It's coming up on two years since my family began the ... journey of leaving behind everything. It's crazy looking back now. Seriously crazy!
Which is what brings me to the point of this post. It's maybe a bit long winded, pointless, but really, I just feel like I need to write something right now, heck I may not even post this. It might be a personal little digital journal or whatever.
In two years I've gone from only being able to eat 15 ingredients in the first quarter of 2021 after a long year of slowly getting worse and worse, to now in the first month of 2023 I applied for a part time temporary job. I started the job, but something in the environment triggered me and it didn't work out. Which was a surprise as I have had few triggered flare ups except before a storm or ten. It was one of the worst attacks that I've had in the last six months, however it was better than a very good day would have been even a year ago.
It's just amazing, really! God's brought us so far... From losing our house, clothes, the kids toys, everything, including my notebooks since I started writing, I lost some stories, we all lost our books which were about 1,000 in all, and everything. We had no idea what we were doing. At all. Without some church friends, my uncle and his family, and my mom's family, and friends we wouldn't be where we are now.
We have a new home with some land, furniture, new clothes, toys, and so many other things we've been blessed with.
I went from all of that and was struggling to even try to write... But now I've published or am publishing 2 anthologies. I am regularly writing. Doing formatting, graphic design, cover design, and more.
Now... I am working on my true passion project. Yeah, yeah, I have too many projects.I mean, I have my writing, my online store (The Bookery Boutique), and so much more.
But those were always things I wanted to do differently.
What I want if not to do my writing and run The Bookery Boutique?
See, plans change...
The Bookery Boutique was the whole reason I got my job.
This is gonna be a long winded rant from me, fair warning, lol.
The Bookery Boutique is my dream, fully.
But so is my publishing house CDXC Aurora Lux Libri Publishing along with my writing.
But I don't want to just publish. I want to do covers, I want to format, and I want to handle social media as a VA of sorts, I want to do blog tours, blitzes, cover reveals, and host events in real life and digitally for authors.
I want to own a bookstore.
I want to help new, young, and bright authors publish and learn how to indie publish for themselves. I want to have a small press where you can get the help you need to publish a story no matter the length, no matter your age, no matter what you can or cannot do to publish. Somewhere you can even maybe trade skills for other skills.
So why can't I have all of that?
I mean, I've been doing most of that randomly since I was 15.
I remember sitting on the floor, Mom's laptop in front of me, setting up my first blog after doing school. I had a notebook, pens, and another notebook for writing beside me. I was thinking about how I'm going to be horrible at this, but this is going to be so much fun!
I couldn't write, I didn't know anything about blogging.
All I knew was that I loved following Kellyn Roth and Rebekah Morris and that they inspired me to start writing and blogging.
I tried and failed NaNoWriMo that year, I had my neon green pen, my pink and purple pens, and possibly a red pen, I was armed with the craziest spy thriller with 13 siblings in a royal family from a fictional country. I failed then.
But like then... Why don't I try?! God's got this. I mean, He's provided this fair and I don't know if this is His plan, but I'm gonna give it my best shot and pray every step. We'll see where I end up.
So...
Meet the idea of Beyond the Bookery.
One website.
With my publishing house, the anthologies, The Bookery Boutique, graphic design, and the services I can provide.
One day I hope/dream/pray that I'll have a store built by me and my family on 80 or more acres with a huge house, kids running around, teens working/learning, a garden and a million animals, with five mini houses/sheds on the other side of the land. A bookstore, a café, sharing small business items, and a publishing house because one day I want to see what it takes to print books myself.
But that's not yet. For now?
I am working on building Beyond the Bookery with hopeful intentions to launch in April or May, working on the anthologies, my writing, and working towards my dreams while seeking to follow/know what God wants me to do.
So, yeah, it's been crazy and I'm not sure if I'm sad or not, but I know God's got this just like He has always had everything.
I hope to be able to share more about Beyond the Bookery soon!
Have a wonderful week,
Abigail
P.S. I will be keeping this website and the blog as my personal and author website and blog, just in case you were wondering.