The December Check-In

Um, y'all? It's December already! I'm not quite sure how that happened. The most wonderful (and busiest) time of the year seems to have snuck up on me! I blame the book revisions. I just got back from seeing my family for Thanksgiving, where I ate too much and sat around too much and didn't do much work. What did I do? As we say in the south, I "visited." Because where I'm from, "visiting" isn't just the act of traveling to someone's home. It's the sitting and chatting part, as well. It's the catching up on everything you've missed in each other's lives and sharing coffee or sweet tea and dessert. I.e., "Sit and visit with me for a while." I was able to see my entire family while I was there, including my almost 11-month-old nephew, who is a hoot and a half:

Turner 1

Turner 2

Turner and Ben

It's such a pleasure to get to see my parents, my sister, and my brother and sister-in-law and nephew all at the same time. That doesn't happen nearly often enough (though thanks to the late Thanksgiving, it will happen again in just a few weeks at Christmas!).

But now I'm back in Brooklyn and back to the grind. My book revision is due on Monday, so I am chugging away, putting the finishing touches on the draft. I've made all of the big changes at this point and am rereading and finessing a few sticky spots. I'm starting to reach that "oh no, almost time to turn it in, it has to be perfect!" anxiety point, but I'm forging ahead. Things that help: my supportive husband, my wonderful family, and my amazing friends—with whom I'm having not one, but two Write Nights this week to make sure I'm ahead of the game.

A bit of blog business—we're about to hit the one year mark! I know, right? Who'da thunk? So for the rest of this month, you'll see some Year in Review–type things. I want to look back at the books I've read, as well as at all of the amazing things that have happened this year. I'll take a look at my most popular posts, as well (including one surprising post from earlier this year that just keeps going and going and going…).

And stay tuned for a fun announcement next week!

In the meantime, hope everyone's staying warm out there. Thanks, as always, for reading!

~Kathryn