Home alone at the end of the summer

Tonight I am home alone. And next week the kids go back to school, denoting the end of the summer.

So, that explains the title of this post!

A sunflower for Tina 

I've been in a reflective mood recently. It started early last week, when I learned about the passing of Tina Downey, a wonderful blogger who did so much for others. She was a fun, lovely lady, who was far too young. I 'met' her when I took part in the 2012 A-Z Challenge, and loved reading her blog. She will be missed by so much people, as the comments on her blog and Facebook page prove.

A few days later, I discovered Ailsa Abraham, an author I've known for about the same length of time, had been in a serious motorbike accident, and was in a coma (although I believe she's currently moving out of ICU into a normal ward). Again, Ailsa is a very caring lady who often thinks of other people before herself, and she's strongly opinionated, standing up for her beliefs and for other people. She's had her fair share of health issues this year, and just when she seems to be getting on top of them, this accident comes out of the blue.

Otters for Ailsa

So, I am thinking of both Tina's family and Ailsa this week.

And I'm also thinking how you just never know what's around the corner, how small worries shouldn't matter, how having friends and family with you is the most important thing in the world. We all forget, don't we? But we shouldn't. We should make the time to spend with the people we love. We should appreciate every moment of every day, even when some of those days are being pretty rubbish.

Confusion 2 - the update

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how weird I was feeling, so I thought I'd update it, because I haven't blogged for a week, and it's good to keep in touch.

On the plus side, I've been writing. I decided to give flash fiction a go, and my goal was to have 25 first vignettes which means I don't even need a story. It's liberating to just start with a first line and let it flow.
drafts by the weekend. I've reached twelve so far. I've got them all in a gorgeous notebook that I got for my birthday, and it's actually quite refreshing. I'm concentrating on

On the minus side, my head is still weird. Which actually helps a lot with writing, but isn't so good with day-to-day life. Sometimes, it really feels like I don't belong. Part of me still wants to be that hermit in the attic that I always dreamed I'd be.

Apologies...
I use Bloglovin to read blogs, but recently it was freezing on me, and I managed to delete all the unread blogs on the list... all 515 of them. So, if I haven't visited you for a few days, that's why. I've been meaning to sort out my blogroll, so this might be a good time to do that and make sure everyone is easily available to me.

Have you ever tried flash fiction?

Have you ever thought hermitism sounded awesome??

Argh! Where has the time gone? #IWSG

Welcome to my insecurities! IWSG is a monthly group where us writers have a communal meltdown, and offer advice. (Because - let's face it - you and I might be having the same insecurities, but have no problem offering great advice to each other!)

Check out the list of participants right here!



It's another non-writing insecurity this month - and I'm not going to be around much to visit/comment/reply (but I totally will on Thursday!) - because...

Argh! My baby is 15!

Me and my baby!

In September, he'll be starting his final year at school, applying to college, taking exams...

Argh! My baby is 15!

The weird thing is, I don't feel fifteen years older. I feel exactly the same as I did then, albeit not quite so scared as when I had this 9lb bundle thrust into my arms and I was suddenly a mother. That kind of fear is quite unique!

So, if you want me today, I'll be lying down somewhere, probably with a glass of wine.

Happy insecurities, everyone!

Confusion

Do you ever feel completely confused by everything? For the past couple of weeks, that's been my overriding feeling. I'm taking medication at the moment, so I might check the side-affects when I finish this post!

Time seems to be very confusing. I swear I sit down for a cup of tea in the morning, and suddenly it's 4pm and I have to think about getting ready for work. The kids being off school isn't helping either - days are just flowing together, and I don't seem to be achieving anything.

This past week, I've managed to write one short story and fail at writing another. The words are all there, but not necessarily in the right order so I'm just waiting for the right inspiration - like the thunderstorm I had last week. The not-quite-written story is about a man who's confused, so I guess that's not really helping my current state of mind.

I've had two rejections this week, too. I don't fear rejections, but I always thought that when I started publishing books I'd know how to write stories for journals and competitions. In writing magazines, the advice is 'win some comps/publish in magazine to raise awareness of your books', which makes sense, apart from the fact no one's told the judges and editors I need to do it for this reason.

On the positive side though, my mum came over to tell me how much she liked my latest book, and how she was reluctant to turn the lights off when she finished. It made me very happy that I'd scared my mum!