Hello there, blog. Remember me?

I’ve been spending a lot of time so far this year over on other people’s blogs talking about my debut novel, We Hope for Better Things. And other people have been spending time over here on my blog as I’ve shared interviews with other debut authors. And, of course, I’ve been sharing my new podcast episodes here. And if you get my email newsletter, you know I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on that for about two or three years.

All of this has added up to a lot less time and brainpower spent on blog posts. Perhaps that’s all well and good. People aren’t reading blogs as voraciously as they used to. They’re spending more time on Instagram and Twitter and podcasts. And those who are still reading blogs are less interactive than they used to be, because we’re all reading on our phones far more than on our computers, and that’s less conducive to typing out comments.

I must say, I miss the time I used to spend in this space. It has been, in one form or another, a part of my life for more than a decade. A decade during which I struggled to decide what it was I wanted to say and what I wanted to do with my time. It used to go by other names: Stuff No One Would Publish, The Consummate Amateur, A Beautiful Fiction. It had several different faces and two different web platforms. I’ve written about nature, gardening, seasons, travel, Michigan, family, sewing, quilting, and my long and determined trudge toward publication.

And now, here I am. All of that practice and all of that striving has paid off. And that means that I have less time than ever to muse in this space. Most free moments must be put to use in the creation and promotion of my novels (and there are more coming). I’ve set myself a rather punishing schedule with a weekly podcast and a monthly newsletter, one which I feel I must pull back from a little in order to give myself more time for novel writing.

All of this to say, I think it’s time to retire the blog, or at least put it on hiatus. I won’t delete the content. But it will be moving to a less prominent place on my website in the near future. Sort of a digital spring cleaning, if you will.

So if you like hearing from me now and again, may I suggest signing up for my at-the-moment monthly (though likely to become quarterly) email newsletter? And if you like more frequent glimpses into my life and mind you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

Just as the seasons change, life changes. What we once valued and took time for falls by the wayside, replaced by something better. And that’s just the point I am in my creative life right now. I hope you’ll join me in one of those other spots. Until then, I’ll be writing my next novel.

Thanks for reading. Really. My sincerest thanks.