Books & Writing
Now available!
“A spirited and inspiring book for anyone struggling with creative blocks.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Structured around the four seasons, Wildly Inspired: Tap the Creative Power of Nature contains 50 nature-based activities and dozens of prompts for writers, storytellers, and other creatives. It can help you find new inspiration, push projects forward, and strengthen your creative practice—and your relationship with nature .
- Boost creativity and enliven your work.
- Solve creative challenges with tools you can use again and again.
- Build a creative practice.
- Reduce stress and have fun.
Get your copy today:
Already have the book or ebook? Find related meditations and other resources.
More reviews
“Connect your creative spirit to nature and to the changing seasons with Joni Sensel’s new book Wildly Inspired. Highly recommended!”
—Eric Maisel, Brave New Mind and 60+ books
“Any reader seeking a deeper connection with their own creative power will find this encouraging, accessible, and appealing.”
— BookLife Review
“In Wildly Inspired, Joni Sensel takes readers deep inside their creative selves to partner with the power of nature. Sensel’s clear and simple guidance leads creative seekers to unearth brand new territory holding fresh perspectives and original material. Joni Sensel’s book is invaluable to anyone aiming for excellence in their creative expression. So get the book and be Wildly Inspired yourself.”
—Tina Welling, author of Writing Wild
“I LOVE this book—wow, what a great offering to the world. It is a great workbook and DIY retreat with great value for those just starting to explore their creativity and connection to natural world and for those with long-held creative practices.”
— Heather Sullivan, executive director and co-founder, Balanced Rock
“An original and fascinating way of expanding creativity through our experiences in the natural world, complete with detailed explanations and multiple guided exercises. Highly recommended for writers seeking new avenues, via the natural world, to reach creative insight, both for personal artistic growth and for enriching specific writing projects.”
—Janet Fox, award-winning author and writing coach
“I am over the moon about Wildly Inspired! Imagine dazzling sunshine awakening your creativity from a deep winter into an unexpected spring. Joni Sensel is our worthy mentor in this fresh-and-ancient, wildly inspiring guide that lives up to its name.”
—Deb Lund, creativity coach, author, and environmental educator
My most recent novel: a YA historical fantasy
A would-be actress, a good-looking gravedigger, and a cemetery haunted by an invisible power collide with the unintended consequences of a curse.
In a weak moment, 17-year-old Gethsemane casts a dramatic curse against someone who wronged her. In 1909 Ohio, buzzing with modern machines, she never expects it to work. But when the spirit of the Wind delivers her curse and expects a high price in return, she has to escape its unwanted attention or give up the chance to ever be loved.
“Sensel’s gorgeous prose takes flight… A quietly thoughtful and romantic bildungsroman.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Order your copy now.
My memoir: A piece of my heart
“[Sensel] is a captivating writer, articulate and mystical, without the usual preachiness, which makes her work accessible to a broad audience of those seeking comfort . . . A poignant, engaging guide to healing that’s infused with valuable insights into dealing with grief.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“A tribute to Sensel’s love affair as well as a spiritual exploration, the book navigates the process of mourning in intriguing ways . . . lively and upbeat, even though it is handling the painful subject of Sensel’s grief..”
—Foreword
“Finely-paced. The emotions that teem onto the page are never allowed to blur her admirably controlled prose; nor, indeed, her sense of humour.”
—Patrick Harpur, acclaimed author of The Secret Tradition of the Soul and many others
Find more reviews and details here or order your copy now.
Essays
Grief, intuition, and spirituality are topics I tackle frequently in essays in magazines such as Spirituality & Health or published on Medium. Popular recently:
Heal Grief with Aimless Creativity (Even If You Don’t Feel Creative)
Bright Splinters of Heart: How colored glass helps me cope with grief
What Dogs Know: Sniffing out insights through intuition
Spirituality and the Imagination: Listening for insights from the gods
More Novels
Travel along on a quest, defend a tenth-century abbey, or meet a zany secret agent. My fantasies for young readers earned awards from the Junior Library Guild and Bank Street College of Education, among others. Still available online as ebooks—or contact me for a hardcover.
Picture books
Watch out for growling neighbors—and monsters! Great illustrations helped earn a Henry Bergh Honor from the ASPCA. Download a parent/teacher guide for The Garbage Monster or Bears Barge In, or watch as I read of The Garbage Monster to you!
Nonfiction books & corporate writing
The histories of paper mills, public utilities, and construction companies are more interesting than you might expect! I write routinely for Fortune 100 companies with smaller projects, as well as anniversary books.
Poetry
Nothing fancy. Writing poems has become a mindfulness practice for me, a way to get a grip on slippery feelings. And sharing such work can help us all appreciate nature, our emotions, and each other. Here are a few of my favorites:
Undaunted: A Lyric to the Lowly
Moss,
Rather low on the ladder of life,
Defies good sense and logic,
Sprouts in unlikely places.
A splash of green, it enlivens
Concrete and asphalt,
Undaunted by either
A rock or a hard place.
While I, a bit taller
But so often daunted,
Fancy myself nearer the gods.
Leavings: A Eulogy for Fall Color
Crescent, Ascendant: An Ode to Skinny Moons (Image by Free-Photos from Pixaby)
Phenomenon: A Poem of Crystalline Joy & Loss
Useful resources for writers
My top recommendation: Join an organization for the type of writing you want to do. They can help you find instruction, critique partners, and marketing advice. A few of my favorites:
- The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
- The Pacific Northwest Writers Association
- Hugo House (Seattle)
- The Author’s Guild
A few tips are handy when you’re first learning to give and receive critiques.
When it comes to everything else, from how to write dialogue to manuscript formatting, Google is your friend. Want a shortcut? Try this this creative writing glossary and links suggested by a young writer and fan named Jaymee.