On the road again...
July 14, 2020. My last post before today's update. So much has happened in the world since then. The pandemic is worse. Death tolls are climbing. Hospitals are at full capacity. Then there's the election. Results were contested. Rioters stormed the capitol. Now, an impeachment. Friends telling friends to take a flying leap because their world views are no longer navigable.
For my family, this tumultuous time made our state's dismal educational offerings even more glaringly obvious. As the new school year approached and the realization that nothing was going to improve, we sold our home and moved. As many of you have probably experienced, moving can be highly stressful. It ranks right up there with divorce, death, and public speaking. Thankfully, although we nearly came to blows during the move, my husband and I are still married, and so far, friends and family are still alive and kicking. As far as public speaking, well, no one's doing much of that these days.
Although the above events are topics for a blog other than mine, it's my explanation (and excuse) for going AWOL. There just was too much shit going on. I used to be a great multitasker but now I'm lucky if I can start, much less finish, the one thing in front of me. Something had to give.
Fortunately, the one thing I did plug away at was my book.
When my editor and I first met over Zoom in late July, she suggested I send her my manuscript. "Before we attempt to work on the proposal," she told me, "I really need to understand what your book is about." I emailed it to her and during August and the beginning of September, she read and edited. The day the movers arrived, I received the edited version. Page after page was marked and highlighted, showing her cuts, edits and suggestions. Now, it was my turn. I had to take the first nine scrapped chapters and insert all of the pertinent back story throughout the rest of the book. IN OTHER WORDS, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
As the movers worked around me, I wrote. Driving to our new state, I wrote. In-between cooking, cleaning, and laundry, I wrote. Trying to find a new house, I wrote. Moving into our new house, I wrote. In-between buying, wrapping, and sending Christmas gifts, I wrote. Every moment I could scrounge and claim as my own, I wrote. Finally, on December 31st, I hit the "send" button on my computer.
Who knows what's in store for this coming year, but I hope you'll stick it out with me. My goal, especially with this blog, has been to offer you a ride in the passenger's seat as I drive blind-folded, careening around curves and flying over hills, in pursuit of a dream. While I can't sway anyone to think differently about politics or religion or whatever else is on their mind, I sure hope to hell (or heaven) you enjoy the ride.