Hello…Again!

I’m not too sure how August is here, my birthday is two days away, and I haven’t written a blog post or worked on my novel in months. Life has an elusive way of quickly going by. Finding the time to write is a struggle most of us face. Just have to ensure our characters and plot points are not forgotten about. Even though I haven’t actively worked on my novel, Archaic Deception, for a straight eight weeks, there were still moments I wrote down notes. There were times I thought about intricate details I wanted to add. My mind was still working on the storyline. This realization instills confidence in my work because while I’ve been busy in life, I’m not bored in my work.

Welcome Home!

On May 28th, my husband and I negotiated a price for a house we fell in love with. Later that day, we agreed upon a counteroffer and the purchasing process began! After much paperwork, headache, and packing, we officially moved in on July 10th. Considering our new home was built in 1899, there’s much work to be done. Our two dogs were ecstatic to move from a 720 SQFT apartment to a 3400 SQFT home. Fortunately, I was able to be home for three weeks to help work on projects, like tearing down a ten-foot wall and sifting through the ash of our fireplace that has never been cleaned out. It was incredible to see rubbish from the 40s!

An Interesting Find

One of the most interesting finds in our home, oddly enough, was an iMac. It was downstairs, appeared to be broken with scuff marks and years of dust caked on it. Being the Apple lover I am, I brought it upstairs and cleaned it up. Much to my surprise, when I plugged it in, I heard the familiar chime. SUCCESS! As it loaded the software, I was surprised again to see no password required and I had complete access to everything. It was exciting because even though it was older, the screen was much bigger than my laptop and could be used as a desktop for my writing. I was excited.

How could I be so lucky to find this in a house built in 1899!?

Well, the excitement soon dwindled as I removed files and prepared it for my own, personal use. After some research and additional knowledge, I learned this computer has a unique history. It was clearly part of a legal case and seemed to be hidden by the lawyer defending the individual. I won’t go into detail of the case or the person, even though he passed away, but it certainly brought an additional layer of history to this already historic home.

In case you were wondering…the iMac is too old to be completely erased so it now sits in my temporary writing room collecting dust again 😅

This is an exciting time in our lives, to purchase a home that will keep us busy for many years to come. There are endless projects and upgrades that this home needs and we cannot wait to provide them for her.

My Written Words

As we come to the end of our first month owning this home, a sense of normalcy is beginning to settle in. New routines are finding their way into our lives and the balancing game begins. There was an initial feeling of guilt for not having the time to accomplish everything in a day but as time went on, that slowly faded away. As long as we prioritize, things will get done in a timely manner. Breaks are necessary and taking time away is essential for the mind.

Instead of writing during my three weeks home, I decided to pick it back up in the middle of a hectic workweek. With my new hour commute each way to work, I have even less time during the week to focus on writing, but somehow I managed to make it happen. Over the last three months, I’ve made various notes on my phone and in my notebook, so it has become an unorganized mess of storylines and plot points. Fortunately, my five-hundred-page first draft, bleeding with red notes, was not lost in the move, so I was able to pick up where I left off.

Once I finished my first draft many months ago, I read through each page for edits on character development, missing plot points, excessive detail, and more.

With that complete, the re-write of Archaic Deception has begun, and I’m currently on Chapter 4. I would say out of how many but that number is likely to change. Re-writing this story is exhilarating because I can see the improvements being made. Some may say a first draft is garbage but it is a magical piece of work. It provides the foundation for the bigger story we share. It is what allows us to grow and challenge ourselves as a writer. While the stack of five-hundred pages may be bleeding, it shows growth. I’ll always keep that first draft as a reminder for myself.

Although timelines are very difficult to guess right now, I do hope the rest of the year provides me with ample time to work on our new home, achieve great success in creating my fantasy world, be a loving, kind husband…plus still work my 40+ hour a week job-killing cancer 👊🏼 It feels great to be back and thank you for being interested enough to read of my return.

jD