Learning from Our Own Stories
Holiday Mathis on what she learned from How to Fail Epically in Hollywood
“Pretend you’re a prisoner, feel for the crack … that’s your entry point.” —Holiday Mathis, astrologer and author of How to Fail Epically in Hollywood.
Preview: Episode 80 The Return of the Wonderful Holiday Mathis
“One of my talents is being completely tenacious,” says our guest Holiday Mathis, who, after many years of being one of America’s top syndicated astrologers, recently completed a novel and audiobook, How to Fail Epically in Hollywood. Our most frequent guest on Emerging Form, Holiday shares vulnerable, practical, original insights into creative process. We talk with her about what reading her book aloud taught her about her writing style, about the importance of beta readers, how little the business side of publishing has to do with art, how she collects “textures” throughout the day for future writing projects, and about her healthy relationship with rejection letters.
Holiday Mathis writes the daily horoscope for The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and hundreds of newspapers around the world. In her decades-long syndication she's published almost nine million words on luck, the stars and the human condition. She's also a multi-platinum selling songwriter with songs recorded by Miley Cyrus, Emma Roberts and more. Holiday is the author of several books including How to Fail Epically in Hollywood.
What We’re Reading and Listening to:
Rosemerry:
For a brief read on the nature of joy that made me laugh and think and open up, here are a few paragraphs from Jack Kornfield’s book The Wise Heart.
Parker Palmer is one of my heart heroes, and in this brief essay on two kinds of heartbreak, he talks about “taking it all in” as a way to meet the world. It feels so resonant, so true.
All the rain in California had me thinking of this glorious love poem by Pablo Neruda—it’s romantic love, self-love, love of the earth and sea, and love of language all in fourteen lines.
Christie:
Patrick Radden Keefe’s award-winning book, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, had been on my list to read for a while. But it seemed like it would be one of those boring but important books that I want to have read but don’t really want to slog through. Instead, it was really hard to put down. I knew the Sackler family bore some culpability for the opioid crisis, but the depth to which they were responsible and their shocking lack of empathy or moral compass is laid bare here in a narrative that reads like a thriller. I have so much admiration for Keefe’s reporting and writing.
Kate Beaton’s graphic memoir, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, is dark and raw, but also hard to put down. The book covers the time that Beaton spent working in the oil sands of Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada working to pay off her student debt. She faces constant sexual harassment, isolation and grueling working conditions, and she documents the toll that the oil extraction takes on First Nations communities and the native ecosystem.
Starlings in Winter
for Christie
Deep in the snowy woods,
we startle at the sound
of starlings as they braid
above the branches.
How often do I miss
the song of the moment?
But today, beside you
I could not miss
the sweet shushing of skis,
the sacred huff of breath,
the lyric of our laughter
and the strong refrain of my heart
as it wheeled like a starling,
a wild and soaring thing
drawn to fly with others,
ready to sing for no reason
except the joy of singing.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Yes, friends, it finally happened, Rosemerry got away from her computer and deadlines and went skiing with Christie on Grand Mesa!
A Note About Paid Subscriptions:
First, we want to thank ALL our subscribers! We are so grateful you join us in this conversation about what it is to engage with yourself, the world and others in a creative way. And a BIG thank you to our paid subscribers. You make this podcast possible. Starting this month, only our paid subscribers will receive our bonus episodes as a thank you for their financial support.
This week, listen to a bonus sneak peak of Holiday’s novel! If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can go now to our website, EmergingForm.substack.com or by clicking the button below. Thank you!
Two Questions:
(share your answers with us here on Substack or in our FB group)
How do you capture small bits of inspiration?
What’s your relationship with rejection letters?
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