Blog - Jay VanLandingham

Jay VanLandingham

Dystopian Fiction-Literary Fiction-Memoir

Relatable Characters

Under the Tuscan Sun is my absolute favorite film. SPOILER ALERT! (If you’ve not seen the film, watch it before reading this. In fact, I encourage you to listen to the soundtrack. It’s perfect.) First, the setting. Hello, Tuscany? Cortona? Can a setting be more ripe for creativity? I’ve yet to travel to these places,…

September 13, 2024
Sentient Origins: Part One

Ten years ago, an idea came to me. Ideas are a funny thing. I don’t believe they are something we create. Ideas come from a place of nothing. From nowhere, and most often when we are doing something else. Such as driving, which was what I was doing when the idea for Sentient came into…

August 14, 2024
Canada: Friendship with Nature, Connection with Friends

Days before the 4th of July, my friends and I fled to Canada for a respite. I will start this blog and finish it by saying how blessed I am for the people in my life. There were six of us on the trip, all of varying gender identities and backgrounds. We crossed the border…

July 15, 2024
A Writer with ADHD

Back at the end of March, I experienced my first bout of burnout as a result of ADHD hyper-focus. I only recently became aware of my ADHD. For three weeks I struggled to maintain my energy as I met with clients, worked on my book, and tried to simply function. Never in my life had…

June 11, 2024
You’ve Got the Power!

Inspiring Change with Your Unique Gifts “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” -Dalai Lama Hard pill to swallow, right? I know. Me, too. How are people feeling after the election? For me, it began with shock, moved into anger and rage, settled somewhere between disappointment and sadness. Today, I came upon a realization. The…

November 15, 2024
Signs, Guides & Truth-Telling

I recently finished the first round of edits on Sentient Being. I scanned the entire document and “approved” or “rejected” my editor’s changes. It took about 20 hours, not as long as I thought it would. Now on to step two: addressing the comments my editor made within the document, and fixing as I go……

October 14, 2024