I had a metaphor in mind for this newsletter when I started writing.

It was all about soiled diapers and the smell test, with some corollaries about editing my own manuscripts and cleaning up my stories. That version of this newsletter is safely stored in my drafts, but I may never actually post it.

In the four-and-a-half months Baby H has been with us, I would describe his life as transitory. From a NICU pod to our living room, he’s bounced between over a hundred nurses and other medical specialists, and that part of his journey is far from done.

This week, we took him to a medical daycare for the first time. Now that Charis is going back to work, Baby H will spend lots of time under the loving care of yet more nurses and specialists. They already adore him, and we get heart-melting pictures sent to our phones every morning. He’s cared for. He’s safe.

And it’s a tiny bit miserable.

Because he’s not just safe with us.

In moments like this, I want only to wrap our son in a cocoon and take him away from everything that could ever hurt him. I’ll quit my job, I’ll shut out the world, and we’ll be happy forever. Already I yearn for some mystical past in which I had no responsibility but to hold and feed and change this incredible child.

But that idyllic past never existed.

Life will always be transitory. Baby H will grow out of his onesies and his medical issues, and we will grow out of our circumstances as we always have.

Today, however, I’ll sit here and miss my baby.

This, too, will pass.

Spellbound is tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning, I’ll pack up my books and merch and carry them to Spellbound Bookstore for Indie Bookstore Day! If you’re in Central Florida, stop by between 12 and 2 pm to check out eight (8) local authors and a whole host of bookish things!

Next week, I’ll recap my first-ever author event right here.

Writing Updates

SPOOKY SEQUEL // Nothing new at the moment...but ARC signups will likely happen in about a month!

SPOOKY THREEQUEL // There is literally too much happening in this story.

As soon as I finish this draft, I’m going to break down the story into its fragments and ideas and do some serious reprioritizing. After writing a chapter with three major reveals (which was my intention all along), I realized I hadn’t kept the story focused on the buildup.

That being said, I love so much about this story already. The surprises, the action sequences, the intrigue, the despair—all of it just sings, at least to me. Now I have to make sure it’s ready to make readers the same way.

Orlando friends—see you at Spellbound Bookstore tomorrow!

-Addison