This past weekend was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I had a lovely brunch with my best friend, followed by a very fruitful shopping trip. That's when a migraine walloped right into the left side of my face, well, jaw really. I tried to describe it to my husband, who ultimately had no idea, but it was like my teeth were radiating pain up through my sinus cavity to behind my eyeball. Good times.

So moving on to Sunday, I had big plans. I was going to lock myself in my house while my ever-supportive spouse whisked our energetic son away to an adventure leaving me in sweet silence. That was the plan until my adorable kiddo came around the corner, dragging my coat. So off I went to join in the fun, and of course, I have to admit it was a pretty beautiful morning. After that, I came home popped someone down for a nap (sadly, not me) and set to work writing.... for my national board certification.

Now, I know this is the blog of a romance author, but every now and then, life swoops in. In my other life, I play the role of a teacher, and this year am pursuing National Board Certification. Just like a doctor can be board certified by a panel of their peers with rigorous standards, demonstrating competency and excellence in their field, teachers have the same opportunity. I'm taking on this challenge, and hope to finish the process in May. It boils down to four components, one of which is a test, and the rest are portfolios and written commentaries detailing the presentation of evidence and rationale behind those decisions. The short version? There's a lot of writing.

Now, it's not a novel, but it's technical writing in a very compact style, which fortunately for me, I've had ample training in through all of my craft courses and rounds of editing. Who knew that being forced to slice off parts of my loving prepared prose, would prepare me for the harsh brevity customarily reserved for police reports and spy debriefings of these commentaries?

For those of you reading this eagerly awaiting my next book starting a slow panic on my behalf about my timeline, first, thank you. I love you more than I can say. Second, I've got it under control. I went into this year knowing what I was up against, and part of the drive propelling me forward through the National Board process is knowing my book is waiting in the wings for my editing attention. Second, take comfort in knowing the book is done. Totally. I wouldn't lie about that. By editing, I mean, I need to shuffle the commas and clean up some parts that move too fast or are too slow. After this, it'll go through a proofreader to move those commas around again. Honestly, who even knows where freaking commas go? I think it's open for debate most of the time, to be honest. Annnnd as a bonus prize, I'll let you in on a little secret, I have a complete outline for the book I'm going to start writing after June.

So see? It's all going to be okay! With that, I'm back to writing for National Board.

Onward!

Kathryn