Hand Me the Spackle

Dame Rinda

Life has a way of changing us. I’ve always been a little shy, always hesitant to call people or show up at their house. Some see this as unfriendly or reserved, but I honestly know how hard it can be to keep up with things–we are busy people–so I wait for invitations. Now in social situations, I usually do okay. In fact, nerves can sometimes make my mouth run like it’s hooked up to its own motor.

But I found myself avoiding social situations for a bit. Had some personal stuff going on and to be honest, publishing really got to me after a time. Or… trying to publish did.

You see, my YAs nearly did VERY well. I had more than a handful of dream publishers show interest and I made the mistake of letting my hopes get up. Problem was, all this happened during a time those hopes needed a serious boost. None of that interest went anywhere—was the strangest situation. I now know this isn’t unusual, but to someone who really wanted to see those books on the shelves, it… well, it smarted. <g> My spirit took on a few dents, was crushed a bit. Funny enough, I didn’t think it was possible to crush my writer spirit. I mean, I’m the writer who wrote this poem and read it aloud at a poetry slam.

Writing, Pro-Boxing Style

I storm into the ring
Muscles oiled and compiled
To face an opponent of one
Heavy-weight style.

He goes by the name Diffidence
As world champion, he defiles
He creeps into the ring
Sentient style.

I throw out my first move
Shatter his myopic guile
Then perform a dancing two-step
Mohammad Ali style.

He rebounds with a solid left
Vilification so vile
With a quick follow up of guilt
Fourth-grade teacher style.

I growl with frustration
Gather persistence I’ve stockpiled
And slam him into the ropes
Pro-wrestler style.

He grabs my creative muscle
This cheating reptile
And sinks in his teeth
Mike Tyson style.

Patience at end
My deadline he will not exile
I deliver the knockout punch
Confident Writer Style.

I’m handling this publishing biz a little differently these days. I fully realized I only have control over the writing part. So I enjoy that part. And I’ve managed to glue my spirit back together, but it still needs a few repairs. A little paint…maybe something sparkly. Having the support of good friends (Including the fabulous Dames!) helped me quite a bit. Never underestimate the importance of a good support system!

I now have my urban fantasy series coming out next year and I’m pretty excited about it. As for those Norse YAs I love so much? Who knows? I’m certainly not ready to give up on them yet which goes to show that writer spirit is strong—even when it cracks a bit.