Hi. It's been a LONG time since I've written anything for a blog. I think I still remember how to do it because I once ran my own blogsite called When A Southern Woman Rambles... (WASWR) for about 4 years. And I blogged like mad, too. I had about 3,500 readers. Exciting times, indeed.
And then I got together with a group of local as well as international writer friends who also had blogs, but who also wanted to be part of a unique network of bloggers. So me, being who I am, I started a group that ticked off all the wants on their blog wish list. I created Real Bloggers United (RBU), an International Blogging Site that I used as a platform to introduce my blogging pals to reader who may never have found out about us were it not for the link from their unique sites that redirected their faithful readers to RBU where I created a pretty darn impressive way to find blogs of all sorts.
But as time moved along I found myself devoting more time to authoring short stories, novels, and even a three-part epic Fantasy Adventure Series as well as compiling some of my favorite posts from WASWR into a series of books which meant I wasn't spending much time devoted to the site that started it all for me.
Likewise, many of my RBU friends had grown confidence in their writing, too, and just as I decided to switch gears from blogging to 'Serious Writing' so had they. Many of the friends I made while blogging are now successful authors.
Oh, and while I was doing all that blogging and writing on the side, I was also a member of a site called BookRix.com. That's when I decided to become a mentor to newbie authors who ranged in age from ten-years-old to eighty-five! It was while I was helping so many others realize their dream of writing that I learned something about myself. Not only was I a good mentor, but I was also a damn good editor, too! So I started to offer my services as an Editor and a Literary Liaison for Indie Writers.
Guess what? Three of the authors I worked with all got agents and are published. Yay!
But during all of the time I spent being creative and helping others, life got in the way of me and my dreams of being a published author. Oh, I've published before. I've even had some great reviews of my four-book series based on When A Southern Woman Rambles... as well as a novella I wrote entitled The Driver. What's more, several of my shorts, a one-act play, as well as a novel I wrote won writing awards.
The novel, Fly Home, Earli Byrd, is my baby and even though it was okay to publish for purchase, okay is not what I want for this particular story. I know it won't be perfect, but it will be the best it can be when I do publish it!
As I mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, life got in the way of me moving forward. I became the primary care provider for my mother who had a stroke in 2011, and then around 2018, it was clear to me and her physicians that she was in the early stages of dementia. Eventually we had to find a skilled nursing facility/memory care center to take care of her because her medical needs had grown beyond my capabilities. From 2011 to early 2019, I was in a constant state of worry and stress.
One of the things I did to keep myself from going bonkers while caring for my mother was to walk dogs. I loved it so much, I started a Pet Concierge Service exclusive to the huge community where I live with my husband. I LOVE MY LITTLE BUSINESS. Of course, it's a tad bit stressful. But it's a good kind of stress, honest.
Our daughter, who will be twenty-five in June moved away to Minnesota. Yeah, that was stressful, too. Not just because she's our only child but because she, like I, deals with depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Her moving was hard for all of us, but I'm happy to say she is doing great. She is NOT a huge fan of all the snow in Minnesota!
And sadly, my mother passed away on March 5, 2021, from complications due to Covid-19. That was HARD. Not gonna lie. Her passing cut through me like a diamond drill through granite.
Later in July, 2021, my oldest sister, who lived in Alaska also passed away from complications due to Covid-19 because she had COPD. Needless to say, 2021 was NOT my year of happy, happy, joy, joy.
I didn't feel like writing at all. I felt like I didn't deserve to be having fun in the worlds I created in my head then poured onto paper. But then, after several sessions with my therapist, I came to the decision that I was being silly. The last thing either of them would want would be for me to give up on my dreams because of them.
So here I am... writing again. I hope you'll come back to check out what I have to share.
Thanks for reading!
(And GREAT, in a totally sarcastic sort of way... Today, March 1, 2022 - I just realized that this post NEVER actually made it to my WordsmitherByBrown site because...? I have no clue. I followed the directions exactly as instructed. GRRRRR!!!)
And then I got together with a group of local as well as international writer friends who also had blogs, but who also wanted to be part of a unique network of bloggers. So me, being who I am, I started a group that ticked off all the wants on their blog wish list. I created Real Bloggers United (RBU), an International Blogging Site that I used as a platform to introduce my blogging pals to reader who may never have found out about us were it not for the link from their unique sites that redirected their faithful readers to RBU where I created a pretty darn impressive way to find blogs of all sorts.
But as time moved along I found myself devoting more time to authoring short stories, novels, and even a three-part epic Fantasy Adventure Series as well as compiling some of my favorite posts from WASWR into a series of books which meant I wasn't spending much time devoted to the site that started it all for me.
Likewise, many of my RBU friends had grown confidence in their writing, too, and just as I decided to switch gears from blogging to 'Serious Writing' so had they. Many of the friends I made while blogging are now successful authors.
Oh, and while I was doing all that blogging and writing on the side, I was also a member of a site called BookRix.com. That's when I decided to become a mentor to newbie authors who ranged in age from ten-years-old to eighty-five! It was while I was helping so many others realize their dream of writing that I learned something about myself. Not only was I a good mentor, but I was also a damn good editor, too! So I started to offer my services as an Editor and a Literary Liaison for Indie Writers.
Guess what? Three of the authors I worked with all got agents and are published. Yay!
But during all of the time I spent being creative and helping others, life got in the way of me and my dreams of being a published author. Oh, I've published before. I've even had some great reviews of my four-book series based on When A Southern Woman Rambles... as well as a novella I wrote entitled The Driver. What's more, several of my shorts, a one-act play, as well as a novel I wrote won writing awards.
The novel, Fly Home, Earli Byrd, is my baby and even though it was okay to publish for purchase, okay is not what I want for this particular story. I know it won't be perfect, but it will be the best it can be when I do publish it!
As I mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, life got in the way of me moving forward. I became the primary care provider for my mother who had a stroke in 2011, and then around 2018, it was clear to me and her physicians that she was in the early stages of dementia. Eventually we had to find a skilled nursing facility/memory care center to take care of her because her medical needs had grown beyond my capabilities. From 2011 to early 2019, I was in a constant state of worry and stress.
One of the things I did to keep myself from going bonkers while caring for my mother was to walk dogs. I loved it so much, I started a Pet Concierge Service exclusive to the huge community where I live with my husband. I LOVE MY LITTLE BUSINESS. Of course, it's a tad bit stressful. But it's a good kind of stress, honest.
Our daughter, who will be twenty-five in June moved away to Minnesota. Yeah, that was stressful, too. Not just because she's our only child but because she, like I, deals with depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Her moving was hard for all of us, but I'm happy to say she is doing great. She is NOT a huge fan of all the snow in Minnesota!
And sadly, my mother passed away on March 5, 2021, from complications due to Covid-19. That was HARD. Not gonna lie. Her passing cut through me like a diamond drill through granite.
Later in July, 2021, my oldest sister, who lived in Alaska also passed away from complications due to Covid-19 because she had COPD. Needless to say, 2021 was NOT my year of happy, happy, joy, joy.
I didn't feel like writing at all. I felt like I didn't deserve to be having fun in the worlds I created in my head then poured onto paper. But then, after several sessions with my therapist, I came to the decision that I was being silly. The last thing either of them would want would be for me to give up on my dreams because of them.
So here I am... writing again. I hope you'll come back to check out what I have to share.
Thanks for reading!
(And GREAT, in a totally sarcastic sort of way... Today, March 1, 2022 - I just realized that this post NEVER actually made it to my WordsmitherByBrown site because...? I have no clue. I followed the directions exactly as instructed. GRRRRR!!!)
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