Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.
So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…
"Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
I’ll be at Chicago Fan Expo August 15-17 signing books with a few of my RI writer pals. If you’re in the area, come visit us in booth AP26. I’ll also be moderating some panels including: World Building- Mind Your Myths and Backstory on Saturday from 12 pm – 12:45 pm, The Writers After Party on Saturday from 4 pm – 4:45 pm, and Writing the Other-Creating Characters Outside Your Comfort Zone on Sunday from 2 pm – 2:45 pm. Check out the panels, and stop by to say hello!
We’ve had a whirlwind of travel these last couple of weeks, from finishing up our time in Colorado to South Dakota to Wisconsin. In South Dakota, we stayed in the Black Hills and visited the Washington Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Wind Cave. Then we spent the night in the Badlands and explored Badlands National Park before heading to Sioux Falls for a couple of days. We’re currently chilling by a lake in Wisconsin, where we spent a fun weekend with some friends, and Wednesday we head towards Chicago so I can get ready for the Con. I made a couple of reels on my Instagram account which barely capture the incredible landscapes and monuments. It’s hard to see the scope and magnificence through the camera lense, but at least I’ll have a record of all the amazing things we’ve seen!
As I enter the final stretch of grad school (classes start back up in a couple of weeks), I’ve been thinking a lot about the upcoming year and beyond. I’ve written a ton of content over the last eighteen months, with several completed manuscripts to show for it, but I haven’t spent any time getting those stories into the world. Starting in January, when my grad school thesis draft is finished, I’m going to turn my attention to publishing and promoting my work again. For those of you who follow my alter-ego, Maggie Clare, I’ll have three completed romance novels ready to go by the winter, and those of you who like my speculative work, my thesis is a fantasy novel featuring a feathered dragon. Lot’s happening over the next year on the creative front, so stay tuned!
We are down to three states left in the lower forty-eight. These include North Dakota, Minnesota, and Idaho, which we have plans to visit by the end of August. Before we hit the three -year mark, we’ll have filled out our map!