I wish I had a great answer for my hiatus, but it was just life.
In the past year, I said goodbye to Gryphon, my dog and bestest buddy of 15 years. My husband and I also hung up our vagabond lifestyle. We were headed south one day and decided it wasn’t as fun anymore. In the five-plus years on the road, we did so much and saw wonderful places. But RV living was becoming more cumbersome than adventure. So we sold it and bought a place in Tucson, AZ.
Travel is still a big part of my life, but I’ve really enjoyed settling into this wonderful community. There’s a lot to be said for getting out and experiencing new places, but…
I’m in a season where going deeper into a community and putting down some roots has been rewarding.
Oh, and I wrote a book!
Well, more specifically, I released my first full-length fiction, Never Gonna Know. It’s a story I wrote rather quickly back in 2024. I was working in Massachusetts for a month, and it came to me. Living out of a hotel, I used the time to wrestle the story onto paper. Surprise, surprise, it grapples with career and ambition versus family loyalty. Guilt over 20 years of working away from family? Perhaps.
Now, you’re saying 2024, and it came to you quickly? Why the wait to publish? Writing a first draft and getting it to a readable state was only the start. I opted for the full gauntlet experience: critique partners, beta readers, developmental edits, a book coach, copyedits, proofreaders. Not to mention the countless moments I wanted to hurl it into the closest canyon. And that was just the steps to a worthwhile story.
I also knew I wanted to learn how to publish it myself. My days of creating work for others are getting fewer and fewer. Thankfully, that drive to own what I do has carried me through, far outweighing the umpteen steps and possible routes to being an indie author.
So, enough about me. What do I envision this space morphing into?
Expect much the same: my obsession with places and how they shape who we are and times in our lives.
I’m adding a little twist: nowadays I can’t stop thinking of places I’ve experienced and setting stories in them. Like the story out now. I made up an island and plopped it in one of my all-time favorite parts of the world, the San Juan Islands off the Washington State coast.
I’d also like to share what I’ve learned and been noticing about storytelling through my therapist and educator lens. So let’s give it a try, shall we?
New Series: Real Place, Made-Up Story
The Place: San Juan Islands, Washington State, U.S.A.
The Story: The main setting for Never Gonna Know. Crown Tree Island is a made-up, donut-shaped island. Picture a crown of pines sitting on a giant queen, slumbering off the coast of Puget Sound.
Tie to Life: My father’s ashes are there, and I meet up with family every year. It’s a place I return to and can’t help but dig deep to sort out how I’m different or the same from the last year.
It’s a wonder to have a place to mark a year’s time. Place attachment at its best. I have such an emotional bond with the islands. There’s comfort in being there with loved ones I may not have seen much throughout the year. There’s also this compare and contrast. Their previous selves seem so clear at our first meal together, but by our last, it feels like no time has passed and we are the same.
Maybe that’s the point. Returning isn’t about proving we’ve changed. It’s about noticing what did, what didn’t, and what we take with us moving forward.
Place to Explore: My favorite bookstore in Anacortes, Pelican Bay Books & Coffeehouse. My sister, also my social media sage, has this wonderful way of nudging me out of my comfort zone. She knows me so well that she’s got me doing things before I’ve come up with a sound enough reason not to. We created a series of snippet videos on the fly, just playing around. A couple made it to my Instagram. The video at the top of this post is one that didn’t.
An Invitation to You: You know I have to throw in a question or two for you to ponder. That time is now.
What place has significance for you on a seasonal or yearly basis? Some tradition you continue to revisit? One that makes you examine where you’ve been, maybe how far you’ve come or what you’ve accomplished. How far out are you from the first time you were there?
So, in a nutshell, I’ll keep exploring places and powerful experiences. I’ll add a fictional layer, thick with themes and stories. Let’s try this approach for a bit and see where it goes.
Thanks for coming along with me!
Natalie
P.S. How have you been? Any highlights from our year apart?
