Big News
January, fire, joy and sorrow
Dream Big is about my writing journey. Approximately every two weeks, I post about: finding writing in my 40s, embracing a creative life, writing my first novel, and the everyday moments that inspire me as I juggle family life and my dreams of becoming a published author.
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Happy 2025, readers, and welcome to all of you who have newly subscribed. Thank you! I’m delighted you’re here.
I’d like to express my gratitude to
for the interview opportunity in December. If you didn’t catch it, you can read it here on Matthew’s publication, Beyond the Bookshelf. He writes about books and the impact of reading on our lives; go check it out if you’re not already subscribed. He has built an impressive and thriving community of readers, and is a lovely person.I don’t know about you, but December feels like a lifetime ago. A hazy memory of twinkling lights, my fingers dusted with, if not flour, the fine glitter that lines sparkling ribbon tied in bows, carols warbling softly in the background on a loop. There are cheese boards and cookies and a constant hum of anticipation. Once the boys were home on break, I felt like we boarded a holiday carousel, the horses gliding up and down, round and round.
Only since Monday have the festivities, house guests, and general thrum of the holiday season gone quiet in our house. School and work resumed and life felt normal… for about a day, until we received a red flag warning due to a windstorm and news of fires down south. We live north of Los Angeles; we are safe, yet close enough to feel the ripples of this catastrophe. Along with nearly perfect year-round weather, Californians share a grave understanding that it could be any of us at any time.
If I’ve learned anything from this life, it’s that joy and sorrow live side-by-side. So I write with a heart that aches for what is happening less than 100 miles south, and simultaneously bursts with joy and excitement to share some personal news.
On the last day of school before my youngest burst through the door marking the beginning of winter break, 14 months after I began, I wrote the 108, 900th word on my manuscript and exhaled.
I finished my first draft, friends.
The end of my story had been in sight for a while, actually—more like a destination visible from a summit with many hills to climb in between. And suddenly, while the distance remained, I could no longer bear the pace. It was taking too long. I was impatient with the story, impatient with myself. I needed to finish the thing.
In the process, household tasks that I tend to regularly fell by the wayside, and I went a bit quiet here on Substack. I think, to some extent, this might be the nature of a creative life—mine, anyway. I aspire to some form of “balance” most of the time, but haven’t yet cracked the code. In any case, I know that creativity must be nurtured, honored, and treated with a healthy dose of respect.
I was tired after that final push, but even as I took a writing break over the holidays, I felt a new spark of motivation. So much work awaits to make this manuscript its best self, yet finishing the first draft feels like confirmation that yes, I can actually write enough words to fill a book. I always believed this, but a tangible manuscript feels like a solid milestone. Now, to make it readable!
I don’t yet know what 2025 holds for me or my manuscript; no doubt, life will throw some curveballs. I hope that’s all. But I’ve come to appreciate the quiet, the stillness, the clean slate of a brand new year; the timing feels perfect for embarking on a new phase of this journey. Editing an entire novel sounds daunting, to say the least, but Ellen Johnson Sirleaf put it best: “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”
Also, I wanted to share a recent post by one of my favorite Substackers and authors,
, in which she includes a list (with links!) of ways to help victims of the L.A. fires.Thank you for reading! I’m always so glad you’re here.
That is a huge milestone! Congratulations, my friend. I am glad you guys are okay, but we are definitely thinking about all those impacted by the fires.
This is SO exciting! Congratulations!