Alright world, here it goes. I’m officially going to just put something out there. Oddly enough, there may be some random, generic, introductory blog post floating around on my page. I can totally explain that.
You see, I’m completely out of my element on everything technology-related. It’s sad, really. Back in the late 1990’s I would make websites, for fun! I could code! Now I’m on the downhill slide to my fabulous 40’s and I can’t even figure out a drop-and-click website. >.<
So please, try to cut me a little slack as I figure this beast out. I’ve actually owned this website and domain name since OCTOBER 2021 and haven’t been able to get this far. I still can’t figure out how to add my links to social media! I feel very out of touch.
If you’ve read the “About Me” page… then you know about me. If you haven’t… well click over after you read this… assuming I put the menu buttons in the right place.
Mostly I think you might be interested in what this is all about. Well, I did a thing. After life long pushing from my dad to “just write something!” I finally did. It helped that this past summer of 2021 he said “I’m turning 72 this year, I’d really like to see you published”. Thanks, Pop, no pressure. So on July 1st, 2021, I busted out my dinosaur of a laptop and scrolled through story ideas I’d jotted down. One just kept pulling me back. It was inspired by a dream I’d had, of a young woman sitting around a primitive fire. A young man was next to her, she was obviously antagonized by him, and he was obviously smitten. The young woman burned her hand, and the man smoothed aloe over the wound and kissed her fingers. Then I woke up. From there, Grasslands was born.
Back to July 1st though. That little dream was pretty much all I had. The people suddenly came to life for me, and a world and culture I didn’t know was brewing in my brain. I wrote the first draft, nearly 300,000 words, in just under three months. I cut Grasslands down to the neighborhood of 118,000 words (and still working on her), and I snagged book two out of it. (Book two clocking in at around 140,000 words… yikes.) I even got the first two chapters of book three! Which I’m currently continuing to write, as I edit the first two.
On top of that, I attempted my first ever NaNoWriMo, writing a companion novelette to the series. No, I did not win NaNo. I did however beta read for two other authors and helped one do an editing overhaul of her book. I also belong to an amazing group, http://www.momswhowrite.org and they put out a call for submissions to their first-ever anthology. I couldn’t say no to that! So, as a huge milestone for me, I submitted my very first nonfiction piece for consideration. I’m hoping to find out in the new year if I’ve been chosen.
It’s been a busy past few months. My children are amazing, but not exactly conducive to a writing environment. On top of that, I have bipolar 1 disorder, and this time of year I deal with super heavy depression. Writing has been nonexistent for me since Christmas break started. I plan on hitting the ground running once school starts again in January. Keep your eyes peeled, and check back often…
Who can tell what writing adventure I’ll leap into next???
Amy Long- Writer 