I finished writing The City of Earthly Desire a few weeks before my wife Melinda gave birth to our son Matthew in December of 2011. I remember those months very vividly. We had moved back to Canada that summer and I had no luck finding a decent position as a teacher. Those months of unemployment were a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, with Melinda's belly getting larger and rounder by the day, I experienced a considerable amount of internal pressure building up. I was not accustomed to being unemployed. How was I going to provide for my family if I could not find work as a teacher? On the other hand, I welcomed the break from steady employment as a chance to finish the final draft of the novel once and for all. I maintained my sanity by assuring myself that we could survive for more than a year on our savings. In an effort to keep from eating into these savings too much, I spent a couple of hours everyday looking for work and sending out resumes and working a few small tutoring jobs here and there. The rest of the time I dedicated to writing - and I wrote like a man possessed. I was fueled by the instinct that I had to complete the book before Matthew came into the world because I had a feeling that I would not have much time to dedicate to writing after he was born. I was right.
I finished the final draft of the book almost two weeks before our son was born. In a strange coincidence, I succeeded in landing a job almost two weeks after he was born. My life, which for months been little more than hours of writing supplemented by hours of waiting suddenly whirred back into the busy realm of everyday common life. I got up, went to work, came home, helped with the baby and the chores, and collapsed into bed each night blissfully exhausted. After a few months, I managed to set aside some time to proofread and revise and, with the help of my good friend Dave Kuswanto, I was able to use the summer break to finally put the book into print.
Though I have been able to spend some time marketing and promoting the book here and there, the truth is babies are very time-intensive. I guess that is the moral of this post. I set up this site and this blog thinking I would have an easy time writing a daily post . . . not that long ago I was logging 2500 to 3500 words a day, every day, so how hard could a few blog posts be, right?
Well, the lack of posts on this blog is the only the answer I need to provide. But it would be unfair of me to lay the blame squarely on the cute little guy in the photo above. The truth is I have become somewhat of an undisciplined sloth who is quick to make excuses for his lack of work. But as of today, I have made a vow to change that. I don't know what it was that finally got me going. Perhaps it's the promise of a changing season, a rebirth, a renewal . . . whatever it is, I got up this morning and told myself that I had to spend more time promoting the novel and this site if I ever wanted to find my footing in the world of the written word.
So, long story short, I will stop blaming the baby for my negligence and I will post on this blog at least twice a week starting today. Expect to find new posts every Wednesday and Sunday. I humbly invite you to read them . . . if you happen to find the time.
On the one hand, with Melinda's belly getting larger and rounder by the day, I experienced a considerable amount of internal pressure building up. I was not accustomed to being unemployed. How was I going to provide for my family if I could not find work as a teacher? On the other hand, I welcomed the break from steady employment as a chance to finish the final draft of the novel once and for all. I maintained my sanity by assuring myself that we could survive for more than a year on our savings. In an effort to keep from eating into these savings too much, I spent a couple of hours everyday looking for work and sending out resumes and working a few small tutoring jobs here and there. The rest of the time I dedicated to writing - and I wrote like a man possessed. I was fueled by the instinct that I had to complete the book before Matthew came into the world because I had a feeling that I would not have much time to dedicate to writing after he was born. I was right.
I finished the final draft of the book almost two weeks before our son was born. In a strange coincidence, I succeeded in landing a job almost two weeks after he was born. My life, which for months been little more than hours of writing supplemented by hours of waiting suddenly whirred back into the busy realm of everyday common life. I got up, went to work, came home, helped with the baby and the chores, and collapsed into bed each night blissfully exhausted. After a few months, I managed to set aside some time to proofread and revise and, with the help of my good friend Dave Kuswanto, I was able to use the summer break to finally put the book into print.
Though I have been able to spend some time marketing and promoting the book here and there, the truth is babies are very time-intensive. I guess that is the moral of this post. I set up this site and this blog thinking I would have an easy time writing a daily post . . . not that long ago I was logging 2500 to 3500 words a day, every day, so how hard could a few blog posts be, right?
Well, the lack of posts on this blog is the only the answer I need to provide. But it would be unfair of me to lay the blame squarely on the cute little guy in the photo above. The truth is I have become somewhat of an undisciplined sloth who is quick to make excuses for his lack of work. But as of today, I have made a vow to change that. I don't know what it was that finally got me going. Perhaps it's the promise of a changing season, a rebirth, a renewal . . . whatever it is, I got up this morning and told myself that I had to spend more time promoting the novel and this site if I ever wanted to find my footing in the world of the written word.
So, long story short, I will stop blaming the baby for my negligence and I will post on this blog at least twice a week starting today. Expect to find new posts every Wednesday and Sunday. I humbly invite you to read them . . . if you happen to find the time.
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