Time to get dirty

I couldn't resist using this picture from last night when my son was enjoying the cupcakes in ice cream cones last night. Part of his cousins last hurrah before heading back to school. By the way why does this time of year still make my stomach churn? I'm not going back to school and my son doesn't start nursery school until January. I guess I'm just scarred from my school days. Funny how once you got into the routine again it was all good but the whole anticipation was horror. Bleh, let's move on.

Like my little sweetie here in his skanky food smeared swim shirt and icing filled face, I'm about to dig into my new project. I'm seven chapters in (not as great as it sounds, they aren't very long chapters - an idea I'm feeling this time around) but it's taking me longer than usual, but that's about to change. I'm officially moving on the my next book. No more queries. No more agent research. No more revisions. It's just me and my killer NEW story. It's a tad bit scary considering I'm heading into a teenage boy's mind this time, but it's exciting and challenging too.

Watching my son devour his cupcake/ice cream cone last night was both cute and unexpectedly inspiring. The way he just grabbed it and went to town made me think about what I need to do. Nothing else mattered for the few minutes it took for him to eat his treat. He wasn't asking to get down or to get back in the pool. He was 100% focused on what he was doing- enjoying the sugary sweet icing and chocolate cake (dairy free of course for the allergies). He didn't care who was watching or if he made a big mess.

If only we could take on every aspect of life with such pleasure and determination. Kids have SO much to teach us about life.

Ah, there it is. It hit me. I need to grab my cupcake and make as big of a mess as I need, forget about the rest of the world, and enjoy it. My cupcake of course being my new WIP, though the actual cupcake last night rocked too. That's when I decided to stop getting distracted and worrying about my first book. The queries are out there, now it's time for me to let go and immerse myself in a story that deserves my undivided attention. So in the coming weeks I'll share my progress and some excerpts as I edit. I'm really excited and can't wait to share more when it's ready!