Photo by Lorri Nussbaum www.keeperscards.com
I do angst really well.
I’ve been drowning in drafts of blog posts, readying for the launch of this shiny new website.
But what did the very first post need to say?
I have six novels under contract, but none of them even has a cover yet. So I can’t do show and tell.
I suspect most of my first readers will come via Twitter and Facebook. But most of those people only know me in the cyber world.
And what am I supposed to talk about? There are fifty-seven kazillion blogs. What am I saying that anyone should listen to? (My kids wonder that ALL the time.)
Yes, I do angst really well. (But that’s not one of the Four Things I Know About Me. Keep reading.)
The answer came more clear as I produced more drafts. I found I was talking about ordinary moments that were portals to the profound. I talked about places where writing a particular book intersected with what distracts my random brain. I even talked about things my mother says that make me laugh out loud.
I was being me. And no one else can do that.
I can’t be all those other writers, all those experts who write blogs about things I don’t know how to do. Or be.
But I’m pretty good at being me. And this is what I know about me. (Count ‘em. Four things.)
- My native language is story. Story speaks to me, and I hope I can speak story to you. My books will be stories, of course. But story is the stuff of life, so I have way more story to talk about than just my books.
- I look underneath. And close up. The ordinary lays down a film over the extraordinary. I like to see through to the surprises underneath.
- I thrive on connections. When I meet people, I love walking away feeling that we connected, that we celebrated something in common, that the encounter enriched my life in some way.
- I’m chasing joy. I’ve had plenty of unjoy in my life. (I’m a creative. I can make up words if I want to.) But everything in me wants to get up out of the mud puddle and run toward the sunshine.
So if any of that is setting off bells in your brain, then I hope you’ll do these things.
- Leave a comment, so I know I’m not talking to the cyber-air.
- Subscribe, so we can chase joy together.
- Tell someone about this blog, so we can enrich our conversation.
I plan to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We’ll twist through time on our way to joy and delve into the faith and passions that make us who we are.
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Tell us why you dropped by today. I’d love to hear.
Can’t wait to read more, Olivia!
Now I feel stdipu. That’s cleared it up for me
Looking forward to connecting more and chasing more joy with you! A great start!
Glad you’re coming along for the chase.
Followed to your blog through Rachelle’s link on Twitter. So encouraging to see another story-breather a few steps farther down the road than me. Best of luck to you, will certainly be checking back so I can walk alongside you on your journey.
best regards
A
Thanks for clicking through, Angela!
No more unjoy! Lead the way!! Enough of us are dejoying life already.
Marsha, I love your new word! “Dejoying.” How often we take the joy out of things unnecessarily.
Hi saw Rachelle Gardner reccommend your blog on twitter 🙂 so I decided to check it out.
Linda, hope you’re glad you check it out.
Lovely! Congrats on the new site!
Love your web/blog design. Great first post!
Chasing joy… what fun! 🙂
Tanya, chasing joy is what it’s all about!
Beautiful site. Can’t wait to read your posts!
Thanks, Dianne. I’m looking forward to some good interaction with everyone.
Congrats on this shiny new blog, Olivia!! Looking forward to reading those novels!
Congratulations, Olivia! Like the look of the blog and can’t wait to see the new books roll off the presses. Hey, what’s with the math security question? I’m doomed.
“Portals to the Profound”–what a compelling phrase. I look forward to more of your storytelling–angst and all.
Hi Olivia. I have 1 book self-published and need to market it. I liked your philosophy which is why I have been to your site.
Hi David, I hope you’ll stay in the conversation as we go forward, but the comments section is not set up for links.I had to edit a link out in order to show your comment. Thanks for understanding.
Congratulations on getting your blog going – can’t wait to read more.
The story underneath connects us to joy! How we need to dig to find our portals to the profound!
I wanna be along for the ride as we twist and shout in the roller coaster of life, knowing that those sudden drops will bring us swooping up again, and exhilaration lies beyond the next turn.
Thanks, Hillary! Let the swooping begin.