Where do I begin?
I’ve been busy. I know we’re all busy and it’s really no excuse for neglecting to keep up my blog posts. But I’m going to use it anyway.
The past year for me has been incredibly rich in productivity and learning experiences. I spent hours a day in Starbucks writing and finally finished the first draft of my memoir Southern Life, Indian Wife with the intention of publishing it through a small publisher. That didn’t work out, though I’m deeply grateful for the support I received along the way in completing the book. So, now I’m doing what I did with my first book and pitching to agents and investigating the self-publishing route. I’ll keep you posted about what happens along the way.
Through the cathartic process of writing my guts down for the world to read, the shape of my mission in writing took shape. When I speak about my novel at events, I always start with “I wrote The Unexpected Daughter because it was cheaper than therapy.” Fiction is my way of working out my issues and controlling the outcome. To my relief, people read the novel and thanked me for allowing them to walk in the shoes of others whom they didn’t understand.
It worked. I don’t feel so crazy anymore.
The memoir came to life after perhaps the most life-changing events in my life –my husband of 24 years and I divorced in 2015, then remarried two years later. This time, I wrote my truth, not to fix or exploit my dysfunctional life, but to share the message that the space between us can be bridged. My story is about culture clashes, racism, passion, marriage, raising kids, and finding my voice through it all.
Here’s my mission: to use my voice to help people look at each other dead on. To cross the space between us and see ourselves in the reflection of one another’s eyes.
An amazing new opportunity to share my voice stepped in my path that I’m so stoked to share. I’m currently in the process of producing a podcast called Southern Life Indian Wife. I am talking with some amazing folks from different walks of life about love, life, culture, struggles, and successes. My guests are authors, TV and radio personalities, people of color, immigrants, and white natives of the South, young and old. We’re talking truths, grit, and a little bit of smack. Launch date is planned for early summer so stay tuned for more details.
For updates on the book and podcast, pictures of my adorable dog and terrible selfies of me, and my ruminations on life subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram, or Twitter, or Facebook.
Pick your poison and I’ll be there.