So you may (or may not) have noticed that I didn’t blog for, like, all of fall and through Thanksgiving and Christmas. I won’t bore you with all my very good excuses. So in lieu of that, today I’m going to catch you up on the several exciting things that happened during my absence. You may (or may not) find the descriptor “exciting” accurate.
I got a job! I am now a Library Assistant (capitalized) at my local neighborhood library 12 hours per week. You know, because I wasn’t working at all before. The homeschooling, homemaking, cooking, meal planning, shopping, managing all household minutia, writing novels, blogging, promoting novels (not capitalized) was just stuff I was doing to pass the time. Let me tell you about my job. I check out books and check in books and help people find books, I shelve books, I read books I am supposed to be shelving, I borrow more books than ever. (I know?! Really? you’re thinking. I’m more out of control than ever before!) I think I want to be a Staff Librarian (also capitalized) someday when my kids get older. They work 40 hours per week. And have benefits. And retirement plans. The great thing is now that I have this job, I don’t have to do all that other stuff. (Yes, I do.)
Even though I have told myself—repeatedly and sternly—that I needed to remember to take a picture of the library to use in this post, I have then forgotten almost immediately after the thought formed itself in my tender brain folds. Where do the thoughts go? I mean, their inception is in the same place from which they also disappear. How is that possible? I got this pic from a royalty-free photo site. It’s not my library; it’s the Royal Portuguese Library in Brazil. But you get the idea.
So, I have been doing a little overhaul on the family eating habits—making sure veggies and protein are the primary focus, cutting back on the grains and dairy. It started simply enough as a fitness challenge I did during the fall. I lost, like, 8 pounds without even trying and I feel really good. So with dairy as one of the foods I am trying to avoid, I have had to really think about my beloved green tea latté whose base is milk. This, I know, is shocking news. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. So how have I been doing with it? Not so good on kicking that habit. (Which is pretty much why everything is okay.) So, I have been working on a new green tea latté recipe. As we know, the homemade almond milk green tea latté turned out AWFUL. Undrinkable. I could not drink it. It was not drinkable. So, I decided to do a mix of coconut milk, almond milk and a splash of water and see how that went. It was pretty good. I had a raging cold at the time so my tastebuds were not 100%, but I’m pretty sure it was at the very least palatable. I am hoping it will taste as good as I think on a day when I can breathe through my nose. I’ll let you know.
Getting your first novel some shelf space in the bookstores is a real challenge. Partners Village Store is my local bookseller and not only have they graciously agreed to carry my book, but they have this amazing local section that highlights the work of local authors. The Mosquito Hours is doing really well there and I am very grateful and excited! I’m going to be joining another local author this coming Sunday, January 25th, for a reading and book signing. If you are local, please come on down and say hello! If not, there are things like trains and planes and what-not. Just sayin’.
In November, I attended a book club meeting with some lovely women in Fall River. They read my book and then graciously invited me to join them for dinner and conversation about The Mosquito Hours. One of the things about being a writer is that you’re alone with your own brain quite a lot. Your brain and your stories and your characters. And sometimes you forget that there is a whole wide world of actual people outside of your own brain. Really—there is! Then you meet them and they are so nice and lots of fun and you wonder why you don’t get out more. Then you remember you’re an introvert and that was enough excitement for a while. If YOU would like to have a live, bonafide author at one of YOUR book club meetings, here’s a handy form for you. If I haven’t hit my quota of unnecessary social interactions for a singular time period, I’ll totally come. (You’re welcome.)
Since we last encountered one another, I have sewn up Cowie several more times, clocking in even more hours at the endeavor to keep this damn cow whole. Or some semblance of wholeness. The closet thing possible. (It’s growing ever-more difficult.) I’ve gone beyond the point of hoping for anything resembling cow normalcy. Normal is overrated anyhow. And, yes, this is the finished product.
Have a terrific Thursday!
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Find my novel, The Mosquito Hours, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or order it directly from the publisher. And don’t forget your local independent bookstore! And would you like to stay up-to-date on news about my books as well as have my latest blog posts conveniently delivered to your inbox? Then subscribe to my newsletter! Click on that little box right over there on the right. See how easy I made that for you? (You’re welcome.)