The Book Is Almost Done...What's Next

The book is being put into files for print to be sold. I still can't wrap my brain around how will it look or how I will feel when I see it for the first time. In the mean time, while I am waiting, I am getting ready for my two new projects. Since I am house bound and have no outside life to comment on, I thought I would take this opportunity to write about what comes next for me.

My next book was under some considerable debate. In the end it was my editor who gave me the best idea. Bless Emily's heart! My next book will be about my relationships with men. I could go the whole making fun of route and I am sure I will to some degree, but it is more about communication styles and generational changes. I have a dad, husband and 2 sons. I am not an expert on men or boys, but I have real time experience on my resume with some of the best and worst behavior boys have to offer. My theories and ideas and eventual lessons learned will all be in the next book describing what I did that worked and the mistakes I have made in trying to coexist with my men friends. It's an opportunity for insight that I didn't have when I started out being married for the first time. My divorce from my first husband serves as a cautionary tale of what not to do. I wish I had known then what I learned the hard way later. My idea is to throw it all out there, so someone has the benefit of my good and bad experiences. My kids are getting sick of my stories and I feel they are worth telling, so...

My second project is a series of children's books. They will be based on my own children and some of the things they have seen, heard and lived through. It will be set during their childhood and all will have a resolution in the end, not necessarily a happy ending. I write what I know to be true and my kids have been stellar examples of honest, open expression. I will include how they all dealt with their father's death in the series. I think it's important to include the hard stuff too. If by chance one other child feels less alone because my kids stories can reach out, then the tough stories are worth the telling. I will tell you the reaction of my kids has been funny. They do not feel complimented or put out, they merely look at me, shrug and roll their eyes. My oldest is famous in our house for saying, very sarcastically,"good story" when she has to endure one of my rambling stories or speeches. I have taken that remark to the next level. I will give this project my all, in hopes that it will indeed be a "good story".

I am researching the writing projects this summer. I know that I have to focus on begging people to buy the current book, er, I mean, marketing. The real writing of these two projects will start sometime in the late summer or early fall. My hope is to have the boy book out sometime next year. The children's books will take longer due to the art work and illustration. I have no earthly who will be doing that at this stage, so I am certain there will be all kinds of surprises.

I am as anxious and excited about my upcoming books as I am with my current book. I feel so lucky to be doing what I love. I had almost given up on ever being a writer. I had every reason not to do it and only one really good reason to try. I love to write. I had worried because I don't have a 4 year degree of any kind that I was not smart enough to write. My best girlfriend said, "I have a journalism degree and I can't write that well." With that in mind I will continue writing with her blessing and all my other friends and family who have helped prop me up when things got big and scary. Ooooh, big and scary things...maybe another book in the making.