Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Getting Back in the Saddle

I am an author…right?

Of course! But I am also a mom, with 3 of my 6 kids still at home. (My youngest is going to be 9 months old this week). I work part time for the Canadian Forces, and this keeps me busy on evenings and weekends. I homeschool, cook everything from scratch and make all of our personal care products from toothpaste to deodorant. 

Personally, I have been through times in my life where I’d held down 3 jobs and cared for my family, but this pregnancy made even the smallest of tasks difficult. In maternity circles, it is referred to as “Pregnancy Brain Drain,” and let me tell you…it is not funny. I went from reading a book a day to being unable to remember what was going on from one sentence to the next.  I slept no more than 90 minutes at a time throughout the pregnancy and even now I am up 2-4 times each night.  

This picture was at the beginning of last August, and Savannah showed up at the end of the month,  two-and-a-half weeks early.



Reading became impossible, and finishing up the sequel to Amethyst Eyes even more so. As I mentioned above, Savannah will be 9 months this week, and I am finally coming out of my brain fog. I am able to read again…which as a judge for the RONE awards, is a good thing. I reread Amethyst Eyes, and the sequel to make sure there was a continuation to the story without repeating the first, but just enough detail so that someone starting with the second would not spend his or her time wondering what the heck was going on. Since I was coming out my haze, I found myself rediscovering the story from the first book (and really liking it), and reading scenes in the second that I had no recollection of having ever written.  Yeah, I had it bad this pregnancy.

I was forced to let things slide, not keeping up with my blog, website, Facebook, twitter or anything else. I accepted help from a friend, and gave him access to my pages so my fans wouldn’t think I had fallen off the planet, (though it would have been cool to have gone off to visit the Phoenix or Two-Feathers).

The upside to this is that Savannah has helped me heal from the loss of her older sister, not only emotionally, but physically as well. I had to use a cane on and off up until my pregnancy, but for some reason, I was able to make it through the pregnancy without it, even with my huge belly. Over the past 9 months I had only used it one morning, and I believe I am done with it for good.

I am down to the final edit, and getting excited about the upcoming release of Amethyst Eyes, the Legend Comes to Life. We have yet to format and choose a cover, but we’re getting here!
Slowly, though not as steadily as I’d have liked, I am getting back into the saddle.  I am looking forward to reconnecting with all of you, and all my author/blogger friends. Christian, friend, faithful assistant, and occasional pain (he can be demanding at times), stood by me throughout the changes pregnancy and motherhood brought upon my writing career and responsibilities. Thank you, Christian. You’re a tough man.

To my fans, remember to post your pics of you holding one or more of my books for the draw. (Someone is going to get a really great looking mug!) Oh, if all you have is a Kindle, then hold up the ebook with the book cover showing on the screen and it counts! You can either post it to the Amethyst Eyes facebook page: http://on.fb.me/IKQkoj

 or email it in: amethysteyes01@yahoo.ca

Here's a picture of ME, just so you know I am doing just fine!