This week has been full of new learning for us. My husband has been undergoing infusion treatments, and this is a brand new world for us. Hours of treatment, side effects, getting to know the infusion community, adjusting to what he/we can do with the non-infusion time — all of this is new to us.

What have I learned? I have learned that if you put two humans together in a room, and stick IVs in them, they will start talking to each other. By twenty minutes in, they will have found common friends or relatives, talk about frustrations, and talk about making the most of life. I have found that people staring full-on at terminal illness like to laugh, and will try to make others feel supported and connected.

I have learned that people that are coming in day after day to go through harsh treatments for their health, in some cases for their survival, live fully even with limited energy and time. I have heard less complaining from people in the infusion center than I do just walking around the grocery store. Frankly, every person I have met there this week has every right to complain and whine, and they aren’t.

They have a lot to teach the rest of us!

Today, I am thrilled to welcome author KJ Moullen to the site! KJ writes YA fiction, and shares about her writing journey below.

Writing and reading have always been passions of mine. I suppose you can say I was born with it. I didn’t have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal growing up, my necessity at bedtime was a Mother Goose book. From the time I was about nine months old, I needed to have this book with me to sleep. I did eventually outgrow the Mother Goose book phase; however, it was quickly supplemented by a growing love for books of all kinds. My imagination was always on hyperdrive, fueled by the likes of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Star Wars. The idea of writing didn’t fully take root until reading A wrinkle in time. Wow! the joys of being able to create stories that whisk you away too far off worlds for adventures, how could I resist.

Writing became my escape. I wrote as much as I could and filled in the other time with reading and outdoor adventures to keep the imagination charged. Living in exotic places such as Hawaii and Alaska created a perfect backdrop for these adventures. Pursuing many classes in creative writing in school my works received a very positive reception from my teachers and peers. But it wouldn’t be until my later years that I choose to take the leap to share my writing with the world.

The publishing piece has been an experience in its self. I had heard that writing the novel was the easy part. Oh boy, were they not kidding. I took an unconventional way of being published on the advice of a dear friend that was in the textbook publishing field and I ran a campaign on Publishizer. For those not familiar with Publishizer it is a crowdsource fundraising platform with a twist. They cater to authors only and work with several publishing houses from self-publishing to traditional and everything in between. By the end of my campaign, I had fourteen publishers including traditional, interested in my manuscript.  After in-depth research on which route to take, I eventually opted to hybrid publish.  I keep all the rights to my work and have a major say in how the whole process goes. It was the option that just seemed to make sense to me. I feel very blessed to have been presented this opportunity. The whole adventure of becoming a published author has been a roller coaster of emotions but defiantly worth the ride.

My first published novel is a YA fantasy, The Spinner Sagas: The Telling, released in May of 2018. The second in the series, The Spinner Sagas: The Heir, is currently with the publisher and will be released early 2020. I am currently working on the third book in this series.

The Spinner Sagas: The Telling is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Blaine. She thinks she is an ordinary teenager until she is thrust into Renault, a realm filled with magic and unknown possibilities. She is set upon a pathway that will challenge everything she has ever known. Confronted with dark family secrets and an ancient prophecy, she will have to trust a mysterious ally whose destiny is intertwined with her own. Set in a world plagued with evil, Blaine must face not only her mounting self-doubt but destiny itself. Will her choices be enough to stop the darkness of evil from spreading through the universe?

To order a copy of KJ’s book, please visit the link below:

The Spinner Sagas: The Telling

Today I had one of those moments when I was reminded of the beauty and wonder surrounding us…

While doing the afternoon chores, I was trying to hurry the sheep back to their pen from the pasture. Neither was interested in moving. Lana wanted to eat grass. Hila wanted to cuddle. Finally, ignoring the ever-present mantra of “I need to do this and this and this,” I sat down in the grass and cuddled with her. This huge, smelly, burdock covered, sweet, loving, intuitive sheep cuddled up next to me. She rubbed her face against mine, then just rested it on my shoulder, breathing her smelly sheep breath on my cheek, letting me know she was there. I talked and talked to her, telling her how beautiful her wool is, and how I want to make a blanket of it when she is sheared next year. I talked to her about glad I am that she recovered from her sheep polio. I thanked her for taking the time to hang out with me.

Later, both humans sat for a long time with both sheep, sitting on the little bench in the barn, and just enjoying their love, energy, silliness, and their devotion to us and their little herd.

In the end, the time I “lost” by sitting in that pasture and on the bench was gained many times over in the peace and joy I felt. Maybe all of us need to take more time to just sit and commune with nature or others.