Welcome to 2022 and Some Changes to the Blog

Welcome to 2022!

First, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be speaking at The History Quill’s Virtual Convention 2022 for Writers of Historical Fiction. The convention runs online from February 2 through February 6, 2022. There’s a great line-up of speakers and a different theme each day. I’ll be speaking on writing and publishing short historical fiction on February 5, 2022. Interested? Sign up here: https://thehistoryquill.com/the-history-quill-writers…/… Please note that this is an affiliate link, so I may receive a small percentage of the sales. I hope you can join me!

I’m making some changes to my professional life this year, which I’ll talk more about in a later blog. While my professional life is morphing, so is this blog. Readers of this blog are a wonderful collection of writers, readers, fans of my books, and online friends. While I’m happy with what I’ve created here, I’ve been feeling like the blog needed a new direction, even if I wasn’t quite sure what that direction should be.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want for the rest of my life. I’m 52 now, and while I’m not old by any stretch, I’m not getting any younger. In Brendan Carr’s wonderful interview with acclaimed author Steven Pressfield (found in the Summer 2021 edition of Copperfield Review Quarterly), Pressfield talks about how, when you’re writing a story, you have to decide what your story is about, and then you have to decide what your story is really about.

It’s the same for our personal lives. What do we want, and then what do we really want. I’ve been struggling with what I really want for a while now, and though I don’t have any definite answers, at least now I can formulate the questions in a way that might resonate with others.

Like many people, I’ve become more introspective as a result of the pandemic, though I suppose most writers are introspective by nature. I hope my ideas will be helpful to anyone who wishes to live a simple, creative life in this crazy world of ours.

Starting next week, my posts will have labels so readers can see the topic at a glance. Here are the seven labels and the themes that go with them.

The Writer’s Life. First, we make a decision to live a writer’s life. Then, we have to define what it means to live a writer’s life. We also have to learn how to stay positive on the long and winding road of writing, whether we write for publication or personal satisfaction. Most of my posts will fall under this category, and it mainly covers the particular satisfaction that comes with following our heart’s joy into writing or any other creative endeavor.Writing Inspiration. This is where you can find writing tips and tricks. Where do we find ideas for our writing? What are some things I’ve learned about writing over the years? How do we keep going on those days when we’d rather pop our own eyes out with spoons than write another word? Who has been there before us and who can we learn from? Finding ways to make writing fun again is so important, and finding motivation is something I’ve been struggling with myself lately. You know that old saying—you teach what you need to learn. If we lose the joy of writing, then there’s no reason to write.Refilling the Creative Well.  Anyone who has read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way knows that keeping our artistic selves well-fed is important. We need ideas, imagination, and creativity or else there’s nowhere to write from. I’ll focus on activities such as journaling, art journaling, coloring, crafting, watching movies, documentaries, and TV, reading, walking, and taking artist’s dates, as Cameron suggests. This is the fun part about being a writer!Simple Living. How do we keep out the noise so we can focus on what is truly important to us? I’ll share some tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years for staying balanced. I’m not a balanced person, by the way. I’m simply more balanced than I used to be. I’ll share ways I keep my life simple through baking, cooking, walking, yoga, mediating, praying, journaling, and reading. While this may not seem immediately connected to a writer’s life, a simpler life helps us to stay balanced. When we’re balanced, our creativity thrives.Reading Inspiration. I used to call this “What I’m Reading.” I’ll still be sharing the best of what I’m reading, books I’m using for research, and books that have inspired me either as a writer or in my personal life. As Stephen King says in On Writing, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”The Wannabe Historian.  Some of the most popular posts on this blog are my research posts, particularly those about life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Salem Witch Trials. I’ll continue to share my research since friends here seem to enjoy that. I’ll also indulge a bit in my love for authentic historical recipes. As many of you have heard me say before, I missed my calling in this life. I should have been a food historian!Book News.  Of course, I’ll always share news about my latest books. I’ll share new release dates and any other important information. If you’d like more specific books news or access to special promotions or giveaways, you can follow my monthly newsletter. If you’d just like new book announcements from me you can follow me on BookBub. In case you’re wondering, I’ll have two releases in 2022—The Duchess of Idaho, Book Five of the Loving Husband Series, and then a surprise addition to the Loving Husband universe, a novella featuring James and Sarah. More on that soon.

I’m so inspired by this new direction for my blog that I’ve mapped out weekly posts for the next three months. No joke!

Thank you as always for joining me.

~Meredith