Monday, April 30, 2018

It's Been a Minute

Hey all.

I'm just gonna say it.

I'm terrible at written multi-tasking. Either I'm writing a book or I'm writing blogs, or maybe I'm not even writing at all at which point I'm just bad at the doing of writing, and this has turned into a long sentence.

You may notice that, in fact, the last blog posted was very nearly six months ago. And...I never meant it to be that long. But the thing with blogging is that the longer you're away the harder it is to go back.

Also, things were busy. We experienced our first holiday season in the south, and we spent time with friends and I got sick (again) and I made all of our Christmas gifts and we spent more time with friends. Everyone asks why we moved here, what we were thinking, and you know what? The Mid-south is America's best kept secret. We've moved around a lot over the years, and I feel more settled and at home here than I ever did in the Portland area. Also, I can find parking places. It's a win-win.

After the holidays, life was a blur of visiting family, another round of viruses, and becoming members of our church. Things were settling out a little bit, and I was looking forward to catching up on the writing and blogging and newslettering.

And then Danny's father passed away unexpectedly, and that threw everything, all of us, for a loop. We traveled back to Oregon and spent two weeks there, and since our return Danny's had work trips to Alabama, I got to see Darlingside with my dear friend Ginny in Nashville, and then Danny and I drove to North Carolina and back to attend a sweet cousin's wedding reception.

That was...weekend before last? To complete that whirlwind, I got to speak at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, which was great but also kinda prepared at the last minute (see previous paragraph). The notes for that will be in the following post, if you're interested.

Also, there will be a newsletter forthcoming I KNOW, BUT I MEAN IT THIS TIME. So if you'd like that in your inbox and haven't subscribed, make sure to do that!

What else? I am still working on a new book. Yes, it is going very slowly. Yes, I hope to pick up the pace. Yes, I like it very much and if you liked Jane of Austin, I think you'll like it too.

I've been reading A Lady in the Smoke and have been enjoying that very much. I also reread The Peach Keeper (which I have to say I enjoyed better as a reread) and have The Music Shop in my TBR pile with Robin Gunn's Woodlands as well for peak nostalgia.

What's kept you busy? What's in your book pile? Share in the comments below!

8 comments:

  1. I am reading an arc of The Death of Mrs Westaway (Ruth Ware's newest). Yay for news of your upcoming book!!

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    1. Emphasis on "upcoming," lol. But more of it exists than last month, so that's something! I'll have to check out Mrs. Westaway - always looking for new books!

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  2. You think I have time to read?! Ha!
    *quiet weeping from the corner*

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    1. To clarify: The last two have been mostly audiobooks (I had both on kindle too), so I've been able to listen while doing overdue yard work (including clearing a patch of probably kudzu?) and kitchen cleanup and then reading the ebook in the occasional little nook and cranny.

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  3. After being displaced for eight months due to Hurricane Harvey, we have moved home. Friday I leave for 12 days in Israel. I have a book for the plane!

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    1. I'm so glad you're back home! Hope you have a great time in Israel - a friend of mine got back, she had a lovely time.

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