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Okay, so it’s been about nine months since my last monthly update, so I suppose I am using the term “monthly” a bit loosely. I hope that this will be the first in a long series of blog posts and updates. But let’s start with what I’ve been up to.
Personal Updates
I had written in one of my previous updates about how I was looking forward to my daughter starting pre-school because that would give me more time to write. Well, she is registered to start in the fall, and so I have been working on taking the steps to get ready for focusing on writing by massively decluttering my house.
My husband likes to tease me that when I am writing, the house always gets clean. He’s implying that I procrastinate writing through cleaning. Part of it is procrastination, but part of it is that when my space is cluttered, I literally can’t think clearly.
So I’ve been focused on getting my house in order now, so that I am ready to dive into writing come fall.
Blog and Social Media
I continue to struggle with consistency, but I have recently had a mindset change. In the past, I have read that if you are going to blog that it needs to have a clear focus, which is why I initially attempted to brand myself as helping women to over come inter-generational trauma. It still continues to be an interest of mine, but for me, healing has come in so many forms.
Just being able to focus on following through on working towards my goals is part of healing my own trauma. Reading books is healing for me. Creating a stable home and being a good mom are all part of the healing journey for me. At my core, I am a writer. And so it’s hard for me to stay focused on only writing blog posts or essays about healing because healing is life. It is all around me. And therefore, I have resolved that I am not going to try to make myself smaller to fit my ideas into a niche box.
I am just going to own my interests, which means that I intend to continue to write book reviews, as I was beginning to pivot to. But I also likely will be blogging about my homesteading journey, involving recipes, gardening, preserving foods. And no doubt I will continue to write posts about my observations about life too. Ultimately, I will be just writing about healing through my normal living.
Current Writing Projects
For a long while, my writing projects have fallen stagnant. Recently, I have made a new friend locally, who is also working on a memoir. Talking with her has helped to motivate me to keep going. None of these projects have been touched for a while, but these are the ones that I hope to focus on in coming months.
- A Last Request: A short story about a dying friend’s last wish that our protagonist is having a hard time fulfilling.
- Children’s book: A story about a friendship between two unlikely characters, inspired by something my daughter said when she was about a year and a half old. I am working on collaborating with an artist.
- My grandmother’s affair: A fictional short story of my grandmother’s (very real) affair with a married man, the relationship which produced my mother. This story is at a standstill until I go to the library to do more research about medical practices in the time period.
- Memoir: Because I wanted to focus on improving my follow through and learn about the writing process by completing shorter pieces, I had put this one on the back burner. My husband has encouraged me to move forward, as has my new writer friend. Currently, my second draft is sitting at about 70,000 words, but I need to spend time revising the story structure. I do sometimes wonder if it would be better as a fictional story, or perhaps two works, one fictional and one memoir. But it is a complex work in progress.
What I Am Reading
The serious books I currently have on my Kindle or bedside table:
The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
From the publisher: “An international bestseller and TikTok sensation with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, The Courage to Be Disliked is a transformative and practical guide to […] free yourself from the shackles of past traumas and societal expectations to find true personal happiness. Based on the theories of renowned psychologist Alfred Adler, this book guides you through the principles of self-forgiveness, self-care, and mind decluttering in a straightforward, easy-to-digest style that’s accessible to all.”
How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons
I have had the 8th edition on my bookshelf for the past ten years. This year, I am planning on starting a garden in earnest, so reading this book now seems like a good idea.
From the publisher: “Long before it was a trend, How to Grow More Vegetables brought backyard ecosystems to life for the home gardener by demonstrating sustainable growing methods for spectacular organic produce on a small but intensive scale. How to Grow More Vegetables has become the go-to reference for food growers at every level, whether home gardeners dedicated to nurturing backyard edibles with minimal water in maximum harmony with nature’s cycles, or a small-scale commercial producer interested in optimizing soil fertility and increasing plant productivity.”
If I Can Do It, You Can Do It! by Patrick Engasser
Patrick Engasser is a motivational speaker, business and life coach, who has had to overcome blindness. As it so happens, Patrick Engasser is also my neighbor, and so I am eager to support his work. I also am impressed by endorsements of his book by Jack Canfield (author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series) as well as an NFL Quarterback (who I don’t know because I don’t pay attention to football) and an inventor who was on the show Shark Tank (who I also don’t know, but again sounds impressive).
I have read a couple of the chapters, and they are short and easy to digest in a short time frame, which is great as a parent. And so far, the book has offered a number of great insights.
Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson
If you aren’t familiar with Heather Cox Richardson, she is a professor at Boston College, who writes daily news summaries that are positioned in terms of their historical roots, which she calls Letters from an American.
If you don’t already follow her, you can follow her on Facebook or subscribe to her substack.
From the publisher: “With remarkable clarity and the same accessible voice that brings millions of readers to her newsletter, Letters from an American, Richardson wrangles a chaotic news feed into a coherent story that singles out what we should pay attention to and what possible paths lie ahead. [With h]er command of history and trademark plainspoken prose[, …]Richardson reminds us that democracy is not a static institution but a living, evolving process that requires constant vigilance and participation from all of us.”
The fun books I currently have on my Kindle or bedside table:
The Last Word by Katy Birchall
Description from the publisher: “A young journalist puts her career–and her heart–on the line when her former work nemesis is hired in her newsroom, for fans of The Hating Game and Beach Read.”
I love a good romance about writers, and I loved Beach Read. Beyond those two things, I have no expectations about this book.
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Description from the publisher: “A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love–and life–she’s been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.”
Our book club had read Josie Silver’s novel One Day in December, and LOVED it, although it was more of a sweet slow burn romance. Also, I expect this book would have been perfect during the holidays, but alas, I am only just getting to it now.
Set On You by Amy Lea
Description from the publisher: “A gym nemesis pushes a fitness influencer to the max in Amy Lea’s steamy debut romantic comedy.” I had read Amy Lea’s follow up to this book, Exes & Os, which I loved, so I thought I would give this one a try too.
Listed as one of…
Amazon’s Best Romances of 2022
Bustle’s Most Anticipated Books of May
Goodreads’ Most Anticipated May Romances
SheReads’ Best Romance Books Coming in 2022
Rule of the Aurora King by Nisha J. Tuli
The second book in the Trial of the Sun Queen series. Description from the publisher: “Full of pulse-pounding action, steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, and glittering fae magic, the epic second installment of the Artefacts of Ouranos series is perfect for fans of romantasy favorites like A Court of Thorns and Roses and The Fourth Wing.“
What book are you currently reading? Or which book are you planning on reading next? I’d love to add it to my list too, so please leave a comment below.
Lisa Futscher 