Hello! You’re here! We’re here! Thank goodness. I’m so glad because it’s hot as hell and honestly one could melt out there. In all seriousness stop right now and drink some water, por favor. 

Maybe you can tell I’m energized. It’s probably the coffee. (It’s definitely the coffee.) But it’s also the fact that today I share a second interview with you about creative courage.

If you missed the first interview with Daniel Cruz you can read it here.

Today you’re going to meet Callie Meaney who is the owner and creator of From The Page. She has been making book-inspired candles and other products for over ten years and it all started with curiosity and the audacious belief that if she could see something, she could make it. 

Callie can be shy when it comes to first impressions, but once we got to talking about her shop, her expertise and belief in her product lit her up. So settle in, light a candle and let’s dive in.

CCC: Do you remember getting the idea to make your first candle?

CM: Yes! I remember seeing an arcade scented candle and it got me to wondering, what else could a candle evoke? Could it actually transport you somewhere? And since I love reading, my mind went to books. 

CCC: At that point had you ever made a candle before?

CM: No. Never.

CCC: So what made you think you could do it?

CM: I have this weird belief that anything I can see, I can do. So I went home and I watched a tutorial, honed it and then started selling candles at the local coffee shop.

CCC: I love the idea that! You’ve been running this business for 12 years. How do you deal with the pressure of having your creativity linked to your business, your income? 

CM: At this point I know what will sell. I have a lot of repeat customers. But I still have to do what I’m passionate about. I still have to make things I care about. Some of the candles I make are licensed with franchises (like the Sarah J. Maas line or Fourth Wing). But sometimes people reach out to me to make candles for books that I can tell I won’t really like. And I have to choose, do I want to do them because they will make money or should I not because it’s really not inspiring me? And I usually choose not to because it comes across if you're not passionate about something or you don’t really understand it.

CCC: I appreciate that. Often in creative endeavors we’re encouraged to say ‘yes’ and to take every opportunity. But you’re reminding me that ‘no’ is actually really powerful.

CM: Yes!

CCC: When I write, finding the words to describe the sights, smells and sounds of people and places is challenging for me. So take me through how you come up with a scent?

CM: When I read a book I notice scent descriptions. It’s just wired into my brain at this point. It’s helpful when the author includes descriptions or something in a setting, like a fireplace, that would have a smell. When I do have to just make them up, I equate certain fragrances with certain things. So if it’s a character that’s mysterious I tend to go with an amber or cedar smell. If it’s a heroine who’s learning her powers, I’m going to pick a bold scent.

CCC: Okay so I’m going to commit as an author to being better about writing in scents so your job will be easy when you make a line of candles for me. 

CM: Please. I can’t wait to sign a contract with you.

CCC: As someone who has been putting her creative project out into the world for 12 years, what does creative courage mean to you? 

Just creating in general is courageous. It’s so easy to compare yourself or to wonder if people aren’t going to like what you’re doing. So just the act of having an idea and putting it out into the world is courageous. You have to push all the other things aside and just make something because you want to make it. 

I haven’t always been courageous. I get in my head about things or it takes me forever to decide if I’ll do something. But that’s something I’m really working hard on. 

When an idea gets rooted inside of you, you have to let it out. Who cares if someone else doesn’t get it. You’ll usually find people who will.

CCC: When you started making candles no one else, or at least very few folks, were making book-inspired candles. And now there’s tons of them. What’s cool about that? What’s challenging about that?

There’s literally hundreds of companies that do this now. Even Target and Bath and Body Works. I sometimes feel some type of a way that customers might find those and never know I existed. But also it’s exciting that I had this idea and obviously it’s a good one because it caught on. 

I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. I will keep trying to make things that I would want to buy, because when bigger companies do things it takes some of the heart out. They’re just doing it because it’s a trend, but I do it because I love reading and I love making things. And that will always come across.

CCC: Okay, final question. What is your favorite candle? 

CM: If I have to pick, it’s Reading Nook.

My current life as a writer can be summed up in one word, editing.

When I draft, I just focus on getting it all down on the page. It’s broad strokes. Gaps are socially acceptable, potholes are expected and loops are left open. At least for this starry-eyed writer who is still cutting her teeth.

Editing is when I open my draft and ask questions. I tune and tweak and cut and polish until I think I’ve hit the end. Then I share it with beta readers and critique partners who ask better questions. I realize the end is nowhere in sight and start tuning and tweaking once more.

I’m working on what I hope will be the last substantial edits for my book. I have two wildly generous critique partners who are supporting me. Here are two things we are looking for:

Solid World-Building: In fantasy, authors craft entirely new places for readers to step into which need to be explained. The trick is to avoid info-dumping which is when the reader is hit with large chunks of information about the world. This lowers engagement and overwhelms the reader. When I tell the reader something new about my world, I aim to do it through the lens of the character so that we can learn about the world and the character at the same time. 

Which brings me to, Character Interiority, or the thoughts, feelings and self-talk of a character. It's a balancing act. Too much interiority will drag the pace and leak the tension, not enough will emotionally isolate the reader. 

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 6 where I’ve worked on both aspects. In this chapter, one of the main characters, Ainsley, is trying to cool off after a hot-headed moment where her impulsive actions got her friend in some bad trouble.

Chapter 6

Ainsley sat in the shadows, inches away from the glow of a waning safety light. Her feet dangled over the ledge of the roof, fingers curled around the cool, iron bars of its railing. 

She looked out over the school grounds. It was dark save for the lights in the dorm and office windows winking on and off at the whims of their occupants. Occasional calls or bouts of stifled laughs from military students on patrol were the only interruptions to the heavy quiet of the canyon.

The Bottom. An incredibly uncreative nickname for a school built at the lowest point on the island, Ainsley mused. Yet she had to admit, Mareli Helene’s School had a way of making her feel as though the sky was permanently out of reach.

Ainsley relished the relief of the night breeze, wishing it would douse the rage inside her as easily as it chased away the sweltering heat of the day. She pushed the sleeve of her shirt up over her shoulder and ran her thumb along the slightly raised scar near the top of her arm.

A reminder, she told herself, of yet another time when you couldn’t sit still and keep your mouth shut.

For the millionth time Ainsley asked herself why she couldn’t be more like her friends: disciplined like Demi, unshakable like Status, discerning like Faraq. Her emotions did not know moderation. Always an earthquake, never simply a tremor.

“How deep in the spiral of shame are you?” The new voice was familiar, but it still made Ainsley start.

She leaned forward, resting her forehead between her hands on the iron bars. A moment later, a pair of worn leather boots swung next to hers as her best friend Demi slid down beside her.

“I’d say shoulder deep at this point,” replied Ainsley, hoping her tears had dried by now.

“Good,” Demi said. “I’m early.”

End of excerpt.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this letter. It was one of my longer ones, but sometimes good conversations demand time.

Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Drink your water and dare yourself to listen to the ideas that have taken root inside of you.

Forward this to someone else you think would like it and encourage them to…

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