Rest | Personal Post

Hello and welcome to 2020!

I realize it's been the New Year for 4 weeks now...but some things require easing into and I think this new year was exactly that for me. But, as I've taken my adjustment time, I'm finally ready to come to the blog and talk about a bit of a new focus for me!



2019 felt like a blur - was it just me? I mean, Alex (my then-boyfriend) was just getting a job in January after being without one since he'd moved, I was working on various projects, and life was zipping by. Then come April and BAM, I was engaged. The May and I was married.

To say that the rest of 2019 flew by would be a HUGE understatement. It's part of the reason I was so absent here on the blog. For me, blogging should be a fun activity that is also a creative outlet as much as it is providing helpful information about things. For a while there I was on fire on this blog, posting all the time and having guests and doing giveaways -- but, as I've hinted at in the past, I started to see that something was...missing?

I think I was doing so many interviews and so many giveaways and so many things that were not related to me, that I lost sight of what this blog was created for.

I started blogging here on Blogger in 2009! So long ago! And it was a place for me to share thoughts on life, writing, faith, and books I'd read. Then I added interviews and, don't get me wrong--they were great--but it became the only thing I could do. Or, let me put it this way, it became the easiest thing I could do. I mean, I had everyone else creating the content for me (thank you for that) and then I just had to share it all with you.

I still like that model and am going to try and do interviews again, but I don't want them to become the only thing I do. Plus, my focus has changed since I started this blog. I started out writing romance and romantic suspense with the Christian market in mind and now I'm writing Young Adult Fantasy with a slightly broader focus.

What does that mean for you and what does this have to do with REST? Good question...

Not only is this year a year of 'redefining' for me, I want it to be a year of true rest. I am cutting back on some of my work to refocus on my writing and my love of the written word. I'll still be doing graphics and some promotional work for authors and some freelancing, but I don't want that to overshadow my "one thing".

I've been reading Jordan Raynor's, Master of One, which is an excellent book about making your "one thing" central. For me, that's writing! His suggestion is to hone your focus and, for a "Jill of all trades" like me, that has been really eye opening. You can't be a master at all things, but you can master one thing!

Rest and be thankful. 

- William Wordsworth 

I am going to do what this Wordsworth quote suggests. I'm going to focus on rest (not just zoning out to TV but reading books that refresh me and taking walks and praying) and I'm going to work on my writing craft.

For the blog, I'd like to shift my focus a little. As I said, I still want to share interviews with authors but I want the focus to be more on writing and what their process looks like, how they approach their books, and helpful things they've learned. I want to share author stories from all genres but also focus a little more on Young Adult authors. And lastly, I want to share my own craft posts because I sooo enjoy talking about the creative process of writing, marketing, reaching readers, and all things books! And, don't worry, I'll still be doing book reviews when I've got the time.

To those of you who have been with me since the early days on this blog - thank you! You are so supportive and have withstood the years of me talking about "one day when I have a book out". *sigh* Maybe that'll be soon, and maybe it won't, but that doesn't change my passion for writing and for sharing with new and growing writers! My freelancing has taught me enough about that - ha!

To those of you who may be new or joining me on this "refreshed" focus of the blog - welcome to you! I hope you find interesting tips on writing, new authors to check out, and a sense of focus that brings you back again.

Question: If you're a writer, what part of writing do you find most difficult? 
If you're a reader, what is your favorite genre?