Not Dead Yet
Apr. 10th, 2018 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cheriepriestI know I have entirely too many blog posts that begin with some variation of, "Gosh it's been awhile, lol..." but here we are again, oh well. Look, it's been a busy year. Since 2018 rolled over I've wrapped up the following: the final round of rewrites/production on The Agony House; a major round of rewrites on The Toll for Tor; final production on one Wild Cards project; rewrites/production on a second Wild Cards project; a full rewrite of TWO young adult novels that may or may not find homes, but they were both requested by editors so we'll see; and wrote one short story for Apex Magazine (coming in May).
As a side/bonus note, I've also been volunteering for a political campaign via Get Her Elected - a very fine group that aims to help progressive women get into office around the country. On a lark, I threw my hat in the ring to help out with certified awesome badass Dr. Linda Jack and her efforts toward joining the Florida House of Representatives. I lived in her district for years and am acutely aware of the uphill battle she faces, and I'm happy to be even a small part of The Good Fight - even at a distance.
[If you're interested in participating in the blue wave, I strongly recommend signing up for Get Her Elected. They're always looking for a broad assortment of volunteers for a vast number of tasks. As for me, I help with Dr. Jack's website and its content, do a little research here and there, and pull together articles/press releases/whatever she needs that the DNC does not provide for her. It's not much of a time commitment at all, and the GHE folks let you tailor your commitment levels and all that jazz. Check them out!]
I mean...yeah. I've been eyeballs deep these last three months, so my apologies for all the silence. I haven't been very silent over on Twitter, if that matters to anybody - but it's almost entirely pet pictures.
Right. So.
What's next?
I haven't decided yet.
To make a long story short, I made a deal with my husband when we decided to move back to Seattle. The deal was simple: I'd agree to pack up our lovely Victorian and move...if I could have a year to Get My Shit Together while not worrying about keeping up my end of the household income with new sales/day job/contract work. I've been hamster-wheeling it for the better part of a decade and I needed some time to tie off loose ends (see first paragraph) and start developing new things to write and (hopefully) sell.
So 2018 is that year. Just yesterday I handed in the last thing on my catching up list (one of those YA projects) and now I'm...not exactly free and clear? The house is a wreck, the yard is a wreck (and here comes spring!), and my health has not been great. I've developed a weird allergy problem unrelated to the regular spring mayhem, but I'll spare you the details; and I really need to go to the dentist.
And since people have already started asking, I've also strongly curbed my travel this year. I'm not even doing DragonCon, though it's kind of been my Home Event for the last twenty years. I will probably do a little bit of gallivanting around re: The Agony House, including the Children's Institute event in NOLA (middle of June) - and I always do ConFusion in Michigan, but that'll be January of next year. I'm trying to give myself all the downtime I can, that's all.
Anyway. This is me, coming up for air. I will try to be better about routine updates henceforth, and once I get started on my next project (or once I pick a project to finish drafting) I'll let you know. Over and out for now.
::salutes::
As a side/bonus note, I've also been volunteering for a political campaign via Get Her Elected - a very fine group that aims to help progressive women get into office around the country. On a lark, I threw my hat in the ring to help out with certified awesome badass Dr. Linda Jack and her efforts toward joining the Florida House of Representatives. I lived in her district for years and am acutely aware of the uphill battle she faces, and I'm happy to be even a small part of The Good Fight - even at a distance.
[If you're interested in participating in the blue wave, I strongly recommend signing up for Get Her Elected. They're always looking for a broad assortment of volunteers for a vast number of tasks. As for me, I help with Dr. Jack's website and its content, do a little research here and there, and pull together articles/press releases/whatever she needs that the DNC does not provide for her. It's not much of a time commitment at all, and the GHE folks let you tailor your commitment levels and all that jazz. Check them out!]
I mean...yeah. I've been eyeballs deep these last three months, so my apologies for all the silence. I haven't been very silent over on Twitter, if that matters to anybody - but it's almost entirely pet pictures.
Right. So.
What's next?
I haven't decided yet.
To make a long story short, I made a deal with my husband when we decided to move back to Seattle. The deal was simple: I'd agree to pack up our lovely Victorian and move...if I could have a year to Get My Shit Together while not worrying about keeping up my end of the household income with new sales/day job/contract work. I've been hamster-wheeling it for the better part of a decade and I needed some time to tie off loose ends (see first paragraph) and start developing new things to write and (hopefully) sell.
So 2018 is that year. Just yesterday I handed in the last thing on my catching up list (one of those YA projects) and now I'm...not exactly free and clear? The house is a wreck, the yard is a wreck (and here comes spring!), and my health has not been great. I've developed a weird allergy problem unrelated to the regular spring mayhem, but I'll spare you the details; and I really need to go to the dentist.
And since people have already started asking, I've also strongly curbed my travel this year. I'm not even doing DragonCon, though it's kind of been my Home Event for the last twenty years. I will probably do a little bit of gallivanting around re: The Agony House, including the Children's Institute event in NOLA (middle of June) - and I always do ConFusion in Michigan, but that'll be January of next year. I'm trying to give myself all the downtime I can, that's all.
Anyway. This is me, coming up for air. I will try to be better about routine updates henceforth, and once I get started on my next project (or once I pick a project to finish drafting) I'll let you know. Over and out for now.
::salutes::
no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 06:13 am (UTC)(If you want to do any local hanging out type stuff, I'm willing and reasonably flexible for someone with a Go To Work job.)