It has been a while. Only a few months until my 20th website anniversary, which is when I’m leaving the weekly blogging commitment…so I’m tapering. The earliest iteration of this website was mostly just a blog. I wrote every day for many years and yes you can read it all here. I’m not disappearing…but I didn’t have any books out yet in 2002. Blogging was my bliss. Now I’m a multi-published novelist with e-publisher The Wild Rose Press. I’ve just turned in the second book in my second series for them. I’ve written a few stand-alones too. I even have a couple of free books and stories here on the website. My earliest novels were Kindle novels and I think they’re all 99 cents.
It’s difficult to dedicate yourself to too many things, and so not a lot of blog posts while I moved from Michigan to Florida and finished my 12th book. I’m about 75 pages into the third book in Jane in St Pete series–and wondering if it will be a trilogy. It feels like something new is hovering. Hoping to get Jane 3 out closer to Jane 2–Covid kind of upended life for me (and the rest of the world).
The most difficult thing moving has been finding new doctors and explaining things to them like the Hines Shakes. I was born Cynthia (Cindy) Hines. Sorry, the Hines Shakes are not milkshakes, but a condition medically referred to as “essential tremors.” It can interfere with writing. In our family some folk can’t write their name without meds.
I use medication, but I don’t want to become a prescription medication addict, so I check in with the doctors. I think I have finally got a plan with a good doctor and a therapist as well as a neurologist and other specialists for other conditions besides these shakes. One priority besides being able to type my novels is having the energy to run a household again. We have been in condos for almost a decade. Now we have a big yard, several garden areas, a lanai (that’s what they call a screened in porch in Michigan) with a built-in hot tub. The house is our largest, too. Not by much, but at 67, it’s a bold move. My husband has more energy than me. As our financial manager, he’s been riding this crazy stock market wave with a cool head and well as fixing up this place, which was a bit more of a mess than we thought.
He does all the difficult jobs like landscaping and keeping the hot tub spotless, plus he’s been working on the master bath walk in shower. He had to pull up tiles, clean up rot and re-whatever it is you do to make them new. We have chosen a painter, who starts on the inside end of June. After rainy/hurricane season he’ll do the outside. The hurricane shutter guy is coming in a few days. We do have hurricane shutters but after having to buy a water system, replace a dishwasher plus those floor tiles and more, we don’t quite trust them.
I’m doing my same old cooking and cleaning and laundry and shopping. Al finally got a grill so I try to have him cook dinner on that a few times a week. I still make the salad. And I’m writing!! Just not blogging so much.
Cynthia Harrison 
Hi Cindy~ I’m sorry you won’t be blogging as much, but I totally understand your need to focus more on your other writing and house. Blogging isn’t as easy as some people think! It sounds like you’ve got your hands full with the new house, too, and my goodness, I didn’t know about your “shakes” medical issue. As we get older, these things seem to get harder, or at least we need to go easier on ourselves. Take good care! Hope you continue to enjoy your home and sunshine! Cindy
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Cindy I’m grateful for our connection online. Yes, it just suddenly got alll too much. Moving is difficult at this age (67) and now my dad wants to move. However, he is hiring movers, and we went DIY. Still, just learning to get around town is a challenge.
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Blogging isn’t as easy for me when trying to keep up a novel-a-year schedule. That has turned into a novel every two years and with Covid I might not see my latest book out until 2023. I had hopes for it coming out this year but not to be. Grateful for our emails. xo
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I haven’t been blogging as much either. But at least you’re writing!
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Yes, I’m grateful for that Jenny. I loved meeting the bloggers on WP but 20 years of blogging is my limit. When I first started blogging, I was not a published novelist. That’s a big part of what I blogged about, trying to get published. Now that I am published, the process is slower and doesn’t lend itself to weekly blog posts.
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