The headline refers to both how September has been this year, and also to a few literary quotes:
That September was a month of golden mists and purple hazes […] a month of sun-steeped days and of nights that were swimming in moonlight or pulsating with stars.
-Anne’s House of Dreams, LM Montgomery
September came in with golden days and silver nights …
-The Return of the King, JRR Tolkien
And from one of my favorite lesser-known books:
September was very Septemberish that year.
-Betsy in Spite of Herself, Maud Hart Lovelace
September has indeed been surprisingly Septemberish in New England this year! Golden days that are warm but not summer-hot, cool nights with crisp air, leaves just starting to turn colors, and the glorious promise of a proper autumn just around the corner. My kids were thrilled to be able to start the school year without sweltering heat, and I have enjoyed being able to open my office windows at work during the day instead of needing the air conditioner to keep the temperature bearable.
“But how is the writing coming?” I hear you ask in plaintive tones, enjoying the description of the weather but much more interested in story updates. (At least, I hope that’s what I am hearing from you …)
Writing Update
Never fear, writing is happening! Slowly, as I am making some health discoveries which are prompting some changes to my lifestyle (more about that once I have something a bit more concrete to share–right now everything is still fairly nebulous), but writing nonetheless. I have finally had a chance to browse through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, which my good friend A.M. Offenwanger has been recommending to me for years. I’m not quite in a place to do the full twelve-week workshop, but I have started trying to incorporate daily morning pages (3 handwritten pages or half an hour of writing, whichever comes first) and weekly artist dates (trying being the operative word there … I’m not very good at thinking up outings that refill my creative cup) into my routine. And just last night, I began work on Julia Part 3–the final installment of Julia’s story, to be shared with newsletter subscribers sometime this fall! I am also nearly done with the first draft of Len’s holiday short story. I’d still like to have that available for purchase for this holiday season, but we’ll have to see–I am learning to be cautious in my goals, given my current energy levels (low. They are low. But we’re figuring out why and making progress toward improvement).
Book Selling
At the end of August I took part in a book festival for authors in my part of New England, and had a blast. I used to help sell my sister’s hand-crafted silver jewelry at craft shows when I was a teen, and I’d almost forgotten the fun of interacting with people and working with them to try to match them to their perfect purchase. Books are a little different from earrings, bracelets, and necklaces–you either like a genre or you don’t, and if I happen to write in a genre you don’t like, there’s not a whole lot either of us can do about that–but it’s still fun. I’ve been researching other local (or local-ish) events I can sell my books at, now that I’ve remembered how much I enjoy this sort of thing. There are a couple of Christmas artisans markets locally that I’ve asked if they’ll accept independently-published books at, and one huge fall festival that I am too late to apply this year for, but will definitely be visiting in hopes of getting an idea what it might be like to do it next year (well, that and purchasing Christmas presents early–two birds with one stone). I’ve learned I would far rather sell my books in person than attempting to do it through social media marketing!
New Start
Between Carl’s years in grad school, the years homeschooling the girls, and my own brief time recently as a returned student myself, September has always felt like the start of a new year, even more than January 1. While I’m not starting any major projects this year, it still feels like a fresh start on the ongoing projects, and a fresh look at the way I market and sell my books. I am excited to see what the upcoming “year” holds for my writing career–and looking forward to sharing the adventure with you all as it happens.
I’ll add another quote to this:
“September has come, it is hers
Whose vitality leaps in the autumn…”
(the beginning of a poem by Louis MacNeice)
Septemberish September is glorious, isn’t it? And so many good beginnings. Also, I’m so glad to have finally suckered you into The Artist’s Way – muahahahah!
Oh, I love that quote! That sums me up perfectly–I always feel so much more alive when the weather shifts from summer to autumn. Thank you for sharing!
I am hoping this winter to be able to sit down and read through The Artist’s Way more thoroughly, even if I still can’t commit to the workshop, but even the small gleanings I’ve taken from it so far have been helpful. I am slow, but I usually come around to things eventually!