As I have written about before, I write romance novels. Contemporary romance novels. But I also am in the process of finishing a memoir entitled Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude. It chronicles the time period starting with the day after our middle son died, and follows my thought process (and my Facebook posts) from then through about eighteen months after his death. More than anything, it is my story of trying to find meaning, light, joy after his death.

It is a truly different process writing non-fiction instead of fiction, especially with a memoir which is written in first person. First of all, the professional editing process is different, in that while I don’t feel the book is “done” to my exact liking yet, it is almost there, and with such a piece, the editing process is done in chunks instead of the entire book at one time. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude has moved on to its final round of professional editing, which is faster than I had hoped in my original writing plan at the start of the year. It also is very different to think about how to market it, as you rely much more on a formal book proposal than the manuscript as you start approaching agents/publishers.

Thankfully, I have the most incredible group of cheerleaders and professionals around me, who guide, support, nudge me along the road, and give advice to help me make good decisions.

Stay tuned to see what happens!