Featuring...Some News and My Writing Why

 Welcome to my author space! Despite my best intentions and even a few good ideas, my Friday features seem to have fallen by the wayside. Although I did finally manage to get one in last week to finish out the year, clearly it was time for a revamp, so here’s my plan for this space in 2024.

Some weeks, my characters will make an appearance. Other weeks, I might feature organizing ideas, something new I’m trying out, or a return to the reading-based Friday Features that typically filled this space before. 

This week, I'm celebrating. Yesterday, I finished my sixth novel with a day to spare, based on the date of completion I'd set for myself. This cast of characters is quite different from the ones in my MAC series but the themes of friendship, identity and resilience prevail as they typically do in everything I write, whether it's fiction or non-fiction.

Sometimes, writing is a joy, as it has been this past week when I haven't been trying to squeeze it in around the edges and my characters are largely cooperative. Other times, it's a challenge -- so much so that I've actually had times where I wondered if it was time to close out this chapter for good.

But, in the end, I keep going. Even though the words seem to be living in a galaxy far, far away. Even though rejection is hard. Even though I sometimes feel as though I'm shouting into a void. 

A community theatre friend of mine once said about theatre that "we do it because we can't not do it." I think of that conversation often when I think about why I write. While there are many challenges, both creative and practical, in pursuing a career in writing, in the end, the joys of self-expression and connecting with both characters and readers win out.

I hope you'll enjoy the new vibe of this space. See you next week. :-)