21 Comments
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Stephanie K Hopkins's avatar

Omg. Love your voice, love your writing, love you! Sorry about the bitchy psychic— some psychics also have adult baby voices and understand the power and the pain! ❤️

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Carley Moore's avatar

I know you know! Love you Stef! I wish I could drive up today or tomorrow, but I'm broke, but maybe I'll make some money in the next few days!

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Sarah Berry's avatar

Hi Carley! I just read Fill in the Blank, which made me cry (in an amazing connecting way), I read it again, slower, then found you had a Substack, so came over here to subscribe, and am leaving this note about your essay here on what appears to be a post about your adorable cat. Can't wait to read all your substack posts. Thank you, thank you for your brilliance and humanness and self- offering. Learning a lot from your writing. Thank you.

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Carley Moore's avatar

Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for the kind words about Fill In the Blank. I hope the tears were useful and cathartic (it sounds like they were). I'm so glad the essay spoke to you. That's why I write these darn things. Yes, my substack is for some of my sillier things, although there are serious more essay like things here too. For most of my essays you can check out the news and events tab at my website:

https://www.carleymoore.com/news-and-events

I also have an essay collection called 16 Pills:

https://www.amazon.com/16-Pills-Carley-Moore/dp/1943981108

Lastly, I have an essay(among so many other great essays) in this new anthology:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/sluts-an-anthology-michelle-tea/20356857

All the best,

Carley

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Sarah Berry's avatar

Thanks, Carley-- awesome! I'll check out your essays. Congrats on the new anthology publication! By way of context-- I'm working on myfirst book, a memoir about family and caregiving and role/responsibility, which is why your double essay (the craft strand, the sibling strand) was making me cry. In a good way. I appreciate the personal risks of writing such intimate family things, and I'm grateful to you for taking the risks with us readers, and for the chance to connect. Wishing you well. Sarah

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Carley Moore's avatar

Good luck on your memoir! I want to write a whole memoir some day, but for now can only manage the individual essays. Thank you for noticing the craft and the sibling strand. I love to go meta on essays as I’m writing them! For some reason, it makes the more difficult subject matter easier for me to tackle.

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Sarah Berry's avatar

Yes, I TOTALLY get that. (Meta part). 16 Pills ordered! Can't wait! Also, my memoir is a "memoir-in-essays" - too chaotic in the happening to be able to piece together some kind of chronology, so it's theme-based chapters. I wonder if eventually, all your essays might be assembled somehow into a book, if you wanted that. Experimenting is the best part of creative writing (says a recovering academic!) Cheers, S.

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Carley Moore's avatar

Thank you for ordering 16 Pills! Essays coming together to form a book is pretty much how that book happened, so yes maybe that will happen again.

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Amy Shearn's avatar

My favorite voice! And I also love Pip even if she is mad

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Carley Moore's avatar

Me too of course Pip should always be mad. She's a cat with a difficult bratty little sister who is so cute.

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Arielle's avatar

I was just thinking about your class the other day and how much I wish I could go back to college writing classes. So fuck the people who think you should be doing something else.

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Carley Moore's avatar

Aww thank you Arielle (though I think you have a preferred nickname right?) I love teaching and will do it until I retire or die lol. Also, I love my students, even the ones who are having a tough time and not happy about it. Also also, you should take a writing class again. There are so many good ones out there. I suggest the ones at Writing Co-Lab: https://www.instagram.com/writing.colab/

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Arielle's avatar

Yes, in college I went by Ari :) Either is fine now! Wow impressive memory.

Such a good suggestion. I started a great writing practice in the fall that has helped keep me writing, but I do love a good structure. Perhaps if I have some extra income...

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Carley Moore's avatar

I hope you can do it because it's good for the heart and self care, but also even journalling and/or keeping a diary is good for the body and mind (as you well know).

Thanks for reading Ari! Miss you!

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Jeanne Cameron's avatar

Holding you and your BLANK so close ♥️

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Carley Moore's avatar

Thank you Jeanne. I just read the essay you sent me and it's so good. Will you ever publish it? I know I very much needed it this morning. Your ability to bear witness and stay in grief is something I am struggling with. My anger too obviously.

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Amy Lemmon's avatar

Also, the essay is amazing. It is helping me get back into prose writing which is quite terrifying for me. 😬😬😬

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Carley Moore's avatar

Oh I'm so glad to hear this Amy! I try to think of prose as poetry just no line breaks lol.

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Amy Lemmon's avatar

Heart this so so much. Harry! 😂❤️

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Nicole B. Wallack's avatar

Love this! Your voice—on the page and out in the sound waves—is so fabulous and distinctive.

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Carley Moore's avatar

Thank you Nicole! Love you!

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