Story time!

Yesterday I got a package in the mail. From FRANCE.

It was a full book about the Guermantes castle .

It was published in 1961, and some of the pages aren't even cut! Along the top mostly, bit some of the sides are also not cut. So crazy.

BUT the really exciting part was the photos.

There are new ones of staircases and bedrooms that aren't online.

There are photos of Ernestine’s grandpa.

And father.

And mother.

And younger brother.

I have TWO photos of Albertine. Her older sister that plays a prominent role in the novel.

And I about had a seizure when I saw...

A.

Photo.

Of.

Ernestine.

Herself.

She is an old woman in this photo, but I may or may not have cried.

This. Woman.

Who was key to us having a diagnosis for Tourette syndrome.

Who lived through SEVEN different forms of French government.

Who swore like a sailor as a woman of the noble class.

And I have possibly the only photo of her. I can't find another anywhere, despite years of searching.

This woman who has been as much of an angel to me as my own brothers.

OK, I definitely cried.  

Here are photos I took of Em and her sister Albertine.

They are found in a book called:

Guermantes de Louis XIII à nos jours

by VERNES Suzanne

Life Changes

 Life can be funny sometimes. Not only funny, but circular in a lot of ways.

After college, I started working full time and would blog and write my book after work, or early in the morning if I was feeling particularly ambitious.

There were a few periods of time where I would quit working full time so I could work part time (still gotta pay bills) and work more on my books and growing as a business owner. 

I got to a point where I have been able to stay just part time for several years now. I haven't worked a full time job since 2020. 

It's been great. I have loved so much about the growth I've been able to experience. 

However, I have discovered that I don't really want a full time business. I don't want to be some kind of book coach. Or create online courses. Or any other things that coaches say you should do to make money.

Honestly, I just want to write and tell stories. 

These other endeavors were taking up so much more time than any job ever could.

And while I love working part time and writing on the side, it just doesn't pull in enough funding. 

So I've made the decision to go back to full time work. 

Not just for me, but for the family I want to create with my husband. 

The only part that I'm a bit worried about is the time. It does mean less time writing. Especially since I'm no longer single and doing whatever I want, whenever I want. 

My time is going to have to be much more organized. 

I still want to come to my office every day. I still want to make sure I'm posting more consistently here. Just know, if I disappear, I'll be back.

I'll always come back. I can't stay away from something that I love so much.

Reader's Escape Update

I know it's been a minute. Healing has taken a toll on my body and my time that I've been able to devote to things I want to do. I just haven't been in my office to access my laptop and the interwebs like I would like.

However, this has allowed me to do a bit more journaling and research on my phone and come up with some new ideas. I've been able to play with some of my favorite pens- I'm really feeling the quill dip pen as of late. 

But in the time I've had, I discovered a new gift I want to share at the Reader's Escape in September. 

So I have these awesome gift boxes set up, right? I'm so excited, I'm loving these products myself and I'm excited to share them.

Part of the problem with having a whole year between retreats is the cool stuff that I keep finding. I want to add more to the gift boxes, but the budget isn't always there, so I have to pace myself. But I discovered something the other day.

I have 5 more spots open for the retreat. When I fully fill the retreat, I will absolutely have the budget to put one more (pretty large) gift in the gift bags. 

That being said, here are some lovely photos of the place we will be staying (from the AirBNB website).

Amazing, right? It's gonna be so good!

Picking up the Slack

 This is the longest gap I've had since determining I would be more consistent writing. Because life happens. 

Story time!

I ended up taking a very last minute trip to southern Utah to see my family. Everyone was down there, including my husband. We had a great weekend playing croquet, badminton, and exploring a cave museum.

When I got packed up to go home, I took the backroads to avoid Memorial Day traffic and left at 7 AM. What I didn't consider was how high the river is due to all the extra snow this winter, the fact that it was right next to the road, or that deer generally are in that river in the morning.

I hit one that jumped from the river right in front of my car while I was going 70 miles per hour.

I wasn't even 20 miles from my parent's house. How lucky that I was so still so close to a support system!

I'm ok. All things considered, I'm doing way better than I should.

The guy behind me said it looked like a bomb went off in my car with things flying everywhere. My hood flew up and shattered the windshield, but also stopped the deer from coming through.

I was in a no-service area, but the guy behind me had a satellite phone to call highway patrol. Another gentleman had stopped who was going the opposite direction. I gave him my parents address and asked him to tell them to come get me.

My car certainly was not drivable. 

I did enjoy spending extra time with my family, even if I was incredibly sore.

But that's it. I'm sore. I have whiplash (obviously) and lots of muscle tension, but no broken bones, no cuts, no bleeding... I didn't even bruise!

I'm feeling so, so blessed to have come away so lucky. 

I feel very protected. Random fact about me, I have lost three of my four siblings. One was stillborn, one was suicide, one was murdered.

The birthday of the stillborn brother was the day before the accident.

In all of this, I could feel all of them around me. And a few other angels as well. I'm sure Ernestine was there protecting me so I could continue to work on her book (but the release date will be pushed back). 

Possibly a few others who want their books written as well. 

It was not by any means an easy experience, but seeing the miracles and feeling so close to so many has been a good reminder for me about a lot of things.

I Have Something to Say... Maybe.

 Wanna hear the hardest thing about being consistent?

Sometimes, I just don't have anything new or profound to say.

Trying to come up with a new idea when I'm simply revisiting old ideas and improving on them is a challenge. 

Me coming to the office looks the same these days. I start off with a bit of study, respond to some messages if there are any, then go over the notes and feedback to improve Madamn. Most of it is pretty little stuff, too. 

At least right now.

But I have made a commitment to update this blog, and by George, I'm going to keep that commitment!

I just have to think of new things to say and new ideas to implement. 

This is part of the reason I've never started a podcast or started making YouTube videos. I do have a few there. Once in a while, I'll make reels for my social media. 

But for the most part, this stage is pretty unglamorous and it's hard to find new things to share.

My Biggest Writing Secret

 I love writing. I have been an avid journaler since I was eight years old. I'm not a bad writer to start out with.

But do you wanna know what absolutely TRANSFORMS my writing?

Smart friends.

If I can't find something I'm trying to research, I simply post it on social media and I have exactly what I need almost instantly. If not right away, at least within 24 hours.

When I finish a manuscript, I send it to friends. I do this BEFORE an editor even gets near it.

You have no idea how much this novel has changed for the better just from a few comments from very smart people that I love and respect.

I have a lot of work and cleaning up to do, but wow. 

It's already loads better.

Greatness is in the details friends.

I don't know all of the details. But between me and many others with different knowledge and expertise, I can get the details right.

Checking In

 Despite the health struggles, I'm still here! I'm managing to make it to the office Some days there is more progress than others.

But at least there is a little bit happening every day.

Today I spent a few hours going over notes made by an author friend who writes a lot in the time period and was checking for historical accuracy. There's a lot to fix.

But to be perfectly honest, there is less than I thought and I am thrilled by this! I have a few other experts in their filed checking for specific things as well.

I'm working hard to make this the best that it can be, and I really hope people come to love Em as much as I do.