When thinking about this post, I could have easily gone with a myriad of titles, but I decided to use one that hasn’t graced a page since elementary school. I don’t get technical “vacations” anymore working for myself, and I’m not really a Summer person, but nevertheless, here we are!

This year has been a bit strange and the fact that it isn’t over yet has me both happy and not happy all at once. The ‘ber’ months are my favorite time of the year and some years it seems to take much longer to get to September than others. This was one of those years. But that aside, this Summer, I did hit two goals that I was pretty proud of.

To say the Summer started off horribly is an understatement. The last days of May, we lost our dog Kiwi. He was my boy and I am, (and probably never will be) not over it. Even though he was our second senior rescue, it was still unexpected and he will be my boy forever. I tell you this, not to bring you down or to dissuade you from continuing to read any further, but you must understand the mindset I was in. I was a mess.

I was already dealing with some health issues of my own, a relapse was starting to occur of my previous illnesses, (see first post for context) and was having a hard time. When the little guy suddenly got sick, it exasperated my condition and it has been a slide since. Walking is not really an option these days and as someone who has a history of depression, I needed an escape or end up diving further down the abyss. So escape it was!

The beginning of May found me taking part in my second “Read Every Day’ fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. I had done one in October of ’23 and it was a great success! I doubled the inital donation goal and had hoped to do it again. While I didn’t quite reach it this time, the fundraisers really reignited my love of reading.

For years, I prided myself on only reading non fiction, history in particular, my genre of choice. Being someone with authority issues, the last real time I read fiction books was back in my school days when I was forced to for the purposes of grades. I am one who tries to go against what I am told to do or do things in my own time. Call it ptsd of school days, but even in my 50’s, this is why I can’t join a book club…I don’t want anyone else dictating what I read.

About two years ago, a book title caught my eye on Amazon and decided to order it. Set in a bookshop, it had a little mystery and great characters and it became an instant favorite and also sparked a new genre love for me, books taking place in bookshops! (Because why not, right?) After I read that one, I would occasionally sprinkle in a fiction read in between my normal local history and Doris Kearns Goodwin volumes.

When the opportunity came around to take place in the first fundraiser last October, I added a new book to my stack. The month of reading a little something every day got me to read a little more. And then it tapered a bit with the holidays and life stuff. I was able to get one or two more books read at the beginning of the year, but again, 2024 showed it’s ugly side early and reading really wasn’t on my to-do list. Enter May.

The next fundraiser event was about to start and I went to Amazon and filled up my cart with new titles to sink my teeth into. I started to read just a little every day, thus the title of the event, and by the last week of the month, I had about 3/4 of a book done. I was never a fast reader and for this month, I wanted to at least honor the tone of the event. The month had brought around some life things that made it a little hard to concentrate on the pages in front of me, but I was true to the event and was proud of myself. Then came the end of the month and my world was turned upside down.

I started to realize that the only time my mind wouldn’t wander to Kiwi (and the only time I would stop crying) was while I had my nose buried in a book. I started reading all the time. I was also adding to my Amazon cart’s save for later after looking up books I thought would make great summertime reads, or by authors I had only just discovered. I decided to make a goal, I would read 7 books before September 1st.

I know there are many who could do that easily, but I’ve never been a fast reader. I am also mildly dyslexic, something I was finally diagnosed with only a few years back. But there was something about these books that had me focused and even staying up all night to finish.

So there it was, a goal set. Well, one goal set.

I had something else in mind for this Summer and having the time while laid up, I decided this would be the time to complete it. I started something a few years back and it was a project I was passionate about…a novel. But not just any novel. A novel I was writing!

Only a handful of people knew about this and I had given out the first few chapters to them to guage their opinions on just after I first began. While it was something I had always wanted to do and had planned on doing my whole life, it became something that was getting harder to finish, especially with my health the way it is.However, I refused to let it be something I started and never completed. This was going to happen no matter what.

I had started to attend local author events including one by a local Stamford thriller author about how to get a book published. I was the geek in the audience who went old school with a real notebook and pen, vigorously taking notes and making sure to meet the author afterwards. When she hosted another event at the library, I made sure to reintroduce myself to her and the other author who was there for a book signing and take more notes. I have always been committed to finish but like any writing, or really, any project you do, you need the inspiration.

My story in the beginning had started to write itself. I would easily write 3 chapters in one sitting and did that for a bit. But again, that life thing kept getting in the way. Besides the outside world invading my brain, I was in pain and was put on meds that made my thought processes all fuzzy and distant. I couldn’t focus and would start to look at my laptop like the enemy. I became severly blocked and had no idea how to get the story going again.

They say artists influence other artists and musicians to other musicians, well, so do authors to other authors. I noticed that when I started to read these books, my own story was starting to pop back up in my mind. Soon, I was pulling out the laptop or my ipad with my shiny new retro style keyboard and churning out pages again. Thus, the second goal of the Summer was marked down…finish this book.

So that is how the Summer went. I’d read a book, write a chapter. Write some more, start a new book. The chapter and page numbers started to get higher while I wrote and more books on my tbr (to be read) pile, would be read. All of this while creating new designs and listing new things for my online shops and of course, watching the Yankees and 90’s era reruns. I may have been laid up, but I was still busy as hell.

When it got down to the last two weeks of August, I still had two books to read to make my goal of 7 and I was determined to do it. I had developed a habit of what is called ‘mindful reading.’ I learned this from a small business youtube creator who, while much, much younger than myself, has taught me so much. One of these lessons was taking the time every day to read for a bit to gain inspiration from others as well as tuning the mind out to the life stuff. I began reading a chapter or two while waiting for my dinner to cook every night and would find I was really making a dent in whatever book I was reading. Then, without realizing it, at least one weekend night each week became all about finishing whatever story I was on. This is pretty much how the Summer went. And lo and behold, at 10am August 31st, I finished my 7th book. (I have always been great at meeting a deadline in the last hours.) Ok, so one goal down, one to go!

Those last two books really had a grip on me. Like any good story, it took a little bit to get my head out of, well, in this case, upper Michigan as ironically both of the final books just happened to take place there. Two different authors, two different stories and each had me wanting to book a flight to see the Tunnel of Trees, take a cottage on the lake and go to the the cherry festivals there. But I digress…

I came out of the Michigan fog and started to write again. This time, my second goal was on my mind and now it was serious. In the past, I had hoped to finish and publish my novel in time to have ready for holiday presents, for Winter book clubs, for Summertime beach reading, but now, I just wanted it finished.

I would write for hours on end one night and have to take a break the next because my fingers hurt too much to continue. Then start writing again the night after. Soon, the pain didn’t matter anymore and I would just play through the pain. The twist to this was that because I think in what I call, ‘constant spirals of parallel thought’, I had two other story ideas pop into my head. So there were a couple of nights when I veered off of my original novel and began to write two other books that had nothing to do with this first one, ironic since I had always planned that the first would turn into a series of at least three. These new stories were new and oh, did I mention I’ve been working on a local history book at the same time? No? Well, yeah, that’s for another time.

Anyway, I buckled down, got back to my original story and got myself on a schedule, which is something I just try to avoid like covid. I had started reading a new book, would spend time on that. Eat. Watch a few shows, then at 4am, the writing would commence. One thing about keeping reverse hours than the rest of the world, (up all night, sleep during the day, dinner at midnight) is that I have none of the normal distractions of those with 9-5 lives. I’d write for about 4-5 hours at a time and soon, I could see the end in sight.

Then, last week, after having started this several years ago and after almost 6 straight hours of writing without breaks, I FINISHED!

Now, here is the funny thing about finishing such an involved project. I thought once I hit that last word, that final sentence, that ending chapter, a ticker tape parade would commence like it did in 2009 (last time the Yankees won the World Series). But you know what? It didn’t. It was after 10am. I had typed continuously for 6 hours and my eyes were killing me from staring at the screen for so long. In a nutshell, I wanted to just go to sleep.

The next hard part has of course now begun, the editing. The self criticism. The changing of character names and plot points. And that’s ok! What is so damned important to me here is that I finished my first book. That first draft is everything I have always wanted to do and more and damn it, I did it. (I REALLY DID!)

So to the person who coined the phrase, be careful what you wish for? I have to thank you. While I had always wished for time to write, I indeed got it, but at the cost to my health. However, I didn’t want that to be my legacy. I wanted to write a book. Ok, I want to write many! But the first one is always the hardest they say and I have now completed that first one.

So, what did I do on my Summer vacation? I lived in a literary world for several months, both reading and writing. It is now 3/4 of the way through September. I have now started my third book of the month and have started editing my own manuscript. What will the next few months hold? Not sure. But I will forever know that the Summer of 2024 started off rough and ended with my accomplishing something that many do not…I wrote a book.

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For Kiwi 🙂

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To check out the books I read over the Summer as well as tons others in my personal library, head to the ‘On the Bookshelf‘ page of this site!

Click here if you’d like to make a donation to the American Cancer Society. (As a survivor myself, it is greatly appreciated.)

If you are in the Stamford, CT area and are thinking of adding a furry friend to your family, I ask you to please check out our friends at Red Leash Rescue. They work with mainly senior and hardship dogs that are always the hardest to find homes for. We got our Kiwi from them as well as our previous pal, Murphy. Both seniors and both we would take all over again if we could.