You haven’t heard from me for awhile but that’s about to end. Today is a new day, and with it comes a complete makeover of my website and newly invigorated blog.

Over the two years as a full-time author, I’ve learned differences between the legal profession and life as a novelist that seem obvious, yet somehow I hadn’t grasped the ramifications.

• Missing a deadline as a lawyer was unforgivable;; now it’s not. Douglas Adams wrote, “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” I get that now. Missing deadlines still stresses me, but the Supreme Court isn’t going to forbid me from ever writing again. Unlike in law, it’s better to get it right than simply to get it done. So far, I’ve been blessed by readers who understand that it takes a long time for me to interweave the stories in my novels and have been patient. I hope I will never disappoint them – even if that means the books don’t come out as fast as they’d like.

• Few come looking for me, but the people out there actually care. You go see an attorney because you have to, but you don’t want to be there. Reaching new readers, on the other hand, doesn’t happen automatically. It requires word of mouth and that, in turn, requires viral vectors – those rare and unknown individuals who influence others with their shared opinions. But unlike marketing as a lawyer, those viral vectors aren’t going to find me if I am sitting in my office with my nose buried in a laptop. I need to get out more. I’ve started doing that this past month and am overwhelmed by the welcoming community of readers and writers – it’s almost as much fun as writing the novels in the first place!

And so, that leads me back to the makeover of my blog. Starting next week, there will be a new post every Wednesday. It may be a feature from some guest blogger, or an interview of another author or artist I’ve met. I’ll be doing a lot more traveling to events and conventions across the country, so you’ll probably see reports on the fun places I’ve been and the interesting people I’ve met.  I may post some really awesome something-or-other I’ve come across.

I’ll mix it up and keep it fresh. And I hope you’ll follow along.