Mother Writes: Kenyan countdown

Saturday, 13 April 2013

Kenyan countdown

3 full days to go before we move to Nairobi - can this really be possible??

Since I last posted about the agent wanting to read my full manuscript, I've heard nothing. I did actually send her an email last week with a gentle prompt, asking if she'd had a chance to look at it yet. She responded that she hadn't as she's been up to her eyeballs in the London Book Fair but will get back to me in the next few weeks. So this period of *hope* (that dangerous but beautiful word!) has been extended.

In the meantime, I have had a short story published in an online magazine. Always rewarding to see my name in print (let's face it, all I really want is to egotistically see my name in print!). The magazine was meant to be a physical one but a bit guttingly they ran out of money before it went to print and had to do a virtual version. But no matter, they liked my story enough to print it :)

I will be blogging about the experiences of my middle child in Kenya here and probably continue to blog about writing-related topics on Mother Writes. See you on the other side - wish me luck!
x

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Mother Writes...What's it all about?

When I was little, I imagined with the supreme confidence of a child that when I was all grown up, I'd be a celebrated writer. And by grown-up, I probably meant about eighteen. The concept of even reaching the age of thirty, let alone beyond, was off my radar and my seven-year old self shuddered at the ominious thought of not having published at least several novels by that grand old age.

Fast forward to the present. Here I am, age thirty-five, wife to a lovely hubby and mother to three gorgeous children. Now, am I writer? My seven-year old self would hold a very strong opinion on this: No, because I don't have a single published novel to my name. But I'm pleased to say that now I'm all grown-up, I'm also a bit more measured and realistic in my expectations of myself. Don't get me wrong - I love my seven-year old self for believing I could achieve that much but I have, over the years, come to an important conclusion:

If you dance, you are a dancer. If you paint, you are a painter. And if you write, you are a writer.

But we have to actually do it, not just talk about doing it. It's all too easy to procrastinate about our creative endeavours and that's all I ask of myself now: to create; to write. And if I'm lucky enough to get something published (which I'm pleased to say that I have done, in the form of short stories, reviews and articles), well, that's a bonus. And that's what this blog offers: little slices of honesty on my plate of life as mother, wife and creator of words. It's often not easy to juggle all three, particularly dealing with bouts of chronic insomnia. But I have to trust this is all part of the journey, and challenges are what make life interesting.