My Novel Freshman Experience—Part 1

I am a Novelist?  No, that sounds pretentious.  A Romance Novelist?  No, not really accurate since I sometimes kill people, too.  (Don't gasp...I'm talking cozy mysteries, though I've killed people in romances, too. Bwah ha ha.) Author? Still pretentious.

I am a Writer.

Yes.  That's probably an accurate description.  I've written a lot of books and those books have gone to more than twenty-five countries now.  I've written short stories, novellas and novels.  I've written articles and poems even.  Yes.  I'm a writer.

Add to that, I am a lifelong learner.  I know little bits about lots of things.  And most of those bits find their way into my books.  Let's see, I'm a closet science geek who celebrates Pi Day every year.  I am a basketweaver.  I've worked with breastfeeding moms and taught about it (remind me to tell you the story about a certain Monday when I was guest-speaking in a college freshman psych class about the psychological benefits of breastfeeding...uh, I'm pretty sure the football team was in the front row. SIGH.)  I'm a baker, a gardener and according to my kids, a hippie.  (Geesh, put in a rain barrel, compost pile, a dual flush toilet and an organic garden and you get labeled.)  I know how to fingerspell and a bit of ASL and braille.  I'd say I know French, but mainly I can ask if you have a friend in French class and ask for a cheese omelet, so I'm not sure that counts.  I am a sci fi/fantasy nerd.  Oh, and I loooooovvvve Broadway (just saw Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen...totally awesome)!!  Sometimes I'm a public speaker.  I'm always an advocate for my city (Erie, PA...it rocks!).  And last, but honestly at the center of all of that, I'm devoted to my family. My family has always been at the heart of everything I do. 

Thursday, April 13th that list is expanding...today, I'm a college freshman!! (I know...I buried the lead on this one!)  Well, I'm a college freshman on paper at least.  I don't start classes until fall.  And to be honest, I'm only taking one class.  

Why just one?  Because honestly, I don't have time for even one, but here's a basic truth I learned a long time ago...no one has enough time.  When you want something, sometimes you just have to stretch time to make it accommodate it.  Einstein said that time was relative.  (He said it much more technically however.)  I hang onto that thought when I'm trying to fit one more thing into an ever-jam-packed calendar.  Time stretches. So yes, I'm starting back to school after years away.  

I put my application in last month.  After some run-around with the transcript (my theory was the high school had transcripts that old in the sub-sub-subbasement) my paperwork was done and I was in.  I went up today and signed up for that first class.

What class you asked??

Drumroll please...

Ceramics.

I wanted pottery but there wasn't a class scheduled for fall.  I keep telling Himself I want a degree in pottery.  He says I can have an art degree, but probably not pottery.  SIGH. He's so logical.  LOL  Seriously, I have no idea what my eventual diploma will say, but I feel like a kid in the candy store.  So many classes to try.  So many new ideas to discover.  I'm so utterly jazzed!

I met with adult admissions today.  He was very nice as he talked about orientation this summer, web access, and my student ID. As we looked through the fall schedule, I realized that this is going to be such a fun adventure.

I've never stopped learning. You all remember my recent beer adventures?? (I'm moving my second batch of beer to the other carboy Sunday.) What I learn doesn't get graded. But to be honest, I'm not worried about grades in my new classes either.  If I learn something, I win no matter what grade a teacher gives me.

Maybe that is a huge advantage to coming back to the classroom later in life (not that I'm late in life...I'm decidedly middle in life, thank you very much).  I realize that how a professor weighs and measures my success in a class really doesn't matter. (To all my teaching friends, I apologize...I love and adore you and I hope that all my professors consider me a delight and success in their class!)  But what really matters is what I get out of a class. That's what has mattered in every class I've taken and every lecture and workshop I've attended over the  years.  It's what has mattered in every book I've read (and there have been a lot) or written (a lot of those, too).  Coming into college as an adult student gives me a unique perspective.  I have a career that I love.  I don't need a degree for that work to continue.  More than a career I love, I have a family I love and adore.  I'm coming at these classes just for me.  Just because I love to learn new things and skills.  So what I walk away with at the end of a class...that's how I'll weigh and measure my success.

And yes, I'm starting with ceramics.  I have this idea for something I want to make.  I've been spending time at the Erie Art Museum the last few months and this idea has been nagging at me.  So stay tuned.  I thought I'd keep a running section in my blog about My Novel Freshman Experience.  Get it..novel??  LOL 

Oh, man, I hope I can avoid that Freshman Fifteen!  LOL

Holly . . . who's not sure the University is fully prepared for this experience with me!
PS. Keep an eye out for some of my books (now that I'm a poor college student it's even more important LOL) and if you've read one recently, please take a moment to review it!

Just One Thing

Words of the Heart Series

Confessions of a Party Crasher

Carry Her Heart
These Three Words
Hold Her Heart

Everything But...series
(audiobooks next month!)

Same Time Next Summer
Not Precisely Pregnant
I Waxed My Legs for This?

And if you're looking for those people I killed, try:
Can't Find NoBODY
Maid in LA Mysteries

Something that shows short stories don't lack emotion...
The Book (check out my science geekiness in it!)
13 Weeks