My goodness. Have I actually gone two months without posting here? While I haven’t committed to any particular posting schedule for this site, I never meant to leave it untouched for that long.
It’s not like I haven’t been busy, either. Rather the reverse, actually: I’ve been quite busy — with both my work and my life.
But I have some plans to update this site more often.
First, an update on the Catherine.
There’s not much of an update here, other than to note that as of today I am at over 240K words for the year. I fully expect to hit 250K before the end of October, as I’m still actively working on A New Horizon and Making it Make Sense. In fact, I’ve established a Substack mirror for the latter as the visitor stats suggested it might be warranted.
I expect to complete the first draft of A New Horizon before the end of November, at which point I’m going to sit and let it rest for a few weeks. While I’m doing that, I’m going to finish up The Perfect Daughter. Then I’ll go back to A New Horizon with fresh eyes and do a developmental edit. So I’m still well on-track for releasing ANH on my announced date of April 13, 2027.
My Handwritten Journal
(with some strategic cropping)
I also returned to keeping a handwritten journal on October 1, and I’m filling the first one up a lot faster than expected — I’m already on page 62. This is likely due, in part, to the fact that this time, I’m keeping the journal at my desk instead of on my nightstand. But I don’t think that’s all of it; apparently I have a quite a bit to say to myself, and while I tend to return to the same topics, I haven’t yet become repetitive.
On the personal front, not much has changed. But that’s not indicative of a lack of development. I see it more as stability. Sometimes having a life that’s a tad boring can be a good thing.
What am I about to change here on this website?
Well, first, I’ve rejoined Postcrossing and I’m planning to feature the postcards I receive here, as well as on the Postcrossing site itself.
I’m also planning to return to the monthly writing updates, as those have helped me stay organized and motivated. While I know that these aren’t interesting to the vast majority of people who are not me, I’m also not forcing anyone to read them. 🙂
Finally, I am also going to make one tiny commitment about posting here. There will be something else at least once a month. It could be a rant, a recipe, a pretty picture, the description of an interesting outing, or any number of other things. And I’m allowed to post more often than once a month.
The idea is to keep myself writing in a number of milieux: professional tracking and analysis; personal reflection; essays; and fiction. There is a lot more to me than “aging eastern North Carolina resident who works in employee benefits and writes fiction at night,” and I’d like to explore those aspects.
Come along on the journey with me!