Work

Adam's and my life seems more lively these days. There's so much going on in the house. I think I showed you Adam's new work station in the dining room.

 He spends much time there crafting his new business for our future, tied to his podcast, BookChats, but also involving writing books and book reviews, publishing articles online, enhancing his Google search status, and generally developing himself as a brand. He's still in the early stages, but doing well, and he's so excited. At last he has work, the success of which is entirely dependent on his own drive and energy. And believe me, he has both in spades right now! He's motivated. If he can turn this into an income, it will enable us to stay here, travel to see kids and grandkids, and still serve the church where we are now, which we love.

What Adam's doing is part of the "gig economy," a growing trend in the U.S. It's more than what we used to call "temp work." It's driven by rising technology and people's ability to access services directly from the provider. Uber and AirB&B are two popular examples. Think "freelancing," but in many areas of life. 

Adam chose books. He's a voracious reader, one of a rare group who are true speed-readers. He's more widely read than your average bear. He can get a free book in the mail from a publisher, read it in a day, and churn out a knowledgeable review a couple of days later. We serve as each other's editor.

My Red Robin Soaps hobby/business is also part of the gig economy. I must admit I'm not as excited about making a batch of soap as I used to be! But people still like to buy it, so I make it. I love the art work I do too.

But moving into the future, it makes sense for Adam and me to support each other in work, and my writing of books flows rather naturally into his growing business. We both want to be writers, although I prefer fiction and he writes both fiction and non-fiction. Figuring out how to publish our books led to the formation of BookChats, as Adam learned about the intricate workings of the publishing world. We hope this will help us become more successfully published in the future. Plus, writing is labor that can be done into one's advanced years. 

Adam finished editing the "Cozy" mystery I wrote recently. We don't have a title yet, but the series will be about a funeral home director who solves mysteries in connection with her job. Right now I'm working on completion of my "Federal Hill" book, a sequel to "Three Against the Dark." While doing that, I'm watching a fascinating series of lectures by well-known fantasy/sci-fi writer, Brandon Sanderson. He teaches a class at BYU on writing, and it's really good. It's on Youtube. I don't bother with boring, pedantic Youtube videos. I don't have the time to waste. But he's engaging, funny, practical, accurate. Oh my goodness, every few minutes I stop the video and jot down ideas in my latest book's notes, so I don't forget the good stuff he's telling me. I highly recommend these videos to anyone interested in fiction writing.

Adam interviewed a writer recently (Jay Greenstein) who said (roughly) that one reason he loved being a writer is that you can be gazing out a window, and someone can ask you what you're doing, and you can reply, "Working." And it's true. That's some pretty awesome gig work! It's a little nervous being in charge of one's own economic world, but it's exciting too. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!