Hello Readers: Welcome, 2021!
Everyone has their take on 2020 and we all agree that it was the craziest ever!
The year opened up for me with my husband’s stage 4 diagnosis. This would be his fourth dance with cancer. You have to guess by this time that we were numbed to the bone and stopped feeling a good while back. Then when the lockdowns happened I was almost rejoicing. I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone; I had already started my own lockdown!
The silver lining in this cloud was about to show. After pretending all my life I was going to write a book, began in earnest, and the project became a lovely escape. It was a gentle climb up out of a dark time.
Happy days, even in lockdown, were ahead. Immunotherapy returned quality of life, the nearest to normal we had in a few years. My husband began building things again. I finished my book, and we waded upstream through the messy waters of self-publishing. We grew our best garden and graduated our third home-schooler. There was a disappointment with the cancellation of 4 H in our state being a huge downer. But life is tough, best to toughen with it.
I have a ton of goals this year. I noticed something about myself last year: when I want to do something I can get really focused, maybe even a bit obsessed. When you concentrate too long, I personally think it becomes all you can see. Literally, my eyesight is doing just that! It must be my age, I’m having trouble refocusing. I took a little social media break and incidentally found some words to live by...at least for 2021.
Stepping back.
I have resolved to look at the big picture. I don’t want to be afraid or nervous about what’s going on in the world. I don’t want to be so wrapped up in my personal life I can’t see the needs of others. I don’t want to be so engrossed in my writing and illustrating projects I forget I’m still chief cook and bottle washer and teacher to 3 more homeschoolers. I don’t want to get so obsessed with marketing and the business side of my projects that I forget why I did them.
This phrase: Stepping Back has been extremely balancing in my mind.
Author News:
~On November 30, I published my debut novel Bloom of Beorg, book one in the Song of Glædlond series.
~On January 22, I published my first coloring book: Once Upon A Time.
~February is my birthday month. I'm running a sale for the month on a limited supply of signed author copies of Bloom of Beorg. $11.99 plus $2.00 flat rate postage in the continental US.
My book, Bloom of Beorg, the digital copy will be free on February 4rth through to Feb 8th. Let your friends know! It's a risk-free try-out of a new author! I appreciate all reviews!
I am on chapter 17 in the first draft of Book 2 in the Song of Glædlond series. I still don’t have a title, but I have the cover fully envisioned.
I have lofty ambitions about publishing this year. But I’m stepping back, remember, and keeping it all in perspective to what is going on around me and my family.
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