Stop the Presses!!

I mean don't stop the presses. My first newspaper article is in there!! Yesterday our community newspaper came out and inside was an article written from me. Yep, little ole me and can you guess what it was about?.... Blogging! I had a similar article published a couple of months ago in the Women's Storycircle Journal, which then led to this opportunity. And one more little tidbit, I'm going to have my own COLUMN. Yes, little ole me. I will be writing about family life and the adventures there of. Okay, this isn't the Houston Chronicle, but it is our community paper that has just gotten off the ground. I'm excited because we need this to help draw us together, since we are a fairly spread out town. The focus is just that community, so stories don't get lost among the latest crime statistics and which big company just got a new CEO etc.

So for those of you who don't know I am an aspiring writer of sorts. I was this close to finishing my first novel (yes, it was a romance type) when two things happened. 1. I took over as Director of a school I dearly loved and 2. I found out (suprise) I was pregnant. Then of course we decided to move, etc. etc. Successful writers write through anything, above circumstances included. But I decided that to be a good mother I needed to take a break and focus on my family. So after a lot of praying I gave up my weekly critique groups, said good-bye to my Romance Writers Association, and stopped feeling guilty for giving up my dream of being a writer. I heard that voice, the one that you hear in your head, you do hear that voice too don't you? It said, "There is a time for everything. Don't lose faith." So for me, I knew that I was meant to stop working and stay at home to focus on my children and husband. I don't think I'll ever regret that decision.

I began to think I could do little things to keep my writing alive. A novel right now is out of the question, but short assignments I'm beginning to believe I can handle. First thing was this blog. Thanks to my friend Connie who introduced me to this world, it has been a wonderful opportunity for me and I love all the new friends I have met. Then, my mother-in-law, whose encouragement and support of my writing has led to many opportunities I probably wouldn't have had through our membership in Women's Storycircle. They are actually having a big conference this weekend in Austin, where I was asked to sit on the blog panel, but had to decline. Again, there will be time for that later.

This is a start. I'm slowly coming into my own and I'm excited to watch my writing evolve. I feel like all of these little things are helping me to find my "voice", writer's voice that is. And I feel truly blessed to have the support of my family and friends as I go through this!