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I can't believe I haven't updated my blog in six months! I'm such a slacker. There's soooo much to say that I don't know where to start. That's the problem with my journal writing, too. I used to keep a journal; almost daily, too. But then I gradually slipped out of the habit. Over the years I've tried one technique or another, but it always led to me having too much to say (so I said nothing at all), or unable to pick out anything interesting that happened during the week/month/whatever.
If you've read my blog for any amount of time though, you know I'm a huge fan of new beginnings--New Year's day, Mondays, even the start of a new day. I'm also big on self-improvement. For a while now, I've thought about going back to Morning Pages a la Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Problem is, while I'm big on self-improvement, I'm not so big on self-reflection, lol. Anyway, I'm thinking that perhaps my "morning pages" could also double as my blogging. Win/win, right?
Technically, morning pages are supposed to be messier, stream-of-consciousness kinds of things, but I've never been able to get into those. I much prefer blogging/journaling like a conversation, which is why this reads as it does!
In case I don't get back to hit on the highlights of the past six months, here's a quick update. Fingers crossed, I can do this more often, so I don't need lists to stay in touch!
In July, I went to Montana to participate in the first in-person conference of Becca Syme's Better Faster Academy. It was awesome, but not for the reasons you might think.
In August, Charlie (son, twin, 22yo) moved from Utah to Texas to move in with his girlfriend.
In September, I participated in FanX here in Utah, and sold the first copies of Dragon Protocol (Morgan James, 2022).
In October, Dragon Protocol came out! The online launch party was the most fun I've ever had launching a book, and I plan to try to reproduce the experience as best I can with future books. The experience with Morgan James has been extremely underwhelming, and I know I need to update my posts regarding publishing with them. Reviews of DP though, have been amazing! I'm so proud of the work and humbled by the praise.
In November, I tried to host this ginormous NaNoWriMo thing and planned to finish the first book in the new Minnie Kim: Master of Vampires series, but instead came face-to-face with some of my shortcomings.
Also in November, I made a plan and got some coaching to help with "what to do" about those shortcomings.
In December, I announced on Facebook that I'm withdrawing my efforts in all but one commercial endeavor. No more coaching for creatives, no more formatting, marketing, or author services, no more teaching writing classes on my own (I'll still teach at conferences), and no more story development coaching (except in certain cases. Instead, I'm putting all my eggs, for the first time ever, into my writing basket. If you know me well, you're probably saying something like, "Yeah, right!" because I'm famous (notorious?) for taking things on, but...I have some strategies to help me stay "in my lane", as they say. Plus, I really want to try, and trying is my favorite.
So there you have it! Now you're all caught up. Have a great week!
Namaste. 💛
