I've gone back and forth about sharing this post. In the moment, it seems fun to let ya'll in on the people that inspire me on social media. But also, I've told myself that I must slim down my "following" so that it's a manageable number once more. 'Cause you know me, I'm all about conversations and I can't really do that with each person behind the 600+ accounts I am following. Gotta save time to live, right?

I'm still working through what a proper balance of social media + real life looks like for me. And yeah, it's going to be different for everyone. So you might not mind if I share 9 more people for you to follow. Or you might not even read this post because you see the title and think, "oh no, I can't go there."

Wherever you are on the spectrum, know that you get to control how much social media affects your life, and the "should be following in 2020" part of my title is really me saying "folks you might want to follow because I think they're cool"

(photographers are indicated by * Sorry if you're surprised by that.)

Here is one of my favorite photographers to date. I immediately fell in love with her style, personality, and photography vibes. Her captions are one of my favorite things to read - I know she's going to say something good and honest. And as a native of my home state, I know I can always count on her to comment on the Northwest weather *wink, wink*

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A post shared by Heather Woolery (@coffeewithheather) on Nov 6, 2019 at 8:02am PST

Aside from how I love nearly every photo she posts, I'm also crazy impressed with the sheer amount of work she does while still maintaining creativity with each and every shoot. If you're going to browse her work at all, let me suggest you start with: 15 stories - a series she photographed highlighting mental illness. I was blown away by it.


Her bio says, "photographs you can feel". And you can. Kaley's style is dreamy, whimsical, and full of light and air. I really think she has some of the best emotion-capturing photos I've seen. idk, I just love looking through her feed.

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A post shared by kaley kocinski (@kaleyfromkansas) on May 24, 2019 at 1:05pm PDT

In looking for cinematographers to follow this year, I haven't come across many that showcase their work in a visually cohesive way. Brent does this very well. His shots are always interesting, even if I don't know the context of them. Looking forward to watching one of his films one day!


The creativity on this account blows my mind. Dom started on Instagram, posting photos of her and her two daughters in themed outfits. She called the series #AllThatIsThree. Years later, she's being featured on Instagram and producing even more creative (and wild) photos. I love seeing her pop up in my feed. It reminds me how much far creativity can be stretched within the small space that is a photograph.

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A post shared by Dom & Dom (@allthatisshe) on Mar 20, 2018 at 2:28pm PDT

Once upon a time, Keira thought she was going to be a livestock photographer. Turns out, she's not really sure what branch of photography she's most drawn to. Tori does mostly western fashion and livestock, but occasionally there's a wedding too. She's passionate about farming, all things western, and recently she just launched a Youtube channel (which I'm excited to start watching!). She has an entire highlight dedicated to before/after shots, and I really appreciate that kind of transparency in a photographer. She's the best!



Her photography is everything you could want in a photo: emotion, color, landscape. I mean, just LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS, OKAY? I aspire to this level of talent.

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A post shared by Meg Bird Mulvey (@megbirdphoto) on Sep 6, 2019 at 12:38pm PDT

Not much to say here except this is a pretty new account, and it's full of plants.
What more could you ask for?


You know her if you follow the vintage shop, Calico and Twine. I've loved following her Insta with all it's cozy aesthetic. Plus she writes about sustainable and low-impact living, which is something I want to get better at. She also creates the dreamiest video vlogs, so you might want to watch those as well.

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A post shared by kaetlyn anne (@girlincalico) on Oct 23, 2019 at 6:32am PDT

Good morning world!

August is a special month because we (finally) are celebrating the release of Abbie Emmons's debut novel - 100 Days of Sunlight. Now, I know most of you have been hyped for this since May when she announced it, but in case you have no idea who Abbie is, I hope you will get to know her a little bit today and then you'll go follow her afterward (especially if you're a writer or entrepreneur. . .you NEED her advice in your life)

I have been following Abbie since 2015 or so, and I just continue to be amazed how much she's grown in 4 years. She has a wildly successful blog + youtube channel, and now a self-published novel - which I know will be just as successful as everything else she does. One thing about Abbie you'll find, is that whatever she does, she does with excellence. What she says, she wholeheartedly believes. . .and practices. And I'm just so honored to know her and here to cheer her on to great and greater things.

Okay. I'll stop. It's Abbie's turn.


My favorite part – that’s such a hard question! I loved writing 100 Days. It was a writing experience like no other, really. I woke up every morning genuinely excited to write. And I finished the first draft in 27 days (which is still my personal record!) I loved every part of writing this book, from the research to the backstory to outlining to drafting. My least favorite part was probably the first round of edits, but that’s always my least favorite part.



I always knew there was something a bit special about this book. I felt that way before I wrote it, as I was writing it, and after I finished the first draft. It felt like a story that had been in my heart for a long time, waiting to blossom. I consider it my best work and I always knew it would be my debut novel.



I think so. They say you tend to write what you gravitate towards reading, and I know that to be true in my own life. I love reading contemporary romance with a bit of comedy, drama, and lots of friendship/family themes. Incidentally, that’s also what I love to write. I think one of the best pieces of writing advice is “write the book you want to read.”




- Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanan
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- Restart by Gordon Korman
- The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
- The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanan




A bit of both. It does feel like a dream come true – so surreal that people all over the world are reading the book! Like, what?! But of course it’s always a bit scary to put yourself out there and let people judge your creative work. I’ve been learning a lot about myself as an author and creative through this whole process. It’s been very cool, sometimes challenging, but altogether enlightening. :)


Dream big, work hard, and vividly imagine your success. To be an indie author is to be a diligent entrepreneur – make sure you’re ready for the challenge you’re signing up for. Study as much as you can about indie publishing. Listen to podcasts and watch videos, stay on the cutting edge. Learn, learn, learn. But don’t just be the student. Be the author. Put in the work and you’ll see amazing results.




This probably sounds cliché, but dealing with self-doubt. I do my very best with my writing, and in my heart I know it’s good, or at least can be good with some editing, but there’s always that little voice of self-doubt lingering in the back of my mind: what if it isn’t good enough? I think every creative faces this on some level. It’s a challenge to constantly silence that voice of self-doubt and find confidence in your art.


I think I’ve always wanted it, but it wasn’t until 3 or 4 years ago that I really knew I wanted to make writing my career. As a teenager I floundered back and forth between what I really wanted to do with my life. For a while I ran a food blog and thought I would pursue that forever – but I soon realized that my heart wasn’t truly in it. Writing is the art I keep coming back to, something that has been a part of me since I was six years old. Of course, I consider myself a multi-talented creative and I will also continue to make music, blog, travel, train karate, be an activist, and do anything else that brings me life and fulfillment. Life is an adventure and I believe we should always be exploring it!



Yes, soundtracks are THE BEST. I wouldn’t have been able to write this book (or any book!) without a good arsenal of soundtracks to set the writing mood. Here are some of the scores I had on rotation while writing 100 Days:

- Gifted by Rob Simonsen
- Hidden Figures by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch
- Stronger by Michael Brook
- The Spectacular Now by Rob Simonsen
- Brooklyn by Michael Brook
- Many Beautiful Things by Sleeping At Last

(Especially Gifted. I listened to Gifted so much there are now scenes in the book that I hear that score when I read them!)

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Definitely! There are so many different tasks to juggle as an indie author, it really demands all of your attention. . .and then some. For myself, I’ve found that it’s more important than ever to carve out time to write. I have to work and at some point say, “that’s enough for today.” so that I take that time to create and refill my cup, so to speak. There will always be something to do, and it’s so important to control your time so it doesn’t control you.



A piece of advice that I learned from Lisa Cron’s mind-blowing book, Story Genius (which I know you’re also a big fan of! *high fives*) :


THAT TOTALLY CHANGED MY LIFE.

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Before I ever started to pursue publishing, I had doubts about whether my writing was good. Like I said before, every creative struggles with this feeling: too scared to show the world (or even one other person!) your work and so you keep it under wraps, hoping that you’ll feel better about it eventually. The thing is, your feelings aren’t necessarily true. It has more to do with the way you’re looking at your art.

I think something that really helped me to overcome that fear was to write fanfiction and post it online. Just receiving positive feedback from readers helped me to come outside my comfort zone and find the confidence to share my art with others. In fact, I have fanfiction to thank for making me the writer I am today. (And, of course, my mother, who always read it and helped me make it better. Thanks, Mom!)

Thank you so much for interviewing me today, Keira! It was such fun to be able to chat all about writing with you.

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. . .

As this is a book party, feel free to scream and gush in the comments and wish Abbie all the goodness. LET'S CELEBRATE PEOPLE.

hope your week is lovely.
k.