Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that–five random musings or reflections from the previous month. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus. For photos of my books, kids, pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.
So here are this month’s five things, starting with the quote…
“The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.” - Mon Mothma, Andor, Season 2
It’s October already! Fall has always been my most productive writing season, and despite it feeling like summer here in SoCal, the rhythm seems to be holding. My goal is to finish the final novel in a romantic suspense series written by my alter ego, Maggie Clare. It’s definitely time to bring this series to an end, but it’s always bittersweet to leave behind a world I’ve built and the characters who inhabit it. Once this latest draft is done and dusted, I have several more unpublished manuscripts, most of which I finished while in school, and which include my thesis novel, to coax into the world. I’ll keep you updated on my progress!
My new favorite weekend writing habit is to bring my dog and my computer to the cafe down the street and sit for hours sipping on the bottomless mimosas they serve with brunch. There is a quote mistakenly attributed to Hemingway which says, “Write drunk, edit sober.” Regardless of its origin, I am definitely taking that advice seriously.
I live only about an hour from the Pacific ocean now, which is a rather intimidating ocean. I rarely feel like it’s safe to swim in it, unlike the Atlantic where I grew up, but I persist in my efforts. Saturday, I took a drive up to Carpinteria where my sister and her husband rent a beachside condo for a month at a time, twice per year. We spent a glorious day swimming, yes swimming, in the Pacific. Afterwards, we wandered into town and explored the Avocado Festival, which featured local crafts and food and booze, and lots and lots of music. So far, fall in SoCal has been pretty great.
A couple of weeks ago, a few friends and I got tickets to see Isabel Allende speak at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. I started reading her books when I was in my twenties, and made it through most of her extensive catalogue over the years. She is a force to be reckoned with–a brilliant, feisty woman with a wicked sense of humor whose body of work is stunning for both its historical relevance and its storytelling genius. Isabel Allende is eighty-four now, and I feel so honored to have simply been in her presence for a few special hours!