Wednesday 30 January 2013

Its been a while...

There’s nothing like bypassing January to escape all the requisite talk of resolutions (see post last year)…but in all seriousness, I’ve just returned from a relaxing and indulgent holiday in New Zealand. It sure helped to take the sting out of going back to work after the Christmas/New Year holidays. The copious amounts of gourmet food, wine, sweet treats – both at restaurants and over at the homes of friends and family was manna from heaven and a great way to farewell 2012 and welcome the new year.

Whilst I was relaxing up in the mountainous pine forests of New Zealand’s Coromandel Coast I got to thinking…what do I want to do/try/experience, and ultimately be this year?

My last blog entry was in October, and from that date till the Christmas shutdown period, I was consumed by work. For those of you who have followed by blog, you may recall that I was studying for my government license to assess pilots and cabin crew on emergency procedures. I’m pleased (and a little more than relieved) to report that at the beginning of December I achieved that milestone, and as a reward, I have been banished to the classroom and the simulators ever since in order to train, assess, examine, and sometimes yell - all in the name of air safety. My little sojourn allowed me to take stock, reflect and set the stage for the coming period.

Regarding my career and my writing aspirations, one thing I realized is that I am no longer ‘waiting tables looking for my big break.’ By that I mean the days of taking all sorts of odd jobs (usually poor paying ones) in order to feed my writing habit are over (in reality they have been for the last few years). Although I enjoyed my bohemian existence in my early twenties, now that I’m in my thirties, I’m pleased to report that I can juggle a respectable professional career while knocking on the publishing world’s door. I could do worse than follow in the footsteps of say…Michael Crichton or Tess Gerritsen, among many other luminaries.

Having said that, since I had to spend most of last year working assiduously on my nine-to-five persona, I am now wildly free to focus on my life’s other great love (that is, other than the wonderful people in my life) = writing. Busy as I was last year, I did work my little keister off on polishing my YA novel. I had hoped (and plainly stated in an early entry) that I would have finished the requisite changes/improvements and be on my submission journey way before the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. But I’m actually proud to admit that I didn’t get there. (In fact I have four more chapters ahead of me, so I didn’t miss the mark too badly). The reason I mention this is because I’m kind of proud of my shortcoming… For someone who would love nothing more than to receive ‘The Call’ from an agent, I finally came to the peaceful realization that I will not sacrifice quality in order to submit. I always understood that rushing would lead to sub par writing and thus reduce the chance of publication, but the angst and youthful impatience was always there, buzzing away. But not anymore. I like this new zen-like me. Let’s see if it holds me in good stead moving forward.

To finish (I apologize for the long entry), I am excited about blogging on a more consistent basis. If last year was my freshman attempt, this year’s sophomoric ramblings will be more assured and more consistent…I promise.