The journey of writing the poetry in Cotton Gloves and Rusted Anchors began when I was 15 years old. Back then, my cousin/bff Jody and I would write song lyrics, inspired by our love for pop music, and several rounded teaspoons of teenage angst. It was a way for me to express complicated (or uncomplicated) feelings that I was dealing with, that I didn’t know how to say out loud.
Flash forward 24 years, and here I am sitting in the Melville Public Library amongst good friends, family, and people I’ve never met before, watching them quietly read what is essentially my diary. December 13, 2025, Newfoundland Labrador Public Libraries and the HV-GB Writers’ Group hosted my official book launch.
It was (and is) surreal to me that people have paid money to read my innermost thoughts, ponder over what they actually mean, and try to find some glimpse of themselves in it. If you wonder if I’ve ever written about you, I have. I definitely have. Whether you ended up in the book or not, that remains to be interpreted.
I consider myself a woman of letters. I like to write to and about people. That often looks like me with pen to paper, visualising myself as though I were in some type of film with the narrator being my voice. I’m writing to let you know just how I feel about you – good, bad or ugly.
With love, in spite of it all –
M.
Colour of Outdoors by Mandy Ford 