I love teaching English again.
My library gig is fully satisfactory, and is the site of my biggest professional successes.
I just became a published author.
(see the What is Steampunk teaser----that's all me!)
I continue to read my brains out, wallowing in books of all shapes and sizes. I am zombie-esque in my devouring of pages.
My beautiful children continue to take small yet productive flights from the nest, with me ever watchful.
My intelligent and dynamic mother succumbs more and more every day to the most demeaning disease I have yet to encounter: dementia.
My church feeds the community as we quest for a new spiritual leader.
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| newscenter.sdsu.edu |
But I am still hungry.
Sometimes, I can feel the words flow from my fingertips, wanting so much to be tangible. I really want to write. I have no idea what I want to write about. And even worse, when am I going to do that? I could get up at 4am every day. I could stay up until midnight. Neither seems to fit into my life right now, and I am often left thinking that maybe now isn't the time. But if it isn't, then why can't I stop thinking about it?
Went to Ohio Educational Library Media Association conference two weeks ago. I sat through two sessions given by Sarah Darer Littman. She spoke about her newest book, Want to Go Private, which I promptly read and finished in less than 48 hours. I also had the honor of hearing Steven Kellogg and Alex Flinn speak about writing. None of these authors make the process sound easy, nor would I have wanted them to. Several weeks ago, Michelle Houts visited our school. She was a delight and an inspiration - her life seems all too familiar to mine. She wrote a wonderful book called The Beef Princess of Practical County. It was a perfect district read for our little rural school. All of these authors, along with Kristina McBride, my FB friend, inspire me. But I feel stuck.
The book I am going to write will be about an adolescent female. There will be romance involved, but not a simple one. There will be some elements of fantasy, perhaps some Steampunk, too. I will want to be in the world of my creation more so than in my world. It will be nostalgic, but not weepy, and it will make readers think. Critics will ponder over the choices the heroine makes, while young readers will say, "Of course that is what she decided! How could she not?" I do not know who She is. I am not sure what she will do, but I know that she star in this book, the kind of book I want to read.
