Following Dad...

My Dad and I have many things in common.
I get a lot of physical features from my dad but I also have a lot of similar personality traits and preferences.

One thing in particular that my dad and I share is a desire to write.
I love that my Dad sets goals for himself and sets himself up with the right tools to reach those goals He even has a neat little writing center set up in his bedroom.
He is working on a children's series based off of stories he used to tell us kids when we were younger.
I heard from my husband that he has a time goal of two years to complete what he's working on. I'm not sure if that's one book as a collection of short stories and if that means the first draft or the final cut ready to be sent to publishers. Either way, he has goals set and his writing center and motivation are inspiring to me.

I've been writing stories here and there since I was 13 or 14 years old. Thanks to my awesome mom who homeschooled me, I was encouraged to write as part of my English curriculum. My first Novela (25,000 words or more) was completed at age 13 or 14. And my first Novel (50,000 words or more) when I was about 15 or 16. Now, these were not quality pieces mind you. I was very imaginative and naive, and more about the story than the literature. But I wanted to be an author, and my friends certainly enjoyed my story telling at sleep overs.

Over the past year or so I've tried to get back into writing. I see it as a modern day Proverbs 31 income. I can still devote myself to my family and write while the baby is asleep or when Ryan is taking a turn etc. And if ever I get published and make some money, that would be extremely exciting not to mention helpful to our family.

So I finished the first chapter of a book I wrote when I was 17. I'm recreating it from a more experienced and less naive mind. I had Ryan read all 12 pages and give me some feedback. It was helpful! I'm going to fix the little things we discussed and send it to his Gran who is a retired English teacher to look over and get her perspective.

So I have a Young Adult Fiction in the works and another project I'd really like to get brainstorming on with my sister (*HINT HINT*) is a children's series entitled "The Adventures of Cake and Coffee" Or Coffee and Cake whichever way we decide sounds better. We are going to have to work on illustrations but I think the project will be super fun! And I'm hoping it will be a hit with the kids, like the Olivia books!

So my goal is to have finished my Young Adult Novel by Christmas and be talking to literary agents. 
My goal for the children's series is to have one or two mock ups ready to submit to literary agents by the January... if my partner is up for it! ;)

I'm hoping God will bless my desire to help my family in a way that doesn't sacrifice my time with them, and in a way that is utilizing talents and skills God gave me. If either or both of these projects were to open doors for future publications I would be ecstatic! :)