Heart Ponderings & Why I Refuse to Let Dog Vomit Win

I woke up to dog puke this morning. And then I broke a few things by accident. Which led me to

think I’m pretty much guaranteed to have one sucky day.

That was until I remembered the time of year. And all that’s happened in my life over the past year. And you.

I ordered the cranky voice quiet and took a few moments to reflect on all I have to be thankful for.

Things like…

Kids that still open their arms to hug me, a roaring fire in the fireplace yesterday, a husband who brought up my books to the company we hosted this weekend, my books—that I’ve worked hard and and people are actually buying and reading them, my health (even though I’m really curious about a few new bumps and red dots on my skin), that I have a God who teaches me how to forgive and love deeply, candles, warm blankets, that I even have a dog (wild and crazy as she is), the walk I took with my husband last night, family I love to talk to on the phone, a memorable church message, a motley crew of diverse and fortifying friendships, the will in me to grow and learn, an indestructible fight inside of me. The glory of this season. Every day I get to be here on earth. . .

published four books

And I ponder in my heart, much like Mary did that majestic evening she held her newborn in her arms, when life feels most overwhelming and kissed by a spiritual otherness that’s difficult to conceptualize, it’s best to embrace all of the gifts of truth we’ve been given. To cling fast to life, and light, and everything that imbues us with hope.

Because hope is living and real. 

{And it’s far more appealing than dog vomit.}

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Twenty-five Things Every Longtime Writer Will Experience

If you’ve dedicated yourself to the craft and you plan to stick with this writing thing, I’m going to let you in on a few well-known secrets. You can expect at least three-quarters of the following to apply to you at some point along the long haul. So, a toast. Because we’re in this together. And we can laugh and bond over...

Twenty-five Things a Longtime Writer Is Sure to Experience

1. Every winter your hands will turn freakishly numb at the keyboard.
2. Your skin will get thick, then thin, then thick again. {Rinse & repeat.}
3. You will see others get an agent, a contract, a three-book deal and believe. Oh, you’ll believe.
4. You will wait for what feels like eternity and every other day you’ll be tempted to abandon all belief—not just in getting published, but in all mankind.
5. You will see someone else’s printed and edited draft and secretly wish for them to edit yours.
6. There will be days your work is the best thing you’ve ever read.
7. There will be days your work is the biggest load of crap you’ve ever read.
8. You will go nuts when an admired author follows you back on Twitter.
9. You will forget how many days in a row you’ve camped out in your pajamas and talked only to your characters.
10. You will jump through every hoop possible in order to get published until you find that hoop-jumping is not your thing. Writing is.
11. You will read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and fall in love with the craft all over again.
12. Facebook and social media in general will become the ultimate bug zapper. But you’ll fly toward it, vulnerable every time your thoughts run dry.
13. You’ll read reviews and instead of defining you as a writer, they will serve as small teaching tools you’ll be able to readily accept or let go. This is after you’ve memorized every single one.
14. Your coffee and your tea will grow cold and you will forget to eat lunch.
15. People will think you’re rolling in it. You will fight the temptation to tell them otherwise. Or if you’re like me, you’ll be downright honest and make the classic joke about your book that’s sure to make you millions.
16. You will find that one evening your writing absolutely sings after you’ve tipped back that extra glass of wine only to reread your WIP the next day and have a good laugh.
17. You’ll study all the latest sales and marketing trends, as well as all of the most compelling book plot ideas to discern what reaches audiences, only to find everything changes with the seasons.
18. Adaptability will become king.
19. You’ll have a few semi-delusional moments when you swear you see your characters while you’re shopping and it will take everything inside you to clamp your mouth shut so you don’t walk up to them and call them the wrong name. P.S. This happens in T.J. Maxx a lot.
20. You will celebrate with other writing friends. You will cry with other writing friends.
21. You will be staring right at someone, nodding, giving every indication you’re paying attention but you’ll be in Fictionland with your characters.
22. The best plot ideas and dialogue will come to you at 3am or when you’re in a bathtub full of water.
23. You’ll never quite know how to respond when someone informs you they’ve read your book but gives you no indication of what they thought.
24. The biggest tragedy of getting sick won’t be throwing up or spending hours moaning near the toilet, it’ll be that you’re away from your computer, unable to write.
25. No matter how brutal it gets, you won’t quit. Because you’ve come this far.

A Whole Lot of Happenings Going On

This is a whirlwind time of year. Just put up our tree yesterday. Advent starts tomorrow. I’m excited to announce some key things I’ll be involved with in the coming days.

Join me at my Facebook Party December 10^th @ 7:00pm (party runs all afternoon & starts at 1pm). Come hang out with a cool group of authors. Ask questions and join the discussion for a chance to win free books. Perfect time for the holidays!

My Goodreads Giveaway launches late tomorrow night – December 14^th. I’m giving away 3 copies of The Short & Sincere Life of Ellory James. Enter the giveaway for a chance to win! And please help spread the word.

Hey look, my book made the local paper. Woot!

Finally, local friends, come buy your own signed copy of my books at the following Vendor Fairs this week. Would love your support!

Buttonball Lane: Tues. Dec. 1^st 3-6pm

Hopewell: Fri. Dec. 4th 5:30-7:30pm

Whew! As if this time of year isn’t busy enough. ;-) *See you back here on the 14th!

A Word about Quitting

Why can’t I be more of a quitter? There are days I really want to desert this road to publication. The

temptation to bail hits me hard. I convince myself I’m not cut out for the life of a writer.

Things get particularly daunting when I have to make the difficult decision to move on from an agent, or a close friend receives a drool-worthy offer, or I read my stuff and seriously consider shredding it and feeding it to the dog.

Eventually, a powerful message rises to the surface and riptides my thoughts.

You aren’t a soccer player but you are a writer.

Now, if you’ve visited my blog much, you know I’m far from a mathematician and you might be scratching your head trying to work out the logic behind what I just wrote. There isn’t an A + B = X (or whatever) equation that makes sense of the soccer player/writer sentence. There’s just life.

Let me explain.

I played travel soccer for my entire childhood. I was a teenager when I made the spontaneous decision to quit playing. I loved soccer. I still love the sport and have a blast cheering on my kids when they play. I can honestly say quitting soccer is one of the few regrets I have in life—regret squared because I quit for the wrong reasons.

I took my eyes off of the most important thing—my experience with the sport. I stopped playing because my older sister was better. I’m not making this up. She really was. She was All-American, met Pele, got a full ride scholarship for her skills, and eventually went on to play against Mia Hamm in college. She was a soccer rock star. I was solid. And I should have stuck with it. For the love of the sport. Sometimes I wonder what would have been. . .

Fast forward several decades and you have me, a writer, fiercely dedicated to my craft, though still facing that familiar temptation to bow out. It’s so easy to get sidetracked, believing others are better, garnering more attention, that they have something I don’t. They do have something I don’t. And I have something they don’t. The stories inside me. In the way that only I can tell them.

Right at the moment when I feel like the biggest writer schmuck on the planet, I tend to find some humor-filled way to immerse myself in my current project. I coach myself in Star Wars talk, “Stay on target” or I Church Lady-myself until I get in my word count, remembering all of the positive affirmations that I’ve encountered along this Yellow Brick Road (paved with flying monkey poop…it’s funny to me. Writers have a bit of an absurd and well-timed ability to entertain ourselves. We’re alone a lot…it’s part of the gig).

And when the humor wears off and the word count is complete and I’m left with my Tilt-A-Whirl brain, I’m met with a choice. Day in. And day out. Ride the self-doubts? Or hop off so I can get busy doing what I love?

I decide. Every day I decide.

I’m not a soccer player. But I am a writer.

*Pic is of me in my glory soccer days. P.S. It was the 80s. That’s how everyone wore their shorts! ;-)

Book Clubs—Still Going Strong

Last week I visited with a group who’d read and discussed my book, The Flower Girls. I took so much away from our conversation. I loved how each member began to open up about their own sibling relationships. It was a complete blast for me to be in on that book club. I’ve been invited into the conversations and dynamics of twenty-six groups over the past two years and it simply never grows old.

I’m also still thoroughly enjoying my time with my own book clubs. I rarely miss. The conversations make me feel alive and the connections spur me on in life.

If it wasn’t obvious already, I’m a huge fan of book clubs. And I’m willing to bet I’ll be saying the same thing forty years from now.

Speaking of book clubs, the next three months would be the perfect time for your book club to choose my latest work, The Short & Sincere Life of Ellory James. It’s a shorter read with an emotional element worth talking about. Please let me know if you’d like me to partake in any way. I like to bring gifts, wine, extra books, and behind-the-scenes insight on the book being discussed. {I’ve Skyped with a handful, too, so I’m open to that as well.}

Let’s go clubbing!

This Is 40

Over the weekend I had the rare opportunity to gather with friends to celebrate my fortieth birthday. It was a low-drama, rock-out, memorable night. I realize I’m in the midst of promoting my most recent work, The Short & Sincere Life of Ellory James and I do hope you’ll check it out. But I wanted to take a brief break from promoting in order to express gratitude for the people in my life who’ve encouraged me, inspired me, and allowed me to be fully who I am (which trust me can be scary sometimes...on all levels).

Your friendship, your love matters to me. It changes me.

Thank you.

“She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.”

~ Toni Morrison, Beloved

Pub Day for Ellory James

The Short & Sincere Life of Ellory James is now for sale at Amazon. Paperback or ebook. Great choice for book clubs, Christmas gifts, treat-yourself-days, etc.!

Purchase your copy today!

If you fall in love with Ellory & Pete the way that I did, share your thoughts by writing a review on Amazon &/or Goodreads.

What are you waiting for? Ellory is waiting for you to meet her!