Writing classes, book launch paunch, and heart touching reviews

(that’s right…I got book launch paunch)

First, this is a body positive post…there’s NOTHING wrong with a paunch.

Second, my memoir, Unsettled, launched January 2nd and here’s one reality of being a published author: there is stress involved. Pre-launch promotion stress. Stress over printer/warehouse delays. Stress over garnering reviews. Post-launch promotion stress. And when I’m stressed and way too busy writing my next novel (another romcom, y’all) while promoting two books (memoir and romcom) that come out within a few months of one another, I exercise a little less and eat comfort food a lot more. Hence, my book launch paunch.

I do not own a scale. Haven’t owned one in decades and never will again. So, I don’t know how much this paunch translates into pounds, but I do know that the waistbands of my jeans are tight. My solution: wear sweatpants. I do love my soft clothes. And maybe I’ll do a few more sun salutations each morning (because that makes me feel calm) and give the poodle an extra walk (because that makes her happy) and take a few more deep breaths because compared to all the real problems people face, a little work stress is manageable…especially when there’s macaroni and cheese.

In other news, I taught another writing class—Writing Your Life Stories for Legacy or Publication—and it was so much fun.

As a “retired” college English teacher, I love having an opportunity to teach a class to a roomful of lovely people who are excited to learn and talk about writing. This class has become rather popular in my locale of Georgetown, Texas and that feels good, like really good.

Reviews of Unsettled are making my heart sing!

The biggest gift you can give an author is to pop onto Amazon and/or Goodreads and leave an honest review. Your review doesn’t have to be lengthy or detailed. A one sentence review, accompanied by stars MEANS SO MUCH.

Buy Unsettled: a memoir on Amazon here!

Buy Unsettled: a memoir on Bookshop.org here!

Update about my romcom, Anita Farleigh Unpacks.

It’s almost ready to roll. It’s been through final edits and I’m just waiting on the galleys and a release date which should be soon. The publisher had originally hoped for a December release, but there were across the board publishing delays that are affecting other author’s books as well. These things happen. Publishing a book brings with it about a million details to tend to, so I understand that it’s a complex business and that publishers are doing their best. But, as an author, it can be a baffling experience. This may come as a surprise to people, but oftentimes the author is the last to know about exact details surrounding the publication of their book. I’m sure this varies between individuals and publishing houses, but even authors with agents and contracts with the big five publishers talk about how little control they feel in the publication process. It’s a journey! Onward and upward!

I am super excited about this romcom coming out into the world! So, hopefully, I’ll get good news very, very soon.

Okay, enough of my rambling. Thank you for reading! I appreciate you and wish you the best week ever topped off with a little chicken pot pie.