It Wasn't Exactly Writer's Block
I’m happy to announce the release of my latest book, The Cottage on Dare Lake, the second book in the Dare Lake trilogy.
I enjoy the fiction I create. A lot. So whathappened? What got in the way of my creative output? Life. That’s whathappened.
So a little background. In 2020, I did the work Ineed to do to reactivate my CPA license, and along with that, my work hours,responsibilities, and workload increased. As I’ve said before, accounting is askill I learned to support my writing habit. (Which, by the way, includes my travelinghabit. Because I absolutely must travel to research settings for my books,right?)
On to what happened. The first big thing that stalledmy writing progress was the birth of my first grandchild. I spent a lot of timein 2021 caring for my grandson. He calls me Nana. No regrets for the hiatus during this time.Spending time bonding with my little buddy is one of the greatest joys of mylife. My accounting hours took a hit. I spent less time on the job and more timewith the family. No regrets. Though my writing time suffered. It was almost non-existent.
Then in 2022, as the 2021 tax season approached(As a CPA, I always lived in the past), I made a promise to my employer to makeup for the previous year’s decreased hours. I worked my posterior off duringthe 2021 tax season, which officially ended in October 2022. BUT I still spenta lot of time with the grandson BECAUSE his mom was expecting another baby, mysecond grandchild, and she needed my support as the birth of grandson number 2approached. What’s a Nana to do? I have my priorities. My writing time was onceagain limited because I still had that accounting job.
Years ago, I read a book about trimming the excessbranches off my tree of life. You know, getting rid of things that don’t addvalue or meaning to your life. I was in a good spot to do some trimming as Ihad just reached retirement age. (Sorry, I don’t remember the name of the bookany longer and a browser search didn’t help me locate it.)
In September 2022, my husband and I took a much-neededvacation to Washington state to visit Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Park,which included lots of day hiking. It was a good time to reflect on my life andhow it had changed, and more importantly, what my life was missing. By the timeI got home and back on the accounting job, I’d made up my mind. It was time toretire. I put in my years as a CPA, and I still have priorities that don’tinclude surviving another tax season.
So now, I spend time with both of my grandsons andhave plenty of time to write. I’ve spent more time on my hobbies, like scrapbookingand baking. After nine years of public accounting, I finally feel like my lifeis back in balance.
