The kids tell me a story

My boys new favorite activity lately is having Mom tell them a story. I love it because it gets my creative juices flowing, and also because that was one of my favorite memories of my dad growing up, so it's pretty special to pass on the tradition . Well, today I asked them to tell ME a story and the result was pretty adorable. It looks like my boys will be story tellers too! Yes!

Fun Little Art Project

Today I finished a little project I've been working on the last few days for an upcoming art contest.  Kinda fun!

Exciting news! ...And other updates.

Yesterday was a day of days! It was a day where history was made! It was a day where dreams came true! Ok, I'm sure it's not THAT big of a deal, but for me, it was huge! It's a start.

Yesterday was the first day ever that I got one of my writings published by a real life publishing company! ...(And they are even paying me for it, which makes it feel official and all). HURRAY!

Members of the New Spirit Journal are compiling a book of stories about hope - ones where the writers lost hope and gained it again. In my story, my hope came from a promise made by God. It took a little bit of time to be fulfilled, but the hope of that promise got me through years of uncertainty. The book will be called "The Book of Hope Anthology" and will be available this coming January, so stay tuned! 

I have to say, I am so grateful that my testimony of God's love and the hope of his goodness will be shared with others. I couldn't have picked a better first published project. That's really my goal in writing anything - to inspire, uplift (and sometimes make people laugh). So this is an extra special project to be a part of for me! I'll keep you updated on release dates and such, I think it really will be a great book!

In other news, I've been extremely busy Mommying lately and haven't had much time for writing projects. My little girl is now 2 months old and such a little sweetie! My twin boys (who I love, love love!) are busier than ever, and it takes all my strength to keep them from fighting or destroying the house.

The other day I was listening to a podcast on Writer's Digest where a Children's book author/illustrator was being interviewed and she was asked how she finds time to write. Her response: "Well, I really admire writers with kids- I don't know how they do it. I don't have kids and writing is all I do." Well, I'll tell you how we do it...We do it very, very slowly, one small effort at a time. And that's OK. :)

So, my plan is that in a couple months or so when things calm down, I'll get back to working on my book about Twins, which I hope to complete by next summer! In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes peeled for small contests that pop up - projects that take a day or two. For stay at home parents, or working people, this is a great way to stay in the writing world - many contests  are free, quick and easy to submit to. And you never know, one of them may get published!

Despite limited time, I have managed to join a local writer's group in the last few weeks and it's already proven to be great! I found out about the Book of Hope submissions through my writing group and also some pretty neat writing opportunities from fellow authors. Writing groups are so beneficial! I would say they are ESSENTIAL for any writer! So, if you love to write and want to improve on your craft, look up a writing group near you! They are everywhere and they are sooo worth it! I know it can be very intimidating putting your writing out there for other people's critique, but it's the only way to get to your goals of publishing (if that's what you want).

Stay tuned for more soon!