Blog/Newsletter

  • A Letter to Oneself Encourages Self-Reflection

    I recently heard about another interesting use of handwritten letters to encourage self-reflection. This one came from a visitor to my table at the Viroqua Book Fest in Wisconsin in April 2025. The gentleman who conveyed this story to me was a retired teacher who once worked in a New York City public school in an impoverished neighborhood. At one point in his career, the teacher took part in a day-long retreat for teachers, a sort of self-care event for harried,overworked public servants. At the end of a day of exercises and activities, the retreat leader asked each participant to write a handwritten letter to themselves. Each person was given paper, pen, and envelope, and asked to express in the letter, any feelings, thoughts, or…

  • Love Letters Revisited

    At a book festival in Louisville, KY, in mid-October 2024, my lovely tablemate, children’s author, Lauren Vonckx (author of Ringo the Flamingo, The Meadow), shared a sweet story about the letter writing ritual she and her husband practice, that helps keep their love strong through the inevitable ups and downs of married life. Before their wedding, well over a decade ago, Lauren and her husband decided to have a woodworker create a special ceremonial box to celebrate their special day. This custom-made box had to be large enough to hold several items: one bottle of wine, 2 wine glasses, and two slim envelopes.   On the day of their wedding, at the reception, they asked everyone in attendance to sign their names on the bottle…

  • The Best Wedding Gift of All Time

    What I enjoy most about being an author is taking part in book festivals and other public venues, like book signings and workshops. This is where I meet people from all backgrounds and interest areas and can engage them in wonderful conversations. People invariably tell me stories, which I consume with relish. We all have fascinating stories to tell. I wish more people would believe this. So many of us dismiss or belittle our life experiences, however, I, for one, am on a personal mission to convince people to write their stories down before they are lost to their families and to history. At a recent book festival in northern Minnesota (Northwoods Art and Book Festival),I got my usual “fix” from the stories of the…

  • “PLEASE WRITE” Wins Gold Medal at the Midwest Book Awards Gala

    If you think a long-held dream will never come true for you, or that you only have one career path meant for you, I ask you to think again. For 32 years, I served as an environmental planner for local, state, and federal agencies. My calling was public service and that was that. I retired while working in my chosen profession, then stepped into a total void when I left. As the old world I knew became farther and farther away in the rearview mirror, something I buried for many years was begging to emerge. I discovered that I had deep creative interests and yearnings. This wasn’t completely surprising to me because I grew up in a family of creative people. I just thought a…

  • A Year Ago, This Month, My Author Journey Began

    A year ago this month, I released my first book, Please Write: Finding Joy and Meaning in the Soulful Art of Handwritten Letters. Prior to this, I spent my life as a public servant in the environmental field, writing mostly technical reports or information about environmental topics for the public. When I left the field, I decided to try to discover more about myself by dabbling in the arts for the first time. First, I took some art lessons and discovered that I could, in fact, draw something more than stick figures. I also took a memoir writing class with 5 other adults and found that I adored their life stories. I got back to writing many more cards and personal letters, something I used…

  • “Please Write” Receives Silver Medal in Midwest Book Awards for Non-fiction-Inspiration Category. Now Competing for Gold.

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lynne M. Kolze Saint Paul author honored as Midwest Book Awards finalist for title about celebrating and preserving the art of handwritten letters. Saint Paul, MN – April 30, 2024 – Lynne M. Kolze from Saint Paul, MN was recognized in the Non-fiction- Inspiration category of the 34th annual Midwest Book Awards. “Please Write is a celebration of all things that make handwritten letters so impactful, meaningful, delightful, and historically important, including their importance as an art form and as one of the most touching and memorable ways of communicating with others. “Please Write” was written to inspire past letter writers to return to letter writing on occasion, and to acquaint new writers with what they can look forward to if they…

  • St. Paul Pioneer Press Recommends “Please Write”

    “Here’s a gathering of non-fiction for your spring reading pleasure. Treat yourself after working in the garden – and enjoy.” So begins Mary Ann Grossmann’s review of several nonfiction books, including my own, Please Write, in yesterday’s Sunday paper. A friend alerted me to the fact that my book had been reviewed. It came as a surprise – an unexpected pleasure. My intent in writing this book was to bring something positive, enjoyable, and educational to the reader during and post-pandemic. I wanted to inspire people to revisit an old activity, or to begin for the first time. That is, to occasionally send their nearest and dearest friends and relatives a handwritten letter. It seems like such a small act, but the impact can be…

  • Legacy Letters: Our Written Words Matter

    Imagine yourself providing the space, time, and instruction that will allow people you’ve never met before, to write down their most personal and deeply felt life stories for their closest friends and loved ones—stories and lessons that will leave an important legacy for current and future generations. Through my work as a Legacy Letter Workshop Facilitator, I’ve been humbled and happy to be afforded the opportunity to lead groups in this meaningful and soulful activity. Legacy letters are short documents that communicate our life experiences, values, and lessons learned to loved ones. They can be sent to designated recipients either during one’s life or upon one’s death. These letters are usually short – each only a few pages long, but they typically share our deepest…

  • Please Don’t Wait–Write Legacy Letters Now

    When we imagine leaving an inheritance for our loved ones, most of us probably think about the cash, homes, or other material goods we plan to pass along to the next generation. But what if, in addition to the money and other valuables we plan to give, we leave behind a bit of our souls as well? You might wonder how in the world that’s possible. Enter the Legacy Letter, a wonderful, simple tool for sharing autobiographical nuggets, family stories, lessons we learned from our life experiences, apologies, forgiveness, or the love and gratitude we feel for the people we will leave behind.   In a few handwritten pages, legacy letter writers can give one of the greatest gifts of all time, and it costs…

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