Monday, January 27, 2020

I’m Back!


Hey everyone. I know it’s been a hot minute since I last blogged, but I’m back!

First let me update on all the crazy. Let’s go back two years to January 2018. Sorry but that’s where the crazy started.

The year was new and after applying and interviewing for a number of jobs, I received an offer to be an engineering manager. My first manager role! I was so excited. I accepted the offer went home and found out I was pregnant. After 10 months of trying to get pregnant and slightly longer applying for manager jobs, both happened all at once. I was excited and scared.

But as the hobbits say:
And boy has it been.

In February 2018, I signed with my literary agent. Now things were really rocking and rolling. My day job was a huge learning curve in addition to being responsible for 17 employees, I was planning for a new baby and to be a first time mom, and working edits on a manuscript to put on submission to editors.

I was generating a plan for my new job, a plan for the new baby, and a plan for going on sub with my manuscript. Things were busy, but I was in total learning and prepare mode.

Fast forward to Summer 2018. I got an email from my agent giving me one more round of edits then she wanted to run line edits before we went on sub. AWESOME. I’d be on sub while I had my baby and life would be good. I’d be distracted with adjusting to momhood and she could sell my book.

It was PERFECT…

But…
Two weeks later, I got an email from my agent saying she was taking another job in publishing and she couldn’t take her clients with her.

To say that let the wind out of my sails was an understatement. I was two and a half months from my due date, and I would no longer be on sub while pregnant. I scrambled to get the edits done and requery my manuscript, but not much panned out. And as my due date approached, I put all my energy into transitioning my job to the temp manager taking over for me and completing final preparations for baby.

My son arrived bright and early (12:29am) on a Thursday in October. And let me say new parenting is no joke. Sleep doesn’t happen, eating happens at odd hours (or over several hours in between diapers and laundry and holding a little one), and showers are luxury. Anyone that tells you maternity leave is a vacation is kidding themselves. I had grand plans to catch up on TV shows, read books, and write a bit.


Well not much of any of that happened and before I knew it I was back at work with an almost 5 month old in daycare. That transition was rough (that will be a whole other post). I didn’t have five seconds for myself let alone time to write.

And writing didn’t happen. Pretty much at all. For about the last about year and half years. My son is 15 months old now, so you do the math. And boy was the guilt about not writing real. People told me I had a lot going on and it was okay to take a break. I still felt awful about it. 1.5 years felt like too long. And yet I still struggled to get words on the page. I tried new words, editing old words, finishing existing projects... NOTHING WORKED. It was infuriating.

Fast forward to today. It’s 2020, I finally feel like I have some control over my life again, and I want to make something happen. I’m reading more (or trying to), watching new shows for inspiration, chasing a toddler, and still managing a team of employees.

In the spirit of making things happen, there will be news this year. I’m planning to have LOTS and LOTS. And in order to keep up with it all, you should subscribe to my newsletter. Go sign up over on the right hand side of my blog bar (or click the link). Because newsletter subscribers will be the first to know all the secret fun things happening this year. You don’t want to miss out.

And I promise this place will have a lot more happening. Because things are moving and shaking once again.

Here’s to an awesome 2020 everyone. Here’s to making things happen.