I apologize for the break in blog posts, but the past month has been busy! We’ve relocated from Florida to Rhode Island where we will be staying, off and on, into the fall. Emily will be heading off to college in New York State, so it will be good to be here for her first semester, especially with all of the Covid-19 issues. Bill and I are also thrilled to be in Quonnie, where life just feels a little simpler for some reason!
I have a few things to catch you up on. First, I’ve re-started my freelance writing business, MJM Communications, and have accepted several assignments from a lifestyle magazine publisher focused on the ultra-luxury market, as well as a non-profit golf foundation writing feature articles and profiles. I’m excited about the work and am loving learning about new places, organizations and interesting people.
Secondly, as you know, I’ve submitted my book manuscript to two different industry professionals and have received some excellent feedback. Some revision is required to make this a commercial book, and I am in the process of sorting out the new treatment, using much of the current material but weaving in more conflict and plot.
My original idea on the book was always to treat the “story” as a recap of my mother’s experiences during World War Two, and I’ve accomplished that. The tricky part is to make it more along the lines of “what’s going to happen next and where are the problems” rather than a straight playback of her time in London and Paris.
I’m loving the process of figuring all this out, but I’m also taking a breather on The French Desk in July and August. I have four freelance articles to write as it is, and don’t have the time to also write blog posts and edit the manuscript right now. I’m hoping to get to the beach a bit, too, but have not been there yet! Criminal!
Thanks to everyone for their support these past months. The name of my blog fits – it’s a writing life!