June is for Change

Where Fleur talks about not liking change, except when she does.

I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of change when it comes to the things I use every day. I'm that person who grumbles the loudest when they change the layout at the supermarket, or when my favorite show moves to a new platform. So when it came time to rethink how I send my newsletter, my first reaction was to say no. The old way was just fine, it’s how I’ve always done it.

The truth is, change is uncomfortable. You have to figure out how to use this new thing (hello, old age), and that takes time and energy. Like this newsletter, which you’re hopefully receiving just fine, even though I changed the delivery to Substack (more on this decision in a minute).

But just because you’ve always done something a certain way is no reason to keep doing it that way. It’s good to rethink stuff. I’m mostly writing this post to give myself this sage advice, by the way.

I recently moved, which is the mother of change if you ask me. I moved just 40 minutes or so from my old house, but it’s like I moved to a different state. New route to the things I go to, new grocery store, new habits to grow. And most of that is good stuff. I mean: look at this view I now have on my daily walk:

Worth all that pain, for sure. I’m still building my new life in my new house. Change is hard; as humans, we’re wired to avoid it. But change also wakes us up to new possibilities and new experiences.

This newsletter allows you to comment now, something I learned from my good writer friend Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. It’s actually much easier to format (yay for me, the technologically challenged).

What I’ve Been Up To

Other than taking a lot of wrong turns to get to the grocery store, I’ve been getting settled in my little old cottage on the Rocky Mountainside. I live small, which meant I had to donate a lot of books…

Thankfully, I have an amazing library system which carries most of the books I want. And if they don’t have the book, I can request it and the library will often go ahead and buy the books I want. It’s amazing.

This is a book by my good friend Kaz Windness that I requested, and the library bought. Isn’t it amazing?

Helpedihelphelp

If your library doesn’t have one of my books, would you consider requesting it?

It’s free and helps so much. Here are a few other free ways you can help your favorite author (this does not have to be me, of course).

Otherwise, I’ve been staring at this dirt hill in my backyard where nothing but weeds grow. I swear, I’ll turn it into a cottage garden. That’s some good change right there; it’ll just take heavy lifting and patience…

Where To Find Me

I’m planning some events for the paperback launch of Daybreak on Raven Island in August. This is such fun! Marketing allows me to get creative and connect with bookseller, reviewer, and reader friends all over the country (and the world!). If you want me to visit your town or classroom, comment below! Let’s use this new comment function…

What I’m Writing

It’s editing time here in Fleur’s (new) writing studio. I’m working on revising my top-secret YA mystery, which is really fun and reminiscent of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel, but for teens. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes…

I’m also beginning to brew a new story idea for the middle-grade reader… A mystery, of course. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Some things don’t need to change.

Floof

Floof loves herself some DIY, but after naps please. We all need a break sometime, right?

New!

I know, this change business is hard. But I want to change up the book giveaway selection with this new newsletter format. Comment below to be entered in the raffle to win a copy of your choice: Daybreak on Raven Island or Midnight at the Barclay Hotel. Winner chosen by the next newsletter!