March 2018

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A Year of New Beginnings

March 2018

You dream of retirement and how great it’s going to be, until reality sets in. On January 2nd, an errand I was running took me over by my old office. When I got a few blocks away, I was hit with the worst guilt trip. What are you doing playing hooky from work?

I smiled, oh yeah, I don’t work there anymore. The next night, while watching a movie with my hubby, Ron, I glanced over at the clock, which read 10:00 p.m. Oh goodness, I need to start getting ready for work tomorrow.

Oh yeah, I work from home now. Sunday afternoon I was thinking about my schedule for the next week.  Monday and Tuesday my Ron will have to fend for himself because I won’t have time to stop by the house and fix him dinner before the meeting starts.

Oh yeah, I work from home now. It took almost three months for it to finally sink in, I’m retired.

My New Year’s resolution was all planned out. I would rise up early, get dressed, eat, and have some quiet time before jumping into a Monday through Friday, five-hour work day editing “Dawning of A New Day,” my first novel. However, life had its own schedule.

I found myself not only working on the pages of the novel but creating memories in the lives of my grandchildren two to three times a week. It’s hard to work when they’re around because you want to be with them.

Last November, I signed up for the Asheville Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina, held in mid-February. I also entered their writers contest. The requirements were: the first chapter of the novel, a bio, and no more than a two-page synopsis. All items had to be sent in by the end of day on January 15th. This would not be a problem, since I had two weeks to wrap it up in a neat little bow. However, two weeks came and went in a heartbeat. Between everyday life and writing, I quickly found out how challenging it was to meet a contest deadline.

Typical phrases: “The plumber’s wife always has a leaky faucet,” or “The cobbler’s children have no shoes.” I live in a house with three IT people and I had computer problems the entire month. On the day of the deadline, everything was submitted with two hours to spare. But, my day was not over. I still had to prepare 1500 words (about six pages) of the novel along with printing out six copies for that night’s critique group. All was completed by 6:00 p.m., allowing me just enough time to drive to the meeting. Praise the Lord for caffeine!

March 15th, I began a journey searching out the various types of social media authors use to stay in touch with their readers. It’s amazing how many are out there. There is Facebook, blogging, Twitter, Pinterest, instant msg. etc. OMG! This is the next phase I have to tackle, writing my webpage and figuring out the other type(s) of media to get involved in.

Easter is upon us and spring fever is so easy to catch. I am believing that the next three months will go a lot smoother than the last three. I look forward with anticipation on hearing how 2018 went for you.

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