Remember When I Promised to Stop Overdoing It? (Laughs Bitter Laugh)

Just a few of the many magical things in The Magpie Oracle

Hello Again Magical Friends!

Life Will Calm Down... Next Week, Right?

I see memes all the time about how adulthood is nothing but constant empty affirmations that life is going to calm down... next week, next month, once X happens.* Oh, do I relate! I'm always stuffing more into my handbag, my calendar, my life, my books. I like to pretend that's me being an over-achiever, and not an over committer, but that excuse is wearing thin these day.

*Side note: why is the alternative, yearned for "calm life" just as scary as the crazy busy one for those of us who thrive on a little chaos?

My life has not calmed down this week.

Here's why: Last weekend I drove to Phoenix on Friday for a lovely bookish event called "Books in the Desert." When I signed up about 10 months ago, I was thinking it was a three-hour drive. I didn't have a preorder scheduled for two weeks afterward, back then. This event was going to be easy peasy, right?

Phoenix is six hours from here! Not three. Six! And I had yet to finish formatting the book I later scheduled two weeks from said event.

On Saturday night we drove home. Twelve hours of driving in two days! Somehow in between it all, I managed to finish getting the book formatted and the ARCs ready. (ARC readers, watch your inbox later today!).

Today is my poor neglected husband's birthday, and I've had to promise him a raincheck because I'm still furiously doing all the last-minute book things while also packing for another event in Salem, MA this upcoming weekend.

"Getting Witchy with It" sounds like such an incredible event. It's one I've been wishing to attend for years. When a spot opened up and was offered to me, I leapt at the chance without even pausing to look at the calendar. Which is how I ended up doing a huge cross-country event less than ten days before my launch.

Is it ideal? No. Will I make the most of it? Yes!

The Velveteen Rabbit Moment

That 12-hour drive was worth it when I got to meet so many readers who already had my books and brought their own copies to be signed. I almost cried when one of them (Thank you, Bethany!) showed me her annotated copy.

As writers, we are words words words all day long. Our words are like Velveteen rabbits—they don't become fully real until someone loves them, highlights them, and sticks little tabs in their book.

And then we are authors.

I bit off more than I could chew this month, but I'm determined not to be crushed by it. I'm going to enjoy what I can, make the most of this upcoming trip, and let some of my woulda, coulda, shoulda's for this launch go.