'Tis the Season

Well, it happened. Between daycare and the fact that we live on a planet with other humans, we all got sick. Very sick. But, we all survived and we’re on the mend. Adenovirus is no joke though and I hope none of you ever get it!!!

One good thing about it, while we were sick I wasn’t writing because I’ve been waiting on developmental edits to come back on my newest story! Thank goodness the story had been sent off before my mind AND body were out of commission.

Well, those are back now and I’ve gotten some amazing feedback. And I might have a title! I won’t be releasing that just yet, but I’m getting ready to turn in my info to the cover designer, which is super exciting!

With 99 Days, I learned a lot about the publishing process although I was a nervous wreck the whole time. I think the fact that I’d never done it before and it was ENTIRELY new territory to me made it so scary. But I did it. And I survived it. More than that, I was successful at it.

This time around though, I am WAY more chill. I was nervous to get the initial comments back on my new story, which I think is a perfectly valid feeling when something you created is being reviewed. But now that I have them, I've been able to focus on my writing again. Turns out, I’m the dialogue queen. But, we can’t be good at everything, unfortunately, and so much more of my story is a giant boatload of exposition peppered with tiny moments of showing instead of telling (go me for getting that much, right?). I have a LOT of work to do between now and *fingers crossed* April.

I can honestly say that I’m much more excited about this release. I think I like the story more. Or, maybe I like my writing more in this one. Even if it is a lot of exposition. But, you can’t edit a blank page. And I have 281 non-blank pages to edit, which is amazing to think about. It wasn’t that long ago that I thought I’d never write another book. And it wasn’t so very long before that, that I thought I’d never be able to finish a book, period. It’s so funny how when I was younger I thought that if I wasn’t a famous author by the end of my twenties then there was no point in even trying. Gosh, if I could only give that girl a glimpse into my life now. I would have certainly encouraged her to work harder and try to accomplish all this ten years ago, when it was MUCH easier to work on less sleep.

However, I love where I am in my life right now. The only thing I would change is my energy level. And maybe not owe the credit card company. But EVERYTHING else about my life, I like. I like that I’m staring down the barrel of forty with so much to be proud of. I have a home that's cozy and full of love. A husband who means the world to me. And my wonderful son who is my moon and stars. And, we live about equal distance from both of our parents, which I think was the smartest move we made when we chose our house six years ago.

I had no idea the potential our little house would have when we bought it, but when we finally do leave it for something bigger (it’s inevitable), I’m going to take lots of good memories with me. I’ll have the flowers from the bush in the back by our fence, red leaves from the Japanese maple out front, seeds from the volunteers that grew in our compost heap, and video of our baby taking his first steps in our living room.

The point to all that is, growth is scary. But it’s also wonderful. It’s strange to me to be so calm when I’m planning to publish in just under three months (planning, nothing’s carved in stone yet) and I’m only at the development stage in my story. If this had been my first book, I’d be afraid I’d have a stroke from the stress. But, I have a better idea of what I’m doing now. And if I’m honest, this book is less ambitious than the last one. I’m not forcing myself to write ninety-nine chapters. In this book, it can just flow out in whatever way comes naturally. There could be thirty chapters, or there could be double that. We’ll see what happens over the next month. But, I’m excited. And I’m so happy to have that excitement.

Now, if my sweet baby boy would just get back to the sleeping schedule he had before he got sick, that would just tickle me pink. Not that I don’t love getting up at 1:30 in the morning to comfort him with snuggles (sleeping in the crib is still new to him and I understand that it can be scary). I would like that extra hour and a half of sleep before I get up though. It feels so selfish to type that out, but I know it’s not selfish to want to take care of myself. I can’t take care of him if I’m not taking care of me.

We all need a reset I think. So, how do you reset a baby? Anyone know? Anyone??? Well, maybe he’ll get on schedule one day. Until then, I’m going to take advantage and enjoy all the snuggles I can.

No matter what happens, I’m doing my best to take each day as it comes. Some days I feel amazing and get so much accomplished, and on other days, just making sure the baby gets fed and changed is the accomplishment. Either way, I’m working towards the life I want, and that is an amazing thing. We should all be that lucky in this life.