You ever feel overwhelmed?

That’s been the word around the Faulk house here lately, which is one of the reasons why my blog posts have trickled down to nothing. The other reason is that my oldest child (who shall remain nameless) is now in junior high and has requested that I no longer share any charming anecdotes, pictures, or thoughts of her online. “But what will I write about?!” I asked her. She didn’t have an answer for that and certainly didn’t seem to care that there was even a question (sigh), but I’ve done my best to respect her sudden need for anonymity. Of course, this has made all of my social media accounts very, very biased, and a casual observer would clearly conclude that Emma is my favorite child since she still relishes the opportunity to be the star of the show. “Bring back the Faulkette funnies!” she’s been known to say. Oh, that I could. Thanks a lot, oldest child who shall not be named.

Emma, on the other hand (I can use her name – woo-hoo!), is having the best year ever. She told me when school started that she wanted to end the year like her big sister did, with straight As and an invitation to the banquet they have for the kids who’ve accomplished this all year. During the summer she asked to go back on her Ritalin, telling us that she needed the help, so she’s been taking it regularly since the school year started. I’ve been doing my best to help her keep up with what she’s doing in each class, because that’s one place where she gets tripped up, forgetting what she has up ahead in class and failing to prepare. It’s been a group effort, helping Emma to stay on task after the medicine wears off in the afternoon, making homework whimsical and weird in equal measure, but she’s done well. I’m able to see her grades online, and from what I can tell, she’ll get her first ever straight A report card on Friday. She doesn’t know it and is fairly convinced that she has a B in science, so I’ve kept quiet about it, just in case the online posting is wrong. But if it’s right… she’s going to be really excited. And I’m excited for her, especially with all the challenges she’s had all these years. “You remember when you would write me a note about something I needed to remember for school, then put it on a string, and tie it around my neck like a necklace so I wouldn’t forget it?” she asked me the other day. Yes, I do remember that. (Still tempted to do it some days.) She’s come a long way since then, and I’m really excited about seeing how she does this year with the expectations she has for herself.

Speaking of expectations, I’ve had to change up some plans regarding what books are coming out when. What?! I had it all organized in my head long ago, but I’ve changed my mind, given some unexpected opportunities that have come up. What does this all mean? PJ’s book released yesterday (yay!), and that’s all I’m promising for 2017. I’m hopeful that I’ll have another book ready in late November/early December, but I’m hesitant to guarantee that it’ll happen because we’ve got a lot coming up in the months ahead around here. The book that I’ll be trying to get to you before the end of the year won’t be the Christmas book I’ve been teasing since July. No, this book will be about a character who you’ll meet in The Mrs. Degree. The Christmas book will come eventually, but it won’t be a Christmas book anymore… you know, because I’ll be finishing it up long after Christmas. Why am I holding off on that one? Because I’m going on a mission trip in January to a place that will help me with some character details for that book. I know this is all very vague, and it has to be at this point… but it’s going to be awesome. And that book that will eventually get written will be even more awesome than I originally thought. Hopefully.

Confused much? Sorry about that. When you read The Mrs. Degree, you’ll figure out who the next book hero is pretty quickly. That’s going to be my project for the rest of 2017, and 2018 will start with that Christmas book that won’t be a Christmas book anymore. I’m not sure what’s coming after that. I need to get back to Travis and Brooke’s sisters eventually. Have I left out any other characters who need books? Tell me who you want to read about!

That’s about it from here…