Next Steps in My Writing Career

Beth and her schnauzer step into a sunset of new opportunity
Image from Merrimack Valley Magazine. Art by Ken Bonin.

 

One Crazy Week!

Between the time change (Oscar’s now up at 5am vs. 6am), no school for the kids on election Tuesday, the election aftermath on Wednesday and a few other personal shakeups of minor significance, I have completely lost track of the week.  So much so, I actually forgot to post yesterday because I thought it was Wednesday not Thursday.

Well, better late than never and today, Friday; Veteran’s Day (thank you for your service!) and no school again, TGIF never rang so true. 3 olives and a twist, here I come.

Mike's Magnificent Martini

 

The 2016 Election

While the presidential election certainly took center stage this week; it actually affected me less deeply than some other matters. Not to diminish the relevance of what went down, in fact it left me feeling rather unsettled, but I had steeled myself for either outcome. From the beginning, I was dispassionate and disheartened by both candidates – arguing or even discussing my vote was never an option. As much as I tried to stay off of social media on Wednesday, purely in an attempt at self-preservation, one slight glance revealed the train wreck that it was. And as train wrecks go, I found it hard to look away. I have no other words for it other than, wow – just wow!

Beyond Politics: Taking on Personal Change

All that said, in addition to the political shift, this week brought about a change in my writing career for which I also have mixed feelings. This week marked the end of my contributions to Merrimack Valley Magazine. The November/December issue dropped and in it was my farewell, Matters of Life & Beth column titled, “Time Flies.”

After eight years with the publication, I made the difficult choice to move on and seize new opportunities in my life and writing career. In addition to continuing work on this blog, I hope to take the next step with my book which is soon to be back in my hands after a second round of professional editing. I also hope to pursue new writing opportunities as I look to grow and reach more readers.

Not long ago, I blogged about being at a Crossroads. I didn’t say it then, but I was in the midst of deciding whether or not to take this next step. I was very torn and feeling out of my comfort zone, but something kept telling me that it was time. Well, after much consideration and guidance, I chose to walk away from a good thing in pursuit of what I hope to be something great, for me anyway. As someone who is not a risk taker, this was an extremely difficult decision.  One that I’m still not sure about today, but as I work on opportunities for the blog, I’m feeling excited about the possibilities for my writing career.

A Year of Change

It’s been a year of change and hard to believe we are closing in on 2017. While change is most definitely hard and sometimes scary, it can also be good and necessary.  I pray for myself and for this country that the changes we’ve experienced in 2016 will lead to great things in 2017 and beyond.

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