Your Beguiling Author

Happy Monday!
          
          It's been a little while (okay, okay, a long while) since I pulled up this website.  I promise that I didn't forget about all of you.
          
          I'm not quite ready to update The Timekeeper's Daughter right now, but I do promise that new chapters are coming.  I don't want to promise a date yet because I don't know whether I could keep that promise, but just know that I do have more material written that is just waiting to be edited and I have more material planned that is just waiting to be written.
          
          I also haven't forgotten about all of your beautiful, wonderful, thrilling stories.  I look forward to getting back into reading them, I'm just not in the right headspace to do that right now.
          
          I hope you are all doing well, and hopefully I'll talk to you again soon.
          -YBA

Hey, y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          I just published "June (Part 2)".  It's later in the day than I normally post, but I wanted to have it up today for a sense of normalcy in the week.
          
          On a different note, I've been behind on my reading on here.  I'm hoping to get back into it soon, but I just haven't been in the mood to read stories lately.  Nor have I been in the mood to write them.  Luckily, I'm still several chapters ahead of schedule, so this slump shouldn't affect my posting schedule, only my reading one.  Sorry about that.
          
          I hope y'all are doing well, all things considered.  Talk to you next week!
          -YBA

Hey y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          I just published "June (Part 1)"!  It's a really short chapter, but more events from the month of June will be coming in part 2!
          
          Until then, I hope you have a great week!
          -YBA

Hey, y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          I just posted "May (Part 2)" where we dive a bit deeper into Lila's relationship-but-not-a-relationship.  Go check it out!
          
          Have a great week and I'll see you next Monday with more!
          -YBA

Hey, y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          The third chapter, "May (Part 1)", of my book The Timekeeper's Daughter is now posted!  Go check it out!
          
          I've been toying around with the vague idea for this book for years, and in most of its iterations, its working title has been The Horologist's Daughter (which is admittedly a very nerdy book name).  Every time that I try to type its new title, I inevitably end up typing The Horologist's Daughter and I have to delete it and retype it.  If you ever see a place where I call the book by the wrong name, now you know why.
          
          Anyway, I hope you're having a great week!
          -YBA

I just posted the second part of the first chapter of The Timekeeper's Daughter!  I needed to put it up now so that it won't be on my mind on Monday.  Anyway, enjoy!

Hey y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          I am so pleased to announce that my new story, The Timekeeper's Daughter (https://www.wattpad.com/story/219602721-the-timekeeper%27s-daughter), is beginning!  I just posted the first chapter, so it's available if you want to read it.
          
          A word before you do: I love the main character and narrator, Lila Martin, but I understand that she may not be everyone's cup of tea.  She's sullen and judgy and self-centered, but she's also sassy and self-aware (which hopefully earns her a few forgiveness points).  Don't give up on her!  I promise that she will grow and change as the story progresses.
          
          My plan right now is to post a new chapter every Monday.  If I finish writing and editing the book before I catch up with the chapter postings, I will post more frequently.
          
          Have a great week, y'all!  And I hope you enjoy The Timekeeper's Daughter!

Hey y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          I know y'all have been waiting with bated breath to see the results of my experiment that I talked about last week (lol).  Drum roll, please!  Now, with no further ado, this is what happened:
          
          It kinda worked.  Framing the current mandate to stay home in terms of empathy kinda worked, at least for me.
          
          I must qualify these results because I'm in a fairly privileged situation.  I have a roommate with a compromised immune system, so I do have to be careful, but I am healthy.  My roommate is currently healthy.  The shortages at grocery stores have been inconvenient, but have not caused big problems.  And I've been able to videochat with friends.
          
          My heart goes out to anyone who finds themselves in a harder situation.  If you need someone to talk to, feel free to drop a note in my inbox.  I'm usually very responsive.  And if you think of something else I can do on this platform, let me know.
          
          Take a few deep breaths.  Stay calm.  I'll be thinking of y'all.
          -YBA

Hey y'all!  Happy Monday!
          
          I hope you're all doing well.
          
          There are several studies that show that people who find their work meaningful have much higher job satisfaction.  In fact, it is a better predictor of job satisfaction than salary!  (If you want to read more about job satisfaction, check out https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/12/job-satisfaction).
          
          I remember hearing about one particular study along this line that showed that individuals with the same job can have differing levels of satisfaction depending on whether they view their work as meaningful (i.e. a hospital janitor who thinks their work is simply cleaning up vs. a hospital janitor who thinks their work increases the likelihood of good outcomes for the patients).
          
          I wonder if this idea translates to this social distancing period.  Does it increase satisfaction to spend time thinking about how staying home keeps more people healthy and makes the jobs of doctors and nurses easier vs. just staying home because that's what you've been told to do?  I'm going to try it out and come back to you with my (single-participant study, totally anecdotal) conclusion.
          
          What do you think about outlook during this time?  Is it worth investing time into thinking about how meaningful spending time at home is or would that time be better spent doing more enjoyable things (watching movies, reading, writing, etc.)?
          
          Either way, have a great week!
          -YBA

Just wanted to say a BIG thank you for supporting my story When You're Gone. It means a lot. ❤