Winter's Quiet is Author's Gift

 The title says it all.

I own/manage a farm with my husband, kids, friends, and assorted animals.

It is wonderful, it is growing by leaps and bounds, people come here and for nine weeks, they have So Much Fun!!!!  And that fun-filled, squash-filled, pumpkin-bedazzled nine weeks takes five months to produce.... so for seven months of the year I write in the wee smalls and do farm related activities all day.

With a whole lot of other folks around, because otherwise it wouldn't all get done.

But when winter comes along, even gray, dismal, wet, rainy winters like this one has been so far (with the exception of a KILLER STORM that swept through Christmas week, what a monster!!!) I get more time to write.

That's a total blessing. Those five months from December through April are my breathe-easy months because even with holidays and holy days, and sports for kids, and unexpected adventures, I get more writing time. This year the goal is to finish my current mystery (1/3 done, expected to finish by Valentine's Day) and Kindling Christmas in Wishing Bridge (expected to finish by April 30th).... 

And then I move on to next mystery and an indie mystery series that I'm working on (first book nearly complete).

I write daily but I plan in two-year increments. I do this because it keeps my head in the game. I do it because I can see actual progress day-to-day and that's important to me. My goal has always been to put family and faith first, and I do that by making sure there's no guilt... my writing is done in my time, my days are open-ended enough to keep family and friends and farm in reach. 

So my two-year goal right now is to finish at least four books in 2023, then four more in 2024. I have two nearly done... so that's very reachable. And if I end up with more time, there's a project waiting for me to have an opening, but it will have to wait because the first four/year take priority.

Four books/year keeps me earning a living I can live on.

Those four books keep wheels turning in multiple directions, but all moving forward.

And if the world stopped paying me to write books today... if it all dried up... If the entire industry collapsed, I'd still write because I waited nearly fifty years to be able to live my dream and it's not something I'd give up easily. Especially when aging can have deleterious effects on health, mobility, cognitive awareness. 

I love writing stories! 

But while some may look at my life and see chaos (or the generous ones call it organized chaos) I see Carpe Diem at work: Seize the day! Make it yours and God's and share what you can.

Folks ask me if I sleep in on weekends.

No. Never. Because the body is a habitual thing, and sleeping in could make it feel like it's deprived the other five days... besides, there are SO MANY PEOPLE in my life that if I sleep in, I'm unprepared for the onslaught. Or (maybe...) it's that I'm a morning person just like some o' youse are night owls... and we learn to budget our personal biological clocks to fit our jobs, our work, our ethics.

I am having the time of my life.

I am living two dreams, the writing and the farm and am so blessed by all the people around me. 

And as I write this, we are nearly complete with demolishing three rooms to make them into one big, open, friendly farm kitchen.... the old kitchen, the powder room and the pantry are all merging into a new big room after thirty-four years of not being able to fit our family around the kitchen table.... we will finally have a big table in the kitchen, LOL! The irony is that our family has more than tripled in size, so we still won't be able to fit around the table, but we can fit more of us, and that's awesome! 

Hey, throw your hat in the ring for a free copy of my newest mystery "Love's a Mystery in Cut and Shoot Texas", a wonderful story about the best Christmas blessing of all: A baby! 

Inspirational author Ruth Logan Herne has sold millions of copies of books, has had millions of pages read on Kindle Unlimited (that's a whole new category of success, isn't it???) and loves her opportunities, truly gifts from God! She's in love with her crazy family, her faith, and is living the dreams she wanted for decades, and is super-convinced that when you slow down, you die... so she never slows down. :) Write her at loganherne@gmail.com, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or friend her on Facebook. She'd love to hear from you! And if you're a writer: Keep writing! And if you're a reader: Thank you so much! You're the reason we're here... you bless us, every day!