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People always ask me what I’m working on next, so I thought I’d get this out of the way. It’s a common question I field often. It may disappoint some folks, but it’s not the sequel to Inn Significant, though I still play with that manuscript a little. Instead, there’s a short story in my latest release, The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry, that I fell in love with and that wouldn’t leave me alone, kind of like a pesky fly that won’t go away. After publishing that book this summer, the characters in that story–Life with Nan–sort of came to life in my imagination–and then more characters arrived. Did someone tell them there was a little party going on in my head?
This afternoon, I took a moment to write a brief character sketch of each one. I have written over 14,000 words thus far, and am excited by the prospect of shopping this novel out when it’s done. I have never tried that path before. The cover you see there is something I created as a visual, just for me. It helps me create when I can see the “big picture” possibility of what the result could be. Pictures, photographs, and stellar note-taking help my process. As you all can probably see by now, it took until I hit my 30s to realize I wanted to teach college and until my 40s to begin writing novels. Both careers I thought about as a teenager.
Therefore the Friday inspirational message is this: Please, do your best to follow your own passion(s)…even if it’s something you do on the side. Remember: these joys make up part of who you are.