Seasons Changing
It’s transitioning from Summer into Fall here, which is my very favorite time of year. I like pumpkin candles and pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin pie. I like cold mornings and red leaves. I like anticipating Christmas. 🙂
It’s a changing season here at my house too. First, as you know, with the new house. Also, my son is in first grade and going to school full time, which is a very new and different experience! I still have the two little ones at home, but it’s a lot quieter without my Drama boy all day.
I’m also staring down my first year as a writer working with two different publishers, and on books of different lengths.
It’s funny, because just over a year ago I was sure I would never write short, and I was scared to death of writing long. Then Harlequin asked me to do a short for the Santina Crown series and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed working on it. And just before that I started work on my single title length book. Then I wrote a longer novella to partner with my single title series and now…Well, now I’m doing three lengths with total regularity.
I just have to look back and shake my head at past Maisey a little bit. Because I’ll be honest, I’m one of those people who really doesn’t like change.
At the end of the last school year, I had a meeting with the principal and my son’s teacher. Would we start him off going the full day in first grade? Or do a modified day. The principal said, give him a chance. I was nervous. But so far, he’s been able to do these big full days and he’s been able to fit in with the other kids. (ADHD, etc, make school a serious challenge for him, and it took him half the kindergarten year to work up to a full kindergarten day)
Back in November my husband said he wanted to start looking into buying a house. Now, we’ve done this several times over the course of our seven years as husband and wife, and it’s never worked out. I get attached to the idea of moving, and it all falls through. So I told him, I couldn’t handle the stress of the process and if he wanted to do it, he had to make the calls and get the ball rolling and I would show up and sign whatever needed to be signed.
Back before that, at the RWA conference in NY, I was having a panic attack about pitching to my agent and making the move toward single titles.
Because I was comfortable. Because I liked what I was doing. Because I was afraid writing anything else, living somewhere else, might compromise everything.
I’m on the other side of it and I marvel at how I nearly let fear hold me back from trying all these things.
I still don’t know what the end result will be. My son will probably have some hard days. Maybe keeping up with the new house WILL feel like a struggle sometimes. Maybe it won’t always feel easy to balance these different sorts of books, but the important thing is trying. Not letting the fear win.
We have seasons in the year, lots of changes. And we have seasons in our lives. But I think we’re made for that. For accepting and wrestling with new challenges. It’s in my nature to resist these sorts of changes, but I hope now I have an easier time. Sometimes it’s a blind walk with nothing but faith guiding you on, but if you don’t take any kind of risk, you might miss the great rewards.
As a professional update, my Bad Boy Russian has been revised and turned back in, and my editor feels confident enough in the work to have signed off on it more or less. I’m working on a Geek Billionaire Computer Genius for Presents. I’ll be doing revisions on my first cowboy novel sometime in September/early October AND I’ll be working on a Christmas novella for Silver Creek too.
In keeping with the theme of change, I’m contemplating my blog. I know a lot of you read and don’t comment. 😉 But I’m curious: What topics are the most interesting and useful for you? What would you like for me to discuss here?
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I’m one of them scarce commenters. My only excuse is that I hardly ever pull up blogs outside of my Mac Mail client, because once I do that, it’s a slippery slope to Angry Birds and YouTube and TV spoilers and other stuff that blows my productivity all to crap.
But I do read. And I don’t know what’s the most interesting, or whatever. It’s all interesting. The appeal of your blog–at least for me–is that it’s just like catching up over email. So keep on keepin’ on, yo.
And get thee to Bath & Body Works! They have a pumpkin latte candle on sale now and it is so wonderful. They also have one called Apple Crumb Cake that’s so good you’ll want to eat it. Like, literally. Every time I go into my kitchen, I’m like WHERE ARE THE PUMPKIN LATTES AND THE APPLE CRUMB CAKE??
And then I realize they’re candles and probably I shouldn’t eat them, so I settle for a Yoplait instead.
That’s actually a pretty sad story now that I think about it.
I like your insightful blogs – like this one. And I like the ones where you discuss the writing craft.
I like to ‘know’ the writer as a person, not just a name on a book I like so anything that gives me that (and your blogs do) make me happy.
And reading how you face the fear gives me hope that I can face it too as I chase the dream of being pubbed.
I’m with the other commenters, I really like your blog the way it is, mixing writing and a bit of personal stuff. It feels like chatting with a nice colleague at work. I miss that, being a writer is lonely sometimes 😉
I do understand the contemplating though. I’m having a hard time deciding where to go with my blog. I recently decided to mix both my blogs (my rather personal English blog and my “professional” Dutch blog) and up until now I’m feeling good about it. It’s true that people like to (think they) know the person behind the books.
Oh, and about the other transitions: congratulations on the new house! And I’m so glad your son is doing well in school. That must be such a relief (one of my girls has some issues and she had some very difficult years in school)! I love that the principal was the one asking to give him a chance (it was the other way around for us); that must mean he really thinks your son can do it.
Maisey
I’m with the others. Your blog is one of my favourites and I love the mix of personal/ professional and craft. I also really appreciate how willing you are to answer questions and share what you have learnt along the way. Oh and you make me laugh (and occasionally cry!)
Anyway its amazing how much you have achieved in a year and I’m really pleased your son is doing well at school. I know how hard it can be hoping they are OK.
Nina x
Awww…Liz, that’s like the nicest thing ever to hear. And it’s okay to lurk. I’m a mad lurker. 😡
Marcie, I always hope I help! 🙂 Am glad that my blog has been useful to you.
Geertrude, thank you! I really appreciate that. And yes, re school. We had SO many issues last year. I’m glad it’s going smoother.
Nina, that’s so lovely, thank you. I’m pleased the format of my blog is working!
Thank you all! 🙂
Bit late posting – sorry -but just wanted to say that I love reading your very insightful blog Maisey. I just get amazed each time at how much you seem to do in the space of a month! Go Maisey! Caroline x
i love this post! Love seeing the changes and challenges you face a writer, wife and mother!
I love how you can relate it all to your writing too. Your posts are always so insightful. Don’t stop!
Hi Maisey – I’m with the others 😀
I really enjoy reading your posts especially when they relate to craft and writing. As an experienced writer who is not yet published I’m interested in your insights and thoughts about being a published writer (especially working with the publishers).
I’m amazed at how much you write and achieve 🙂 Perhaps one of your future posts could be about how you balance home life and writing? I know this is one area I struggle with.
As an Australian I was amazed to read you have pumpkin scented candles 🙂 nothing like that here. After a cold winter I’m happy it’s Spring and we’re heading to Summer – yeah!
Well done on the writing and your blog 😀
Poppin’ back in to say…it’s OK to only blog when you feel like it. (And to not blog when you don’t.) Some of my favorite blogs are updated sporadically. There might be five updates in a month, or there might be no updates in five months. I’m cool with that. Most other people are, too.
Blog fatigue is going around (it always does, this time of year–this time of year is CHAOTIC), so don’t feel like you have to decide now whether you’re going to blog every day or blog never. Just call it as you see it. Don’t feel like blogging/don’t have time to blog? Don’t do it. And don’t feel guilty about not doing it. It doesn’t make you a bad blogger, or that your blog is dying, or whatever. We want to hear from you when you have time, when you have something to share, when you’ve finished all the things and have a bit of time to yourself. No one wants to pull you away from your work or make you feel like you HAVE to be active on your blog or IT WILL DIE.
Blogs are like cacti. They can take a few months of neglect and be fine.
Just throwing that out there.
Thank you, Caroline! That’s so nice to hear.
Thanks, Kerrin, no danger of me stopping! Just want to make sure I’m not boring!
Joanne, Thank you! And I’m pleased you like those sorts of posts. I’ll definitely be blogging more about home/work balance because that’s always changing!
Liz, thanks. 😉 That’s a good thing to remember too.