Show Notes
It can be a tender thing to launch a creative project into the world. That’s true whether you’re an actor, a baker, a musician, a quilter, or almost any other artisan. As a writer, releasing a book often feels like that scene in early Gray’s Anatomy where Meredith stands before Derek and says, “Pick me, choose me, love me.” In short, it’s a little bit vulnerable. When I launched my first book back in 2019, Daryl took me to see Sweeney Todd at our local theater, to distract me from all of the big feelings. (A murdering, singing barber will do that!) These days, I’ve learned to notice and honor the feelings as they come and pass. There are a lot of them, in the week leading up to a book launch. And these feelings aren’t just about whether people will like the book. That’s part of it, for sure—no author wants to be panned or ignored. But they go beyond just wanting the book to hit well. They run the full gamut from excitement to terror. To paraphrase my writer-friend Ruth, the only thing scarier than no one is reading your book is people actually, you know, reading your book. But here’s the thing: being part of the literary world is one of the great joys of my life. And that joy is a wonderful balm for all of the BIG FEELINGS™ that show up on launch week. I love my writing communities. That’s you, beloved SubStack friends. It’s the writers who read early drafts of my work (thank you, Steve! thank you, Aarik!) and gave me honest feedback. It’s the writers whose books I love who have helped me grow in the craft. It’s fellow writers in the trenches being honest about what it takes to turn a beautiful phrase and keep pursuing what is beautiful and true in a world filled with AI slop and lazy shortcuts. It’s writers who are also bookstore owners (I love you, Nooks!) who foster community spaces where people can be together, heartened, seen, and read. Each time I publish a book and begin to feel all the feelings (hooray! oh no! how are my numbers doing? what have I forgotten?), I remember that you and each fellow reader and writer out there are the biggest gifts of all. I’d be honored if you’d give Weathering Change a look. Preorders matter, and this is the last week you can sneak one of those in, at Amazon or Nooks or anywhere you love buying your books. (You can also request it at your local library, which is free to you!) But above all, please know that I am so grateful that you’re with me on this journey of words, seeking to make meaning out of life. Today’s podcast is short and sweet—just 25 minutes. In it I read chapter one from Weathering Change. Many thanks to my publisher, InterVarsity Press, for giving me permission to share it with you today. If you’d prefer to read it rather than listen to it, you can find it here. Thank you for your love and support. I am so excited to share this book with you!
Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe
More from The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis
How can you track a migrating bird? For decades, the answer was with a leg band. When they were caught, birds were given little bracelets with tracking numbers. Then, if they were ever caught again, we could learn about where they’d been. This was a great system for its time, but it also had lots of problems. The odds of a single bird being captured multiple times aren’t high, for one thing. For another, even a recaptured bird could only tell us where it was when it was banded and where it was now. We had no way of tracking its in-between points. Where did it stop? Where did it spend the most time? Did we encounter it at its southernmost or northernmost arrival, or only somewhere in between? Enter Motus. This revolutionary new tracking system helps us find birds all along their journeys. It is teaching us so much about the routes birds take, their preferred stopping places, their tenacity and endurance, and more. This week on the show we have the privilege of learning from Chris Spurgeon, board member of Pasadena Audubon and of the Southern Sierra Research Station. Chris is a fount of knowledge, a wealth of wisdom, and a passionate advocate for birds. I learned so much from him, and I know you will, too. Other books mentioned in this week’s episode of the show: David Sibley’s What It’s Like To Be A Bird Scott Weidensaul’s A World On The Wing And Scott’s new book, devoted to optimistic stories about conservation and birds, Return of the Oystercatcher
Amanda Sparkman is a professor of biology at Westmont College, an author of books for children and young adults (and adults like me who love young adult literature!), and a passionate student of the natural world. Her delight in the creatures she studies is beautifully evident in our conversation. Join us for this lovely podcast as we cover the adaptability of Acorn Woodpeckers, the beauty of marrying science and literature, and the hope we find when we look to God’s good creation. Plus: why California Towhees are just so darned special. You can find Amanda’s beautiful books on her website, Amazon, or wherever books are sold. (The Wild Neighbors series is also available in Spanish, and the young adult novels are free to listen to on Spotify.) Her scientific research is available here, and really delightful, too.
I first got to know Paul Willis as a kind grandfather who occasionally attended my church. He and his wife Sharon lived up in central California, but when they were down here visiting their children and grandchildren, they’d sit right in the front pew, always with a warm, kind word for me after the service. Then I discovered over time that Paul had a list of credentials longer than my arm. As so many wise, brilliant, truly kind people do, he never led with this. He wanted to hear about me. About our church. About what I’d been reading. The loveliest people tend to make you feel like you are the most interesting thing in the room. But little by little, I learned that Paul was a professor emeritus in English at Westmont College. That he’d been a poet-in-residence through the national park system. That he’d served as the Poet Laureate for the city of Santa Barbara. And I started to pick up his books and poetry. Oh, what poetry. Paul has been formed by his time in the Cascades and the Sierras, national parks and national forests, and by a deep love and knowledge of literature. And an even deeper love for the Lord. Our conversation is a gift, and it’s one I’m so excited to share with you today. Check out more of Paul’s work at his website, and his most recent anthology of collected writings around Advent and Christmas here.
I first met Seth Wieck in person at the 2024 Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin University. We had a thirty second encounter where he held a door for me in his red raincoat (Michigan in April can be a little fickle when it comes to the weather) and we exchanged a greeting. That was it. The Festival is one of those places where the sheer volume of interesting people can be overwhelming. The halls are filled with New York Times bestselling authors, literary agents who can change your life, poets and illustrators and journalists. It can be rich and rewarding but it can also be grasping and schmoozy. I’d followed Seth on social media for a bit and loved both his read alouds—poetry delivered by memory in a Texas panhandle accent, usually while driving—and his recommendations. He’s the one who first put Chera Hammons, the fabulous poet we had on the show a few weeks back, on my radar. In those few seconds I realized, oh, Seth is exactly who he is online in person, too. One of the good ones. A person who loves language because language is fascinating and transcendent and gritty and strange. Someone who has been married for twenty years and working on his poetry for even longer. A well-read writer eager to encourage other writers, happy to share the literary joy. When I heard he had a new book (his first, I believe) coming out, I could not wait to get my hands on it. These are poems he’s been working on for over two decades. I tore through it on its release day, leaving the dishes to soak in the kitchen and I don’t regret a moment of it. My friends, Call Out Coyote is a gift. It’s a treasure. It will take you through the arid landscapes of Texas, down to each parent’s greatest fear, and up to the heights of what it means to buy into a community for decades. There are coyotes and hawks, rattlesnakes and sparrows. There is death and light and love and longing. I’m so excited to share today’s conversation with you. Check out Call Out wherever books are sold. (I’m a fan of ordering directly from Wiseblood Books, as they do fabulous work and you might stumble upon another new favorite while you’re there.)
Stéphanie Rousselle, founder of Gospel Spice Ministries, came on the show today to talk about her brand new book, Awaken Delight: Satisfying Your Soul’s Longing for God, out just a few weeks ago with InterVarsity Press. Our wide-ranging conversation covered her childhood, growing up as an atheist in France, to her conversion to Christianity as a young adult, to discovering the deep delights offered to us in Christ. Plus: a deep dive into the two French words for hope and why understanding a bit about them can help us engage with the hope God offers us. Rousselle is a passionate believer in chocolate, sleep, and the goodness of God. She’s also a little bit in love with Northern Cardinals. Listen along to find out why.