What does it mean to be a kid at heart?
It means one has successfully resisted jadedness. Or put in the positive, to not lose one’s sense of wonder. Above all else, I think that’s what children possess upstairs that we come to envy as adults. From awe comes adventure, excitement, curiosity, energy, possibility…nothing is over and done. The world is your oyster. There’s a reason to get out of bed every day and get after it. And there’s joy in everything, the little, tiny stuff, too — with wonder, just living is delightful. Pair that with wisdom and holy shit, baby, we got a stew going.
I think I’ve done okay at keeping my sense of awe and wonder. I tap into that feeling on the daily, I really do. It’s a practice, I think. Or maybe it comes natural and I’m just lucky for the chemicals in my brain. Or maybe it’s both. I’ve certainly been dealt my hardships. No adult has avoided that. Those of us who are lucky to advance in years will inevitably be leveled by tragedy and heartache in some manner or form. So, we all know how hard life is. But I really do still find awe and wonder every single day. It’s not just a platitude. Like, let’s see, today…I got wrapped up in the changing weather down here in LA. Cold in the morning, almost frosty, when I went out to write; which then warmed up to almost 70 by midday and patchy clouds overhead, and then the winter winds blew in all blustery—this was when it really caught me and I stopped literally to think about it for a few minutes—close to sundown…and then all was cold and quiet when taking the dogs out to pee for the last time before bed. The wind blew itself out, just like that. And just like that, it feels like winter here in LA. And this is the time of year where I’m not used to pushing hard on the writing…but I want to this year. And I have in the past. This has been a very, very good time for me productivity-wise in the past, and I can tap into that. I can feel it just around the corner, using this cool, dark weather to wrap myself up inside, in my chair, cozy and well-fed…and writing.
I reveled in that feeling today, and I felt grateful for the changing of the seasons. It marks the time, reminds me of where I am. Just like that. The wind comes, and blows through, and then it’s gone.
Amazing.
———
A better day today writing-wise. Again, I was super distractible, but again, I rallied here and there. I got some real work done.
There’s a heaviness coming with this next book. I can feel it. We’ll see how much I indulge it, but it is there. Some war-is-hell stuff. It makes sense at least for one of the characters to have it that way. I’m not sure if it will extend to anyone else, but it might. One change I’ve already made to one character’s journey has me SO STOKED to write. Ah. That’s always such a good feeling. Just need to get there with everyone’s arc. And I will. Just have to put in the time.
Plans. I make them. And then I must navigate the reality. We’ll see what happens this time.
Netflix work was a little busy again today, which—again—I’m very happy with and grateful for. Feels good when my work needs me.
I’d posted on facebook about the first Glory book hitting #1 in a couple free categories—because the book is free right now on a sale to promote the release of book 4–and I’d pretty much meant it for my fellow author friends, but it got picked up by the algorithm and showed to everyone, so much so that my mom even called me to say congrats, lol. Here’s the thing: it is a big deal. This is probably going to be the best sale we’ve run on Glory book 1 to this point. It should make us several thousand dollars when it’s all said and done. But, I feel like most of my non-author facebook friends saw that “#1 on Amazon” and got the wrong idea, haha. Like…I’m not going to be a millionaire. This isn’t making the new york times. It’s actually a feat we’ve accomplished before with previous sales, though I don’t think in these specific, bigger, categories, and its a feat that’s super super common among us indie authors…
But that said, I do really appreciate the love. And, truly, it is something to celebrate. It’s just not as big a deal as I think some people might have assumed. But I love the love. It is all that kind of encouragement that keeps me going, truly.
That’s all folks. Night night.
OH! And HOLY CRAP I ALMOST FORGOT…
This is ELEVEN YEARS NOW on the blog. Tonight. Eleven year anniversary of writing a blog entry every day. My god. What a journey this decade+ has been. Happy to be here. And enjoying doing a new question every entry, too, that’s revitalized the word count, hasn’t it? 🙂
Deuces.