I don’t do balance. I mean, I wish I did. I’d like to. A balanced life seems appealing, in its own special way—tranquil and well-ordered, like an apartment lovingly curated by Marie Kondo. I’m not being clever or facetious. I’d love to live in a place like that. Life would unfold in shades of delightful Instagram pink, in eustress rather than stress, in coffee mugs on back porches, in variations…
The vernal equinox is tomorrow, and in the spirit of balance, this week, the Debs are talking about the importance of not writing. But first, enjoy these photos I took as scientific proof that winter will end, dammit. Every once in a while, the internet will spit out advice to aspiring authors that if you want to be a writer, you must write every day. To this, I say: bullshit. There’s a…
Once upon a time, I was a single, childless, 27-year old teacher who lived alone with only a dog and eleventy-billion hours of free time to do whatever I wanted. I’d go to the gym every day. For hours! I’d go out with friends. At night! I’d get ready, grab my purse, put the dog in the house and then walk out the door, without even a thought about…
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across an article in National Geographic about the longest train ride through India. You know how every now and then you read something that triggers some awakening in your mind, as if the author had composed his language solely for you? To me this article was so arrestingly beautiful, so beautifully phrased, and so poignant that it seemed personal. Bear with me here through…
The autumnal equinox is coming up on Friday, so we’ve decided to make this week’s theme about balance: specifically the balance in our lives between work, play, and writing. This has definitely not always been an easy balance for me to find. While I was drafting From Unseen Fire, I was working full-time at my day job — a day job that often involved evening, early morning, and weekend hours…
Congratulations to Jennifer and Kelley, winners of our #DebBallGiveaway of THE SALT LINE by Holly Goddard Jones. Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Jenny D. Williams! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of The Atlas of Forgotten Places. You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet: [Guest Post] @jclarkab introduces you to the amazing Jenny D. Williams, author of THE ATLAS… https://t.co/KqERS3TwNV pic.twitter.com/ffmUTlzPGQ —…
This week on the Deb Ball, we’re talking about what we’d do differently the second time around. And honestly, I might as well just direct you to Amy’s post from Tuesday, because she nailed it. So many things were chaos on this debut journey. So many things were out of my (and Dhonielle’s control). And being they Type A that I am, I fretted and fretted and then occasionally fretted…
Last night, Dhonielle and I were putting the final touches on our revision of Book Two, due today (or really, due yesterday but who’s counting?), when it happened. At just about 11 p.m., the pipe under the dishwasher broke, flooding the building’s communal basement. And our neighbors knocked and fretted and a plumber crawled out of his warm, cozy bed (I’m presuming, of course) to make a midnight housecall. All…
When I was younger, I always envisioned I’d go to a job from 8 to 5, but once I was home for the evening or weekend, I’d be in non-work mode. I’d have endless hours to fill with frivolity. Oh, how wrong I was. Writing is the dust of career paths. It is always there, always waiting for you to work on it. And even when you spend hours hammering…
So yesterday, I called Dhonielle all in a panic — after making her PROMISE not to beat me up — for a pep talk and a bit of the state of the union. That is, my union with writing. As you may know by now, I tend to be a Master Procrastinator. That means, in November, after Book Two officially kicked my ass, instead of going hardcore on my WIP…
