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T K Hall's avatar

Congratulations on all your great work, Claudia. I couldn't agree with you more about everything being overheated, and the need to slow down where we can. I wish I lived close enough to join your tea ceremony, it sounds wonderful. Perhaps one day! I'm so glad to hear you'll be reading Shadow of the Wolf. Delighted to chat about it anytime

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Claudia Befu's avatar

Thanks TK, I‘m looking forward to reading your book. I’ve been thinking a lot about creative space in my life and especially creative headspace given the multitude of daily inputs from our modern tech lives. I think ceremony and rituals could play an important role. Not sure how other writers deal with this.

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Nathan Slake's avatar

Very nice recap on things, Claudia. Big congrats on finishing the novel. That's epic! Are you still doing any editing, or does "finished" mean completely finished? Amazing work.

Not much to report on at my end. Just finished teaching for the semester, so I am exhaling a long sigh of relief and pausing briefly before the madness of exam marking and making sure grades are all correct and signed off on before semester 2 commences.

I'm still slowly reading Bolano's 2666, which is wild and wonderful and epic and monstrous.

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Claudia Befu's avatar

Thanks, Nathan. The stories are fully edited because I publish them here on Substack. This being said, I will do a few more rounds of editing with fresh eyes before publishing the book and might even change one story—the most reworked from the whole novel and still needs one last touch. I will also add an opening chapter that will only exist in the book.

Great that you’re about to end the semester and go on a well-earned break. Any writing plans?

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Nathan Slake's avatar

Awesome.

I hope so. I've really been struggling of late. Struggling to find the time and commitment properly, which makes me sad. Was lovely to sit and write a short scene and post something, though.

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Claudia Befu's avatar

I love how you keep the creative fire alive by writing these one off shorts because you turn the impulse to create into a concrete output. This is essential for any artist.

I'm back at work and it's been a struggle to write. Taking the stories out of my head and unto page sometimes feels like pulling teeth.

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Camila Hamel's avatar

Claudia do you have a website, aside from this place?

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Claudia Befu's avatar

I don't, not yet. I might set one up after I publish my first book.

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𝐂𝐁 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧's avatar

Congratulations, Claudia! I’m looking forward to holding your book in my hands!

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Claudia Befu's avatar

Thank you so much, CB. As you’ve probably experienced this spring yourself with your debut novel, I imagine the moment where I’ll hold the book in my hands as something pretty special.

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