First, of course, I’m back on the blog after a pretty long hiatus, so let me give you a quick update! After signing with my literary agent at the tail end of July, I dove into some final revisions of my manuscript before she began submitting it to editors, and then she and I spent a little while deciding on my next project. That was a challenge, but we finally landed on something I’m really excited about! Fall burst on the scene with all its concomitant activities, and it was nice to resume a few of the normal ones after last year. We were able to return to our favorite fall festival, and it was good as ever, maybe even better having missed it in 2020.

And that brings me to the other reasons I can say, “I’m back.” When we returned home from the festival, on a whim, I looked at employment opportunities at the library in the same city. I was shocked to see a job posted that was very close to what I had done before we moved to Virginia, and I instantly got emotional thinking about returning to library work. As much as I loved what I did at the museums, library work had begun to feel like my calling, something more fulfilling and that I missed more than I expected, so I decided to apply and just see what would happen.

And…I got the job! So not only am I back to blogging, I’m also back to library work and back to Ohio! I didn’t know a job could do this, but I feel like ME again, and I couldn’t be happier. There is nothing more satisfying than putting the right books in the hands of patrons, and there is no career, in my opinion, more compatible with writing. Not to mention it’s in one of my favorite places on Earth! I am overwhelmed by how lucky I feel to be doing this, in this place, and after just a partial week of work, I can say with confidence that I made the right decision. There are a number of things up in the air that still need to fall in place, but I know they will in time, and this period of transition will feel like a blip on the screen when we look back on it.

Chasing dreams can be scary, but with a positive mindset and outside support, I really feel like anything is possible. When I first found the job and asked my Twitter family what they would do, all the responses were to go for it. I can’t imagine the regret I would have felt if I hadn’t at least tried. I took a photo with my kids the day before I left, and when I see it now, I already feel like I’m a different person. What would I have missed had I not tried? I don’t even want to think about it.

So I’m back. I’m a little too modest to say, “and better than ever,” but in all honesty, it sure feels that way.