Subscribe
Sign in
Home
Podcast
Notes
Archive
About
Welcome to The Ampersand
& Thank you for being here.
May 23, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
8
1
News: It's Publication Day!
From Screen & Stage to the Page: How I Got Here
Aug 14, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
20
8
9
News: My Debut Novel ANOTHER LIFE Lands This Month⚡️
Performed by Kingsley Ben-Adir & Erin Doherty for Audible
Sep 3, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
20
9
8
Most Popular
View all
Monday Musings: Substack Has Problems
Feb 10, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
179
17
48
Monday Musings: Why Defining Blackness For Everybody is Good For Nobody
Aug 26, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
34
11
10
Remarkable Reads: Issue 1
Apr 16, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
14
13
9
Monday Musings: My 12-Year Situationship
Oct 20, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
14
6
5
Monday Musings: The Dead Dads Club
Jun 24, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
13
14
6
Monday Musings: How I Tackled My Addiction to Achievement
Jan 13, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
12
3
7
Recent posts
View all
Cultural Exchange: The 5x5 of 2025
The Best of This Year's Books, Films, TV Shows & More
Dec 23, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
4
1
3
Sunday Best: Reasons To Be Hopeful
Zohran, The Greens & How To Be Human
Nov 9, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
5
1
4
Monday Musings: My 12-Year Situationship
& Why I'm Finally Quitting
Oct 20, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
14
6
5
Fiction: How Public Enemy Inspired My One-Man Show
& What It Was Like Working with Beyoncé's Video Director
Sep 18, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
5
2
4
Book Giveaway by Karla Marie Sweet, author of False Idols
and a stack of book recommendations from the community!
Published on That Trans Friend You Didn't Know You Needed
•
Sep 12, 2025
Cultural Exchange: Watching & Reading Dystopia During Genocide
Zombies, Handmaids & The Ministry of Truth
Jul 10, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
11
2
5
Sunday Best: 8 Hero Ingredients & the Items I Rarely Leave Home Without
It’s been weeks since my last Substack post – the longest stretch of silence since I started writing here over a year ago.
Jun 29, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
6
3
3
Monday Musings: Pride Special
Considering My Crushes & How You Can Support a Very Important Cause
Jun 2, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
6
3
See all
The Ampersand is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Subscribe
Writers Workshop
View all
Writers Workshop: A Creative Prompt for Every Day of May
31 Invitations for Making & Dreaming
May 1, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
10
7
Writers Workshop: How to Build a World
Time, Place & 3 Creative Prompts
Mar 12, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
9
2
3
Writers Workshop: Six Incredible Writers Give Their Very Best Advice
& Why I Believe It Will Change Your Creative Journey Forever
Jan 21, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
9
4
Writers Workshop: How I Landed Two Publishing Deals in One Month
& The Incredibly Personal Journey of Writing My Second Novel
Nov 24, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
4
3
4
Writers Workshop: Creating a Story Bible
The Ultimate Writer's Toolkit & Six Exercises That Will Build Your Writing Muscle
Sep 27, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
5
6
Monday Musings
View all
Monday Musings: My 12-Year Situationship
& Why I'm Finally Quitting
Oct 20, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
14
6
5
Monday Musings: Pride Special
Considering My Crushes & How You Can Support a Very Important Cause
Jun 2, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
6
3
Monday Musings: Why the UK Supreme Court Gender Ruling is Bad News for Everyone
& Why We Should All Fight Back
Apr 21, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
16
8
Monday Musings: A Letter to My 6-year Old Self
& 3 Things I Hope to Pass Onto My Own Kids
Mar 31, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
11
6
5
Monday Musings: Substack Has Problems
& Here's How I Think We Can Navigate Them
Feb 10, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
179
17
48
Monday Musings: How I Tackled My Addiction to Achievement
& Why I Feel It's My Greatest Accomplishment Yet
Jan 13, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
12
3
7
Monday Musings: Why I'm Standing in Solidarity with My Māori Cousins
& Why You Should Too
Dec 23, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
32
6
17
Monday Musings: When the Hurricane Hits
Storm Damage & What Anxiety Becomes
Sep 30, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
8
9
4
Cultural Exchange
View all
Cultural Exchange: The 5x5 of 2025
The Best of This Year's Books, Films, TV Shows & More
Dec 23, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
4
1
3
Cultural Exchange: Watching & Reading Dystopia During Genocide
Zombies, Handmaids & The Ministry of Truth
Jul 10, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
11
2
5
Cultural Exchange: Who Wants to Live Forever Anyway?
On Hanna Thomas Uose's Debut Novel, The Ballad of Phil & Phyllis & THAT White Lotus Monologue
May 23, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
14
6
8
Cultural Exchange: Five Things I've Been Loving Lately
Cultish, Conclave & Apple Cider Vinegar
Feb 26, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
12
3
Cultural Exchange: Before Sunrise
& The First Date Question That Could Save You a Huge Amount of Time
Feb 4, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
8
6
2
Sunday Best
View all
Sunday Best: Reasons To Be Hopeful
Zohran, The Greens & How To Be Human
Nov 9, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
5
1
4
Sunday Best: 8 Hero Ingredients & the Items I Rarely Leave Home Without
It’s been weeks since my last Substack post – the longest stretch of silence since I started writing here over a year ago.
Jun 29, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
6
3
3
Sunday Best: My Favourite Cookbooks (& Their Best Recipes)
Plus January & February's Remarkable Reads
Mar 2, 2025
•
Karla Marie Sweet
5
2
5
Sunday Best: Supporting Small Businesses
& November's Remarkable Reads
Dec 1, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
9
14
2
Sunday Best: My Favourite Photos I Took Last Month
& October's Remarkable Reads
Nov 3, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
6
7
4
Sunday Best: 14 Small Pleasures
& My September List of Remarkable Reads
Oct 6, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
6
6
1
Sunday Best: What's On My Desk
& The Most Remarkable Things I Read On Substack in August
Sep 1, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
11
4
4
Sunday Best: Fitness Favourites & Podcasts I Love
Plus the July Edition of Substack's Remarkable Reads
Aug 4, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
12
7
13
Rare Company
Rare Company: Episode 4 - Paige Cowan-Hall
On Her Spooky Debut Novel, Wild Swimming, Winning the Discoveries Prize & Dealing with Reviews
Oct 31, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
2
2
1:34:03
Rare Company: Episode 3 - Jassa Ahluwalia
Listen now | On the Fluidity of Identity & His New Book BOTH NOT HALF
Sep 12, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
5
2
1
59:43
Rare Company: Episode 2 - Rae Chuck
Listen now | The Secrets of Language Learning, Human Design & Bad Education
Jul 13, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
and
Rae ✦ Polyglot Philosopher
4
17
5
1:05:18
Rare Company: Episode 1 - Jamal Robinson
Listen now | On Vulnerability, Racket Sports & Finding/Building Community
Jun 14, 2024
•
Karla Marie Sweet
12
22
5
1:04:56
Recommendations
She Dares To Say
Almaz Ohene
The Day Job | Matt Abbott's creative & practical poetry tips
Matt Abbott
Lexistential
Lex Read
The Hideaway Apartments - Explore Sauze d'Oulx & Via Lattea
Angela Kirwin
Relevant Sense
Shondra Bowie
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please
turn on JavaScript
or unblock scripts
