Quiet

I'm sorry I have been so quiet this week. A number of things have contributed to my lack of communication, but the three biggest are: a quick trip to Minneapolis, an upcoming vacation to British Columbia, and... (wait for it)... I'm writing again! Yay! I know some authors force themselves to put pen to paper every single day (and enforce it with word counts!), but I absolutely cannot do that. Maybe it's the stage I'm at in life, maybe it's just my style as an author, but I think if I forced myself to write I'd kill my own joy in it. As it is, I've been contemplating my fifth book for a few weeks now, and suddenly I'm filled to overflowing and dying to get everything out. I sat in Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday morning and wrote the first two chapters without coming up for air. I came up for coffee, but not air. ;) Anyway, it's thrilling. Characters are coming alive before my very eyes...

But I'm sorry to say that things don't get any less busy in the coming two weeks. I'm going to be the Writer-in-Residence at the amazing high school where I taught for four years, my birthday comes (and, blessedly, goes), we're visiting old friends and family, and I have to keep working on my upcoming book proposal. So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a little break from blogging. Sigh. But have no fear! I have something fun planned.

Most of my current readers have not been with me from the beginning. Nothing wrong with that--I wouldn't have read my blog two and a half years ago either! But, believe it or not, there are a few ancient posts that are actually interesting... Some are funny, some meaningful, some offer a glimpse into my life. Anyway, I spent some time over the last few days going through my favorites, and I've picked a handful to re-post and share with you. They may not be of-the-moment, but I think they are still relevant and worth the read. And though I won't be taking the time to write new posts, I will stop in and chat with y'all via comments and email.

Look for fresh posts starting the week of October 12... And don't forget that there will be a new Grapevine introduction going up on the 15th. If you haven't won a free book yet, this may be your month!

Thanks for reading. Have a lovely early October.