A recent moment of transportation:

One summer, during our college years, my cousin lived with an older lady. Sometimes I would go by their house and hang out for a bit before my cousin and I went off to do who knows what. On those hot summer evenings, the lady would sit around in her bra and shorts. This both humored me and shocked me. How could she be so brazen? How could she be so free? Why was she not embarrassed?

As I get older, I can better understand this woman. It was her house after all, and she should feel comfortable to be herself in her own home. We were all women. And it was hot. Why should she have to cover up and be miserable? Also, maybe she was menopausal. I don’t know how old she was. To the young, anyone over 50 is OLD.

Now, as I approach 45 {shocked face}, I have a different barometer for age. The days float through my fingers, and I look up to find half the year has already passed. My boys are suddenly teenagers and taller than me. Every morning I’m tempted to pluck the grays from my head. And I’m starting to get used to professionals (like my dentist) being younger than me.

I’m approaching that middle spot of life, where in some circumstances I’m the young one, and other times I’m the old one. This is what I love about being in situations where there are different generations together in one space attempting to do the same thing—like my yoga class or my ladies group at church. In those spaces, we find our commonalities, we are each “teacher” and “student.”

Writing Updates:

If you don’t already know, I’ll announce it now: I’m working on the sequel to The Oasis. I’ll be announcing the title soon, so keep an eye out on social media! Over the next few months, I’ll also share the cover and other fun details. This book is set to debut mid to late fall.

Currently, I’m working on final edits and working on the formatting of the interior of the book. I’m also doing a lot of reading and researching on self-publishing.

Next, I’ll be sending the manuscript out to ARC readers to gather reviews before the book launches. ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) readers are people who volunteer to read and review a book before its official release. They post reviews on Goodreads and Amazon on or before the launch day. This helps generate early buzz, and in the case of Amazon, give it a bump in the ratings for the first few days.

Life Updates:

Last week my family had a staycation. It was really great to have a break from my never-ending to-do list as an author. We relaxed, ate yummy ice cream, took my son fishing, I read and did a few jigsaw puzzles, and we went to some local places we’ve been wanting to check out.

My favorite was touring SC Johnson’s global headquarters, which were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. We weren’t allowed to take any photos of the interior of the buildings which was kind of a bummer because it was so unique. You can go to their website to see pictures of the interior, but the photos don’t do it justice. It’s something you have to see for yourself!

Links:

The Oasis audiobook - listen for free! Click here when the kids are saying “I’m bored” for the umpteenth time. :) Or turn it on for your family pet while you’re away for a few hours.

Help me get my ratings up (because, while I’d rather just focus on writing, they do matter). Click here to leave a rating and/or review. It only takes a few minutes and I greatly appreciate it!

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For years I’ve been immersing myself into the world of writers and authors. I’ve attended a few conferences and joined writer’s groups. And I’ve (mostly) done everything they said I should do.

Get a website - check.

Write everyday - check.

Submit to literary journals and publications - check.

Read in the genre you want to write - check.

And more….

But the one thing I’ve been putting off for quite a while is starting a newsletter. It felt daunting…what would I write about? It felt overwhelming…when do I have time for one more thing added to my list?

“They” continued to tell me that I needed a newsletter. This would be the best way to reach my “fans,” my “audience”, my “followers” and let them know what was going on with my writing.

So here I am, at the beginning of the summer season, when I’d rather be sitting on the beach reading a book, starting a newsletter.

And the reason is because I’ll be launching the sequel to The Oasis this fall. Before I launch my next book I need to get some things in place, such as this newsletter.

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here.

Being a writer can be a lonely road at times and your support is like a pile of fresh chocolate chip cookies. Sit back and come along on this indie publishing journey with me.