Hey y’all.

May has been an infamous time for busy lives, end-of-school nonsense, the ramping up of summer plans and trying to get out of the house before the weather is unbearable. This year is no different and here at the house we’re in the midst of a new transition while our oldest kiddo is moving back in to attend Colorado State. After a quick trip over the pond to retrieve her and the 7 checked bags of her life, we’re back and trying to settle into the space in the gentlest way possible. I feel like living with one another is always a delicate balance of feeling safe and supported while also having your own space and independence enough to not drive each other insane.

I’m not sure if we’ll achieve that, but it’s a goal.

Random Shit:

In, non-writing related news, I did pretty damn good on my 10K in the first weekend of May. Even coming in 4th in my mature-lady category. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful race. I’ll probably do it again next year. I had a quick trip to the UK, as I mentioned before, but we packed it full of visiting some fun sites (the above picture is from a 7 mile hike we took from the Brontë Museum in Haworth), including a canal boat book store (more on that later)

We also took a full day to tour the home of the Bronte sisters (and their damndable brother Branwell). It was a morose but interesting trip through a family’s history that contained both flights of genius and trips into madness. Sickness, early death, and the end of a line of some of the world’s most interesting writers were some of the more sad themes of the day. My kiddo and I took the long hike out to the ruins that inspired Emily’s Wuthering Heights and sat beside the same waterfall she may have penned some of her works. It was fantastical and eerie in all the right ways and it gave my mind a lot of space in those wide-open fields of heather and wind, to think of everything and nothing at once.

What else? Hmm…We’re STILL having our bathroom remodeled. Sort of. We’re now into the sixth week. I’m beginning to lose hope of ever having my own toilet. Sometimes you have luck with a contractor, sometimes you have a Hailey’s contractor…who appears only once every seven years, after tearing up your space to unusable. Given another week, I shall start remodeling it myself at night and lend to the whimsical idea that fairies are doing his work for him.

The grass in our yard is gone and…all the rock is scraped away. The dead and dying bushes have been pulled up and the abhorrent pompous grasses are no more. I love the smell of fresh upturned earth out there and I’m looking forward to the English garden that’s on it’s way and the vegetable boxes being put in. I’m saving as many of the established plants as I can, along with my rhubarb and iris. I have every faith that it’ll get done before my fancy new shitter.

So…all in all…it’s still just fucking chaos. But, I feel like this is the way we progress and survive, by tearing down and building back up again.

Reading:

In reading news, I finished “How We Learn to Be Brave” by Mariann Edgar Budde. I’m still reading “Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods” by Mariana Alessandri, and enjoying it. I’ve also started (and nearly finished because I can’t put his shit down) Chuck Wendig’s “The Book of Accidents”. It’s creepy and mysterious and gruesome in all the right ways.

Also, while I was in the UK we visited this book shop: Hold Fast Book Shop,

and I did my part to keep it afloat by buying enough books that I had to leave some clothes and an old pair of running shoes behind to haul them back. Here’s some new things I’ll be (or have started) reading:

“Walking the Invisible: Following in the Brontës’ Footsteps” by Michael Stewart. His writing is impeccable and soft. It’s like a beautiful and slow flowing creek to follow his loving descriptions of the lands and moors near Haworth. It’s also a stunning and in depth tribute to the sisters (and fucking Bramwell).

“Why Doing Nothing Can Change Your Life: The Brain at Rest” by Dr. Joseph Jebelli. Once I start reading this one, expect me to start dropping out of my life obligations with wild abandon. Enjoy this newsletter, it could be the last.

“When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Barnhill. I actually had this one recommended to me a few weeks ago by a dear friend and when I saw it on the shelves, the only copy in that beautiful little boat of books, I took it as a sign that I should bring it home. It looks whimsical with just the right amount of social commentary.

And finally “Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit” by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. I’ve been wanting this book for years. I’m really excited to get started on it soon.

Writing and Editing:

I’m done with the cover request for “Heir to Time” and am just waiting for the options to get back from the publisher. When they do I’ll get you a sneak peek. I hope it will be out in June or July. My publisher has a lot on her plate right now, so we’ll see. When I have that pub date, I’ll start getting some book signings on the calendar and you’ll be the first to know (unless of course, I decide to do nothing and change my life).

I’ve finished the 5 Prince Publishing’s first shared-town anthology novella. My little derelict of a Hallmark failure is currently sitting around 56,700 words so I’m over, but even after two rounds of edits, I’m finding it hard to cut much else. This “sweet” romance is wavering over the line to “spicy”. Because of the parameters of the project, I will have to cut some of the more ‘intimate’ scenes. But, because I don’t want a good sex scene to go to waste, I’ll be offering those annexed chapters on my Substack. Follow me for more details on that. AND if you want to check out my idea board for Eight Nights, you can find it here: 8 Nights in Everpine

After this project is complete, I’ll be taking a little time to get my next series prepped and ready for publication. In a complete 180 of historical fiction (why can’t I find a subgenre and just stick to it? Same reason I have multiple degrees and certifications in different fields, because I don’t think life should be about doing the same thing over and over again) this will be a mythology based urban fantasy, set in the Ornkey Islands north of Scotland and south of Scandinavia. If you like demons and fairies, Valkyries and björns, witches and merfolk… you’re gonna love this one. I already do.

In addition, I’m playing around with a little apocalyptic satire that sprung up whilst I was sitting in a green park near Leeds Beckett, thinking about the formidable knowledge of birds and the equally crippling idiocy of humans. I’m not sure it will go anywhere, but it sure is fun to write in a different genre and style.

I’m keeping up with my submissions (but missed one last week due to…life). Currently I’m at 22. Which has resulted in 18 rejections or no responses, but here we are. I also got a short story accepted with Beyond Words. More on that later.

Events

Wyoming Writers Conference:

I’m still helping out the Wyoming Writers Inc, as a board member. Listen, if you’re in the area, this conference is gonna be pretty damn good. It includes a craft day, and a youth writing event with Todd Fahnestock, that’s super affordable. The rest of the weekend is chocked full of lots of classes, pitches, and workshops. Writing Heights will have a booth with some fun swag and you’ll get to meet a quirky, and welcoming community of writers. I’m telling you it’s worth going. You will get your money’s worth and Casper is a fun little place to visit. Check it out here: Wyoming Writers Inc. Conference.

WHWA Classes: Parent Panel

In May I’m on a panel for writers who are parents. We’ll be talking about what it means to be a creative with limited time and energy and how to survive parenting while still taking care of your creative spirit. We have a dynamite panel with award winning and best-selling authors who have had to deal with toddlerhood, special needs, multiple sons in hockey, and more. Bring your questions and concerns and we’ll bring our honesty. Register here: Parent Panel

Write Ins: I’m hosting a Write-in at Grimm Brothers Brewery in Loveland on May from 5-7pm. It’s a fun little spot with some killer food and drinks. Bring your work and a couple of bucks to throw at a local business.

Quid Novi: In June (30th at 5:30pm), I’ll be presenting for Quid Novi and Writing Heights on the best ways to utilize a writing community, how to find them, what to expect, and how to get the most out of them. We’ll discuss how they can help not just network as a little-known writer, but also give you valuable insights to every part of the process. It takes place in Loveland at the Forge (next to Grimm Brothers Brewery) and there will be authors there selling their books as well. You can register for that here. Quid Novi

WHWA Class: Writing Series

In June, in case I don’t send out another newsletter (because I’ve committed to doing nothing–in which case, will there even be a class? Let’s assume yes), I’ll also be teaching a class on how to write an engaging, consistent series, including how to make each book unique and special and how to tie them all together with a larger over-arching theme. We’ll talk about tools to help with consistency and the dreaded running out of steam half way through. Lots of good stuff. I don’t have the registration yet, but you can visit www.writingheights.com for more info.

Closing:

Every time I look back at the massive length of the newsletter I’m reminded to give myself grace for how tired and overwhelmed I sometimes feel. Yes, packing one’s life full of challenges and experiences is a beautiful way to honor the gift we’ve been given of just existing. But it’s also important to remember that expansion requires moments of cocooning, or contraction. My morning meditation gave me a vision of my heart as this battered, ragged, bandaged thing that still continues to beat, despite its wounds and scars, and how it’s my job to take better care of it, to let it heal, to protect it, so that it can continue to be the center of my capacity for love that affects the world around me.

I hope you’re taking time for yourself and your mental health. I will if you will.

Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other.