It's been a while, hasn't it?
Life has me juggling a few new adventures, but I'm still here. I'm still writing--though slowly--as I've adjusted to my new daily routine.
When I began working at the elementary school, I thought it would take a couple of weeks to adjust before I'd be able to add other things back in (writing, VA work, etc.) but I was WRONG. I work in a classroom with special needs kids. Most are non-verbal and all have big challenges . The first few weeks I came home and just zoned out! I was so exhausted physically and mentally. But I love working with the kids!
It took some time before I was able to feel like I could function after work and even longer before I could begin writing again.
To be honest, I didn't want to write for a while. When I finally voiced that to some of my author besties, it broke the spell and my desire to write came back.
You may recognize some of these faces…
Once upon a time when the world shut down due to Covid, an author acquaintence suggested a bunch of us have a chat over zoom. I was terrified to chat over video with online aquaintences, but joined. That friendly call turned into a few more, which then turned into a mastermind group of thirteen author women (some of us were the hosts of the Reading Queens Podcast, you might remember if you've been here for a while), and we all became the best of friends.
We lived all over the world, so the chances of meeting all together in person seemed like an impossibilty.
Until we decided it wasn't.
Top (left to right): Clarissa Gosling, K.C. Cordell, Alison Ingleby, Charlie N. Holmberg, Kay L. Moody
Bottom (left to right): Rose Garcia, Hanna Sandvig, Kristin J. Dawson, Joanna Reeder, Stacey Trombley, Valia LInd, Abby J. Reed.
Twelve of the thirteen of us met in Colorado in August for the most incredible Queen's Retreat hosted by the amazing Abby J. Reed. We laughed, cried (I cried a lot), wrote stories, brainstormed, went shopping together, mastered escape rooms, and spotted dozens of shooting stars.
More than two months later, I'm still riding the high from that incredible week.
Despite being so busy with a new job, I did attend FanX in Salt Lake City in September. It was so fun to see some familar faces and connect with readers!
I'm hoping to do one more event this year. I'll share details when I know more!
