Friday Update

Collective "TGIF," anyone?

I spent the first part of the week trying to shake off the virus or bug or whatever it was I caught last week, and thinking a lot about what I wanted to say about Orlando. So much has been said. It's my sincere hope that the outpouring of love, support, and aid from all corners reinforces that the problem is not our country at large, but the evil actions of a few terrifying individuals. Unfortunately, though, sometimes the evil, the cruel, and the hateful voices become the loudest. And the ones we focus on the most.

So I want to say this, just briefly: make the choice to be kind. Every day. Don't wait for something horrific to splash across the TV screen before you find tenderness, and compassion, and simple courtesy for the people around you. So often it seems like day-to-day life is burdened with the casual cruelties of people who, for lack of an understanding on my part, just seem to want to cause low-grade harm to others. Vicious gossip, workplace or personal sabotage, passive-aggressive or outright-aggressive comments about someone's appearance. All this ridiculous bullying. Just...why? Why does that give people pleasure? The world is scary enough as it is; just be kind. Be accepting. Walk-the-walk every day, not just when the news reminds us just how petty our small differences are.

Okay. Climbing off my soapbox now.

Onto personal Friday author notes:

If you follow me on FB, you've probably seen that I have a new WIP going on Wattpad: Dear Heart. It's a standalone romance that has nothing to with Dartmoor, and is, for me, a really fun change of pace. I love my Dartmoor kids, and I love the drama and excitement they bring with them, but I have this big soft spot for sweet, heartbreaking, friends-to-lovers stories about childhood friends. I've loved diving into this project; I feel like I'm really connecting with parts of my writing brain that have gone a little rusty the last year, and it's therefore really helping with Loverboy. I'm updating regularly, so check it out if you need something to tide you over until LB.

I've been a sort of absentee author on social media lately, but it's mostly because I'm writing like crazy, and also because summers are busy farm-wise. Most of the time, if it comes down to blogging/posting, or writing - I write instead. Which means that while I can't promise a mid-July release of LB just yet, I know I'll be done writing it by then, so thanks in advance for bearing with me!

I thought I had more notes, but, um, no. Back to work it is, then.