I know it’s essentially been ages for all intensive purposes, but I PROMISE I have a good reason for not being up to date on the blog.  I’m gonna be published!!!  Yup, it’s official.  I signed a contract with WestBow Press and have set a goal for myself to get my manuscript submitted in about a month.  Then, hopefully, I’ll be able to have my book distributed by the end of the year.  At least that’s the goal!

So over the past couple months that I have (sadly) neglected my first writing love (that’s this here blog in case you were confused), I finished the initial writing, have gone through 3 edits (my own read through and a couple other wonderful devoted supporters that were willing to check for all my comma usages and question me on my bizarre phrasing that happens when my mind is working faster than my fingers can type), currently trying to track down the author and/or publishers for my quoted sources to ask their written permission to use the quote in my book, and then realizing how much more there still is to work on!

While I’m still up to my eyeballs in my “to-do list,” I’m so excited to see pieces of this dream finally come together.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR SIMPLY LIVING THE LIFE?

nothing really.  I’ll continue posting (and you may recognize some of the material in my book if you’ve read my blog long enough).  This is a place for me to grow in my writing.  Getting published helps bolster my confidence in the hopes of a career, though the success level is still very much TBD.  This blog is a place where I typically write out my thought without a whole lot of editing (again, if you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you probably noticed that).  That’s not because I don’t care about the grammar I’m using, rather, I’m putting a priority on the raw thought.  I love that moment when you turn an idea over and over in your mind until your mind can no longer contain it alone.  That’s the moment that I jump onto the blog and write.  It’s rejuvenating to me and will be an important part of who I become as a writer (and hopefully speaker).

Of course, the publishing also means that I’ll likely be using this as a marketing location so you will be the first to know about updates, releases, so on and so forth.

To all of you who have encouraged me over the years, honestly, I can’t thank you enough.  That encouragement and belief in me gave me courage to pursue this dream.  It gave me direction when I felt lost and befuddled in the hodgepodge of a dream that my writing existed within.  God has been so gracious in guiding you to me and so I am eternally thankful to each and every one of you.

I may still be on a bit of a hiatus from my standard post for the next month or so until I get everything submitted so hang in there.  I promise I’ll be back with the next thoughts that are already rumbling around in my head.