Breathing and Good Stuff

As of last week, I am retired from working. For the least year, I’ve worked, under the name of Chris Hawkins, as marketing director for  Riptide Publishing. I loved it, but several months ago, I started to feel the pressure of the job and of the rest of my life. I wanted to devote all my time to both, and I don’t think the ability to do that has been invented yet.

After some lengthy discussions with Aleks and Rachel at Riptide, and with my chief adviser and person who generally knows me better than I know myself, my husband, I decided that I needed to step down and concentrate on my writing and my family.  The job requires someone’s full attention and sadly, I couldn’t do that and longer, and maintain the writing pace I’ve set for myself. Something had to give. Riptide now has Stephanie, who is a dynamo. All is well.

I spent the weekend watching the Queen’s Jubilee celebration on BBC America, trying to wrap up my Hollywood story, and taking a breather from it all. Much needed respite and I feel energized this morning.

The very first email I opened this morning was a most wonderful surprise. A little background. In 1983, my husband, oldest daughter, and I took a Caribbean cruise (one of many before and since.) Our table mates turned out to be a family from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in the UK. Lovely people, Cathy, Eddie, and their daughter, Debbie. We got on famously while onboard ship, then they spent several weeks touring the country, including a visit to New Orleans. We invited them to our home and spent a lovely Easter Sunday with them.

Well, despite efforts to the contrary, we lost touch. Since we got a computer, I’d periodically attempted to find them, to no avail. Last week, I was on Linkdin, and decided to look for Debbie, who I knew had studied medicine. I did find a person with her name and who lived in Newcastle, and wrote a private note to her.

Low and behold, this morning I got an email from her, and she was the same person! I am so thrilled. Sadly, her parents have both passed away. They were such lovely people and we’ve never forgotten them.

Then, I got two wonderful reviews, always welcome. One for Splendid Captivity and the other for Demands of the Heart.  I couldn’t be more excited. That feeling, when someone likes your work, never gets old.

Last Friday, my honey bought me an Amazon Fire, which I’ve played with pretty much all weekend. I love it. I don’t find it particularly great for reading books, but that could possibly be me and the brightness setting, but I love the speed of web browsing and the availability of useful apps. Netflix, for instance, plays beautifully. I’m pleased with the gadget, as honey calls it.

So now I’m trying to finish my Hollywood novel. I am so close, and I know how it will end. The problem is, I’m just not sure if what I have planned is rushing the ending. I don’t want to do that. It’s one of those, “Can’t see the forest for the trees,” kinds of things I fear. I’ll get it worked out, just want to do it right.

And that is the wrap up of what’s been going on of late. All good stuff. Now, I’ll take my coffee, my buttermilk biscuits, and my Fire, and head into the writing cave. “Is it time for my close up, Mr. DeMille?”