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Meredith Maltby Jao

@meredithjaobooks

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🦔 Author of The Hesitant Hedgehog
✍️ Book recs with a side of cozy nostalgia
⚜️ Nola
On a hiatus working on the 3rd draft of my debut novel!

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Went full ✨writer hermit✨ in Scotland for a DIY solo retreat and hit a personal milestone of 50,000 words!!!

Over the course of 2 weeks, I drank enough coffee to power a castle siege, I sampled every pastry Edinburgh had to offer (for research, obvi), and I wrote in cafés where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter (which was cool, but I do not support her or her politics, to be clear).

I made major progress on my novel, which is set in a fantastical version of medieval Scotland.

(Oh, yeah, I’m writing a novel. I’ve been keeping it a bit of a secret—sorry!—because it’s likely going to be a looooong time before it sees the light of day).

Writers: If your story is set somewhere real, visit if you can. No amount of research compares.

This trip COMPLETELY changed the way I think about writing… I feel like I matured, improved my skills, and leveled up.

50k words down, onward to legend!! ✨🖋️⚔️

#WritingRetreat #AmWriting #Scotland #SoloTravel #femalesolotraveer #Diywritingretreat #fantasybooks by @meredithjaobooks

Hey book friends! 👋 It’s been a minute, but I’m back with lots of updates to share in the coming weeks!

Lately I’ve been loving “The Books That Made Me” trend, so I had to hop in! These are the stories that shaped me at every stage of life.

What books shaped you growing up? Drop it in the comments! ⬇️ by @meredithjaobooks

Here’s the book you need this winter… The Hesitant Hedgehog, but make it trendy tropes 🦔🥐🤭

I wrote a little story in February 2022 without expecting it to turn into a full-blown BOOK!

I created the type of cozy book with talking animals and hopeful wonder that I wish I had as a kid. And I wrote it for the adults among us who occasionally want to spend the entire day at home curled up with a tea or book.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could take a day to lounge in a bed of pompoms? And shouldn’t there be more books for the cozy homebody?!

I wrote this for an era that is so over-stimulating, and can be — especially lately — disheartening and cruel.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the book so far, and to my husband-turned-illustrator @jaodesignstudio for creating such wonderful illustrations that perfectly match the text and my vision.

I hope you get a chance to check out the Hesitant Hedgehog, whether it’s requesting it at your local library or grabbing your own copy!

Hardcovers are out now! Check the link in my bio 🦔

#thehesitanthedgehog #book #booksta #bookstagram #writersofig #authorsofig #childrensbook #childrensbooks #kidlit #childrensauthor #picturebooks #newpicturebooks #newrelease #booktropes #bookreview #bookannouncement #cozybooks #bedtimestory #friendshipbook #winterbooks #booksforfall #fall2023 #wintervibes by @meredithjaobooks

I lived in Taiwan for 2 months and finished the second draft of my novel (!!!)

I’m back with a sporadic update! 🫡

Thanks to work flexibility, I headed to Taiwan at the end of last year to spend time with my in-laws. My family also joined us for 10 days, and we squeezed in a Japan trip and met friends for an extended weekend in South Korea.

Most days looked a little like this:

📚 An incredibly delicious and affordable breakfast, then off to a mountain coffee shop or the local library to work on my book 📚Exercise with the retired aunties and uncles at the track near Jao’s childhood home 📚 Dinner with family/friends where I’d mangle my way through a Mandarin conversation
📚Reading in bed before tucking in early
📚Very little distractions or noise (g bless)

Early on in the trip, I visited a local temple and received a fortune that was so dense, only Jao’s dad (who is well-versed in ancient poetry) could translate it. This is what it said: 
“Turn iron into gold - slowly.”

That became my mantra for the trip. I worked on my craft every single day. Progress was slow. But then suddenly I looked up, and I had made it through my second draft.
And while I may never be the world’s best novelist, I did show up every damn time, and I improved.

I learned that “jinbu” 进步 means “improvement”
 So this trip, I was able to jinbu my Chinese, my relationships, and my writing ✍🏼

Now let’s keep jinbu-ing and tackle draft three, y’all 😂

#authorofinstagram #writing #writingcommunity #writingjourney #sabbatical by @meredithjaobooks

Off the grid novel writing for 2 months in #Taiwan 🇹🇼🥰 #travel #authorlife #books #sabbatical by @meredithjaobooks

Happy #nanowrimo 🥹
November is national novel writing month!

Apparently the official Nanowrimo has shut down? 🤔

I’m on chapter 8 of 30 of my second draft but it’s shaping uppp!! I hope to finish by EOY 😅

One thing that has surprised me about writing a novel is how the second draft is almost a complete redo of the first draft 😳😳😳

Send positive vibes 🥲😆
#books #bookstagram #author #writingabook #writing by @meredithjaobooks

We’re out here!! Livingston Parish Book Festival 📕

Love being surrounded by other authors and readers. Hopefully the rain lets up soon 🌧️

#livingstonparish #bookfestival #author #authorofinstagram #books by @meredithjaobooks

Throwback to my first booth at the Louisiana Book Festival 📕🥹

Very grateful for this author journey and my writer and reader connections and friends. Here’s to many more chapters ahead!

Next booth will be the Livingstone Parish Book Festival in October ✨

#author #booksta #authorofinstagram #writingjourney #thehesitanthedgehog #authorbooth #bookfestival #louisianabookfestival #livingstonparish by @meredithjaobooks

Ursula Le Guin girlie ✨

I wanted to make a post completely dedicated to this amazing author, Ursula Le Guin ❤️

I enjoyed this book a lot, “The Language of the Night,” which is a non-fiction book on her craft as a writer and essays on the sci-fi world as a whole, especially the lack of female writers (or publishing under male pen names) during her rise in the 70’s and how it’s evolved since then.

I’ve been reading A Wizard of Earthsea (fiction) and it’s a great book to study the craft of fantasy/science fiction writing.

High recommend any of her books!

#ursulaleguin #scifi #fantasybooks #awizardofearthsea #bookrecs by @meredithjaobooks

I am addicted to personal finance books. For whatever reason, I can’t get enough of them and find them motivating.

I like to revisit my favorites from time to time, especially as I build a more creative career.

Without further ado, in no particular order, here are my faves!

The Simple Path to Wealth — JL Collins
The Richest Man in Babylon — George S. Clason
The Millionaire Next Door — Thomas J. Stanley
The Millionaire Fast Lane — MJ DeMarco
Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom — Sam Dogen
The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham
Die with Zero — Bill Perkins
Rich as F*ck — Amanda Frances
A Happy Pocket Full of Money — David Cameron Gikandi
Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way — Tanja Hester
The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked — Ernie J. Zelinski
The Pillars of Wealth — David M. Greene
Set for Life — Scott Trench
Quit like a Millionaire — Kristy Shen
Playing with FIRE — Scott Rieckens
Financial Freedom — Grant Sabatier

If you read these, I guarantee you will expand your wealth consciousness. Reading is the ultimate life hack, especially when it comes to money, because it lets you peek into someone else’s brain without living their life or making their mistakes.

It’s like downloading decades of experience in just a few hours.

The books are all listed on my newly minted Amazon Storefront! Check out my Money Talk shelf at the link in my bio
#personalfinance #personalfinancebooks #moneybooks #sidehustle #financialfreedomjourney #financebooks by @meredithjaobooks

The end of an era

and the beginning of a new one 🥹

When I started @letsreadwithmere, it was a call to the kiddos to join me for a story. As I grow as an author, I want my name to grow with me.

You can now find me at @meredithjaobooks. Still the same love for books, stories, and coziness but now with a name that reflects my next chapter.

Thanks for reading with me, as always 💛

#authorofinstagram #authorpreneur #writingjourney #authorjourney #bookstagram by @meredithjaobooks

What I’ve been up to + a little #whatthisweek 📚 How fun is this little design?! 
Y’all, it’s been a minute! I’ve been deep in novel-writing and summer travel mode lately. Here’s where life’s at right now, thanks for stopping by my online diary 👋🥹

✍️ Writing Working through Chapter 2 of my second draft, and the novel is finally taking shape. I’m genuinely so excited!!! I hit my goal of 500 words/day and now it’s just part of my lifestyle.  
📚 Reading A mix of nostalgic childhood books, writing craft books, and a few personal finance reads. I just shared my top 15 favs on my blog, lmk if you want that roundup here too! 
🎥 Creating I built a Redwall Discord (we’re at 100 members!). I’ve been going live on Fridays and my TikTok has blown up with fellow Redwall fans, I’ve been leaning into the nostalgia hard 🐭 
💼 Freelancing Things are brewing! Since opening my design shop with my husband, I’ve been doing more content creation, and a few branded opportunities are in the works. I’m rolling with it! Also potentially doing a freelance sprint week in Chicago that could fund my whole month 🙏 
✈️ Traveling Just got back from Chicago, heading to Cali (Sonoma Valley/San Diego/SF) for a wedding and visiting family. I’ve been a busy bee!! 
🌱 Intentions Hoping to finish my second draft by December and get it into the hands of beta readers. LET’S. GO.

Tagging some friends to let me know what they’re up to lately…👀

#bookstagram #authorlife #writingcommunity #freelancelife #redwall #writingroutine by @meredithjaobooks