Time for some shameless self-promotion

So there is good news, and bad news. The good news: September (book launch time) is almost here. The bad news: I don't think I will see my book in print by September. I suppose delays are common but it is still disappointing. There is still a good possibility that the book will be released as an e-book this fall, so I am still holding out hope. In any case, the time has come to start pitching my first book.

My story is a fantasy novel about five children sought after by dragons. The dragons can bond with these children in a special way. I have a website that provides more information. Below is the caption on my homepage.

Five children...hunted by dragons for their special powers and their ability to bond with dragons.

Some dragons are good, some are not, but they all have the same goal: To find the children, bond them, and make them their own.

So if you like dragons and fantasy stories, or know someone who does, please check out my website: www.dracawards.com

B.

Me at home- seven months later

Although it has been just over seven months since I resigned from my job, I have yet to get into a set routine. I am not sure why, whether it is the chaos of caring for two small kids, or all the changes that have happened this year, or if I just try to avoid routines, but I figure if I have not settled into a daily pattern by now, I never will.

So, I will stop waiting for the right time to start blogging and just start. My goal is to update this once or twice a week (I will try for biweekly posts, but I am not good with set routines). So for my first shot at a blog, I will begin with a little background about me.

Up until February 2009, I worked full time as an accountant. I have three children, ages 16, 3 and 10 months. The two oldest are boys, and the baby is a girl. My mother retired from her job as a teacher a few years ago and my parents moved into a house up the street from mine to be near their grandsons. Baby Zoie joined the family on Halloween of 2008, and so my story begins.

I must admit that I considered staying home while I was still pregnant. I am sure almost every mother-to-be weighs the option, at the very least. But I had a good job, a 10-minute commute, nice bosses, wonderful co-workers, and Grandma to babysit. And the economic uncertainty made the thought of resigning a foolish move. So, I took as much maternity leave as I could, and went back to work. Life was cool.

Then my father started to get sick. Well, he got sicker. His liver disease caused many ups and downs, and he had been sick before, but it was different this time. I cannot pinpoint what was different, but my mother was under a lot of strain. The baby cried and screamed, the toddler became difficult, and my father slowly got worse. Thank goodness my grandmother was there to help Mom.

Worried about my parents and getting through the day with very little sleep began to affect me. I couldn't concentrate at work. I didn't care about work anymore. I wanted to be home to help. I asked to take leave to help take care of my Dad, but I had used up all of my allowed leave for maternity. So, I made my choice, and here I am, blogging from home seven months later.

In my next post, I will write about how things turned out after I decided to resign. See you then ;-)

B