Say Yes to Your Creative Self by Mary O’Connor, paperback, 132 pages, Three Chairs Publishing, Branford, CT

“Say Yes! to Your Creative Self” is an invitation to creativity. Written by Old Saybrook author, poet, painter and lover of nature, Mary O’Connor, this full-color, self-help book is filled with tips and prompts, photos and inspirational writings on ways to boost our ways of being creatively stimulated.

Intrigued by the magic of the commonplace, Mary seeks to capture its delight through her paintings and writing. Her joy-centered books include Passing Shadows – Images and Words of Inspiration; Life Is Full of Sweet Spots, as well as Dreams of a Wingless Child, a collection of award-winning nature and inspirational verses. She often complements her work with photographic images as well as paintings in watercolor and acrylics.

Her paintings have been exhibited by area art associations, and her people and pet portraits are treasured by individual owners. A former instructor of poetry at the York Correctional Institution, Niantic, she currently serves as a docent at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme. O’Connor’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.