Searching for Balance: An Update

OvereatingI don’t know about you, but I tend to be all or nothing. It’s true in how I eat (either off sugar or face down in chocolate), how I read, how I work, and how I love. I’m a binge-everything. Which, uh, makes it very hard to find balance: I’m either going full throttle or at a stand-still (or creeping in reverse like a tortoise on retreat).

Coahuilan Box Turtle (Terrapene Coahuila) isolated on white background.

This fall, I’ve been stuck in turtle mode. Why? Some personal stuff, but also because last year was such a whirlwind of writing and editing and publishing and meeting new readers and attending fairs and making promo and just figuring out this whole “how to be an author thing.”

ASMPreOrderAdThanks to you all, I’ve already succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. I’m no NYT bestseller, but I’ve got regular sales and, more importantly, y’all seem to really like my books! I’m so touched and surprised and pleased and … and … terrified.

Private Or Public Directions On A Metal Signpost

Terrified? What? Yeah. I am. Because what if the next thing I write, people hate? What if I’m not “doing it right,” whether in terms of publishing frequency or keeping a street team or knowing where to be when or…? “Not doing it right” is the worst fear of a perfectionist. Because I guess it’s code for “failing.” And who likes failing?

So, yeah, stupid anxiety’s got me pulling my head into my shell.

familyselfieThe other hard reality I hit this summer was realizing I can’t put quite as many hours into my writing career as I feel I need to to “do it right”, because, well, I still have a darling husband and two wonderful kids and a messy house that need me. And friends and family to be with it and…and…

See? That balance thing again. Dang it.

portrait of young gymnasts training in the stadiumLast month, I fell off the beam. After manically doing flips and handsprings for over a year (figuratively – in real life, I hurt myself doing somersaults now!), I suddenly found myself face down on the mat.

And I haven’t wanted to get up. Just this week, I realized it’s because I’m scared if I do, I’ll return to trying to pull off a routine that surpasses my current level of talent and ability. That all-or-nothing thinking again. Oops.

Female legs jogging on a trailTime to stand up. Time to take those steps forward. One foot in front of the other – no fancy tricks required, just steady movement. I’ve got my NaNoWriMo project set (A Delicate Matter – Sophie’s story!), The Demon Duke to edit, and a whole bunch of other authorly things to catch up on.

Joy, sunlight, wheat.

Because screw you, anxiety! You won’t rob me of my joy anymore. I’m ready to get back to the happy and peppy and fun-loving Margaret I truly am, the one who’s so grateful for all the blessings she has – including the ability to be on this journey with y’all. Because sharing the love is what I was born to do, peeps.

Thank you, dear readers and writer friends and everybody who’s supported me and cheered me on this far. I’m gonna figure this balance thing out. Because I have a whole lot more stories to tell and I love writing them. I love sharing them. And I love you. With all my heart.

Book pages in the shape of a heart

RELEASE DAY! A Matter of Time is HERE! + plus short excerpt

AMOTDebut2

Yes! A Matter of Time is finally here, available today in Kindle and paperback format! Wahoo!!!

Thank you to ALL of you for your marvelous support – you stunned me by pre-ordering 107 copies! I can’t wait to read your reviews on Amazon and GoodReads, to find out what you think of Eliza and Deveric’s story – and of course you may always drop me a personal email to let me know what you think.

Just for fun, here’s a small excerpt, one of my favorite passages, perhaps because of how often my daughter and I watched each Disney Princess movie – especially my beloved favorite, Beauty and the Beast:

If only it were as easy as waltzing one time at a ball, and falling instantly in love. Cinderella didn’t know how good she had it. She’d won over her Prince with one look. The tale said nothing about the Prince having a suspicious mother or a handful of sisters. Much less a recalcitrant son.

Cinderella may have occupied the bottom rung in the world in which she lived, but at least she’d been familiar with all the rules, had known the ins and outs way better than Eliza did, no matter how much she’d thought she’d known before coming here.

Eliza sighed. She’d always liked Belle better, anyway. Belle hadn’t given a fig for what society thought, and ended up with that amazing library of books. After taming the Beast, of course. Ah, the Beast. He hadn’t really been a beast at all, just a wounded man looking for love . . . and acceptance. Okay, maybe he had been beastly, at first, in human form; but it was Belle’s love that had transformed him, had healed him, had accepted him, and allowed him to open his heart again.

Cat had known Beauty and the Beast was Eliza’s favorite story; had she been thinking of that when she drafted Deveric’s tale? Was Eliza Belle, Deveric her wounded beast? And Regency society the mob of angry townspeople she needed to appease?

Only $2.99 on Kindle, or $13.79 on paperback (though Amazon has it marked down to $12.14 – not sure how long that will last!), and FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/AMatterOfTime

*** Please feel free to share – word of mouth is still the best way to make others aware of books you like, and we indie authors need all the word of mouth we can get. ***

I am so very, very grateful to everyone who’s come into my life this year via my books – I’ve met such terrific authors and readers who are now friends, and I can’t tell you how moving that is, to know my book, my writing, touched someone enough to reach out and connect with me. Much love to all of you!