Tag: Renovation

Gearing up for the Deep Valley Book Festival

I’m no longer living in a construction zone! On a related topic, words you never want to hear in the same sentence: water and structural damage.

It’s been a long haul, but the water damage has been repaired! And I have new patio doors, which I’ve been gazing at and through. I even put up an extra hummingbird feeder, although that doesn’t seem to have stopped the territorial battles.

Hummingbirds = fierce

So, a month or two back, I was apparently feeling extra sassy, and I put myself on the exhibitor waitlist for the Deep Valley Book Festival. I didn’t think I’d get a table, and if I did, well, that was a problem for future Charity.

Yes, you’ve guessed it. I now have a four-foot table at the festival. Not only that, but they also invited me to be on the author panel (!).

I’ve been busy creating things for my table: business cards, a pricing sheet, an ebook postcard giveaway, and bookmarks for Booking Through Thursday.

Collage of author assets, including bookmarks and business cards

I’ve also been mentally gearing up for the author panel. The topic is:

Ever wonder where authors get their ideas, how they create memorable characters, or what really happens behind the scenes of writing and publishing a book? This lively, audience-driven panel puts you in charge of the conversation. Bring your questions and ask our participating authors anything about their books, their writing journeys, and the creative process!

I’m hoping for more than a deer-in-the-headlights response and “I have no idea. It just happens.” That wouldn’t be very lively.

If any of you would like to lob some practice questions my way, I’d appreciate it. I’ll also answer them here on the blog.

Happy Sunday. I’m off to refill my hummingbird feeders and referee some pitched battles.

Construction zone

It’s a construction zone around here, so if I’m a little scarce, that’s why. Booking Through Thursday will go on, as ever. But I may not make my weekly check-in.

Yesterday, I did manage to water the garden and clean up a bit (and find the extra flooring the contractors might need). And I made some vegetarian chili and some chia seed pudding. These feel like major achievements.

I haven’t been able to write that much (the noise, people in my space, the dogs (in a spare bedroom), barking at people in our space). But I’ve been getting other things done, like setting up Square and cover refreshes, so I’ve actually been pretty productive.

At the very least, I’ll be back on Thursday for another round of BTT. See you then!

Take stock November

Sunrise on this morning’s walk.

First, how is it almost November? Seriously? How?

Second, I am looking forward to November. I want to take stock, look ahead to the upcoming year, and consider what I want to write in the coming months. Obviously, more Pansy. That goes without saying.

Now that I’m no longer in burnout from the day job, I’m trying to figure out how much writing I can tackle.

Full-time writing isn’t something I have experience with. I’m so used to squeezing in my fiction writing in the margins of my life. I want to be more expansive without burning out on the writing itself. I suspect this will take experimentation and balance.

In other news, my daughter and I have cleared out the basement and pulled up the carpet and the tack strips. Y’all, we did this Friday, and I’m still sore and achy. But hopefully this week, we’ll have the new carpet installed (this is not a task we’re performing—we’re not that masochistic).

In a week or two, this should be the cozy space we’ve been wanting for a while. Perfect for pondering plans (or possibly world domination, but I’m feeling a little too sore for that).

Here’s to November! (I think.)