November Is Its Own Season

Acknowledging a month that's more than an in-between

This week doesn’t technically hold a shift in seasons, but it feels that way. It’s the last week before a running race John and I have been training for, to various degrees. It’s also the last week of cross country for our kids, after which they immediately begin basketball practices, so our after school schedule is undergoing a near-complete overhaul. I looked forward to this season of life when they big kids were younger, and it’s a lot, just as I’d expected. But it’s also so good to see them grow and challenge themselves among their friends.

I’ve started to think about preparing for the holidays, which makes this time feel busy in a different way–it’s a time of change; a time of moving forward, and so a time of reflection; a time of preparation, and so of organization. The messes get bigger before they get cleaned up, and I’m trying to be okay with that on allll the levels.

1. Some updates

The big news is that I finally signed a contract with Our Sunday Visitor for my first picture book! I’d tell you the title, but the project is going to a titling meeting at the publisher’s office next week, and it’s likely to change, as the current title is too similar to another book in a tangential market.

I can tell you 1) the concept was created by Katerina Deem of Little Way Design Co. (check it out; her work is stunning), and 2) the goal is to encourage young girls in particular not to compare themselves to other girls, but to rejoice in and learn to share the unique gifts God gave each of them when He created them. See the last section here for the quote that inspired the book.

2. What I’m reading

The last few weeks have seen me reading Dracula by Bram Stoker and The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos—at the same time. Sounds super weird, but it turns out there are interesting parallels between the two in terms of recognizing evil and sin and in terms of narrative style (one is told in a series of journal entries, letters, telegrams, and so on; the other is one man’s journal). When those feel a little heavy at bedtime, I’ve been working through The Wet Engine: Exploring the Mad Wild Miracle of the Heart by one of my favorites, Brian Doyle. 

3. What my kids are reading

We love everything Voyage Comics, and one of their latest offerings is no exception. I was sent a copy of Treasure Chest, Volume One to review and my kids have been devouring it, one by one. I’ve seen it in just about every room of the house, not to mention the car. The book is a collection of reprints of one of the first Catholic comic books.

My daughter has been having trouble finding something to read, as she’s kind of between age ranges. Though she listened to The Mysterious Benedict Society as a family read-aloud a few years ago and watched both seasons of the adaptation on Disney Plus, there is a lot that she’s getting out of reading it on her own now. I don’t think she’ll be asking for something else to read for quite a while.

5. What I’m creating (knitting, lettering, embroidery, etc.)

I have been making a lot of progress on two knitting projects. I don’t have photographic evidence, but it does feel good to have the end in sight on at least one of them. I’m about to start on a couple embroidery projects for gifts, as soon as supplies are in my hands!

6. Where my work is

At Verily: “A True Crime Spin on a Famous Relic”

7. What (else) I’m working on

Thanks to my current class, I’m finally making novel progress! The assignments I’ve been given have prodded me to write a couple of scenes I had in mind, but not on the page, and to create others from scratch. I’m starting to gain momentum on my outline as well. I’d love to say I have a special beautiful notebook I write in, but the reality is that I’m writing this thing in a Google doc, sometimes on my computer at my desk, other times on my phone waiting for something in the car (parked, I promise).

8. A quote to sit and sip with

“The brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty.”

—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul