If someone had told me a year ago that the next few months would feel like a slow-motion rocket launch, I would’ve laughed.
I mean — a rocket? Me?
I’m more of a “snail with an espresso shot” kind of woman. Although I don’t drink coffee. I like the metaphor.

And yet… here I am, looking back at the last seven weeks and thinking:

What just happened?

 

September 23, 2025 — I Fulfilled a 40-Year Dream

I went to South Africa.
Not “watched a documentary” went.
Not “added photos to a vision board” went.

I was there.
Walking the red earth.
Hearing lions in the distance.
Watching elephants appear from the trees like living memories.

Forty years of longing, saving, hoping—and suddenly, I was living it.

 

October 2025 — A Studio of My Own

As soon as I got home, another milestone clicked into place:
I finally have a functioning art and fashion studio.

Paint. Fabric. Collage. Sewing.
A creative storm center with my name on it.

It took longer than I expected, but it came together exactly when I needed it.

 

Late October — Back on PST… But Not Really

My body returned to Pacific Standard Time.
My mind?
Still firmly on “Write until 2am because you’re on Novel Time now” mode.

Honestly?
I’m not even mad.
There’s magic in those late-night hours.

 

November 11, 2025 — South Africa Round Two Is Booked

Confirmation arrived for my June 2026 return trip.
I opened that email and immediately felt the universe wink.

Some journeys aren’t done with you after one visit.

 

November 14, 2025 — A Ten-Year Story Finally Reaches “The End”

A decade ago, a single idea walked into my mind.
This week, I wrote the final sentence.

Ten years of notes, sketches, rewrites, tears, doubt, transformation—and then suddenly, the story was whole.

I cannot describe the feeling except:
I did it.

 

November 15, 2025 — Beta Readers & Book Cover Conversations Begin

Three beta readers now have their copies.
My stomach is doing Olympic-level gymnastics, but in a good way.

AND…
I’ve begun talking with an incredible artist about designing the book cover.

It’s happening.
It’s all happening.

 

November 15, 2025 — A Mock-Up by the End of the Year?!

This realization hit me like a lightning bolt: I might have a physical mock-up of my book in my hands before 2025 ends.

A dream I once whispered is now stepping into form.

So… How Does It Get Better Than This?

I honestly don’t know.

But I do know this: I’m excited to find out.

One step, one leap, one page, one brushstroke at a time, this creative life is unfolding in ways I never imagined possible.

And to everyone walking alongside me on this journey, Thank you.

Hold tight.
The best chapters are just beginning.

ps. The picture is of my writing a scene where the main protagonist faces her mortality. Hit me in the feels.