Wow it’s been so long since my last blog! Time just seems to be getting away from me this year! I feel like I blinked and missed 6 months!
It’s been a busy few months in Chez Richardson – you all know at my last blog I was in the middle of an RA flare which in honesty hasn’t abated a whole lot. I’ve never felt so physically and mentally exhausted as I do currently with the RA fatigue – but I’m trying to see the silver lining and to quote a little beautiful south, ‘carry on regardless’. There are days this is difficult – I had to cancel a signing recently due to this but will be rescheduling again for not too far in the future. For those who don’t really know what fatigue is, a fellow RA warrior described it as ‘wading through pea soup in shorts and flip flops’ which is right but add into the mix that the pea soup is extra thick and the flip flops are about 3 sizes too big. It’s an extremely hard thing to explain in actual words. Massive kudos to all the other auto-immune sufferers who have this debilitating part of illness. I salute you all. You’re all diamonds.
Onto the writing – Under The Woods, my last novel published which came out in June is steady away – seems to be getting decent reviews so I’m hoping this means you all like it! It was much darker than my previous novels and I thoroughly enjoyed getting into this bad guy’s head. He’s a bit of a sicko all told – if you haven’t read it why not give it a look up?
Have to say my friends and family have been my absolute rocks of late. I would not be who I am without their support and guidance – you know who you are. But you make me a better me. And given how nuts I am that’s no mean feat! So thank you.
One of my friends – Sarah Hardy – posted this on her timeline the other day…
This absolutely resonated with me. Not just because I’ve been feeling rather low lately (I’ve suffered with depression for going on 20 years – when you add RA into the mix and the fact my meds aren’t working properly, you can understand how this would be an issue right now) and even when I’m feeling low, I still try and do things for others because that’s part of who I am. This made me think of all the things people do for me – things I quite possibly take for granted at times and don’t say thank you for. So thank you – all of you who have made any impact on me. Yesterday today or tomorrow.
You all do or say little things that resonate with me every day. You are a wonderful person and I’m very privileged to know you, no matter what capacity.
Despite feeling quite poorly for some time there has been some good parts. I know I wasn’t very ‘present’ at harrogate this year – little did I know that ‘off’ feeling all weekend was the start of viral gastroenteritis. But when I was there I loved saying hi to all you lovely folk. It’s always such a pleasure meeting and chatting to readers and other authors alike. I’m using my depression to get some therapeutic writing done – writing has always been a release for me – ever since I was young I’ve found expression through writing one of the best ways to relieve the stress I’m feeling, or help pull me out of the depths. I’m not saying what I’ve been writing is any good or will ever see the light of day, but it’s enough to know that I can use it as therapy. And that it helps. Truly.
I’ve probably waffled on long enough now – so I’ll head off with the promise that the next blog will not be so far away, and will hopefully be filled with good news and cheer. Take care you lovely lot, of yourselves and your friends/families. Keep your chin up, and as always, keep smiling. ❤️