Why I've Been Quiet Lately

Sorry this blog got all kinds of spotty again after a really good June. I feel bad when I only post up interviews even though I do like to share the cool authors and other folks that I discover with you guys.

I think I'm still trying to figure out how to best use my blog. I want it to be a source of interesting information as well as personal reflections on well, my life, writing, and music as the blog's name Life, Words & Rock 'n' Roll suggests. But I don't even know how often people read blogs any more because Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and now Google+ (which I'm on but haven't actually used much) make it easier to get the basics and small doses of information.

The thing is, I'm not a small doses kind of gal. My blog entries are longer than they should be and I know it and so are my books. But I write the stories I write because they are what I want to tell and I don't like to blog for the sake of blogging. I blog when I have something urgent that I need to share whether it be my own news or a great band or book or author or just an observation or obsession I need to talk about. I also use this a sort of public journal where I work through my own issues whether they be with my writing process or regarding things I've gone through in the past like self-injury, abuse, addiction, etc. So I guess I'm saying that I hope this is okay with you and you will keep reading and entering my contests, etc and that you will also bear with me during my quieter moments like right now because I just don't blog when I don't have things that are interesting or appropriate to say and I also seem to go through cycles when I barely have time to eat or sleep so blogging just falls off.

Here's what's been going on with me lately & why I've been so quiet:

1. There is a lot of stuff going on in my personal life that I don't feel comfortable talking about publicly so I'm not. It's been a hard summer. People I love have been sick and/or going through difficult times and it's just seemed like one bit of bad luck after the next. I don't want to be a whiny Debbie Downer, so I'm following the "When you don't have anything nice to say, STFU" rule.

2. There is a lot of stuff going on in my professional life that I either don't feel comfortable talking about or simply can't talk about it. Yet. You'll hear about it when I'm ready/allowed to talk about it. But I spent much of last month in yet another cycle of major self-doubt. Like consulting tarot cards for a different career path self-doubt. Like wondering if I could be a nurse like my mom even though I'm pretty sure I'd faint at the sight of a ton of blood self-doubt. More on that when I've processed it completely, I'm sure because while I don't want to be one of those writers who writes about writing all the time, there are some things that are really important to share and self-doubt and how we work through it is a biggie. But rest assured I'm not quitting any time soon. Still have lots to figure out, but not quitting.

3. There is one professional-related thing that I am so bursting to tell you about but can't. It's not a book, but it's something that I'm as excited about and proud of as I am my books and I'm sure that readers of my books are totally gonna love. All I can say now is that you will find out more in early September. As soon as I can tell you, believe me I will. But this Super Sekrit Project has been sucking up a ton of time and is a large reason of why I haven't been blogging. It's like better than blogging though. You'll see.

4. Another professional-related time suck is I'm going to be teaching a Young Adult Fiction class at Columbia College Chicago this fall. I'm excited and nervous and hoping it will help me learn more about my own writing while I'm teaching others, but holy cow is it taking a lot of prep.

5. I'm trying to figure out which of three YA ideas to work on as my next project. It's caused a lot of angst as you might have noticed from this post. After the trouble I had with the bartender book, I'm gun-shy. I don't want to start writing until I've fully plotted, which is so not my usual style. That's it's own separate blog post (unless you think that would be totally boring!) which I will write about once I figure things out a bit more and get deeper into my process. Every book is a new animal. I'm pretty sure I've chosen my next book idea, but we'll see. More on that later.

So yes between all of those things I've been insanely busy and the rest of this month isn't going to be much better, but I do have two more great interviews planned for you (and you can still enter to win Melissa Walker's latest book here). I also want to eventually (sometime this week or next week I hope!) tell you about going to see the original version of the play Grease here in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing and I have so much to say about it. I'll do my best to get a post up about it before I go on vacation on the 20th. Yes!!!! I get a vacation! Dudes, I need a vacation so bad and it is with two of my bestest girl friends in my favorite city on earth, Seattle, so I am thrilled!

I will definitely be blogging at Teen Fiction Cafe this Thursday, probably about my favorite places in Seattle, and there is going to be some seriously cool stuff going on at TFC soon (that does involve winning/earning free books!), so keep your eye on that site.

Next Tuesday you will find me at my other group blog, YA Outside The Lines talking about beginnings and endings and probably about this new YA book project I'm trying to get settled into. We are doing something cool at YAOTL for September where we are going to pick our topics from questions that readers ask. So if you have a question that you'd like to see one of your favorite YA authors answer-- a serious question or a totally goofy, off-the-wall one, please send it to blog administrator, Holly Schindler, at writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com. Nothing's off limits!

Actually come to think of it, that might be a good idea for me personally to do on this blog too. So if there are certain things you'd like me personally to blog about or reflect on in the future, please leave a comment. I can't promise I'll get to them all and I may not get to any of them until September, but I really could use your feedback about what would make reading this blog enjoyable because as long as it stays enjoyable for me as a writer and you guys as readers, I will continue to maintain it... even if it does get spotty when life gets hectic. Again, I apologize for that and appreciate all of your comments and hope you are having a fabulous summer!