Most of the magic always happens under trees. That’s why I always look up to a tree as if I were looking at a teacher. Last Saturday, I set up a tent under a Live Oak Tree, and among other vendors, the blessings poured into my heart. It sounds poetic, I know, but what can I do? I’m a writer. Poetry is what I do.

Today, from my heart, I will share my experience at the Olde Beaufort Farmers Market.

I was invited to join the Children’s Tent, and twenty-six children joined us to color the illustrations from my newly published coloring book.

For the first time in the last two years, I brought book-related merchandise to sell at my table. Everything at the table was handmade by me, except beautiful crochet-bookmark flowers, made by my friend Olivia Moreno. Having merchandise was, after all, a great experiment. It took two months of preparations, but it attracted a lot of people. It is safe to say that for every three people who visited my table, one bought something: either a book or a souvenir. At previous fairs, I would have candy to offer, and many passersby would pick up a candy and never look at my books. By contrast, this time people marveled at all the craft, asked questions, and smiled.

The Downfall of AI

A great friend and a former neighbor once told me: “One day people will be so tired of AI, they will crave a human voice and human-made art.” My friend is right. People are starting to feel overwhelmed by the sterility of AI-made art. Human-made stuff has a “je ne sais quoi” that makes everybody smile. I think it’s because we are more asymmetrical than we think. We are beautifully imperfect. And overall, humans are diverse and original. What we make is a mirror of our internal beauty, our spirituality, our sensitivity. AI-made stuff is EMPTY. And that, my friend, is the truth.

A Special Date with a Book

Every time I pick up a book, I feel that I just made a new friend. When I sit down to read, at the end of my busy day, I experience something hard to find: a quiet time with another world. This peaceful feeling came to me last month when I was reading “Theo of Golden.” I had both the paperback and the audiobook. Although the narrator did a beautiful job reading the book, I found that when I read the words in silence, my mind was giving each character a voice and a face. My mind was traveling in this marvelous world of Allen Levi.

“Reading is the new fashion.”

It occurred to me, talking to my dear friend Olivia, that sometimes, all it takes is something beautiful, like a crochet flower, to inspire someone to read a book. Life is too short to live without colors and beauty.

The Book by my Side

These days, I’m more immersed in this coming-of-age novel by Ella Dodson: “God is Harder on Girls.” Lily Loy is grieving her dad and trying to move on with her life—both tough things at age twenty-two. There is laughter, reflection, music, and aha! moments in this novel that I love.

Au Revoir!

Thank you again for your companionship on my journey. The author’s life is lonely. I spend a lot of time writing, creating, and plotting. I depend on silence, and honestly, I need it. We live in a noisy world. One more time, I invite you to follow my social hangouts. I do a lot to stay engaged. Today, I was at the coffee shop sketching, and one of our friends told me, “I would like to spend one minute inside of your brain.” He made me laugh. I showed him my newest sketches and painting. “Welcome in!”

Anechy Padron