Hallowreads!

Here I am at a cute little AirBnB in Maryland.

Tomorrow starts the event and I cannot wait.

Three of us rented this little house - 3 bedrooms 1-1/2 bath, full kitchen, dining room, living room, and a cute little patio. Currently, all three of us are sitting around the dining room table getting our words done. (I'm already done for the night. My brain is a bit broken. I'll tell you about that in a few)

I managed to leave the day job far earlier than I originally expected. Ran to the store for some essentials and then hit the road. Only got into a little bit of traffic and made it here shortly after I received the code to unlock the front door. Simon arrived less than five minutes after me, and L was already here.

The weirdness was that the mother of the owner was here when we got here and spent far too long talking to us about really nothing. Don't get me wrong, she was super nice and super excited to meet authors, but it delayed us in getting our stuff unloaded and getting settled in. We finally were able to do that, and then sat around the table drinking tea and catching up.

Then we were off to dinner at the Mexican place in the little town where the event is held. Met up with other authors and had a blast. My food pretty much sucked, which is disappointing because I was so excited to go there again. Whatever though. It was still a great time. We got back to our little "home", changed into our jammies, and then talked and wrote. Well, we're still doing that.

Being in a house is much nicer than a hotel. We each have our own room and there's plenty of space to spread out downstairs. Sharing a bathroom is no big deal, and let's face it, we'd be doing the same in a hotel. Anyway.

The event starts tomorrow. We'll be there helping out and participating. Then tomorrow night is dinner and a bonfire. Dinner is at a most awesome place. Though I will choose wisely because I can't abide by two crappy dinners in a row. Saturday is the signing and more fun stuff. Then a haunted house. Then we'll come back, order pizza, and write and talk some more.

I am so happy to be here. This weekend is the kick off to new things - focus on my writing career, and focus on what I need to do.

And here's why... I've talked a lot about how my day job is brain draining and super stressful... A lot. I also love what I do - I love my customers, the industry, my sales reps, and the people I work with. What I don't love is that I feel like I have to give 500% of myself every day, which leaves nothing for anything else, especially writing. It's been that way for a really, really long time.

So... This job came up. That Man and I discussed. I didn't know what to do. I checked the requirements and didn't think I qualified for the position, but then was specifically asked to submit my resume. I interviewed. And then the job was offered.

And I accepted.

It's really a lateral move, but the stress will be about 490% less. That's what I'm going for. It was a really really hard decision to leave my current job, but in my heart and gut, I know it's the right decision. I was asked if there could be any negotiation at the current day job and I told them absolutely not. You could pay me more and then I would give 800% and have even less left of me. They accepted that well. Though I think I will be asked again before it's all said and done.

I'll talk more about this when it gets closer to my last day. I have a full week and then a few days. It's emotional, but so far pretty much everyone at the current day job has been so super supportive. Turns out, they'd love to see me succeed as a author and that's the main reason I'm making the change. Plus, I just need to have more to give at the end of the day - to my writing, to my family, to the things I previously enjoyed doing but don't have the energy for anymore.

And that is all for now!

Behave!