ENTRE NOUS
Newsletter
13 March 2026
French, literally “just between us”, “in private”
[ahn-truh noo, ahn-truh noo]/ ˌɑn trə ˈnu, ɑ̃ trə ˈnu /
My love letter to your sovereignty.
Letter From The Editor
Gina and I met on a mormon dating site (I was trying).
She lived in Denver, I’m in Logan (that’s far enough from SLC to be a pain in the ass, for those unfamiliar).
The chemistry on the phone and email was brilliant. She was funny, wickedly smart, and just as wickedly beautiful. We decided to meet on the 4th of July in Salt Lake City. She made the drive. It was an off year for both us, our kids were with the other side of our families.
I knocked on her sister’s door.
She was even more beautiful than I was expecting.
We looked out over the city from our rooftop lunch spot.
We synced the phone chemistry with the in person chemistry.
The great thing about a lunch date is how vast the possibilities are:
Lame? Go home. You have the rest of the day ahead of you.
Great? Keep going.
We didn’t part ways till 5am the next morning.
I digress:
A lover of books, her gravity led us into a nearby bookstore.
“Have you ever read this?”
She pulled a copy of “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron from the shelf.
“This book changed my life”.
Divorce has a way of whetting one’s appetite for life changing.
I wisely trusted her and bought a copy.
The Artist’s Way is basically a 12-Step for creative people suffering from ‘artist’s block’
Step #6 is “Morning Pages”.
Every morning, FIRST THING in the morning, after emptying yourself in the bathroom, during coffee, and before encountering any other humans – you sit down with a few sheets of paper and a pen. Just like what you did in the bathroom a moment ago – everything comes out of your brain, onto the page. EVERYTHING. Especially the stuff where your inner referee says “Uhhmmm. Dude. You really gonna write that? That’s pretty messed up.”
YES. ESPECIALLY THAT.
“But what if someone reads it?”
This is why, after your brain has emptied itself, especially the messy stuff, onto the page – you destroy the pages. This is not a journaling practice for the sake of documenting your life. This is a practice of learning to tell yourself the unfettered, uncensored truth, every day before you deal with the ego of any other human and become tempted to alter your truth for their comfort.
I have been doing morning pages every day for the past 20 years. To the extent that I am at all sane, I give Morning Pages all of the credit.
Sometimes it takes me 7 minutes. Sometimes 70.
It has saved me.
It has set the stage for every good thing that’s happened in my life since that hot summer night.
I know you are wondering about that 5m part still.
At 8pm, we were sitting on a blanket watching Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband play a concert in a city park.
At 9:30pm, the fireworks began.
At 9:38, the fireworks continued to Van Halen’s “When It’s Love”.
“Naa Naa Naaa Naaa Naaa Naaa… when it’s looooove….”
You know the part. Go ahead. Sing it.
This is the part where I turned to her and we kissed for the first time, as giant bursts of sparks and fire popped over our heads.
For America.
“We’ll make it last foreeeevver”
I am aware of how goddamn corny this reads right now.
Problem is, this is exactly how it happened. Like a goddamn Matthew McConaughey movie.
Would you prefer that I censor it for your comfort?
Yeah I didn’t think so.
20 years later – I am still doing Morning Pages every day.
From that process, I’ve also written countless short stories. I have two books in process.
Most people don’t know that while I’ve called myself a photographer and podcaster over the years – above all – I’m a writer. I’ve just been unintentionally secretive about it.
Until now.
I’m paying closer attention to my writing. Finding gratification in the word in ways that I have been overlooking for years.
The time has come to share more.
Aside from my journaling, I’ve accumulated a body of work inspired by my career in photography – specifically the boudoir part of my photo career. I’ve learned that most people come to me for something other than the photographs. They come to be seen. They come to see themselves through the eyes of another.
They come to be witnessed.
I’ve created “The Darkroom” – a private collection of short stories inspired by my boudoir career. On the surface, they are about the sexier moments that have passed before this photographer’s eyes – but – what they are REALLY about is the human desire to be witnessed.
These are near-novella length stories, perfect for a glass of wine and a quiet moment to yourself.
The Darkroom contains a constantly rotating cast of 5 stories. Each month a new one is added, the oldest one is removed and sent to my desk for preparation to be included in a book in the near future – “Tales From The Darkroom”.
Subscribers to the print edition of Entre Nous get a password, granting access to The Darkroom for that month. You will be witnessing the assembly of a book, in real time.
In addition to The Darkroom, Entre Nous comes to you printed on fine cotton paper, in a flat envelope, sealed with wax, preserving the integrity of the page. Each envelope bears vintage postage – I’ll note what year that stamp came from, inviting you to consider what was happening in your world that particular year.
The first 50 subscribers get a special “Founders Rate” for life. It is my way of thanking you for your patronage, making a world where I am able to create more things like this, for you. It is my hope that every issue of Entre Nous will light you up in some way, that it will give you a reason to be excited to check the mail box on the first of every month. Thank god – finally, something other than the power bill and pizza coupons.
Click here to claim your Founder’s Subscription. Less than 50 remain.
Much love –
Paul Duane
Field Reports
One day you will be called upon to break a big law in the name of justice and rationality. Everything will depend on it. You have to be ready. How are you going to prepare for that day when it really matters? You have to stay "in shape" so that when the big day comes you will be ready. What you need is "anarchist calisthenics." Every day or so break some trivial law that makes no sense, even if it’s only jaywalking. Use your own head to judge whether a law is just or reasonable. That way, you'll keep trim; and when the big day comes, you'll be ready.
Have you done something recently that stretched your soul? Made your balls grow bigger? Put you in real danger of humiliation, exclusion or failure?
We want to hear about it.
Share your story on the Field Reports Page. We’ll select a couple each month to feature in the Print Edition of Entre Nous.
Future Field Reports Coming Soon
This month, we found the following Field Reports particularly worth sharing. Read all of the Field Reports in the War Room:
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Talking Shit:
He performs a self satisfying routine, spewing his repressed fear and loathing of himself, onto the faces of his faithful.
His hack: performative certainty.
Bad Assery:
Latest Progressive House Mx:
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