Hi. Yes, it’s been 2 years since my last post. My last one was a small tribute to our dog. We didn’t know it at the time, but his loss was the first in a wave of many. Since then, we’ve experienced family deaths and illnesses, spent some stress-heavy time in crisis mode, and continue to manage aging family.
Factoring in family demands, changes spurred by the pandemic, and personal values, my writing business changed. If we’re connected in other circles, you noticed that about a year ago I stepped down from Triangle Writers and Asheville Writers, groups with more than 1,600 members collectively that I ran for 14 years. It was a hard decision that I spent A LOT of time thinking about. I also stopped posting regularly here and closed my Twitter account.
Releasing those groups and platforms helped me to move in new directions. I spent time earlier this year on a writing retreat, which helped to carve time for identifying the themes and values in my work and life. I acknowledged how much I really, really, really don’t like spending my time on the book publishing process of querying and contest submissions. After a long break, I continue to slowly submit my short story collection ROSE WINDOW, and my growing poetry manuscript ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. However, submissions are low priority. What energizes me about publishing is the strategic part and the generative part. I’m prioritizing my creative writing time to get back to connecting with folks (more on that at the end of this post) and to focus on writing another book.
My speaking engagements started to reflect my personal values over the years. Beyond writing, I speak about beekeeping-related topics, agribusiness marketing, permaculture in pollinator habitats, and more. My favorite talks are helping to educate beekeepers on how to get published. The intersections of writing and agriculture are the best!
My bees and the garden nourish me in many ways. Last year I added a second apiary in Western North Carolina. (If you’d like updates on the 2023 honey harvest, subscribe to my honey newsletter.) We also welcomed a new family member who will help with our growing homestead needs and, although I don’t think he realizes it at all, has helped inspire me to write more again.
Indy is named after Indiana Jones. If you’re an Indy fan, you know that he named himself after the dog. 😉 Indy is an Australian shepherd who will eventually help us with getting the chickens in the coop, moving gardening and beekeeping equipment by carting, and helping to herd more livestock we plan to add.
I’ve participated with a few poetry science cafes in downtown Raleigh this year at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. One session centered on deep sea creatures and the other on why we should go back to the moon. You can watch the full talk of the moon session at the link, or skip to the final 10 minutes or so for the poetry part.
Back in the saddle
If you’re a subscriber, you’ve been a part of this journey for YEARS and I appreciate you. Since my writing business has evolved and my life is more than writing, I’m moving my primary blogging to a new platform. I’ve evolved the name to TARA LYNNE TODAY to reflect more about everything that’s going on as the seasons of life keep coming. If you’d like a peek into my world of beekeeping, permaculture, and nutrient-dense food, visit TARA LYNNE TODAY and subscribe. You’ll receive new posts as they happen. Write Naked helps to break down the misconceptions around freelancing, and my intent is that TARA LYNNE TODAY will help to break down the misconceptions around permaculture. Write Naked remains here and may start to reveal itself more in another season, but for now it’s hanging out in overalls and a beekeeper veil.
If you’re haven’t subscribed to Write Naked yet, you can “sign up” on the top right of this page. To subscribe on my new platform, visit TARA LYNNE TODAY. I’ll see you there today, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.
Write Naked 