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• Podcast relaunched after a deliberate pause — not a restart, a new season • Visual refresh matters more than people admit: bolder branding = clearer identity • New podcast host = lower friction, more consistency (still learning, but sustainable beats perfect) • Episode → article workflow means content compounds instead of vanishing • Public appearances aren’t “extras” — they’re slow-burn credibility builders • Book fairs + libraries = background momentum that doesn’t rely on algorithms • Facebook ads didn’t look effective daily but showed results monthly • Lesson: aggregated dashboards lie, deposits don’t • Pixels added = better data, fewer assumptions • Ads are background infrastructure, not emotional validation • $0.99 promos aren’t desperation — they’re part of a long-term funnel • Kickstarter → launch → dip → ads = a repeatable system, not a one-off push • Kickstarter review limbo is frustrating but not fatal • Not panicking = a skill I’ve learned the hard way • Using the delay to tighten proof copies and bonus content instead • Translation work is moving without artificial deadlines • Letting projects breathe beats rushing them out half-finished • Book 4 structural edit = big-picture thinking • Rewriting Chapter 1 unlocked the whole book • Planning arcs across multiple books instead of book-by-book scrambling • Substack growth comes from showing up, not obsessing over advice threads • Daily Notes = experimentation, not performance • Writing fast after yoga reminded me why I do this in the first place • Joy isn’t separate from productivity — it fuels it • Sourdough, pottery, rewatching Wonder Woman, and routine are part of the system • Stability is creative infras#creativesustainability Read the full post: https://open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/writing-diary-6-2026?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true 
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My daughter and I like driving through Keilor, pointing out what she calls “rich people houses.” She imagines pool parties and sleepovers. I think about a childhood spent wanting stability more than abundance — and how that stays with you, even after you’ve “made it.” This essay is about class, memory, and the quiet aftermath of growing up without predictability. About moving into the middle class physically, but not always psychologically. About gratitude, imposter syndrome, and why some rooms still feel harder to enter than others. If you’ve ever felt like you’re a guest in a life you worked hard to build — this one’s for you. 🔗 Read the full essay https://open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/the-house-i-live-in-still-feels-borrowed?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  Amra's Armchair Anecdotes 21-Breaking The Cycle: Trauma, Truth, And Creative Courage With Ruth Clare Show notes I talk with Ruth Clare about trauma, nervous system science, and the courage to tell difficult truths. From the fawn response to polyvagal tools and indie publishing, we share practical ways to turn fear into action and advocate for families often left out of the story. • tracing Ruth’s path from science and acting to memoir • defining the fawn response as survival pattern • children as primary targets in domestic violence • veteran training, fight bias and family harm • government responsibility and support gaps • ACEs, hypervigilance and long-term health • body-up regulation, breath and grounding • emotions as 90-second waves and practice • using fear as fuel for creative action • writing heavy material after doing the therapy • content warnings, empathy and reader agency • traditional vs indie publishing trade-offs • owning craft, platform and advocacy About Ruth Clare Author, speaker, scientist, actor, and relentless truth-teller, Ruth Clare. Ruth is best known for her award-winning memoir Enemy, a powerful exploration of growing up with a Vietnam veteran father and the hidden legacy of intergenerational trauma. Her writing doesn’t flinch; she digs into the realities of domestic violence, the psychological fallout of war, and what happens when a child grows up in a home where fear is a constant companion. Ruth’s work sits at the intersection of lived experience and research. She blends science, storytelling, and emotional insight to help people understand how trauma shapes the nervous system — and how we can reclaim agency. Her follow-up books, including Beyond Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn and her upcoming guide Turn Fear into Courage, build on that mission, offering practical tools for anyone trying to break old patterns and move toward a more grounded life. |
AuthorAmra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. She writes memoir, young adult and romance under the pen name Mae Archer. newsletterSign up and receive free books.
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