Tuesday, September 24, 2013

New Chapters

As I recall, a few weeks ago I promised an explanation for my absence from blogging this summer. Basically, I was waiting to discuss it publicly until all the Ts were crossed and all the Is were dotted.

None of it's been secret exactly. In fact, most of the world that pays attention to me knows that I relocated to the other side of the state in June. What I've talked about a little less is the reason why.

Next month would have been my 17th wedding anniversary. Yesterday, my divorce was final.

So yeah... I've been dealing with all the feels--good and bad--this summer in addition to moving. I've been doing my best to stay on top of all my upcoming projects, but something had to give and it ended up being the blog. I'm going to do my best to get back to it now, but I wanted my readership to understand I wasn't disappearing for no reason. I just didn't want my moodiness to rub off more than necessary.

On to good news.

If all goes well, I should have two books out before the end of the year! That's right. No hard core promises yet, but I think it's going to happen. Keep everything crossed. Just a reminder (since I haven't been around for a while) that I do have a street team. We gather on Facebook, and they get snippets and news before anyone else. So if you really want to be on top of everything I do, please send a request to join the Renegades: Outlaws of Romance. We supply the virtual booze; you supply the charming personalities ;-)

*raises glass*

Here's to new chapters in both writing and life. Let the adventures begin.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I'm Late

No. I am NOT pregnant, thank you very much. I meant late with my post. And...other things. But not that thing. *shudder*

I realized something during my blogging hiatus this summer. I hate forced blogging. That whole "oh no, it's Tuesday, I have to post something!" Not a fan. Especially since my best ideas tend to come say...the day after I post, but by the time it would go live the following week, it'd be old news.

As much as I'm trying to organize my life (and believe me, I am), I think I need to make a return to disorganized blogging. I'll be starting back up at the Evil League of Evil Writers as soon as I get a nudge on when, but for here, I think I'm just going to blog when I have something to say. I know that goes against all the rules of blog-building. But let's be honest for a minute...a lot of people have moved on from regular blogs. They're pinning and tumbling and whatever-elsing. And I'm doing all of that too...when the urge strikes.

That's the aspect of Pinterest and Tumblr that I love. No one gets in a huff if I miss a day or whatever. No one cares that I'm mainly just posting things I find pretty or inspiring. And it never feels like I'm standing around shouting, "Buy my book!" ...even when I mention my books. I love that.

I'm not saying I won't blog here. I built this place, damn it. I'm going to use it--in fact, I'm still planning to strive for 4-5 posts a month. However, it does mean that it won't be consistent. It means I'm going to post when I have something to say (whatever that might be), but not worry about the day of the week or if I already posted the day before. I won't worry about "talking" too much or too little. I'm just going to be.

So, in case you want to comment on something....two big casting announcements have come out in the past week. Team Charlie & Dakota (50SoG) or Team Sam & Caitriona (Outlander)?

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

New Year, New Life

My kids started school today, and for the first time, it was kind of a bittersweet experience. There have been a lot of life changes in the past several months (more on this in the weeks to come, I'm sure), and it all kind of culminated today. You see, we moved across the state to be closer to family. Which means the kids had to start at an all new school. Which would be awesome, if any of their cousins went to their school. The one that lives closest is in a different district, and the ones that are in the same district go to a different school (different levels entirely as mine are in elementary, and the two cousins are finishing their last years of Jr. High and High School). Needless to say all back-to-school excitement was tempered with a lot of nerves.


And today was anticlimactic. They went to school. They met some kids. They came home. The biggest differences were the new rules for the new teachers, which they would have had anyway. Life...went on, as it likes to do.

It was kind of a mirror of everything else that's happened. All this life-altering to-do and...life just kept on going. It's strange how that works, and even stranger that it's rarely seen in fiction (at least not genre fiction--maybe this is what literary fiction is for but I'm not the person who would know such things).

You see, in a book, you get a snapshot of reality. The characters care about each other in some way (even if that way is hate). You don't get a much of a look at the people who are just there, the ones that show life just happening. And even with those close characters--they are all right there through everything.

People say that art imitates life, as if it's a mirror in the way my kids' first day of school was, but I don't think that's true. Art, to me, takes life and experiments on it. It filters it and removes all the mundane details. It condenses it into a concentrated fraction of what life would have been. And then, it takes another concentrated substance (or more than one), and throws them all into a fire to see what happens. Where life ebbs and flows around itself, art...explodes. It doesn't show you the big picture, it shows you the flash.

I'm not really sure there's a magical, important point to this post. It was just where my mind went after walking the kids home from school.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to take a little tiny piece of my life, sit in the sun, and hold a magnifying glass over it. Something's bound to happen. Just wait and see.