Events

The Simple Booth is simply awesome at See Jane Write Magazine Launch Party

Sponsor Spotlight: The Simple Booth

Thursday’s launch party, presented by Hamer Law Group, was amazing! More than 75 people came out to Aloft Hotel Birmingham to help us celebrate. My friends and family members and even people I’d never met before came to show their support. Some even drove in from cities like Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Jacksonville, and Guntersville.
The food was delicious, our signature drink — The Jane — was yummy, and the party was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. And none of this would have been possible without our great sponsors.
The highlight of the night, however, was The Simple Booth. The Simple Booth takes photo booth fun to a new level offering an open play area that includes you, a camera, a remote, and a bunch of your closest (or soon-to-be close) friends as you see just how crazy you can act!
The Simple Booth is run by Lynsey Weatherspoon, a very talented Birmingham-based photographer.
Below you’ll find some of my favorite Simple Booth photos from the night, but you can view all the pictures and even download and purchase prints here.
And if you’d like to book The Simple Booth for your next event, visit TheSimpleBooth.com for more information.

Lynsey Weatherspoon of The Simple Booth
See Jane Write founder, Javacia Harris Bowser

Keith Lee of Hamer Law Group, our presenting sponsor
Alan Duke of Hamer Law Group, our presenting sponsor
Christy Turnipseed and Tanya Sylvan, two See Jane Write Magazine contributors
Darlene Millender of Designed by Didi, one of our great sponsors

Read more about the See Jane Write Magazine Launch Party here. 

Join Us at Sketches & Scribes

I can’t draw to save my life.

Nonetheless, I am immensely inspired by visual art.

Though I don’t fancy myself a great fiction writer, I can look at a portrait of a woman — be it a photograph, painting or sketch — and create a character. I can look into her eyes and imagine her name and whole life story.

In April I traveled two and a half hours to the High Museum in Atlanta to see the exhibit Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics & Painting because Frida Kahlo inspires me like none other. Her self-portraits motivate me to write personal essays.

Frida once said, “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”

And Frida inspires me to be bold in my writing.

She once declared, “The only think I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.”

I don’t need a fancy art museum exhibit, however, to get inspired by visual art.

I find inspiration in offbeat art galleries too, in places like Naked Art Gallery.

Naked Art Gallery is all about making art accessible by focusing on functional art and funky wall art too.

Naked Art Gallery, located at 3831 Clairmont Ave., is one of our July sponsors and to show our appreciation we’ll be hosting a mixer at the shop on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m.

At Sketches & Scribes we’ll browse the shop, eat some snacks, and chat. Also, we’d like to challenge those who attend to go home and write something inspired by a piece of art seen at Naked Art Gallery. Then, if you’d like, submit your piece or a link to your blog post to seejanewritemag@gmail.com and your work may be featured on our new online magazine.

I hope you’ll join us. You can RSVP via Facebook here.

Sketches & Scribes will also be a See Jane Write membership drive. Find more details on SJW membership here.

Check out Christmas In July: Great Gifts for Writers for a preview of the great functional art at Naked Art Gallery.


Win a Designed By Didi statement necklace at our upcoming magazine launch party

Sponsor Spotlight: Designed by Didi



Darlene Robinson Millender has been such a great supporter of See Jane Write Birmingham and she’s showing her love for See Jane Write Magazine too.

Darlene is a writer and a crafty lady. You may know her for her blog The Birmingham Buff or perhaps seen her byline in local publications as she is a freelance journalist. But Darlene is also a jewelry designer.

Darlene’s jewelry line Designed by Didiis one of our July sponsors and Darlene will be giving away one of her statement necklaces to one lucky winner at our magazine launch party. Bring your business card to enter. Click here to RSVP for the party.

When I asked Darlene about her crafts she said:

For me, crafting jewelry is therapeutic, quite calming. Writing, on the other hand, is a more fiery pursuit.  I am passionate about both. As Maya Angelou says, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” I’m thankful that I am a creator.

See Jane Move at Inspire Fitness

Sponsor Spotlight: Inspire Fitness

Gabe Rios will make you love Spinning!

On Friday, July 19 at 5:30 p.m. we’ll be having our next See Jane Move event. We’re taking a group Spinning class at Inspire Fitness, one of our sponsors for July.

If you’ve caught cycling fever watching the Tour de France, then this class will be perfect for you.

But maybe you’ve never attended a Spinning class because you’ve found them intimidating. Or maybe you prefer dance-based aerobics classes and you think spin will be boring. Well, I’m here to let you know that neither will be the case, especially with spin instructor Gabe Rios at the helm.

Gabe Rios is one of the co-owners of Inspire Fitness and is the scheduled instructor for next Friday’s class. Sure, most spin instructors play music during their classes but Gabe kicks this up a notch with music videos. Also, for Gabe the music videos aren’t just background noise. Whether we’re simulating jumps or climbing a hill, you can bet we’ll be moving to the beat.

So here’s what you can expect if you join us for class on July 19.

You’ll walk into the studio and Gabe will greet you warmly like you’ve come by his house for coffee. But you’ll look around and start to feel a bit uneasy because the other students have fancy cycling shoes. Don’t worry. The Nike, New Balance, or Saucony sneaks you’re wearing are just fine.

Then you’ll see people adjusting the seat and handle bars of the bike, which you have no idea how to do. Don’t freak out. Gabe or someone else on the Inspire Fitness team will help you get set up. Just be sure to arrive early. Also, remember to bring a towel and water.

Class begins.

The beauty of Spinning is that it’s a workout you can really make your own. You can make it as easy or as hard as you want with a simple twist of a knob. Turn it right to increase the resistance (which is the equivalent of making the imaginary hill you’re climbing steeper) or turn to the left if you need to make your ride less challenging. You can also change the intensity of your workout with your speed. And during some parts of the ride we’ll be in a standing position on the pedals and sometimes we’ll be seated (or “in the saddle” as the Spinning nerds call it).

Depending on the type of ride Gabe has planned for the evening, you may do sprints (during which you pedal as fast as you can) and hill climbs (during which you add as much resistance as you can). Gabe also loves jumps — that’s when you move from a seated to a standing position on your bike over and over. I won’t lie to you, this move is tough. But I have to say it’s my favorite. With Gabe’s music pumping I feel like I’m dancing with my bike and so I don’t care about my breathlessness or the sweat dripping from my nose.

Gabe is open to song requests, so if you have any leave them in the comments section of the post. But honestly, Gabe has a way of making you love any song he plays because he gets so into the music. Yes, he will sing along and don’t be surprised if at some point he takes his hands off his handlebars and starts dancing. (Don’t you try this. Remember, ladies, he’s a professional.)

Also don’t be surprised if Gabe plays your favorite 90s grunge song or your favorite hip-hop track from college or that he actually knows the words to that “Bad Boys” song.

From Mark Anthony to Macklemore, Pitbull to Prince, and Janet Jackson to Justin Timberlake, Gabe’s playlist is extensive. Beyonce or Shakira may make an appearance on the screen also to give you some extra motivation as you covet their toned physiques.

When the class is over you will have burned hundreds of calories and your clothes will be drenched, but you’ll feel like you just left a party.

Join us Friday, July 19 at 5:30 p.m. for Spinning with Gabe Rios at Inspire Fitness.  Arrive around 5:15 p.m. so you can set up your bike and be sure to bring water and a towel. You do need to pre-register for the class and spaces fill up fast. To sign up, visit InspireFitnessBirmingham.com and scroll through the schedule to find the special #SeeJaneWrite class. Drop-in classes are normally $15 but Gabe is offering us $5 discount. Just use the code seejanemove when you register. 

Join me at the July Alabama Bloggers Meet-up

From Bloggers Who Brunch, hosted last month by See Jane Write Birmingham



Blogging is hard. 

I know some people might disagree. Some people might believe that blogging can’t be too difficult since everyone and their cat (literally) seems to have one these days. 

But I believe that being a good blogger is no easy task. It takes creativity, consistency, and commitment.  And I believe it also takes community. 

In her book Writing Down the Bones Natalie Goldberg writes: “Writing is a communal act…Contrary to popular belief, a writer is not a Prometheus alone on a hill full of fire.”

Writers need community. This is why I started See Jane Write Birmingham and See Jane Write Magazine. And this is why I love groups like Alabama Bloggers. 

Birmingham resident Rachel Callahan started Alabama Bloggers in May of 2009 because she wanted to connect with more bloggers in her hometown. Rachel had made connections with writers all over the world, thanks to her popular blog Grasping for Objectivity, but she wanted to get to know the bloggers in her own backyard. Rachel first launched the group as an online community then took these connections offline with monthly lunch meet-ups. 

I’ll be hosting this month’s meet-up which is set for 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Friday, July 12 at Mix Bakery, 1819 5th Avenue North. Please RSVP by July 10. If you’re a member of the Alabama Bloggers Facebook group you can click here to RSVP. If not,  you can just RSVP in the comments section of this post. 

The hashtag for this and all Alabama Bloggers luncheons is #AlaBlogMeet. 

I leave you with more wise words from Natalie Goldberg. In Writing Down the Bones she also says: 


“It’s good to know some local people who are writing and whom you can get together with for mutual support…Kill the idea of the lone, suffering artist. We suffer anyway as human beings. Don’t make it any harder on yourself.”

Hope to see you July 12.