Leanne Phillips

Writer | Book Coach | Editor

pinterest
twitter
instagram
goodreads

Home
Ink
About
Sundries
Services
Contact

Home
Ink
About
Sundries
Services
Contact

Essay: Growing an Avocado Tree from Seed
Essay: Doors
Story: The Jetty
Essay: Beheaded
Essay: Ghosts on the Page: Alice Cary’s “Hagar: A Story of To-Day” and Other Lost Books
Poem: Evening, McAbee Beach

Instagram

Kelp Journal @kelp_journal opens for submissions for its summer 2022 issue on February 1st! In the meantime, Kelp Journal's online daily, "The Wave," accepts year-round submissions of fiction, essays, book reviews, poetry, photography, and art. #callsforsubmissions #litmags #writers #callforsubmissions #fictionwriters #nonfictionwriters #writersofinstagram #bookreviewers #poets #photographers #artists

leannebythesea

•

Kelp Journal @kelp_journal opens for submissions for its summer 2022 issue on February 1st! In the meantime, Kelp Journal's online daily, "The Wave," accepts year-round submissions of fiction, essays, book reviews, poetry, photography, and art. #callsforsubmissions #litmags #writers #callforsubmissions #fictionwriters #nonfictionwriters #writersofinstagram #bookreviewers #poets #photographers #artists

2 days ago

View on Instagram |

1/9

leannebythesea

•

I love this brand new essay by my girl @lahuntlovesbooks so much. Reposted from @gxrlpod: “The mud-colored liquid stung on the way down, and I immediately regretted the swallow in the same way I regretted so many others in my life. Mouthfuls of shame, grief, unhappiness, guilt, and remorse washed over me once again. I said yes to ingesting an illegal substance and showed up to an acquaintance’s woodsy cottage in Pasadena with a floor pillow and a beach towel I found in the trunk of my car.” Beautiful new piece up today at GXRLpod.com by @lahuntlovesbooks ! #newessay #ayahuaska #selfcare #gxrl #repostwindows #repostw10

5 days ago

View on Instagram |

2/9

This is the cover of the reading journal I bought for this year. I love it. But now I may save it for next year, and I may try decorating the interior like I wrote about NOT doing in my recent blog post. Because after I bought the journal, I remembered I still have six months of school left, complete with required reading lists. I think I want to save this one for when I'm free of reading lists. Plus it will take me all of 2022 to create the inside "spreads" like @elizabethturn does in her videos.

leannebythesea

•

This is the cover of the reading journal I bought for this year. I love it. But now I may save it for next year, and I may try decorating the interior like I wrote about NOT doing in my recent blog post. Because after I bought the journal, I remembered I still have six months of school left, complete with required reading lists. I think I want to save this one for when I'm free of reading lists. Plus it will take me all of 2022 to create the inside "spreads" like @elizabethturn does in her videos.

1 week ago

View on Instagram |

3/9

Repost from @kelp_journal: Kelp Journal print and Kindle versions are now available. Check the link in our bio! #literature #kelpjournal #bookstagram #literaryjournal #litjournal

leannebythesea

•

Repost from @kelp_journal: Kelp Journal print and Kindle versions are now available. Check the link in our bio! #literature #kelpjournal #bookstagram #literaryjournal #litjournal

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

4/9

This year, I’m watching the Academy Award winners for Best Picture in order. I’ve seen many of them, but I started this once before, and it is quite amazing to watch them in order and to see films evolve. It’s also interesting to see history unfold—every film is a time capsule. I’m planning to watch one film a week, on Sunday evenings. Tonight I’m watching the very first winner (1928): the silent film Wings starring Clara Bow. P.S. I’ve missed an annual Academy Awards watch party with a few family and friends the last couple of years. Hoping we are able to gather again soon! 🎥🎞🎬

leannebythesea

•

This year, I’m watching the Academy Award winners for Best Picture in order. I’ve seen many of them, but I started this once before, and it is quite amazing to watch them in order and to see films evolve. It’s also interesting to see history unfold—every film is a time capsule. I’m planning to watch one film a week, on Sunday evenings. Tonight I’m watching the very first winner (1928): the silent film Wings starring Clara Bow. P.S. I’ve missed an annual Academy Awards watch party with a few family and friends the last couple of years. Hoping we are able to gather again soon! 🎥🎞🎬

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

5/9

It shouldn’t be a big surprise that “It’s My Life” was my graduation walk-up song when I got my MFA last month at the age of 61. @bonjovi has been a big part of the soundtrack of my life. Heck, circa 1986, @jonbonjovi and I even had the same hairstyle and shades. 😎 🎸 P.S. This little blondie, my daughter Meli, is always by my side. She was my date to graduation. 🥰 #itsmylife #bonjovi #jonbonjovi #mfa

It shouldn’t be a big surprise that “It’s My Life” was my graduation walk-up song when I got my MFA last month at the age of 61. @bonjovi has been a big part of the soundtrack of my life. Heck, circa 1986, @jonbonjovi and I even had the same hairstyle and shades. 😎 🎸 P.S. This little blondie, my daughter Meli, is always by my side. She was my date to graduation. 🥰 #itsmylife #bonjovi #jonbonjovi #mfa

leannebythesea

•

It shouldn’t be a big surprise that “It’s My Life” was my graduation walk-up song when I got my MFA last month at the age of 61. @bonjovi has been a big part of the soundtrack of my life. Heck, circa 1986, @jonbonjovi and I even had the same hairstyle and shades. 😎 🎸 P.S. This little blondie, my daughter Meli, is always by my side. She was my date to graduation. 🥰 #itsmylife #bonjovi #jonbonjovi #mfa

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

6/9

I guess we’ll HAVE to go to San Diego this summer now. 😎 This is such a thoughtful gift from my daughter. Not only … BOOKS … but it reaffirms her commitment to us taking a summer trip together. ♥️ I can’t wait to visit my hometown with my daughter and granddaughter. Taking bets on the number of books I walk out of @baybookscoronado with. Hint: It will be more than two.

leannebythesea

•

I guess we’ll HAVE to go to San Diego this summer now. 😎 This is such a thoughtful gift from my daughter. Not only … BOOKS … but it reaffirms her commitment to us taking a summer trip together. ♥️ I can’t wait to visit my hometown with my daughter and granddaughter. Taking bets on the number of books I walk out of @baybookscoronado with. Hint: It will be more than two.

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

7/9

Repost from @writer_trey • Check out my new essay on nbcnews.com for NBC News and NBC THINK. @nbcnews @nbcnewsthink @nbcout #grief #newyear #lbgtq #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #2022

Repost from @writer_trey • Check out my new essay on nbcnews.com for NBC News and NBC THINK. @nbcnews @nbcnewsthink @nbcout #grief #newyear #lbgtq #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #2022

Repost from @writer_trey • Check out my new essay on nbcnews.com for NBC News and NBC THINK. @nbcnews @nbcnewsthink @nbcout #grief #newyear #lbgtq #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #2022

Repost from @writer_trey • Check out my new essay on nbcnews.com for NBC News and NBC THINK. @nbcnews @nbcnewsthink @nbcout #grief #newyear #lbgtq #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #2022

leannebythesea

•

Repost from @writer_trey • Check out my new essay on nbcnews.com for NBC News and NBC THINK. @nbcnews @nbcnewsthink @nbcout #grief #newyear #lbgtq #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #2022

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

8/9

December 2020: My daughter-in-law gave me this book for Christmas. My family was sheltering at home and couldn’t spend the holidays together. I drove around our town Christmas morning, dropping gifts off on doorsteps and sobbing in my car—the first time I’d cried in over 5 or 6 years. That’s how bad it was. I remember thinking I’d write in this book every Saturday morning for 52 weeks, and by the time I finished, the pandemic would be over. After all, we had a new president about to be sworn in, vaccines were on the way, and we knew so much more than we did when the previous pandemic hit in March 1918. That pandemic lasted a little over 2 years before becoming less deadly and devolving into a seasonal flu. But they had no clue, right? And they didn’t have a vaccine.

But no. Despite all our technological advances, and despite all we should have learned from the 1918 pandemic, here we are. Going on 2 years. In some ways this December was better—I am triple vaccinated and was able to see my children and grandchildren. At the same time, we have a new variant spreading like wildfire, and this year, so many people I know have gotten sick. The more it spreads, the more chances for a new, deadlier variant to mutate. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling discouraged and tired. It’s January 1st and I haven’t made my list of goals for the new year—I’ve been doing that every December for 20+ years. I’ll do it sometime today, but I’m not feeling excited about it like I usually do.

So here’s what: I’m going to be grateful that my family has survived the last two years. I’m going to take a walk on the beach and be grateful for my life and my health and my job, which I’ve been able to do remotely since March 2020. I’m going to sit outside in the sunshine and make my annual list of goals. I don’t have to be excited about it—I just have to keep going. And I’ve pulled out a few colored pens—I’m going to go back through this journal every Saturday morning and add to it, in pink, purple, or green ink so I can see the difference, and by this time next year, I know we will all be celebrating a new beginning.

Happy new year. It’s going to get better. I know it.

leannebythesea

•

December 2020: My daughter-in-law gave me this book for Christmas. My family was sheltering at home and couldn’t spend the holidays together. I drove around our town Christmas morning, dropping gifts off on doorsteps and sobbing in my car—the first time I’d cried in over 5 or 6 years. That’s how bad it was. I remember thinking I’d write in this book every Saturday morning for 52 weeks, and by the time I finished, the pandemic would be over. After all, we had a new president about to be sworn in, vaccines were on the way, and we knew so much more than we did when the previous pandemic hit in March 1918. That pandemic lasted a little over 2 years before becoming less deadly and devolving into a seasonal flu. But they had no clue, right? And they didn’t have a vaccine. But no. Despite all our technological advances, and despite all we should have learned from the 1918 pandemic, here we are. Going on 2 years. In some ways this December was better—I am triple vaccinated and was able to see my children and grandchildren. At the same time, we have a new variant spreading like wildfire, and this year, so many people I know have gotten sick. The more it spreads, the more chances for a new, deadlier variant to mutate. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling discouraged and tired. It’s January 1st and I haven’t made my list of goals for the new year—I’ve been doing that every December for 20+ years. I’ll do it sometime today, but I’m not feeling excited about it like I usually do. So here’s what: I’m going to be grateful that my family has survived the last two years. I’m going to take a walk on the beach and be grateful for my life and my health and my job, which I’ve been able to do remotely since March 2020. I’m going to sit outside in the sunshine and make my annual list of goals. I don’t have to be excited about it—I just have to keep going. And I’ve pulled out a few colored pens—I’m going to go back through this journal every Saturday morning and add to it, in pink, purple, or green ink so I can see the difference, and by this time next year, I know we will all be celebrating a new beginning. Happy new year. It’s going to get better. I know it.

2 weeks ago

View on Instagram |

9/9

View on Instagram

About Leanne

Leanne Phillips is a writer based on California's Central Coast. Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Kelp Journal, Persimmon Tree, GXRL, and The Coachella Review.

Archives

Archives

Recent Posts

Essay: Growing an Avocado Tree from Seed
Essay: Doors
Story: The Jetty
“Hagar: A Story of To-Day” Featured on NeglectedBooks.com
New Piece Published at LARB: “Beheaded”

Currently Reading

Copyright © 2022 Leanne Phillips