A Little Miss

Hi guys!

Sorry about the impromptu hiatus last week. But I’ve got a good reason. 

I would like to introduce Loraina Fable, born right on her due date. 

We had planned to try a VBAC this time around, but things didn’t turn out that way and we ended up doing another C-section. This time was considerably better than with Henry though, as I was able to be awake during the procedure and interact with her right after she was born. Recovery has been much better also. 

We’re all home and happy now, and big brother is absolutely thrilled (though he’s a little put off that mommy can’t rough house or drive him to the store because a doctor cut a hole in her tummy).

Little miss Lorie is a doll, and we’re so blessed to have her. 

Needless to say, I haven’t done much besides change diapers, feed kids, and try to sleep. I’ve got several new books screaming at me, and I can’t wait to dive into them (feeding a baby gives a perfect opportunity to read) but I’ve been fighting migraines caused by the spinal anesthesia and focusing on a page is a no-go. I’m hoping those wear off soon though and I can soak in some good reading and maybe get some more work done on The Queens Three. 

For anyone wondering, Jarod chose Loraina based on Lori from the Lonesome Dove movie, and I picked Fable because it loosely means story. 

Obviously I would love a daughter named story. It was as close as I could get to a literary name without picking an actual book character. (Although Lonesome Dove was a book first, and I hear the protagonist in Adrienne Young’s next book is named Fable. So that’s a win.) 

The plan now is to get back to blogging weekly like I’m supposed to. I shall try. 

What have you been up to? Would you name a child after a book character? 

The State of the Realms

Hello everyone! 

Still no baby, just in case you’re one of the people who keeps asking me. I promise, I will announce when she is born. I will not be waiting weeks to mention it. 

In a random burst of inspiration (nesting hormones?) I’ve been madly revising The Mad Hatter. 

I’m actually pretty much certain it’s the nesting hormones driving this effort. Which is a double edged sword. On the one hand, its spurred me to add multiple new chapters and beef up the word count, working my way to the halfway point in about five days. 

On the flip side of that though, there have been multiple times where I was just about to dive into a new scene when suddenly I was struck by an inescapable need to wash all of the baby clothes and fold and put them all away. Now. 

It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. 

Things are progressing nicely though. In the most exciting news, it received a new title. The Mad Hatter is now The Queens Three. 

Which brings me to the next notable change: Bunny and the Queen of Ravens now each have their own points of view in the story. 

It’s been super fun and super difficult to dive into each of their personalities and give them distinct voices and reveal more of what makes them tick. It’s not perfect, but I’ve gotten some good feedback and can’t wait to flesh them out even more. 

It’s really fun getting to spend more time in the fae realm (which needs a real name) through them. 

Molly’s boyfriend, Matt, got a new name. He’s currently Brett. There were too many M names running around the place. I’m not sure Brett is the winner though, so it might change again before I’m through. 

The word count is creeping up. Not quite where I want it, but it’s definitely improving. 

One thing that’s been a relief (and worrisome) is I haven’t found any major plot holes or useless threads. A few clarifications and tweaks yes. But gigantic glaring issues? No. It’s rather strange. 

But then again, it comes with the territory. 

One Baby To Rule Them All

Hey guys! 

Do you ever get into one of those ruts where you want to accomplish SO MUCH that you actually don’t accomplish much at all?

That’s kind of my life right now. I just have this weird feeling of urgency. Like I need to get everything done right this instant. But in the last week or so my body has also decided it’s actually pregnant. I’m kind of at baby girl’s mercy, and I just have zero energy. 

Basically, all I want to accomplish is edit Mad Hatter perfectly in one fell swoop, slap out the entire draft of Viking, read like eighteen books, clean the house, make all the decor,  listen to my music, get some sleep, and eat all the snacks. 

What I’ve actually done is not read a single book in months (except a smidge of beta reading, which was very fun), not touched the Viking document at all, ate a few snacks and then puked them back up, listened to Barney sing the same stinking song over and over, and have a Hobbit and Lord of the Rings marathon, thereby ruining any chance of sleep. 

Can we talk for a second about the awesomeness of Viggo Mortensen? The man is a phenomenal actor, that’s all there is to it. 

One thing I did manage to accomplish though is reaching the halfway point—maybe a smidge over—of my Mad Hatter edits, in three days. Which is kind of terrifying me, because it feels way too easy, and I’m liking how it’s turning out, so I’m absolutely convinced that I missed something horrifically obvious. Probably due to lack of sleep. 

Really kinda sorta ready for baby girl to arrive. Not that it will help much in the sleep department. But I should be able to move a bit better.

Sorry for the ramble. One does not simply blog while pregnant and sleep deprived. 

Hello New Year

Happy 2020!

I wanted to have a prolific post for the new year. Or even a lighthearted one full story of Roaring 20s references. 

But the sad fact of the matter is I’ve hardly slept since before Christmas, I feel like a half dead dog who’s been run over by a semi truck and run through a meat grinder (twice) and I just don’t have that poetic and witty post in me. 

I just read through last year’s first post and it could almost exactly be used for this year as well. 

We’ve got 15” of snow, we’ve had the usual Christmas gatherings. 

But some things are totally new. We’re in a new house and I’m loving it. Our new baby will be joining us in just a few weeks. Life is good. 

Yes, there’s been stress, but there had also been growth. It’s been a wild ride of a year. I’m excited to see what this new year brings. 

I’ve got a few goals, but I don’t know that I’d call them resolutions. I haven’t been writing this past month, and I want to get back to it. Blood and Dust is out on query again, and I’m hoping to revise Mad Hatter and Bad Boy in the meantime. If I’m really ambitious maybe I’ll even draft the Viking story, but we’ll see. 

I want to get some more things set up and decorated with the house, and I want to enjoy this new season of motherhood. 

I want to learn (again, because it never seems to stick) to be happy and content. To give the reins to God and not be so determined to fight my own battles. Or create them. 

So here’s to 2020. Let’s do it.