Busy weeks are stressful, but busy weeks also tend to be distracting, which leaves less room for existential angst. I’ll take it. And the best news is that Alberta remains (as it should be) Canadian. In an increasingly mad world, it’s nice (and such a relief!) to see sanity prevail now and then.

I wish I could tell you what I did this week but, honestly, I’ve already blocked most of it from my mind. Lately, stuff happens, and five minutes later, I’ve forgotten about it. I’d blame it on perimenopause but I think it’s just good old fashioned executive overload. To tackle the next thing, I gotta make mental room, so out goes the old task (that, hopefully, I actually completed). I’m pretty sure there were some parent-teacher conferences, doctor appointments, the usual chores, and at least half a dozen dropped balls of some sort.

I did read a couple of books, finally – yay! Admittedly, they were short books. But also quite substantial. One was The Courage to Write by Rollo May, and one was The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich; both recommended to me by my amazing therapist. [Who is actually a psychoanalyst, but I don’t like to call him that because it sounds pretentious when I hear myself say “my psychoanalyst”, lol! Anyhoo.] I am still digesting them, and all the food for thought they’ve given me, but expect to see them mentioned again in some future post(s).

I have been dealing with a lot of creative angst lately, and finally had a major breakthrough in my last therapy session. Yes, I talk about that sort of thing with my therapist. It’s all existential, when you dig down far enough, I assure you. It couldn’t have come at a better time because I was teetering on the verge of abandoning my current WIP, a new urban fantasy series in which I’ve poured massive amounts of energy, these last 5 months or so. Now, I feel like I have a better handle on both the creative process as a whole, and this specific work in particular.

I also got feedback from one of my trusted beta readers on the first 9 chapters of book #1, which was mostly encouraging. I have some ideas for fixing/improving some of the issues they raised, but most importantly, I feel reassured that I have a fun story worth the continued investment.

It might sound like I’m putting an awful lot of value/faith in the opinion of one person, and that’s true, up to a point. Beta readers are a part of the writing process that isn’t perhaps well understood by many who aren’t (seasoned) writers. Plus, in this case, my beta reader is also, in part, a writing critique partner (being a writer themselves). It’s someone I’ve known for a long time, whose judgment (creative and intellectual) I value a lot. Not more than my own, ultimately, but enough to carefully consider as part of my decision-making. I think every writer who is serious about their craft needs someone like that in their corner.

On the other hand, too many opinions (especially from random people) can be more detrimental than helpful. When I hear of people having 4, 5, 8 or more beta readers, I wince. More power to them if they find it helpful, but I would probably end up tearing my hair out and never finishing any piece of writing.

I have been informed that the snow forecasted for this weekend is now on a two-week delay, so I have no excuse not to tackle the garden this weekend – alas. Is there anything less fun than winterizing? At least the recent windstorms have cleared a good chunk of the dead leaves. Thanks, Mother Nature!

Have a great weekend!

I’ve been talking about my new (to me) basement office for so long, it’s not really new anymore. I think it’s time to show where I spend most of my days. I was hoping to do it at the same time as my big basement reno reveal, but I’ve been hoping that for 3+ years and here we are. The basement is still 90% finished and probably will be for the rest of eternity (or at least until my husband retires and finally gets around to painting all the trim).

Finishes – and a toilet- and sink-less bathroom – aside, we’ve been enjoying the space for years. It has the only TV in our house, so it’s where we watch sports and movies. It’s also where my daughter and I do a lot of our crafting. I’ve got my second main library down here too, which houses my romance, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction collection, along with a small reference section. It’s a truly multi-functional space. And I haven’t even mentioned my second closet, the second pantry, and the main storage “cave”. For a relatively small area, it’s a marvel of utility. Once the bathroom is fully fitted, we’ll really be in business! I could just move down here and never leave, lol!

The office area was originally my husband’s pet project. After the pandemic, he continued to work fully remote for a few years, then part-time, so he created himself a very swanky office set-up. Unfortunately, earlier this year, he had to return to the office full-time – much to his chagrin. His loss was my gain, however. Why let a perfect good space go to waste, amirite?

As you can see, there is room here for two people to work side by side, but we have never done that. Our respective jobs both involve highly confidential matters, so we need privacy for calls and so on. The iMac on the right is my husband’s college-era machine, still kicking 20+ years later. It’s actually what we (mostly he) use to format and lay out my books. It runs an ancient version of InDesign from my husband’s years in architecture that somehow, magically, still works. And if you’ve ever bought one of my paperbacks, you’ll know what a great job it does, too.

This is my current set-up. There are usually more water bottles and coffee glasses around, but I tidied up for you 😉 My old office had a very small desk surface area, so it’s been amazing to have such a large one to spread out on. As you can see, I’ve done a little bit of decorating. I do like a tidy work space, though, so I try not to go overboard with clutter.

The large art installation above the desk is a custom piece that a friend made for us – I want to say around the time that we got married, but it’s been almost 17 years, so I might be misremembering the timelines. Anyway, it’s painted on a solid wood panel in mixed media (paint, stencil, collage) and meant to represent our journey, from Soviet Block immigrants to our new life together in Edmonton. It’s one of my favorite art pieces we have.

Speaking of favorite things, this keyboard. Guys, I’m obsessed. I had been using a different mechanical keyboard for a few years, which was nice as well, but I decided to give this one a try after being influenced by videos on social media. LOL, I know! But, listen: I needed a second keyboard because I recently thrifted an iMac as a personal computer and I couldn’t get used to its original keyboard anymore. With my nails, it’s much easier to work with a keyboard that doesn’t have a super low profile.

Anyway, I got this Yunzii cat-themed keyboard with the creamiest, most thocky sound, and it has brought so much joy into my day-to-day.

Sorry, this did not turn out to be a very good photo, but my other must-have is my Tecknet mouse. I love how lightweight and smooth it is, and it’s pretty inexpensive and durable. Plus, it comes in fun colours!

So, that’s my office! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

This week, I crossed the finish line on my biggest project of 2026, publishing the last of the four (4!) books I had planned to bring out this year. It was a bittersweet moment, but I’ll talk about that, and the reasons why, in another post. For now, I am trying to focus on acknowledging the accomplishment (and the work that went into it).

It’s something I’m not good at, I’ve realized. When it comes to myself, I am that nightmare boss who expects 110% effort 120% of the time, constantly piles on more work, and is never satisfied with the results. I would never dream of treating anyone else the way I do my own self, and the truth is that it has nothing to do with perfectionism. Or, rather, it’s a symptom of other issues masquerading as perfectionism. Don’t worry, I have a good therapist.

Anyway: yay to me for achieving a big milestone!

In a strange twist, I had two blogging friends reach out to me this week, years after falling out of touch. It was nice to catch up, and it made me feel nostalgic. Caught up in the day to day, it’s easy to miss the years flying by. Change happens at a snail’s pace, but in time covers great distances. Meeting old acquaintances again feels a bit like encountering a ghost of yourself — realizing that the person they knew and the person you are today are different people, and the same.

I know there’s a difference because I struggle to imagine what, say, 2016 Adina would think of 2026 Adina. I suspect it would be revisionist history to say that I’m living her dream life. I don’t think my current life is what she imagined … which is not to say that she would disapprove of it or be disappointed with how things turned out. I am her, after all, and I am not disappointed — far from it.

One thing I know for sure: she would be hella impressed with my four published books. 2016 Adina tried her hand at writing at a book, and it did not go well. It went so not-well that she/I quit writing altogether for almost a decade. But the work she did back then sowed seeds that are bearing fruit today. Literally (figuratively): the protagonists of the urban fantasy series I’m currently writing are (very) loosely based on characters I wrote back in 2015/2016. But better 😉

Reading is another story. I haven’t been able to get back into reading fiction, no matter how many times I’ve tried, so I’ve stopped forcing myself to do it. Instead, I’m reading non-fiction — mostly about football — and slowly rediscovering the fun of it. I think the problem with fiction, at the moment, is that I can’t read it without immediately thinking about my own writing. I’m analyzing the text from a technical standpoint (either to glean tips for improving my own writing or thinking about how I would write a particular paragraph) and it’s taking me out of the story completely.

I know I’ll come back to fiction, eventually, but it may have to wait until I’m done with this chapter of my own life. If I stay on track with the current plan, that should be sometime in 2028. But more on that in a future post. Look at me, threatening you (again) with a good boring time.

Have a great weekend!