A New Start by Diane Gaston
This is the time of year our children return to school. In fact, tomorrow is the first day of school in our area.I remember so well the excitement --and fear--of a new start. A new classroom. New classmates. And, for me, often, a new school.
New binders, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, pink erasers, scissors, crayons...
A week or so ago I was near Staples and thought to myself, "I ought to be buying something new." I think I was responding to the ingrained notion that now is the time for new supplies for a new beginning.
I am starting something new. A new book, just in the initial plotting stages, soon to be a new proposal for Harlequin Mills & Boon, a book I hope to finish by December.
I have a new resolve, typical of me this time of year, to work harder, to use better work habits so I don't fall behind. It feels a little like starting school!
I have other new things to announce:
My new bookcover for Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, coming December 2009.
New stuff on my website
A new contest
What new starts are you up to?
Anyone starting school?
Labels: new starts, school
posted by Diane Gaston @ 12:01 AM
13 Comments:
Hi Diane: I typically think of September as the start of a new year due to the school schedule. We used to live up North in VA and school always started the first Tuesday after Labor Day. Now we are in AL and it starts in August. I'm still getting used to the change.
I like to set my goals right before my daughter heads off to school. I review them and revise them during winter break.
This year I've started a new book, am currently revising a fourth MS and I'm anxious to get a website up and running. The biggest hurdle I have to jump is getting my MS's revised and querying/pitching them on a regular schedule. A first for me was pitching at the national conference. Now I am gearing up for a regional conference and pitching there.
I'm in the middle of 4 projects -- 1 work under consideration, 1 awaiting a contract, 1 awaiting edits, and 1 WIP. But with no kids around, one day is the same as the next, so I don't have any calendar "starting points."
However, in a couple of hours, I'm off to a Bahamas cruise, and since I don't intend to pay shipboard prices for internet service or international cell phone roaming rates, I'm going to take these next 5 days as a 'clean slate' starting point.
(But I did take time to auto-schedule my blog, so please drop by! There's still action there.)
We've been back 3 weeks, so just now getting in the swing.
What a GORGEOUS new cover! I added it to the sidebar.
Christine, I think the only good thing about starting school in August is finishing in May!
Terry, have a wonderful time on your cruise! A great thing about not having kids in school is you get to do vacations on an off-season rate!
MJ, thanks so much for adding the cover to the sidebar! I totally forgot to ask!
Diane -- even better is when your KIDS pay for the cruise as an anniversary present. They got a good rate -- hurricane season, plus senior citizen discount. We'll probably pay nearly as much as they did when we add in the parking, the tips for the staff, drinks, etc. But it's going to be a great getaway. Hubby's already talking about never leaving the stateroom. ;-)
I'm not exactly going back to school, but I plan to enrol in an introductory Finnish class that starts later this month. My Finnish grandmother always spoke English to us, so no one in my family ever learned her first language. Now I'm really looking forward to learning something completely new and different.
Lee, what a great thing to do!!! I imagine you will hear your grandparents in the words you learn!
Delicious book cover, Diane, and the excerpt you posted is breathtaking or is that breathless? :-) I'm catching up on reading, try some new recipes, and visiting with friends. Every few months, I find myself reassessing and making changes.
As to the supply angle, I've had to remind myself again and again that I do not need new pens or marks as I already have a box full from when I couldn't resist. Finances are tight enough. My sister, on the other hand, simply goes ahead and buys the supplies and then donates them.
Terry's cruise sounds fun, and though learning Finnish is not my idea of fun, I've wanted to learn Welsh ever since I learned I'm almost half Welsh, so I definitely understand the desire. Good for you, Lee, for following through!
I agree with Christine--those back-to-school days always feel much more like "new year" than January 1. And I agree with Judy that your cover is to-die-for, Diane :-)!
Terry--how wonderful that your kids gave you a cruise for a present! I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time :-).
Lee, you always come up with the most interesting projects :-).
Lee, what a fabulous project! I LOVE learning a new language, but Finnish is not one of the ones I speak. (I speak eight other than English - to varying degrees) After three college degrees I cringe at the thought of starting school again. However, if I were going to start another degree it would HAVE to be in British history. I would love that.
What I hope to do in the next week or so is finish my third manuscript and then begin the revisions my agent suggested on my second manuscript. So I guess I would like to begin this "semester" by finishing something!
Can't wait to read the new one, O Divine One!
Diane,
The cover is gorgeous. The only new going on here at the moment is the new parts on my sewing machine. But once I finish doctoring a friend's book, I'll get back to my second in the YA series I'm writing. It'll feel like a new project!
Thanks so much for the nice words about my cover...and about the excerpt, Judy!
O Doggie One, I can't wait to read YOUR book. You are getting so close.
Happy new school year, everyone!
Well, I have so much to do for September, I don't know how I'll get it done. I have to change the ending of a manuscript I thought was finished, until my Florida CP popped up with a different idea, which gave me a different one, and... But oh, do I like this idea!
And I'm doing three cover flats for a trilogy, and only have one left to go. Then there's a booksigning at Powell's, which is a real coup since they've traditionally ignored romance authors. Then a writing retreat at the beach for six local authors. Then Emerald City conference.
And Lee's my roommate! Yayyy!!!
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