May I recommend...
3 must-read writers who always seem to get it right
I often write about books, here at Jumble of Sea Glass, but today is all about my favourite reads here on Substack.
Follow Your Wild
In January, I participated in Moon+Shadow, a one-day virtual writing sanctuary with Beth Kempton and SoulCircle, an online writing community.
At the end of the retreat, Beth encourages us to share a bit of our writing from the day, and this is how I discovered Christine Dietz of Follow Your Wild.
Do you ever read something that is so pitch perfect that it stops you in your tracks?
The dreams only your soul knows,
a secret treasure map of tiny seeds
turning into the cloud forest of your longings
and you, a being made of oceans, moonlight and mountain dust,
breathing a new beginning into each emerging dawn.
~ Christine Dietz
These lines made me instantly want to read more of Christine’s work. Check out her full poem here.
But I also want to share this, which came just from looking closely at a sunflower:
I wonder if our lives are the same: many tiny moments, little glimmers of happiness and droplets of sorrow, creating a unique mandala, tracing the unlikeliness of our existence into one web of a beautiful story.
~Christine Dietz
Isn’t that gorgeous?
Thank you Christine for sharing your words with the world!
Escape to the Bookshop
Some of the best writing is made evident by your immediate reaction to what you’ve read.
Does that make sense?
Sarah Bringhurst Familia’s description of The River has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar had me immediately ordering this book.
This beautifully crafted review is not just an encouragement to read this book, it is, in itself a wonderfully compelling read. I would say this is true of all Sarah’s writing.
If you’ve not yet subscribed to Escape to the Bookshop, I’d say you are missing out.
Of words and wool
I’m a knitter. And I love natural fibres.
Josefin Waltin is a spinner of fibres, and that, I imagine is how I found her — that shared love of wool.
But that’s not what has kept me reading.
Josefin is a master of language. I am absolutely transported by her writing.
I hope you will click on the article below, and then listen to Josefin read this piece to you. It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve experienced this week.
Josefin Waltin is the author of Listen to the wool, published in November 2025.
Now it’s your turn
So I’ve shared some of my favourites with you.
I wonder who you would recommend. Let me know in the comments.
JL Orr | Paradox & Sea Glass
Based in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia in Canada
Before I go…
I want to acknowledge my new subscribers this month — some who have arrived via my other publication The Travel Paradox, and others who found me through Erin, Nomad Life’s recent profile of me. Thanks Erin!
Welcome to Jumble of Sea Glass!
Some recent subscribers who are also excellent writers:
Maybe I'm Amazed - Kate Evans | Sherry Chidwick, Storyteller | Merideth Cohrs ⛵️ | Roberta Hill, Wander After 70 | Izabela Shopova | Elena E. Raklev | Linda Jackson 🌏
You are so generous and thoughtful, JL, and I am incredibly grateful to you for including me in your recommendations. I would have never thought that anybody would save one of my poems. 💛
I don't know if I always get it right, but even if some people see themselves in my words or find a little bit more wonder, then it means everything to me. Roberta put it perfectly when she said it is "a mutual admiration club." I don't know if I ever told you this, but I used to travel a lot and had to stop for various reasons (or rather, I haven't been flying much and have started to explore locations close by). So you always transport me to different places and fill my nomad heart with joy. I am so glad you are sharing your words with the world too, they are needed.
I will check out your other recommendations, as I love reading as much as I love writing.
Thank you so much for including me! I’m going to go check out these other writers now — I love recommendations like this!