Too Many Books

 W When I heard that Romy Newman, President and co-founder of  Fairygodboss  would be presenting a webinar through my Day Job I was stoked. Even the title of the session - The Antidote to Burnout, had me feeling like this was nutrition my poor mind and soul needed. COVID be damned, my day job had gotten stressful. I'm talking lonely and dying little old ladies stressful.  Anywhozers, I didn't have time to listen to the webinar live because of the responsibilities of said day job, and the entire day of that session was one of the most stressful in my entire career. That was August 11th. Yesterday, nearly three weeks later, I finally had made time to listen to the replay. It took three weeks. Talk about needing an Antidote to Burnout. Romy defines burnout as:     "emotional, mental, physical due to prolonged or repeated stress, most often caused by problems at work - but it can also appear in life: parenting, caretaking, romantic relationships." Yup.  T...

 T To meet Rae Serafina Barker is to discover a dark angel. I call her that because she describes herself as an "underworld journeyer."  And how cool is that?  Her job is to help folks heal and make meaning through grief. This coincides with creating art and deep spaces. I love women who hold space for other women. Rae seems to hold space for everyone. She's like the brunette version of Kristen Bell, or something. Just slightly less bubbly.  Every stinking time I scroll past a Facebook post from Rae, I know I have to stop and prepare myself. Today's most recent post began, "I used to struggle with decisions." Same, sister. I knew I needed to make time to read her post and let it really wash over me and into me, let it sink under my skin. Her posts always need that attention, as they are so chock full of insight and awakenings and awareness. She likes to use a plus sign instead of the word "and." This was hard for me to get used to, but I came to un...

I wrote this on Friday the 13th but just now posted it so just pretend it's Friday when you read it, kay? So the last time I blogged I mentioned I’m volunteering at a golf scramble. That was end of July. The scramble is today! We may get rained out, in which case I’d have time free for an eye exam. Tiny blessings from tiny baby Jesus.  Mama needs glasses. In other news, guys, I’m querying! My letter isn’t perfect and no one I’ve paid to entertain me seems to understand my outdated comps. Fine.  The right agent would get them. They aren’t as current but they are all examples of why my book could (cough, pipe dream) become a timeless, ageless classic! Or at least a movie!  I get it.  Agents want to know where my book fits into the current market. But what does that mean?  To sell books now, yes. Of course. But aren’t new people discovering old books for the first time, every damn day? Sigh. I’ve sent 7 queries. Kind of a 5/2 split on original v updated versions of...

 Mother Mary, I'm exhausted. I have worked myself to the bone over the last couple of weeks. Between my day job (I'm on my lunch "hour" right now, boss lady!) and my newfound focus on my writing, I am spent. I'm still waking up before my alarm in the morning, excited for a chance to write/ research/ connect and pursue my dream before I sign on to my other, corporate laptop.  That said, yesterday was amazing. I never thought I would have felt so good - on the first night my husband has been out of town overnight for work. For the first time since COVID, the first time since we got married, the first time since we bought our home in April of 2020. Don't get me wrong, I missed him FIERCLY. But I had such a fun day of making connections. Listen.  *     I met up with a beautiful woman, a professional contact as as well as a friend. We talked about everything under the sun, like we always do. I compared the southern abortion laws to The Handmaid's Tale. She turn...

I'm clearly no expert on how to get a novel published because I've only just finishing writing one.But, during the past week I've accomplished quite a lot.   I've tightened up my hook/ blurb  Louisville’s Laurel Lancaster is quickly coming apart at the seams. In her early twenties, her first manic episode crescendos into a two week stay in a mental health facility. While battling to reintegrate back into everyday life, the universe delivers news that may send her further spiraling: her ex-boyfriend is dead in an apparent car accident. Laurel knows better. She must figure out how to cope with a death she believes she caused, and discovers that her only redemption – or perhaps her only punishment – is to keep on living.   Cleaned up my manuscript. It's a little short at 66,000 words, so I'm adding in a chapter  Wrote a synopsis  Added a couple of agents to my dream agent list Found another beta reader and sent my work off to him Wrote a list of questions to b...

Dividing the hours in the day between my demanding full time job, finishing my manuscript, and trying to build a writer's platform has been a challenge that I have embraced. I wake up before my alarm, excited to roll out of bed and start the day.  I hope the novelty (pun intended!) doesn't wear off. I've gone from 45,000 words to 60,000 words since Sunday - 4 days of writing. Granted, some of these scenes were already written and some of the increase was a mere matter of me fumbling through stained manila folders, the notes app on my phone, some old unpublished blog posts and pulling it together from the cluttered notes I've kept over about 12-13 years of working toward this goal. My brain tends to struggle with organization. The above referenced job has really helped me from a "save this in a folder" standpoint, but in my personal life I find that sometimes I start to get bogged down in a mess of thoughts, ideas, tasks.... and then the brain scramble takes ho...

(It's not, actually anymore. Ha! Tricked ya, but I didn't jinx myself. That's how confident I am. I'll be stepping on ALL the sidewalk cracks.) * I'm sitting here with my laptop out, hiding at a corner table on the patio, at this chain bar/restaurant called "World of Beer." I used to come here after work to avoid seeing my boyfriend at the time. I'd sit at the bar, play on my phone, have a few beers - all while he did Crossfit or sat at home, probably as annoyed with me as I was with him. Now, I'm actually racing through this post to hurry and GET home - to my new husband, my soul mate. Per my usual dumb wiring, I considered telling him that my meeting ran long or that I'd had a drink with my colleague, who he's met - and who really was in town from Lexington for the meeting. But she's pregnant. And here's the other thing - I don't have to lie to him. I could also write this post sitting in bed next to him. I've only recentl...