Barbara Samuel's Blog: A Writer Afoot, page 13

all paths are divine

all paths are divine

Originally uploaded by A writer afoot



A big weekend here, and more coming as we count down to the holidays–and the release of How to Bake a Perfect Life. If you haven't seen the redesign of my websites, stop by http://barbaraoneal.com, and http://barbarasamuel.com.

TWO WEEKS!

Meanwhile, enjoy this shot of the windowsill in my office.

The anvil of holiday guilt

First: we're working behind the scenes on the Barbara O'Neal and Barbara Samuel webpages, which should be up early next week. Lots of new features, better navigation…and of course, contests will be kicking off with the release of How to Bake a Perfect Life, coming December 21. Stay tuned!

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Every year, I promise myself that I'm going to stay on track with my writing goals through the holidays.  Every year, just about this time, I realize I haven't written a word in two (or three) weeks and feel that anvil of guilt fall out of the sky to crush me.  Every year.

For 22 years of book deadlines.

This year, as the season bore down on us, Christopher Robin suggested I might want to just recognize that I would not have as much time to work, and just call it a draw.  That seemed shocking. Sinful, even!  Everybody else works and gets things done.  Why shouldn't I be able to do that, too?  My mom works 40 hours a week and bakes cookies and decorates her house and shops.  Why not me?

So, I soldiered on.  November was modestly productive until the end, when Thanksgiving arrived.  I hosted the feast at my house this year, my son came home from DC for four days, and my other son popped in and out the whole weekend. We played games (notably Arkadia) and ate and I stayed up late talking, watching Ian teach Gabrielle to fetch. It was wonderful.

But then I tried to climb back into my routines the following morning. After a week of non-stop activity, cleaning, cooking, laughing, talking, I admit I was very tired.  There was a sad thing that happened, far away and beyond any of my power to do anything about it, which layered atop my weariness and made Monday not very productive. Then I had to put things away. And this weekend there is a party we are hosting.  Next week is the countdown to a huge spiritual retreat I'm helping to lead, and the next week, my friend and I are going to Chimayo for a couple of days to put together our vision boards for the year.

Then, well, it's almost Christmas.

The truth is, I have not written many pages in almost any December since I began this career. Other people physically leave the house or have to clock in with their computer–I don't. Which means I like having the freedom to do a lot of baking, to get out to the gym and the shops when everyone else is working, to have the luxury of rearranging my life around the holidays I adore so that I can devote a lot of my attention to them, and try to make memories of peace and laughter and happiness for others around me.

Somehow, I make my deadlines, year after year.

So, I am off work until early January.  My collage is on the desk, nearly complete.  I have some lists of plot points I want to work on,

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a glimpse of the collage for the new book, title undecided at the moment

some more backstory character events to dig up.  I can also do something my friend Christie does: write one sentence a day, just to keep my head in the book, so that the girls in the basement can keep working, building.  In January, I'll get back to writing pages every day, as I have done every year for the past 22 years.

Gosh, that anvil was so heavy! And I was dropping it on my own head! Silly me.

Does anyone else set up impossible expectations? What can you do to lighten your load this season?

Two are better than one

Love you forever

Potato Leek Soup

It's been awhile since we've had a recipe here.  I made this over the weekend, in two steps. The first night, it was basic Potato Leek Soup, and frankly, a little bland.   The next night, I tried to make it a little more interesting, and it was delicious.   I'll save you the [...]

the deliciousness of notebooks

photo by Bright Meadow

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A lovely review

from Publisher's Weekly

How to Bake a Perfect Life

Barbara O'Neal, Bantam, $15 trade paper (416p) ISBN 978-0-553-38677-6

The Rita Award–winning author (as Barbara Samuel) of The Lost Recipe for Happiness returns with the absorbing story of Ramona Gallagher, a 40-year-old woman whose joy in running a bakery in Colorado Springs helps her [...]

Ordinariness

Tonight, reading through Twitterings, I saw an intriguing little something that led me to a memoir writing site that ended with this:

In Italy they have these walled cemeteries with compartments for the remains of the dead. Every Sunday all these little old ladies go to visit the graves of their departed husbands. One [...]

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Heart of a Knight in ebook

Now available!

HEART OF A KNIGHT Barbara  Samuel

RITA award winner

FROM AMAZON REVIEWS:

Lady Elizabeth D'Auvers returns to her beloved home, Woodell Castle, after a self-imposed exile to save herself and her stepchildren from the plague sweeping Britain. Afraid that she will find death and ruin, she is relieved to discover that [...]