Welcome to my blog titled “Five Things” where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. In addition, at the end of the blog, I’ll keep a running itinerary of our travel plans. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

We’re here in Fredericksburg, Texas for the eclipse, and it’s pretty cloudy. There are still a few hours before the moon starts inching its way across the sun, so I’m hopeful for better visibility. Fingers crossed!
At the end of the week, we’ll be heading out of Texas to finish our trek northeast on our way to New England. I’m excited to explore parts of the country we didn’t get to the last time we crossed the continent. Next week, the Ozarks!
I can’t believe the first quarter of the year is behind us already. At the start of each new quarter, I review my intentions and goals for the year, evaluate, and refine the specifics for the next few months. Much of my professional focus for the year so far has been on building my alter-ego Maggie Clare’s brand and finishing the final three books of a seven book romantic suspense series I started working on during COVID. I still need to be pretty aggressive with my writing schedule, but I’m pleased with my progress so far. Tomorrow, subscriber’s to Maggie’s newsletter will get a sneak peek at the opening chapter for one of those books. If the steamy stuff is your jam, you can follow me at msmaggieclare.com. My blog ‘Dear Maggie’ runs on alternate Mondays and is a fun, playful Q&A where I answer everything from why Maggie Clare is my pen name, to my favorite book boyfriends, to how I feel about bad reviews. Have a look!
My first summer session of grad school is just around the corner! I have a new student virtual orientation next week, and pretty soon I’ll be booking my flight to Colorado for the residency. It’s starting to feel real!
Dallas Fan Expo is also just around the corner. I’ll be there from June 7-9 with a few of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy author pals signing books and otherwise making mischief. Stay tuned for more intel on our panel schedule and booth location. If you are in the Dallas area, please stop by and say hello!

It’s April already. I feel like I just wrote a post about my goals and projects for the new year, and that new year has just entered its second quarter! Spring is in the air here on the east coast. With it, for me at least, comes a feeling of renewal and a rush of energy. As we march toward the vernal equinox, the days are getting longer, the weather sunnier, and my disposition happier for sure.

I’ve written about my personal rhythms before many times, because I’ve learned that working with those rhythms helps with my professional productivity and my personal well-being. In the springtime, I try to capitalize on my increased energy and lighter mood. To that end, here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in the second quarter of 2022…

Dreamwalker. Good grief, it seems like I’ve been working on this manuscript forever. In actuality, editing often takes several rounds, and Dreamwalker is no different. This time, though, I’m working with an agent who sees the market potential for the book and wants to help me get it just right before we send it out on submission. We’re talking next week and hopefully we’ll be close.
Moving Target. I’m finally far enough along in the next book in the TSI romantic suspense series, written by my alter-ego Maggie Clare, to create a publications schedule. Once the manuscript is finished, it takes a lot of time and work to produce, but the editor is lined up, I’m chatting with my amazing cover artist this week, and I’m nearly ready to set it up for pre-order. Expect this book to release on June 14th, just in time for a hot summer read!
Book Club Babble. A few friends and I own this little gem of a website. We met years ago at a writing conference, and together launched this ‘read, write, review’ platform for book lovers. We’ve interviewed some amazing authors, read some great books, and created a ton of good content. The site is big enough now that we can really monetize our work. This quarter, I want to do my part to set that up.
Kindle Vella. Amazon launched a serialized reading app last year called Vella. In between writing projects, I started posting a story there. It’s darker and edgier than my other Maggie romance stuff, but it’s been really fun to write. I got about half-way through though and had to turn my attention to the above mentioned stories. I plan to finish it up this quarter and see if this is a platform that works for some of my writing.

That’s a wrap-up of my spring to-do list. Personally, there are some big things happening too. First off, my oldest son is getting married this month! Yes, married! It will be a small courtroom ceremony, and they’ll celebrate with the extended family and friends once my son’s tour with the Navy is over, but still, we’re gaining a daughter-in-law, and the two of them will be officially starting their married life! Ahhhhh! So exciting. I’ll be heading to the west coast this month to witness the nuptials, and to spend time with my sister. We are overdue for some girl time and I can’t wait.

Our youngest child will also be graduating from high school this June, marking a huge milestone for us as parents. Our last kid is officially an adult! We certainly aren’t old enough for this, are we?

Anyway, spring promises to be full for me, both professionally and personally, and I’m looking forward to it. I expect that these next few months will rush by in a flurry of activity, so I’m really trying to slow my roll and appreciate each moment. Easier said than done, I know, but I’ll do my best. Wishing you all a happy spring!

“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” - Mark Twain
“Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.” - Charles Dickens

Five Things - April 8, 2024

Monday Musings 4-4-22