Life has taken on a certain kind of rhythm since becoming a full-time author. Day after day, I sit in my office with my computer. My fingers either fly over the keyboard like they’re tap-dancing on a stage, or they hover and fidget, tentative and waiting in the wings. The cats come and go, sitting on my lap, lounging on my desk, or scurrying across my laptop. I feel the same could be said of my words and ideas. They sit in my brain, lounge in my thoughts, and scurry across the screen as I type.

Participating in special events breaks up the routine and provides a much-needed time to be around other people. I’m busy in the days leading up to the event with phone calls and emails to event coordinators and planning what I’m going to say or how I’m going to arrange the table display. My years of teaching prepared me for lesson planning and creating presentations, so I enjoy working through the process.

And the day of the event? I’m excited and thrilled to be around so many fun, inquisitive readers! Seeing the smiles of both children and adults alike, as we talk about books and writing, makes me very happy. It gives me hope in the kindness of community.

Career Day at Balls Creek Elementary School

After events are over, it takes a day or so to get back into the headspace of my newest work in progress. It’s different from my last book and full of magical, fun characters that I can’t wait to get back to. I spend some time reviewing my notes and rereading my last chapter before settling down at my laptop with the ever-rotating and super-supportive (ha!) cats.

And so it begins again. The ebb and flow. The cycle of creativity, research, writing, worrying, and peopling. In these tumultuous times we live in, I’m thankful for the small moments of peace in the spaces between.