The dust has settled

Sort of.

The house is sold, the boxes are (mostly) unpacked, and we're officially relocated to Chicago. Ken and I are getting accustomed to living in the city. It's much different than being suburbanites. We don't have a yard, we barely drive, and our place is half the size of our old house. We don't cook as much because we have dozens of restaurants within walking distance. I've almost kicked my Massive Diet Coke habit because I never want to lug a 12-pack home from the store. I've found a local knitting group that meets at a pub once a month, a group of writers that meet once a week, and I'm searching for fellow geeks to hang out with. I'm hoping to pick up the cycling habit before it gets too cold to ride a bike. It's a different sort of pace, and I like it a lot. If you had told me five years ago I'd be living in the city of Chicago, I wouldn't have believed you. Just goes to show you how rewarding life can be when you open your mind to new experiences.

Now that life is settling down somewhat, I'm getting back into the writing groove. I'm working on a novella, shopping around my latest YA novel and working on its sequel, rewriting a short story, and rewriting a short story I wrote early in my career. I have a few pieces coming out later this year (a story in COINS OF CHAOS and an essay in CHICKS DIG GAMING). As always, my writing career isn't moving along as fast as I would like (impatient Kelly is impatient), but it certainly isn't stagnant.