career – Jennifer Lane Books

Happy October, writers! Time to support each other on this writing journey…join us here.

Thank you to this month’s co-hosts:

Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda, and Chemist Ken!

IWSG Day Question: How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something?

This is a timely question for me as I’ve been pondering why I haven’t felt as motivated to write lately. (Though I do plan to finish a short story soon.)

I’ve realized that I don’t feel the burning need to write right now because things in my career are pretty good. I went through some difficult times at work in 2007, and I unknowingly turned to writing to cope with feelings of insecurity and betrayal. The words poured out of me then. I made my ex-boss the villain of my first book, a murder mystery. (He he.)

Thank you, writing! You have helped me heal. I also feel grateful for second chances. After a six-year hiatus working elsewhere, I returned to my same position, and version 2.0 is much better. I’m less naive and more confident, and my career as a psychologist feels like a true calling.

Maybe I’ll immerse myself in a sea of words again, but for now I’m happy to bask in the sunshine onshore, knowing writing is always there to dive into when I need it.

Time for the Insecure Writers Support Group. One insecurity is that I’m three days late on my post! Thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this awesome meme.

Since it’s rare to make a living as an author, I’m sure many of us have day jobs. I’m a psychologist, and I’ve been wrapped up in writing and delivering two big presentations the past week (hence the delay in my post). I traveled all the way to Big Sky, Montana for my first presentation.

Isn’t it gorgeous? A big sky indeed. I teamed up with four other psychologists to present on gender issues in my field. I mentioned how I didn’t get one job because I wasn’t “a guy’s guy”. Yep, I’m not!

I’m not much of a skier, but I did decide to try cross country skiing with two psych buddies. I felt like I was about to fall every second, even on flat ground, but at least it was a sunny day. It was great to see friends and mentors.

When I returned home I scrambled to prepare another presentation, and this one went well too. I’m glad to be done with presentations for a while!

Writing has been at a standstill since I FINISHED my fourth novel! Yahoo. On Best Behavior (The Conduct Series #3) is on submission with my publisher.

And finally, I’m excited about the approach of Valentine’s Day (aka Singles Awareness Day) because it’s my birthday AND Omnific Publishing will give away three loaded Kindles to celebrate their third anniversary. Stop back on the 14th to enter the giveaway.