Monday, June 1, 2015

I'm Back -- Kind Of


Well, it's been awhile. I got through my mid-life crisis intact. I guess. I'm not sure if that's what it was or not, but life has settled down and I'm feeling much better.

I cleaned my house, or at least straightend out the mess that was my dining room. Here are a few pics to show you the before and after...

the original dining room

note the bannister and the rug

the upper room is now my reading nook
front door entrance and new dining room



note the bannister is gone

the cabinet where I keep my treasures



the other side of the front door entrance




This is what it looks like now because I've started writing again


Yes, I've started writing again. I mean, I can't not write. It's encoded into my DNA. Life just threw me a bunch of curveballs in March and it took me until now to hit them out of the park. Now that I've straightened those out, I'm back to the grind.

I think part of the problem was that I wanted to write other projects and ditch the Regency stuff. It took me awhile to realize I could actually do both. I mean I wrote REMEMBERING YOU at the same time I wrote THE LADY'S FATE. It's all about scheduling and sticking to it.

So that's what I'm doing. Sort of. I'm still not sure about this blog. I hate to give it up completely, this is where my friends are. But I've noticed more and more of them are also giving up their blogs to devote more time to family and writing.

It's hard to keep it up after so many years. With so many other social media avenues to travel on, why keep on blogging. It's not like any one is here anymore anyway. However, on the off chance someone is, I'd like to keep in touch.

So I guess here I am. I'm thinking I'll post updates about once a month. Although, I tried that before and eventually that fell away too.

I do have the other blog, Anne Gallagher Writer but that's mostly for my readers. Although, if you want to stop by and say hey over there, I won't ignore you.

And if I don't see you, have a great summer!

Anne Gallagher (c) 2015

16 comments:

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

Hi Anne. *waves*

Glad you're writing again.

Bish Denham said...

I'm here! But I so understand about blogging. I feel like I'm about burnt out. An yet... every one who has helped me, who would continue to help me, is still here. And so...I hang on.

I am happy that you're writing again. I've been stalled out for a while myself.

Anne Gallagher said...

Mac -- HI! *waves back* Love all your groovy pics.

Bish -- I know, I feel the exact same way about the blog. It's the only way to keep in touch sometimes. And we all need a break from writing. I don't care what the gurus say. Too much of any one thing is no good for you and a break helps recharge the batteries.

Jennifer Shirk said...

That's awesome you're writing again. It does feel good especially when you've stopped for a bit.
And yes, you can totally do both. I've been itching to write something else for awhile but I've always put it off. Not anymore. :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Looks like you did a lot of work to make a great writing space. Hope it keeps your muse busy.

Anne Gallagher said...

Jennifer -- I just scratched out 1000 words on this "new" idea. It does feel fantastic not to be constrained to the 1800's.

Susan -- Unfortunately, this is NOT my new writing space, just a temporary fix until I get my "real" office painted. However, I like it a lot and so does my muse.

Maria Zannini said...

I really need to clean house. I have a mangled hand that I still can't use. Hubby helps, but he draws the line at how clean is clean.

PS You have a very cozy home. :)

Anne Gallagher said...

Maria -- I'm sorry about your hand. And my clean didn't last long. We had Easter dinner and then I moved my office in. The rest of the house is still a disaster. Thanks for the house compliment. I was going for Victorian-ish and hope to have high wainscoting and built in bookshelves when I'm finished remodeling. This is just Phase One.

J.B. Chicoine said...

I really like what you've done with your living space! I hope this means you have moved out of the 'basement' to write--this is so much cheerier! You've accomplished a lot on you hiatus--so proud of you!

Anne Gallagher said...

Bridget -- Nope, I'm still officially in the basement, but I need to paint it before I move back down there. Maybe by the end of NEXT summer. lol

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

It's sooooooo good to have you back again, even if you can only manage once a month. It gets harder and harder to keep going with a blog, though, and I think we all experience a burnout sooner or later. Or both.

I'm even happier to hear you're writing again. Now all is right with the world.

Love your place. LOTS of plants!

Shelley Sly said...

Hi, Anne! It's really great to see you around. I totally understand about blogging or not blogging. The writing community has changed over the past few years. I'm seeing much more interaction on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram than on blogs lately.

I'm glad you're writing again, and house projects are always a good thing in the end. Hope you have an excellent start to your summer!

Anne Gallagher said...

Susan -- It's good to be back. I have no idea what I'm doing here though. I really don't have much to say. Blogging topics are so used up, and discussing my writing is so boring. But we'll see what happens.

Shelley -- Yeah, everywhere else is where I should be. But I'm not. I'd rather be here. (Although I do the occasional Tweet.) Yes, writing again, not one but three projects this time. I have so much to get done before I lose my thoughts. As for the house, I have more than enough projects in that area to keep me busy for the next three years. Glad your move was successful.

Anne R. Allen said...

Glad to see you're back! I've been going through some personal trials too, so I really relate. Blogging once a month sounds like a good compromise. You can keep in touch with people and keep producing new content for Google to notice and keep you on the SERP (That's the search results page. I just learned the term, so I have to keep throwing it around. :-).

That will let you get back to writing your fiction. That's the stuff that keeps us alive and well. :-) And don't forget that old posts can be recycled with a little brush-up and updated examples.

Anne Gallagher said...

Anne -- I'm not one for coming up with interesting topics for the blog. Writing articles have been covered tenfold, and I know new writers arent' coming to me for advice. I'm really just using this blog as a vehicle to keep in touch with my friends. Like you.

February Grace said...

I'm so glad you're writing again. I'm sorry I missed those 'curveballs' and so much of what has been going on here. I wish I could get your posts via email so I never miss them (I will check again, is there a form here for that?) because I always think about you it's just difficult to make the blog rounds for me much any more. But yours is always the first I go looking for when I do.

Do what's best for you, either way please keep in touch somewhere (even if on the reader blog.)

xoxo

bru