Ending one chapter…or is it a book? A volume in a series?
So………………………………..
…………………………………..I wrap up the theory courses in my Bachelor of Nursing studies this week.
I am experiencing mixed feelings of elation and terror; accomplishment and subtle regret; anticipation and impending doom; progress and stasis — all at once.
The thought of transforming my life, reinventing myself again, starting fresh – starting something new – appeals as it has always appealed (what’s underneath THAT rock? Oh look, little wriggly things).
Only now, the REAL test of character and wit and tenacity begins.
From student nurse to graduate nurse soon to actual nurse: the process as fascinating for me as a catepillar entering chrysalis to become the butterfly.
Here I am, ending one chapter of my life, taking off my layers of student self, stepping into a nurse’s shoes, shoes that I can only hope to grow into and fit properly in the near future.
Here I am, ending one book, perhaps aptly titled “M’s Adventure’s: The College Years” or “The Formal Education of M”…certainly not the first in the series, certainly won’t be the last. Or will it? Fate laughs at the best laid plans.
And all the while, a Community Health Nurse program in the Northwest Territories beckons….but leaving Manitoba’s subzero temperatures for NWT’s Hell-Frozen-Over-And-Literally-Frozen-Over-Like-In-That-Disturbing-Painting-By-Was-It-Dante-Or-That-Other-Guy-? is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, for those of us humans who do NOT like cold weather or ice or snow-machines (a major form of transportation up there).
Yet I should not grumble – not at all!
Now is a time for celebration! A time of seasons changing and accomplishment and really, is there anything at all wrong with finishing a good book? A book that had twists and turns and intriguing characters, and even the occasional “what if-?” cliffhanger?
“Not at all,” said M with a sigh, her lips curling into a wry grin. “Oh silly, silly girl. You’re talking to yourself again, and in front of God Knows Who this time.”
This summer, I will be devoting a GREAT deal of time to studying for my RN exam, so I humbly apologize: there will be no new fiction published until possibly October 1st/15th/31st — that is IF (a big IF) I am able to find spare time to edit the manuscript I’ve promised Extasy Books, the full-length erotica titled “My Experimental Years”.
Which is nothing less than what all the experts would encourage: in My Experimental Years i very literally wrote what I knew about – being a headstrong young woman in rural Manitoba who was as untameable as a wildfire and as shifting as mercury.
Priorities being what they are, my nursing career comes first, my writing career/hobby second.
I will try to at least post exerpts of my novels on this blog over the summer to give you a taste of what might evolve into something remarkable one day.
Sincere regards,
Amanda M. Holt
p.s. – that old adage, write what you know? Admitting that you don’t really know anything is the first real step to learning (especially about yourself….that’s what I’ve noticed, anyway).