Emerging from Lower Antelope Canyon
Welcome to spring!
A warm welcome to all the new signups – I’m so happy all of you are here, old and new!
I hope you’re doing well as new life begins to blossom all around us. I just spent nearly a month on the road, visiting friends and family on the East Coast, as well as a few days with longtime friends in amazing Page, Arizona, touring slot canyons and visiting hoodoos.
Quick observations from the road:
- It’s a very long drive from New Mexico to New York. I probably should have taken a couple more days to get to my destination (as explained next).
- Driver’s knee is a thing! If you’re planning on a long road trip, stop every two to three hours. Really! I ended up with an excruciatingly sore knee that’s still healing – so stop and jog around the rest stop/gas station to keep your muscles from getting stiff.
- Steering wheel wrist also exists. Try to keep all 5 fingers on the same part of the steering wheel, meaning, don’t put your thumb beneath the wheel and your other fingers on the other side. After a few hours, you will have an extremely sore thumb or hand.
- There’s an inordinate amount of roadkill in Kentucky.
- Anywhere you go, there are things to see and experience. If you drive a long distance, take in what’s around you. I stopped to see 100 million year old dinosaur tracks in northeastern New Mexico on my way out and got to experience a rural Kansas traffic jam. A policeman halted traffic so cows (and a few cowboys) could cross the road to a new pasture…. It was funny – and not something I’d ever experienced before. Though a herd of dairy cattle did nearly trample me in a village in Cornwall years ago…
Lower Antelope Canyon beauty
- On my trip back, I stopped at a one-room jail in Texas as well as the American Heartland Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Don’t just drive straight through – see how other people live. (The museum is worth visiting for something different!)
- People are nice everywhere. I chatted with everyone I came across––in gas stations, hotels, restaurants and had some great conversations. Just because someone might look or sound different than you, odds are they love to talk and will share some insights on where they live.
- Northern Arizona and southern Utah are mind-blowingly beautiful. If you’ve never been, put them on your bucket list! Antelope Canyon and Canyon X are out of this world! I also highly recommend Bryce, Canyon de Chelly, Zion, Monument Valley, Death Valley, Sedona – there are so many places to visit in this part of the country.
Getting out of your routine is extremely important for your inner health. So hop on a train or get in a car and explore something new!
Horseshoe Bend
Fallen Spirits
I know I said this before, but I was so full of energy when I got back from my extended road trip that I went through Fallen Spirits (book 2) again, and I can definitively say that it’s done – except for some of the front matter and setting it up for publication.
Now I just have to learn the Atticus program so I can format the book. Cover design should happen in June.
I still don’t have a release date, but I’m thinking sometime between August and November of this year. I’ll keep you posted. It’ll depend on how much progress I make on book 3 (tentatively called The Journey Home). I’m 60,000 words into it, so things are looking good!
Rock Gods & Messy Monsters
Happy and humbled to share that Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a finalist in the Da Vinci Eye Award for both cover and story.
In addition, the novel is a finalist in the First Horizon Awards for debut authors. It’s also up for another award that I can’t share until May, so will update you on that next month.
Toadstool Hoodoos Trail, Grand Staircase Escalante, Utah
Other Writing
Discernment in Friendships – What do you do when a friend isn’t who you thought she was?
I’m more focused on getting Fallen Spirits onto bookshelves (even if just virtual ones) and getting The Journey Home completed, so my article writing might be a bit scarce for a while still.
Housekeeping
In an effort to be more organized, I’ve set up an author page at dianehatz.com. That site will cover all my writing. It’s not done yet, but I’m slowly working on it.
I also have my Whole Healthy Group site which covers my consulting and food-related work, and also includes mentions of my writing and books. Don’t worry; I’m as confused as you…
The Diane Digs blog is still on the Whole Healthy Group site, but should probably be in my author site. Technology has gotten so confusing!…. I’m trying to figure that out now.
And I’m still grappling with Medium and Substack and which might be more important – and am also considering a Patreon and Kickstarter campaign. I know! Trying to drive myself insane.
100 million-year-old dinosaur tracks at Antelope Canyon, Arizona
And, in the end….
That’s it for this month. The bulk of my travel is done for this year (at least, I think it is), except for a trip to Chicago at the end of the month. That’ll give me more time to finish The Journey Home and get the entire Mind Monsters book series sorted out and set up for release.
I’m not sure if there will be more books that come out of the series, so stay tuned for that – and much more.
Thanks!
With sunshine and gratitude,
Diane
Adopt Don’t Shop! Puppy cuteness from Espanola Humane
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