1. Those who are close to me know, and you may have guessed by my Tweets, that this school year I had the opportunity to go back to my middle school librarian job after two years away. This was/is a job that is near and dear to my heart, so I snapped up the chance. And then I freaked out. While I love the job itself, trying to balance it with writing and deadlines and family had been a rough road, I'm not gonna lie. In the last couple of months, I've had those "What was I thinking???" moments on multiple occasions. I've also had those crushing "I cannot possibly do this" moments more than once. But the good news is that today is the last day of the first quarter...and somehow... I've made it. AND...
2. Last week I finally got the greenlight for the next book, GOLDEN, to go to copyedits!!!! Which means it's 99% finished--which means I am 99% relieved. Oh, this book. I don't even know where to begin with it, except that it was a book I was a little intimidated to write from the very beginning, one that gave me a run for my money in the process, and now is one that I am very proud of (but, honestly, a little bit nervous about still, too). I think this is a good thing, the nervousness. That it means something. This is a book that I lost sleep over, did not share with any of my usual readers, and second-guessed just about every line I wrote. I think that means that it's close to my heart. And important to me. And, fingers crossed, it will be close to yours too when it comes out in May!
3. Having finished GOLDEN, I've found myself in that strange place that feels a little bit like a vacation for the writing brain, which is SO nice, but it's one that leads to restlessness pretty quick, which means I'm getting ready to dive back into writing a whole new story. It's a strange thing. I've got the outline for it, and the synopsis. I've even got 16 pages that I wrote way back in July. But at this point, it all feels foreign. The characters seem like strangers. I don't know how they sound yet, or what they fear or love most. This is the best and worst thing about writing, this beginning again. On the one hand, I've got a clean slate, and on the other hand, that clean slate? Well, clean is another word for blank. Empty. And filling it in is a big job, so I'm building myself up to it because I know that once I start, and truly commit to a story, I'm a goner. I will stop sleeping, and start grinding my teeth, and become used to this whole new thing occupying my mind and taking over my life. It takes some working up to, but I think I'm ready. Just about.
4. TV--I am not a huge watcher of it. In fact, Monday through Thursday, I don't watch any. My husband works those nights, and after my kids are tucked in, I take the opportunity to read or answer emails, or generally just chill. But Friday nights, we stay up late and catch up on them all. We've pared it down to a select few--SUPERNATURAL, VAMPIRE DIARIES, and now NASHVILLE. Oh, NASHVILLE. Can I just say right now that Connie Britton is one of my favorite actresses of all time? And Hayden Panitierre, though I want to hate her character like we're supposed to, I also feel a little bit sorry for this little girl lost (like we're supposed to). And I have a feeling that Connie Britton's character will too, though it may pain her to do so. Like FNL, this is one of those extremely well-written, true shows that grabs you right by the heart from the very beginning. If you haven't watched it, do. You'll totally thank me.
5. And finally--I cannot let this week go by without a shout out to Taylor Swift and her beautiful new album, RED, which is poised to sell a million this week! The girl is magical. And such a writer. If you know me, you know I am an unabashed fan, as is my my 6 year old daughter. Not only did I have a special package pre-ordered for her, but I bought it on iTunes as soon as it was available so I could listen to it on the way to and from work. There is nothing more exciting than hearing an artist's newest album, and with this one, Taylor does not disappoint. RED shows her growth as a woman and a songwriter, and since Monday, my commute to and from work has been devoted time to listen, appreciate, and try to figure out which guys the songs were written about. Any insight on this would be extremely helpful, as I am totally out of the loop.
So there it is. An actual blog post. I promise I'm going to try and keep up with them, at least weekly. Or maybe monthly is more realistic. In the meantime, I wish you all the lovliest of weekends!
xoxo,
Jessi
