So it’s been almost a year since huge changes rocked through my life. The two biggest, obviously, were that I published my first book and moved to another country. Now, a year later, I’m planning to publish my second book and move to another country… summer’s haven’t been dull, I’ll tell you that much!
This is what I was doing at this time last year: my first book reading as a published author. I’ve learned a lot this year: about life, about friendship, about writing, about balance. Publishing Sanctuary wound up being more than a dream come true. It was something that made me realize some profound truths about this business, such as…
1. Not everyone’s gonna love you, and that’s okay
Sanctuary got lots of great reviews, and I appreciated every one of them. It also got some awful reviews. And you know what? That’s okay. Sure, it hurts a bit when someone doesn’t adore your work, but I still appreciate that someone went to the time and trouble of reading my book and writing about it. And when I think about the supposed classics that I don’t love (I shan’t name names for fear of getting myself in trouble… okay, one. Catcher in the Rye), it’s obvious that books are a personal matter. I learned not to take myself too seriously, and to do what I love because I love it, and for the people who love it too.
2. Nothing lasts forever
Friendships end. So do jobs, families, works… the list goes on and on. My time in Tokyo is coming to an end right now and in one sense it’s really awful, full of goodbyes and sadness. But on the other hand, I’m so profoundly grateful I had this year to experience. I’m trying to approach writing the same way. I will keep writing as long as you all want to keep reading, and probably beyond that. But if at some point I’m not publishing anymore, I’ll still be grateful I had this amazing experience.
3. Writing a second book is harder than writing a first book
There were no expectations with Sanctuary. I wrote it for myself — sure, hoping it would find friends outside my little office one day, but I wrote it without guidance, without deadlines, without pressure. Containment was a whole ‘nother story (haha, author humor). There were deadlines. The series had fans who expected me to do right by the characters. The characters themselves had backstories and personalities that had to be maintained.
And yet… somehow I wound up enjoying writing Containment even more than Sanctuary. Maybe it was, ironically enough, BECAUSE of the additional pressure. I’m weird that way. But I’m so proud of this little book, and I can’t wait to share it.
4. Nothing happens without support
Writing sometimes seems like a solitary endeavor. You sit in a room and you write words and you hope they come out okay. Nothing could be further from the truth. Without my critique partners, my agent, my editor, my husband, Containment would not be here — and definitely wouldn’t be something I could take as much pride in as I do. The author’s name is on that cover, but there should be dozens of others.
The same goes for teaching. I had an amazing year here in Tokyo, but that wasn’t just because Japan is awesome (which it is). It was because my husband was here to support me, because I worked with amazing people, because I made friends through things like taiko and iaido, people I’m going to profoundly miss when I go home. Some friendships ended this year, but the sting of that vanished in the wake of new friends and new discoveries. So this is my thank you to everyone, in Japan and Canada and everywhere in between, who’s had my back.
5. I still love this thing I do
At the end of the day, I always have to ask myself: why am I writing? It can be stressful and exhausting and worrisome… but it can also be beautiful and wonderful and exhilarating. And working through Containment and Salvation drove home to me how much I still love writing. It’s in my blood. I’ve done it since I could pick up a pen (my first book was called Dinosaur Plays Piano, and if you attend St Augustine Elementary School in Ponoka, Alberta it was an exclusive contract published in your library!). And I’ll probably keep doing it forever. I’m so grateful to everyone who has allowed me to keep doing this thing I love.
Thanks for an Amazing Year!
Really and truly, this has been a year of absolute wonder and delight and blessings. Of course it had its challenges, and lots of them. But I don’t want to dwell on that here. With my move home approaching, with goodbyes lingering on my lips, with Containment around the corner, I want to focus on the future — and I can’t wait to see what it will bring.
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check out my books:
Sanctuary, available now, and Containment, out on August 6
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