After a very confusing hour-long chat with my webhost's tech support yesterday.... I discovered that the settings for my [@]jenaleighbooks.com email addresses hadn't been set up correctly.
...Which came as something of a surprise to me, considering they haven't been changed in over two years, and I had been sending and receiving emails—I thought—just fine the entire time.
Except that I wasn't.
Some emails were being slightly delayed, and some of the emails you guys sent me (not many, but at least a few) never made it to me at all.
My initial reaction to the news.
My reaction once I realized my webhost was responsible for the screw up.
So this is just a quick note to say: If you've ever sent me an e-mail, and you didn't hear back from me, you have my apologies!
I do my absolute best to answer each and every email I receive, and the thought that some of you wrote me and heard nothing back, worries me a lot.
The settings should be correct now, so if you write me and fail to hear back within 1-2 weeks, please let me know here on the blog!!!
I have nearly an entire week off starting today... And I could not be happier about it.
I HAVE TIME TO WRITE AGAIN!
It's been a busy few weeks.
My mom and I finished setting up (and subsequently opened up) a new gift shop & boutique, my health took a spin on the roller-coaster ride from Hades, one of my best friends had her beautiful baby boy, I met a ton of amazing people... and I learned that working 50 or more hours a week and trying to keep on a writing schedule (while also battling extreme anxiety and a chronic disease) is not only impossible, but hazardous to my health and seriously damaging to my sense of calm.
Oh.
And I turned 30 last weekend.
So, there's that.
I can pretty much guarantee that had I actually had time to mourn the loss of my twenties, I would have been way more upset about that particular development. Instead, I only briefly noticed the transition.
(And anyway, I still struggle to convince people that yes, I am legally old enough to buy that fruity alcoholic beverage at Bahama Breeze, so please stop eyeballing my driver's license like it says "McLovin"...)
When you have the perpetually chubby cheeks and dimples of a little kid, worrying about growing older has less to do with laugh lines and more to do with your utter lack of accomplishments upon reaching those merciless temporal milestones. Something that I was trying very hard not to think about.
Publishing two books counts as some sort of accomplishment, right?
Do I get Grown Up points for that? Because I'm pretty sure the fact that I'm unmarried, am renting an apartment, and have no family of my own is threatening to put me in the negative.
It's made me think, though...
I mean, true, I may be the only one of my friends that hasn't gotten married yet.
And, okay, I'm also probably the only one left without a 401K or a decent retirement plan.
Fact is, I'll probably never have that white picket fence, 3.2 kids and a dog thing that society keeps telling me I should want...
But does that really matter?
For the moment, at least, I'm happy with my choices—which is more than I can say for some of the people I know.
So my life didn't turn out exactly the way society said it would. So what? It's taken me thirty years, but I'm finally beginning to understand... Those detours I keep taking are what make my life interesting. And what's a good story without a few unexpected twists and turns?
So to my thirties I say, "Bring it. And be sure to keep it interesting." Because as far as I'm concerned—to quote my girl, Alex—normal is terribly overrated. Giveaways Galore
A few of you have been lamenting the fact that you missed the giveaway here on the blog we did a couple weeks back... Well, to that I say—I've totally got you covered.
The kind, generous, and ever-so-lovely ladies over at the TeamNerd Reviews blog are currently celebrating I HEART YA 2014!! And so in addition to the amazing posts by and about YA authors, they're also hosting five—count 'em, FIVE—giveaways!
And if that's not enough, TeamNerd's amazing reviewer Bridget was kind enough to create this fantastic promo image for Resistance!
Perfect promo is perfect. Just sayin'.
Also, be sure to stay tuned, because we'll be doing another giveaway over on the Jena Leigh Facebook page, just as soon as it hits 500 likes!
This Week's Playlist
I've been listening to Alt-J a lot lately, so they've earned two spots on this mini-playlist... Can't get enough of them while I'm working. Pandora introduced me to both of the next two songs and now they've been stuck in my head off and on for ages. And last, but not least, the beautiful harmony that is my current writing song—"Storm Comin'" by The Wailin' Jenny's. Hope you find a song or two to enjoy!
