It’s a quiet Sunday morning, and our Boston Terrier, Nora, is in a deep sleep. Curled up on the bed, her eyes twitch, and she huffs and gives a little bark. What’s she dreaming about?
The window is open, and the brisk 50-something air creeps into our apartment. It hasn’t rained in more than a week, and I’ve been enjoying my second chilly yet sunny winter in San Francisco. I’ve been taking long walks in North Beach and Chinatown, and last week took Clay Street all the way to the Ferry Building, where I hung out and read by the water. I can’t say it enough, I love this city.
Now as 2022 is easing into 2023, I’m hoping next year won’t be as chaotic. Approaching the third-year anniversary of the Pandemic and I can’t help but feel like I’m wedged somewhere between whiplash and a gnarly hangover.
It’s not even ten in the morning but I’ve already gone to store and stocked up on groceries for the week. I’m sit with my cup of cold green tea wondering if I should take a stab at writing 1,600 words of my new novel today (about 2/3rds done) or if I should try to scribble out a poem or two. But honestly, I want to read.
I’ve been reading constantly for the past few weeks, blasting through a few 300-something-page novels, and catching up on the most recent issues of Poetry Magazine. My reading goal for 2022 was to read 25 books, I’m behind, but it’s not as bad as I would’ve thought (18 books read). It’s an itch I need to scratch, and I know I could spend the next few hours getting lost in a book or two. What am I reading?
What are my plans for the holidays? Staying home, writing, and reading more books. I’ve settled into a nice rhythm with reading, and I feel like I could quickly begin reading as much as I did in college (4-5 books a month).
This slow winter month feels like a gestation period. I’m thinking of new ideas and trying to wrap up chapters of my NaNoWriMo22 novel (no, I didn’t finish it by November 30th, and that’s alright). There’s been a lot of progress and I feel like I’m levelheaded enough to take on a big project or even start an online course on top of everything else I’m doing.
Recent obsessions? Cooking. I’ve been watching a few shows and would love to take a class, really learn how to properly chop up vegetables would be helpful.
Nongshim Shin Ramyum cooked with baby bok choy and a handful of sliced white mushrooms and topped with an over-easy egg.
What am I drinking? Wassail and gin.
While I’m not reading, working, or deep in a writing jaunt, I’m listening to music a few hours a day.
What am I listening to this week? Here’s a link to my SF Dec(ember) 2022 playlist. Some old and some new stuff but really it’s a certain atmosphere that I’m going for when I’m putting together a monthly playlist.
Are you writing or reading anything fun? I want to know. Leave a comment below!
Thank you for reading, and I wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
It’s my second summer in San Francisco. The cable car bell dings in a rhythmic pulse, and I hear it grinding as it treks up Powell Street and toward Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s hotter today than the usual sixty-four degrees.
I sit on a rooftop patio and type away on my relic, the AlphaSmart 3000. Three AAA batteries power this twenty-ish-year-old typewriter with a small screen that fits only four lines.
Clack clack clack, “A dream pulls away and shimmers across sunshine, fluttering off into the wind and forgotten forever.”
Another fragment of an abstract poem. Another piece of rubbish. Backspace. No, it’s not that bad for a poem written during a summer in San Francisco.
It’s my second summer in San Francisco. My nights are a mix of wandering around downtown at night, visiting the Ferry Building on the weekends for lunch at Gott’s, and aimlessly writing at as many cafes as possible in North Beach, all between the hours when I’m not working or freelancing or entertaining family who come to visit.
Feel free to check out more of my posts about San Francisco?
The middle of days is the hardest to get through when the sun’s high in the sky and I can’t make out a trace of fog near Sutro Tower.
“A body hollowed out. The soul travels across lands and floats, as a spectator, over a sleeping man nestled in a grimy corner of a closed shop.”
A post from my Instagram featuring a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Reflecting on San Francisco in the Summer
A pale blue sky creates a contrasting backdrop for the various buildings packed tightly together. The monstrously tall art deco building on Sutter Street houses offices for doctors, dentists, and medical practitioners. Famous hotels (I don’t think I need to name them here) surround Union Square. And an assortment of apartment buildings with their architecture spanning over the last hundred years.
A mosaic of decades, lives, and worlds, neatly woven together in a tapestry that makes this summer day in San Francisco. I revel in the textures, the colors that span from beiges to bloody-copper reds, the light teals, and the sweet warmth of pale pink.
Writing About the City and Creative Non-Fiction
Maybe I’m romanticizing San Francisco a bit this summer. The city, its glamor, and all the history. Perhaps it’s just the ruminations of a snobby solitary writer who’s got nothing better to do than write pure gibberish and call it…writing?
I don’t know. I really don’t. I’m ready to give up tackling creative non-fiction, making parts and pieces of my life a form of reader entertainment. Isn’t it what you’re looking for? A peek inside someone else’s brain, mind, life?
A Southwest Airlines plane streaks overhead. It’s going west, or maybe it’ll make a large circle out of view and head north, south, or even east?
Car horns honk and blare. It’s getting busy down there.
A crow caws and swoops past.
This summer in San Francisco feels different; I’m more comfortable in the city. And my partner and I have our habits; the places we like to go to, the stores, shops, and routines. It felt like home from day one, but now I think we’ve really settled in.
I’ll enjoy this summer, write, read the stack of books piled by the bed, scribble out some poems, maybe a short story, and edit my novel. It’ll be a writer’s summer.
I’m a professional writer who loves helping people with their writing needs. Below are a couple of services I offer, take a peek to find out more and read my clients 5/5 Star reviews.
Do you have a writing project you’d love my help with that doesn’t fit any of the services you see here? Contact me with your questions.
Since May 2020, I’ve helped authors by reading and reviewing drafts of their novels, novellas, short stories, and poetry. For my Alpha Read, I specifically provide in-depth feedback in a Reader Report with a Word doc copy of their piece with Track Changes that shows my highlights, comments, and notes making it top-tier service in the field.
A Reader Who Cares: Dedicated to Becoming Your Favorite
My Alpha and Beta reading services digs deeper than the average reader. In addition to my experience in the publishing industry, I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in Writing Rhetoric Studies from The University of Utah. My insight can be eye-opening and invaluable to writers working toward publication.
I’ll Be Your Favorite Professional Writer and Mentor: Superb Alpha and Beta Reading
A little bit about your Professional Writer and Mentor…
As a Literary Intern for DLG Publishing Partners, I was a Developmental Editor in-training and reviewed hundreds of submissions. I love to alpha and beta read Fiction, Novellas, Short Fiction, and Poetry. My favorite genres include Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller, Supernatural, and Romance. When it comes to Poetry, I enjoy literary, contemporary, and pieces that seek to push the boundaries of the form.
Feedback and answers to questions from the perspective of a general reader delivered to you in a Word Doc
Note: When ordering an alpha or beta read, please include any questions or concerns you may have.
All of these documents will be delivered to you in a compressed zip folder.
What I don’t offer:
Formatting your MS
Editing
Proofreading
Rewriting
My goal is to help you succeed by providing you with invaluable insight you can use to fine-tune your writing as you prep for publication.
Pricing That’s Flexible For Your Budget and Needs
I’m open to finding a price and delivery due date that works for both of us. Reach out if you’d like to chat about what you’re looking for in an alpha or beta read, I’m here to help.
Delivery time typically depends on the total word count of your piece and can range from 2 to 7+ business days.
Note: If you’d like an alpha or beta read for writing under 10k or over 100k words, please message me via Fiverr.
Client Reviews of My Alpha and Beta Reads as a Professional Writer and Mentor
“I am astounded at the quality of the work, the depth of the insights, and the accuracy of the comments. That the entire process of beta reading my novel of 120k words took less than the estimated three days is beyond my ability to comprehend. Alina’s communications throughout the process were concise and businesslike. In short, I will return to her with more work in the future. I will likewise recommend her to friends and colleagues.”
-yusufdel
“Alina provided honest, detailed and structured feedback. I am positive that her recommendations will enable me to progress with my work. Thank you”
-justy_here
“I was very impressed with how much effort Alina put into the delivery. She was great to work with and all her feedback was valuable to me. I look forward to next time.”
–windupdurb
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–molluscus13
FAQs About My Alpha and Beta Reader Services
I have a collection of short stories that I need read. Can you help me?
Yes. When inquiring about a Beta Read, provide the total word count for ALL PIECES. If you have multiple pieces, please put them in one document .doc .docx .pdf or Google Doc.
Can you read and review my poems?
Yes. Please put all your poems in one document .doc .docx .pdf or Google Doc, and let me know the total word count.
Can I give you multiple pieces to read at the same time?
Yes, my limit is two at a time.
What does your Reader Report look like?
My Reader Report can be anywhere from 1 to 10 pages, depending on what I’m reading (short story, novella, novel). It is organized for easy readability. Also included are my “Extra Notes,” with key observations about your text drawing from my publishing industry experience.
My cup of chamomile tea is cold. I glance out the window down at Saint Mary’s Square. I’m on the seventh floor of a nearby building in a community space typing away on my not-a-Mac laptop. It’s Saturday and the sun is out and blazing. The sun mixes the humidity in the air with aromas of the city streets: trash, piss, smoke (both cigarette and joint). I’ve been living in San Francisco for months now and I’ve let the city consume me, so now it’s time for a writer’s reflection.
When it’s hot like this I want to stay inside and sit near a large window. I want to observe people moving around like insects below, so I’m doing exactly that. Meanwhile, the tourists come in waves. They’re like migrating herds of mammals as they parade around downtown. Clogging up the street I live on, packs of touring families block sidewalks and gape up at the buildings. It’s getting harder not to run into them when they keep shifting like seagulls on a beach.
Do you like poetry? Feel free to browse a few of my poems HERE.
Where the Writer Resides: An Apartment in the City
My fault for choosing an apartment downtown. But I’m learning to deal with it because the tradeoff for being close to everything is worth it. I still haven’t lost my “rose-colored glasses” about living in San Francisco and in this writer’s reflection you can expect me to babble endlessly about how much I appreciate living here. Compared to Salt Lake City, I still consider this place a paradise with it’s own pros, cons, and complexities. Over a year after moving here, I’m grateful I made the jump. Waking up and realizing I’m in a city I actually want to live in adds to my happiness and I need every bit I can squeeze out.
I see the trees down in Saint Mary’s Square swaying in the wind. There’s a couple sitting on a bench. A family of three hunched over a red bag on another bench about fifty feet to the south. An empty stroller sits near a banana-yellow slide on the playground. I can’t spot a kid but I assume they’re there somewhere.
Radiohead: The Music Reminds Me of Living in San Francisco
I’m doing my best here. I tried listening to new music today but something about the way the sun hit made me return to Radiohead. Maybe it’s how it feels living in San Francisco that reminded me of Radiohead? Now, I’m listening to Pulk/Pull (True Love Waits Version). Remembering times over a decade ago when I sat on wet grass in Oregon.
A Writer’s Reflection Turns Into Time Travel
Memories brim to the surface and erupt. I’d sit outside for hours listening to hundreds of tracks on a brick of an iPod. Reveling the sounds as dense flog crept into the trees. Meanwhile, rain drops splattered on leaves. The wet chill that wormed under my jacket, my clothes, and into my bones. As the bugs and creatures scuttled in the greenery. The ivy choking trunks of pines, and birdsongs that echoed off the mist.
Look at me go, the words almost turn into gibberish, what a cliché writer’s reflection.
But I’m not trying to dwell on the past. I’m forcing myself to look toward the future and stay optimistic about everything. Although I have one eye on the news about Ukraine and the other scanning updates on laws passing in Red states. Despite the people’s concern about inflation, about gas prices, about this about that. I feel that t’s all compounding into a nonreality that I’m struggle to comprehend. However, this started over two years ago with the pandemic. I had no idea how to process it because I’d never experienced anything like it before.
Interested by my ramblings? You can skim more of my writer’s reflection about Life During COVID-19
A Writer’s Concerns About Everything Out of Her Control and Living in San Francisco
Now I’m concerned I’ll have to live through another coronavirus in my lifetime. I worry that hundreds of thousands more will die in and ignorance will yet again spur hatred and death. But this is all out of my control. Firstly, what am I doing to stay grounded? To not spin off into a spiral of worry over the possibility of a World War III? In this case, I’m writing, writing bilge, free writing the shit out of my mind in hopes of feeling an ounce of release. But at the end of the day, at least I’m living in San Francisco.
Where’s the Alina from Years Ago? What’s that Little Satanic-Obsessed Writer up to?
It’d be easier if I didn’t give a damn. Where did jaded Alina of ten years ago go? I must’ve misplaced her. Is she still nestled in the dog-eared pages of Anton LaVey books? Is she hiding behind my bookcase still crammed with texts on witchcraft and folklore? Where the hell did she go? I’d like to run into her today, although I doubt she’d be living in San Francisco then if she had the chance. A change to hear what she has to say, but she’s somewhere else now probably scribbling a writer’s reflection of my future self that’s been lost. In this situation, she could be rummaging in the back of my mind for a creepy storyline to whisper to me between sleep and dreaming.
Photo of the author Alina Happy Hansen taken in May 2020 by Dallas Basta
How many selves do we shed? Do carry with us? How many blend and morph into who we are now? The things we loved then, are some of those passions with us now? What’s “growing up” in a world full of adult-children? I don’t think a lot of people actually know who they are. I don’t think the majority of people have goals, or values, or have their shit together, this isn’t breaking news.
Alice Tumbles Down the Rabbit Hole: A Writer Spins Out in Observations
Based on my observations, no one knows what they’re doing. If they say they do they’re trying to convince themselves that they have control. There’s very little in our lives that we can actually manipulate to our advantage. I’m not gonna give the lemons into lemonade cliché, that’s bullshit. What I’m obsessed with right now is acknowledging when I don’t have control over something. I have to let go and focus on the small pieces that I can work with. Consciously working toward controlling the way I think and react is helping me deal with it all, and living in San Francisco has been an invaluable setting that allows me to appreciate where I am and how far I’ve come already. If you’re in a similar spot, try it out and tell me what you think.
I’m touring Radiohead’s Kid A Mnesia album as I write this, I’m on Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors. What are you listening to? Reading? Thinking about? Are you writing your guts out like me to cope with the world around you? Leave a comment below, connect with me, and let’s chat.
The last two months have been wild. I have been caught up in moving to San Francisco and exploring the city. Going from a slightly greener and very dry Salt Lake City to humid city life by the sea has been an enormous change. But I love every minute of it.
Living in the city has its pros and cons. I love the convenience of being downtown; we’re close to everything important. It’s easy to run errands, pick up groceries, find new shops, and take in amazing views of the city at every step. A con: it’s necessary to watch where you step and keep an eye out in some neighborhoods, but this comes with living in every big city.
A short walk, and I can see the Transamerica Pyramid and the Bay Bridge. I can wander north into Chinatown and then even further to Fisherman’s Wharf. The gradual visible changes between neighborhoods create a beautiful blend of living that melds together. The neighborhood’s various styles and layouts differ so drastically; it’s like walking through different cities sometimes. But I find it comforting and refreshing; there’s more life here, more choices, more.
(Transamerica Pyramid photo by Alina Happy Hansen 2021)
Walking downtown among the skyscrapers, I’ve managed to get lost a couple of times. It’s easy to get caught up in the beautiful architecture, the modern mixed in among the old Victorians. The sheer height of these buildings and the contrast in designs among them are captivating.
(the Bay Bridge photo by Alina Happy Hansen 2021)
I love how dense the city is, with almost more than 4x the population as SLC jammed into approximately 49 square miles, every inch of space is utilized. Instead of being spread out for miles like SLC, it’s meticulously stacked and organized to fit as many people in as possible. I love hearing so many different languages being spoken when I walk around. I love being a part of this multi-cultural microcosm. It’s like living in a kaleidoscope, mesmerizing and beautiful at the same time.
(Coit Tower and the Bay Bridge photo by Alina Happy Hansen 2021)
I’m still settling in, getting familiar with the city’s layout, and trying to memorize the patterns. I’ve managed to compile a list of places I already go regularly and an even more extensive list of places I want to visit.
While I’m exploring and learning about life in SF, I’ve been getting back into my daily writing routine (writing 2k words a day), writing poems here and there, and of course, I’ll be pulling out my novel that I’ve been working on for years now. I have a few ideas for a handful of short stories I’m still contemplating about, but I can feel I’m about to go into an extensive streak of writing in every spare moment I have.
The Pandemic & More
While I’ve been going through this enormous change, it’s been a balancing act between staying positive and aware of the Delta Variant. I feel safer living in SF compared to SLC, the response here to COVID-19 and now Delta is proactive. They take it seriously here.
I wear a mask when I go out because I don’t want to get sick. Even though I’m fully vaccinated and if I get COVID-19, there is a better chance that my symptoms will be less severe and an even lower chance I’d have to go to the hospital; I’m not interested in taking the risk.
The long-term effects of COVID on people’s health are concerning, and the risk of spreading COVID to an unvaccinated person who has a higher chance of dying is reason enough to keep my distance.
I appreciate that SF has reinstated a mask mandate that applies to everyone regardless of their vaccination status. I’m just waiting to see what happens in the fall. With the number of cases in the U.S. rising already and children getting COVID, I feel like there is a good chance of soft closures in some cities.
In no way do I feel like things are “back to normal” I am getting the impression it could be another year of uncertainty, deaths, and a consistent rate of cases until the U.S. and daily life starts to resemble pre-COVID times.
Besides the Pandemic, I’ve been keeping an eye on politics, the insane weather resulting from global warming, and the details coming out about the January 6th Insurrection. There is so much going on, the world has been shaken up, and I don’t think things will settle down any time soon.
But I’ll take my slice of success and paradise living in SF with my boyfriend; I’ll take this welcomed change and keep going. I’m not going to blindly pretend things are “back to normal” or will go back to the way it was. That’s just not the case. It’s the time to plan for the future, stay aware, be active, and stay safe.
