Editor’s Note: This week is homecoming week on the Debutante Ball as we welcome back the class of 2014. Today we’re catching up with the awesome Lisa Alber (author of wonderful mystery novel KILMOON) who gets extra credit points for managing to write this post in the middle of a crazy time in her life. What’s so crazy? Keep reading to find out.
Happy Friday! So fun to be the Friday Girl again for a week and to read what my fellow Debs have written. Thanks for inviting us, Debs of 2015!
Right now I’m the most crazy, most stressed out I’ve been since the KILMOON launch. It’s funny how things come in a perfect storm. I still have a day job, and that’s been the most nuts it’s ever been. On top of that, since March I’ve been working nearly all my other waking hours to get the next manuscript completed and sent for a May 1st deadline.
Yes, I completed the next County Clare mystery. Woohoo! I struggled with it, to be honest, but I finally got ‘er done.
And, in the midst of all that, I turned into a first-time home buyer! Home-buying in the midst of finishing a manuscript? Bonkers, utterly bonkers.
I had no clue. Seriously. Not. A. Clue. I’m doing it all on my own (patting my own back), so I’ve learned a lot. Closing is May 18th, and I move May 26th. Woohoo!
Check out this blog post I wrote near the beginning of the process, when I was completely terrified. I’m still a little terrified, but OK, I can handle it. Will I become a DIYer? Only the Shadow knows that one. But I will grow tomatoes in my very own garden.
Meanwhile, now I’m contending with this (and bursting into tears every couple of days):
And looking forward to this when the weather warms up. Wee Fawn will love having a fenced-in backyard!
Anything else? A few tidbits:
- KILMOON was nominated for a Rosebud Award for Best First Novel.
- Though the public life of authordom has slowed down — thankfully, because if I could be a hermit author, I would — but I had my first honorarium talk, conference panels, book clubs (one coming up in a few weeks!), and all kinds of author-y event thingies.
- I’m thinking about a trip to Ireland in September for Novel #3 research!
Change is a funny thing, isn’t it? Our Deb 2014 launch year was a doozy, and we had each other. Now, I have my local pals, and the behind-the-scenes supportive emailing continues. I received this note from a friend:
I mean, think of the alternative. You could sit around and make excuses for why you’re not buying a house, not finishing a manuscript, not holding down a job. And you’d be resentful and bitter and, frankly, a pain in the ass. I much prefer you to be temporarily stressed out and crazy feeling for the next few weeks, but stronger and happier in the long run (which is here in a very short time, by the way).
Great perspective! And so right on, too. So even though my breathing goes shallow and my chest aches from stress, this stress is for a good cause: Forward and on!
Wishing you all “forward and on” too. Cheers and best to you, Lisa
Question: What’s your best technique for managing stress?
Thank you, Lisa, for taking the time from a crazy time in your life to check in with us. And for stress relief, I think a few of the 2015 Debs have some cocktail recipes that are just the thing.
Ever distractible, you may find Lisa staring out windows, dog walking, or drinking red wine with her friends. Ireland, books, animals, photography, and blogging round out her distractions. She is the author of KILMOON, the first in the County Clare mystery series, and a recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation writing grant. KILMOON was nominated for a Rosebud Award for Best First Novel.
Follow Lisa on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about KILMOON, here’s her website.
So happy you took the time for this update, Lisa! It sounds like you are on the way to a great summer on that amazing porch!
Thanks, Amy! Can’t wait to get my writing pals over for one of “drink and think” sessions. 🙂
I already told you this, but WOO-HOO for finishing your next book! As for the rest of it, deep breaths, hon. You’ve got this!
Lots of deep breaths, that’s for sure, Susan. 🙂 But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Yay!
Lisa, as I told you, I feel your pain! I was finishing my final draft while buying my first house and planning a wedding and working my fulltime day job. I finished it three days before my wedding! After that, the wedding was a snap. You’ll get through this and then you’ll have writerly stories to tell around the Writer Campfire while drinking mead out of a Celtic knot engraved flask!
Hah — mead! I’d like me some of that right now! 🙂 To be honest, now that the manuscript is sent off, I’m almost (*almost*) having fun with the purging and packing. Nice to have mindless tasks right now.
Whoa – so much on the go! But all great stuff 🙂 Congrats on the house, the new manuscript, the award nom, and surviving it all. YOU CAN DO IT!
Thanks, Karma! It’s amazing how resilient we can be. I’ll be taking the last week of May off for the move — after the actually move day, I bet I sleep a lot in between bouts of unpacking. 🙂
Hey, Lisa, you go girl. This is going to be wonderful……a real home. I home you name her. She deserves it. Congrats on finishing the second novel. That’s big.