So it’s been a minute. (Or, you know, a year.)

I’ve been busy and there has been a lot going on; homeschooling our eldest child that still lives at home, a new baby, writing projects, paid freelance editing gigs.

I wish I could say that this is why I’ve been so quiet, but it’s not.

I’ve been so quiet because, almost exactly a year ago, I lost my Dad.

The months prior to it happening were really rough but the entire year that followed that dark day in Spring 2022 were some of the hardest, most bittersweet days of my life so far.

I still read when I could, I still reviewed on my Instagram, under the same name as this blog but is currently no longer being updated because I found juggling more than one IG very draining and the well-meaning former friend who pushed me to do it isn’t around to get her feelings hurt when I say I don’t want more than one.

I had to step back from so many things while I navigated that level of grief because it was something I had never navigated before and I was astounded by the outpouring of love and equally astounded by the people who claimed to love me and made those difficult months way harder by taking my grief personally.

It was a reckoning for me to really see how selfish some people are; if you can make the death of a friend’s parent and their pain about you, especially when you know that person is struggling, there is some internal turmoil going on that you should see a professional about and I will die on that hill.

Bonus points if you ask that person why their parent dying was so difficult for them (this is something I cannot ever imagine asking a person who just lost a loved one, but I also wouldn’t reach out to them with the express intention of being an asshole, either, so I guess these things will remain a mystery to me and I am fine with that).

Those things and the tectonic shift that happened in our lives after my Dad passed away have made me press pause and pull back, decide what (and who) is allowed to move on to the next chapter of my story with me.

Not everything has made the cut and that’s ok.

I’ve stopped trying to foster deadwood relationships, have gotten close to other people who deserve my time and attention and reciprocate my energy, and have prioritized my health, both physical and mental, over any and everything social media related.

People who disturb my peace, done.

People who criticize my art and tell me that other authors that I have never so much as had a conversation with do, too, done.

Those two examples are the same person, but you’re picking up what I’m throwing down. There is a a LOT of bullying and low grade hazing and shit talking that goes on in Bookverse and I am only interested in the kind people.

Adulthood is hard enough as it is without people trying to act like they’re in 7th grade for the rest of their lives.

When it came time to consider if I wanted to continue this space as it is, the answer was mixed. I do love this blog and it started off with so much enthusiasm in the beginning and then in the middle things went wildly off course; it is a great alternative to focusing too much time and attention (and direct interaction and access) on social media platforms.

When I came back I mostly used it for Harper Collins book reviews and my infertility and the suck ass way people talk to those of us who have struggled to become and/or stay pregnant and that is also uninspiring.

I want to keep some division in my spaces, start talking about my own writing (my fifth book comes out June 1st and I will link it here in this space when it does), and keep reviewing on a more realistic scale, but the time has also come to start streamlining these spaces the way I did with my IG.

I’m eventually going to start an account through Substack or something like it and update about content and new releases, reviews, and everything under the sun in a newsletter but this blog will remain and I will make a concerted effort to update more regularly and with more conversational personal content.

So.

Until I do.

If you’re on FB I would be absolutely tickled and joyful if you followed my author page here and my IG here; follow my author page on Amazon as well right here for up to the minute release info.

Until Next Time,

The Chick and her Chickadees (I have waited a really long time for that sign-off to be plural, I am just saying.)