Hell. Has it really been almost a year since I wrote a blog post?
There’s psyching yourself out about follow-through with a new site/blog… and then there’s that. Yikes. Not that I have a massive readership hanging around to be disappointed, but still. Principle of the thing.
Anyway, yes, as a matter of fact, I do still exist! I haven’t fallen into a crack in space-time, never to be seen or posted from again, nor have I been eaten alive (yet) by the fluff tumbleweeds that our dog regularly sheds (seriously, it’s a wonder she’s still got her luscious Australian Shepherd coat, and isn’t just wandering around here tragically naked by now).
Nope, as a matter of fact, I instead fell into a well of well-traveled self-doubt and creativity gun-shy-ness from last February until last June, when I gave birth to our son. At that point, I switched gears and instead tumbled ass over elbows into wicked sleep deprivation, skyrocketing anxiety (thanks postpartum hormones, for capitalizing on pre-existing baggage), and the most fascinating case of time ceasing to mean absolutely anything as it all blurred together into a lump of caffeine-and-exhaustion-induced tremors, life-altering joy, and sanity-endangering parenting woes.
But hey, look! I made it back! And I’m pretty sure these couple of very silvery/white hairs and deepening forehead wrinkles were already there before this past year so… sorta, kinda, no worse for wear… ish.
And despite the crazy black hole that most of 2021 turned into, I did not end up melting into an irretrievable puddle of Celine-goo. And, on rereading my one and only other blog post to-date, I feel much better about getting back to this and picking up where I started and promptly left off. Because that first post, while reasonably pithy, shouldn’t actually be that tough an act to follow.
Feels good to be back on here and flexing my typing prowess again (the speedy clacking is embarrassingly satisfying), and feels even better to report that I’m hitting the ground running. Or at least briskly speed-walking! Got the butt-wiggle down pat, and everything.
So here’s what you (you one or two readers) can expect to see from me this year, starting in February:
- Book Reviews: Finishing reading and reviewing Of Shade and Shadow (Niamh and Rebecca Schmid), A Drowned Kingdom (P.L. Stuart), and Ark of the Apocalypse (Tobin Marks), and opening up my inbox again to review requests. There are plenty enough people reviewing more mainstream/big publishing house books, so my focus will be more towards self-published/small press/indie books for outright reviews, though my Goodreads profile will reflect my full reading list (indie and mainstream, both).
- Writing: Continuing my novel Farewell, Mr. Tilbey, as well as continuing to outline several other novel projects to come, and returning to writing and submitting short stories and essays.
- YouTubing/Podcasting: It’s on my bucket list to start a YouTube channel for further creative projects I’ve been itching to explore! It will comprise of short videos following art projects and experiments (gone right, and very wrong), and basically an avenue to have fun with putting creative stuff out there. Podcast will follow after I’ve gotten my toes wet, and can properly develop and plot my ideas for one.
- Online Magazine: Nearly a decade ago, I started a literary magazine which unfortunately had to end when I couldn’t keep it going as a one-woman show. Now, I’m coming back at it older and wiser, and going digital! Stay tuned for updates on content, submissions, and launch date.
At some point soon, I’ll really have to stop stalling and actually do a newsletter sort of thing for all this… but for now, there it is!
Motherhood is a real trip, goals and drive live on (thankfully) no matter how little sleep I clock each week, and the show will go on!
…After more coffee. One day I’ll stop needing caffeine in an IV drip…
Celine Aubert 