Back into the World

A lot has happened since I last posted here. My husband and I have had quite a spring!

-We had a baby, a very happy, beautiful, wonderful little boy!

-We had all manner of family come to visit us, during and following the birth

-We moved to a new state within less than a month of our son being born

and…I now have a literary agent! Yes, believe it or not, that contest I entered was a godsend, because the agent who won my manuscript through that contest offered representation and I accepted!!! We had a wonderful conversation and I am so excited to work with her!

I am starting (keyword: starting) to shake off the fog of new-mom-ness and feel (probably rather foolishly) that I am an old hand at all this and will be the most organized and disciplined creature when it comes to parenting, book revisions, house-y things, language study, etc.

I have just started running again, and have to start almost from scratch because my body has forgotten so much speed and strength. I am trying to remind my arms that they know how to do pull-ups, but my abdominal muscles seem to doubt that that was ever possible.

In my stories–the second and third books–some characters get badly wounded, (as characters often do in battle) and I feel like I have a whole new perspective on pain and gore and wounds and physical recovery. Imagine your body having to re-learn all it’s old movement and strength? I am just now, for the first time, having a glimpse of what that’s like for those who have experienced serious injury. Only a glimpse, but still, I have learned a lot.

Goals for this month:

1. Start revisions as soon as I receive the annotated manuscript from my agent (I get to say “my agent” now??!?!)

2. Get my run length up to three miles

3. Learn how to use GIFs…and other internet-y things (I am the sort of person who refused to get a cell-phone until I was eighteen because I thought they were stupid, and who had a very, very basic flip-phone until about a year ago. I take to technology sloooowly).

4. Write thank-you letters to friends and family who helped/sent gifts/sent encouragement during those first few weeks after having a baby

5. Get back in the swing of writing blog-posts, and hopefully ones a little more coherent and writing-related than this one : )