Well, it seems there has been a little unintended haitus with my blogging - here we are already mid-December and I'm looking back on whether I am living my proposed s '45 time to thrive' year.
Brave steps towards publication
Back in September, I wrote about how I wanted to be braver - and I definitely managed some of that; I put the first book in my cozy mystery series up for pre-order on Amazon and set myself a hard - if sufficiently far off - deadline for publication.
I'm so excited about this because it feels like it has taken a very long time to get here - and I'm going to share that journey to publication on the blog in a future post.
I am even more thrilled as I have had some pre-orders - that little vote of confidence from knowing that my book is anticipated is priceless - and it has gotten me through some of my more difficult high pain days.
Finally getting to the fully edited version to upload in 2025 is going to be a hard journey still; but I am relishing it!
Braver still: doing more as me
Since my last post, I've also taken on some part-time paid employment as a research assistant.
This is a tiny, short term contract, but it feels absolutely huge to me.
Firstly, I really didn't think I'd be able to add anything else to my plate with my health being as terrible as it is; turned out - I needed to drop some old plates - and smash some even older ones (hint to other chronically ill writing mums - it was the daily drudge work. Sadly, no, I have not found a magic wand, but I am now only letting this steal my energy on some evenings and I am getting better at letting my family take their share at the weekend. Girl power or something :)).
Secondly, I'm enjoying having a pinkie toe back in the waters of academia; not only am I experiencing an entirely different role, organisational culture, and area of research - my health condition is understood and seen as a positive source of lived experience.
A refreshing difference to the academia I left in utter burnout and despair 5 years ago.
Looking forwards to 2025 & becoming a published indie author
As I look forwards to 2025, I'm trying to remain mindful of the things I can't change. I'm sitting typing this on my heat mat in a pain flare that won't budge. I'm trying to distract myself by doing something fun - I know I've neglected this space, but I do love sharing my experiences in blog/newsletter format. This is an area I am determined to practice more often going forwards.
While I have published my writing as an academic - and loved that part of my career too - I am even more excited about the thought of publishing my fiction worlds and characters as an indie author; no gatekeepers and all me from the world to the way I choose to set it out into the world.
More on why I'm so keen on the indie path in that future post.
For the rest of 2024, I'm planning lots of festive reads and rest and continuing with my rekindled love of knitting - I picked it up a few months back after over 30 years of not - and my current evening wind down is knitting long scarves!
Wishing you all the very best for the remainder of 2024 - see you in 2025!
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