I started at the flashing cursor for 11 minutes before I typed this sentence. I honestly have no idea what to share this week. I have no markets to go to. My next book signing isn’t until this coming Friday. My list of accomplishments are so firmly planted in Meh-land, that even I don’t care about them.
For those of you who are curious, last week I accomplished the following:
I booked Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets for travel from Tokyo to Himeji, Himeji to Osaska, Osaka to Kyoto and back, and from Osaka back to Tokyo.
After meticulously storyboarding my next novel with post-it notes, I finished the revisions for draft 12 (TWELVE!!!!!). I will now give it another read before I pass it onto my copy editor.
I went to the bank with my eldest. I needed to take care of some banking; he needed to pick up Japanese yen and increase his debit card limits. I abducted him for lunch and we talked over sushi for more than two hours. Topics included: Japan, the upcoming federal election, university, generational differences, my hair, his hair, my under-eye wrinkles and the fight to diminish them, Japanese skincare products (aka J-care), dongo, words that sound dirty but aren’t, and the blessings of being part of a loving family.
A coffee date with a writer friend turned into a 3-hour gabfest.
I vacuumed the second floor of our house, excluding my boys’ bedrooms because I just won’t go there. I also vacuumed the stairs using the little hand tool and found so much dog fur tucked into the corners. Moon’s been gone almost a year, and this fur simultaneously made me miss her badly and served as a reminder why we have not yet gotten another dog.
I gave a presentation on genre switching to my friends and fellow writers at the monthly Foothills Writers Group meeting.
My husband and I helped our youngest navigate through a difficult group project situation. Why do they still do group project in uni?
I remembered to water my plants. I replanted my rubber plant in March and this thing is bonkers. I am the worst plant custodian and yet they thrive.
I worked on the teacher’s study guide I am building to accompany Shift and Flow. Typically, this is something a publisher does, but my publisher doesn’t support me at all. So I do things alone. 🎶 All by myself. 🎶
Oh, and I cast my ballot in the federal election. ☑️
I’m looking at this list and patting myself on the back. It wasn’t an unproductive week after all. I guess when I have to send a newsletter out, I can find something to share. Let’s not underestimate the contribution we make to our households, our families, our friends, our readers, and the strangers with whom we cross paths.
Maybe the next time you feel like you’ve gotten nothing done, make a list. I’m sure you’ll see how much good you’ve done.
xo Dana
What I’m reading
This book is not what I thought it would be. I hesitated to read Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams because I don’t care about the hot goss from Facebook/Meta. But then Zuckerberg tried to stop sales. In all the hours I spent in bookstores since it’s release, I didn’t see one person pick it up. Canadian readers were more drawn to Abby Jiminez, Ali Hazelwood, any number of fantasy writers, and Mark Carney’s Values. Oh, and Sunrise on the Reaping, the Hunger Games prequel.
Careless People is turning out to be a fascinating look inside Facebook policy, both domestic and international. It’s not fantastic writing, but it’s interesting enough to keep me reading.