As I get settled into this second week of the new year, I’m aware that this is becoming more of life blog than an author’s blog. One of my favorite movies is Mr. Holland’s Opus where Richard Dreyfus says “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”
My holidays were very different this year due to circumstances beyond my control. My Christmas present was a new furnace. Not what I wanted, mind you, but very much what I needed. This Christmas also marked three years since my father died. While I wasn’t close to him, he was still my father and I spent many, many years caregiving for my parents so they were, despite our difficulties relating, a presence in my world. This was the first Christmas I didn’t honor all the traditions our family when my parents were alive looked forward to. Even my food choices changed and I have to say it brought new life to me while I was in something of a crisis mode.
I’ve also had some health issues over the holidays which are not conducive to working much less celebrating. The New Year came just the same. Time marches on. I had plans for so much I would accomplish over the holiday break and I did none of them. Joey is still here with me and I treasure every day with my 16 year old cat. His middle name should be Demanding.
I have been working a bit on Dorian 2 but it’s been mostly on the sideline and I’m not sure why that is. I do want to get it off my To Do list, certainly. I’m enthusiastic about moving on to Rossyn’s first book but there’s obviously something I haven’t done to get Dorian’s second half ready for publication. It’s an odd thing, how an author feels that the characters communicate. I definitely feel some communication as I found a huge plot hole in one scene and realized I needed to repair a scene where a contributing character was essentially forgotten. So, work continues and I hope to have results soon and a book out by Spring. I’m not going to sugarcoat it and say it’ll be out in a couple of weeks. It won’t. I’m just not moving that fast. But I am moving and I’m warm again! Thankful to be able to scrape up enough to get the new furnace. Fifteen years is just long enough to forget how much you paid for the last one!
I am taking only one class this semester for the sole purpose of wanting and needing to accomplish other things. I want to focus on my math and get that out of the way so I can really consider transferring to a four year college and get a Bachelor’s degree. I love to study and all my studies have been at the Associate’s level so it’ll be an adventure to study at the Bachelor’s level. Additionally, I need to make more progress on the house renovations. I need my craft room done so my crafts won’t intrude on my bedroom! And with all the drama of last semester and this holiday season, I think it’s wise to slow down and allow myself some time, especially with all that’s going on this winter already. I don’t want to miss a thing and if that means I spend some extra time with Dorian 2, then I think that’s worth it. I hope readers will feel the same.
Blessings to you for this New Year. May we all prosper and grow!
W. M. Tag Writes 