This year has been a busy one. I have learned a lot about myself as a writer, mother and wife. Juggling the different aspects of my life has been harder than I thought. I am very lucky to have family and friends who are so supportive.
I have been a traveling fool this year and we still have one more trip to go on. I was blessed enough to have my husband take me to Marblehead, Massachusetts, in August. Marblehead is the place where SECRET DOIRES is set. I learned so much and was inspired more than I could have ever imagined. I cannot wait to go back. We both fell in love with the town and its surrounding areas.
With all of the traveling and family balance, I have not been writing as much as I would have hoped. To help jumpstart my next project, I am going to do NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 on November 30.
NaNoWriMo is going to keep me busy in November and I plan on continuing to query SECRET DOIRES. That plus paying attention to the family will leave me zero time for my wonderful blog. So I am taking a blogcation. A long one, sadly. I will come back January 1st, 2012, ready to blog and tell everyone how NaNoWriMo went . . . and hopefully have some good news on SECRET DOIRES.
Last, I want to leave you with some great news. I entered a contest a couple months ago with an independent publishing house. Not only did I make it to the top 20 and then the top 5, but I actually won second place. The first place prize was the ultimate prize, a publishing contract—but I am beyond happy with my second-place finish. (When I entered the contest I hadn’t changed the title yet, so it is titled FLIGHT on the contest page.) This was the push I needed. It reminded me that I am great writer and my book is good, and I know one day it will be published. And boy, I can’t wait for that day.
I miss everyone all ready!
ReplyDeleteWe'll miss you, Jessica! BTW, I did get your query email and will answer. I've just gotten quite busy lately w/family stuff. My mom's been in the hospital, so I've been running back and forth. She's home now, so I'm hoping to get to your query before my editor sends SPLINTERED rewrites. Because once I get those, I'll be taking an internet-cation. HEH. Talk soon! And congrats again on that second place prize! HUGE.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on Second Place Girl!!!!!!
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