Sometimes, life gets in the way of many things, like writing, and oddly, living.
These past two years have been somewhat of a fog for me. The sudden death of my husband, moving to a new home, a new state, and learning to adapt to being one, instead of a couple. And a remarkable happening--another grandchild! Now, though, the fog lifts at times and I have begun again to write and read.
And now this obnoxious and life-taking COVID 19 that is affecting so many and in so many ways, I find this is an opportune time for me to hibernate for my own safety. So, I've just completed a new, forthcoming book review (all in one sitting, mind you) by Rebecca Stead. THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE.
So, in keeping while the fog is lifted, I just today submitted a book review of a THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE that I was fortunate to receive ahead of the publishing date of April 7, 2020. If the review is accepted I will certainly add a link to read about the book in more depth.
Here is a bit about the book, however. The book is for middle grade readers, but the content and timely topics included in the story by Bea, the protagonist, provide a wealth of real, life-like incidents and insights for adults as well. We follow Bea--not in the present, but in hindsight. After her parents' are divorced, after her father and his partner, Jesse are married, after her sessions with her gummy-bear-sharing counselor, and after Spelling Bee Friday's, where Bea and other students who can't manage to get a 10 out of 10 on spelling tests are excluded.
Although the topics may be sensitive to some, Stead, in allowing us to experience these events through the eyes of a now twelve-year-old girl, enable her readers to see a different side of the coin as life for Bea and her family plays out.
And, as Bea teaches us--whether we have the same experiences as she does or not--it is because of all things in life that do change, as well as those that do not, every story is as Bea says, "a story about me, but a different me, a person who doesn't exist anymore."
With that, I look forward to sharing the books I'm reading, upcoming conferences, and writing tips that have helped me. Maybe my struggles and successes in life and in writing will inspire your sunshine to return and burn off the fog that stops you from writing.
Until then...
Write. Edit. Repeat.