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I subscribe to Susan Dennard’s email list, and her newsletter last week was titled, “Tapping Into the Power of Free-Writing.” In it, she explains that free-writing for her is like exercising her creative muscles. She does it every morning in her journal, and has been doing it for about three months without missing a single day.
Meh, I thought. I don’t need that.
I was wrong.
I am so lucky to live near the independent bookstore, Flyleaf Books, in Chapel Hill. They have wonderful, intimate author events. I always enjoy hearing authors speak on their writing processes and their journeys to publication. One of the first events I went to last year was for the release of local author Renee Ahdieh’s debut of The Wrath & the Dawn. She was there again this past week with Emery Lord to celebrate the release of Lord’s When We Collide and her own paperback release of TW&TD.
This past month I read 9 books. Read on to see what I read, what I thought about them, and what I’m planning to read in April.
Images are a huge source of inspiration, so Pinterest has become a wonderful tool for me. I did a FB post recently that featured a link to my Mood/Inspiration board for my upcoming novel, The Runaway Queen, and received some really wonderful feedback. I thought I would do a post on Pinterest, and how I use it as both a reader and a writer.
I’m a writer – my first novel will be published soon, the first in a YA high fantasy series. But I’m also a reader and have made it my goal to read 100 books this year. I have a full-time job with an hour-long commute. I have two kids, and they have gymnastics classes and soccer practices. I have two dogs and a cat and a husband that I have to keep alive and give some attention to every now and then. I go to the gym five days a week.
I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you this because it makes sense that people who as me this a lot: “How do you find the time?” Guess what… I don’t. Most of the time, I am Jessie Spano, banging my fists against Zack Morris’ chest and wailing about how excited I am, and I just can’t hide it.
But really, I do a lot, and here’s the answer
I used to have a blog, many years ago before they were called blogs. Back when opendiary and livejournal were sources of infinite angst and bad teenage poetry. But I haven’t had a blog since then, and now I don’t know how to start, where to begin. I’m a writer now! I should be able to write something witty and interesting! But I’ve always been a writer. And I’ve never really known what to say. The only thing different is that now I’ve got a book deal.
So this will be my place to talk about reading and writing, and how I do those things while simultaneously raising kids and working a full-time job. I welcome you to contact me via the “Contact Me” page, or connect with me at the social media links found on the “About Me” page. Please also check out news on my books in the menu above.