The only title I could think of to explain what I’ve been feeling the last few weeks is, “A New Start and an Old Love”. You see, I recently moved from Orlando, FL to Gibsonville, NC. The past few weeks have been a flurry of packing and moving and settling in. There’s been so much in my mind and on my heart, but no time or ability to settle and write. So here’s my attempt, as an author, at verbalizing it all. This post is more of a personal letter and update than anything else. I feel as though I’m crawling out of a writing hole!
An Old Love for North Carolina
North Carolina was the first place I fell in love with after moving away from Mexico. It was a slow and surprising love that never went away even though I lived in Florida for 7 years. North Carolina was the first place I called “home” in the US as an adult. It’s where I found my voice as a blogger and a teacher, and I began wrestling with my faith on a deeper level. I fell in love with the beauty and peace of the mountains I lived in. For 4 wonderful years I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and wonderful seasons.
Then came Florida.
Florida was beautiful and difficult. I never fell in love with that hot and humid crazy state. It was hard on me physically. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my migraines slowly got worse as I lived in Florida. While I don’t believe Florida was solely responsible for the pain, I do think it made dealing with them more difficult. The traffic, the heat, and the general hustle and bustle of big city living wasn’t the easiest thing for me. I’d just moved from remote North Carolina where I saw nature everywhere I looked and rarely drove. In Florida most of what I saw was traffic and driving is more like a survival skill than anything else.
Florida taught me a lot of hard lessons. It forced me to face underlying causes of things like migraines. It gave me the gift of a wonderful doctor who helped me get my thyroid issues under control and pointed me in the right direction for relief from endless nights of nightmares.
I also fell in love with someone born in that crazy state. He’s wonderful and I’ll be forever thankful. He’s not my old love or my new start, he’s my forever love walking into all new things with me. While I never fell in love with Florida, I am truly grateful for all the time I spent there. I wouldn’t be who I am today without that wild state.
A New Start in Life and Writing
Even though I’ve lived in North Carolina before, in so many ways this is all new. New town, new habits, new way of doing my day-job. I’ve never lived in a rental house with almost an acre of land, most of which is wooded. It’s new to be able to walk downtown at a moment’s notice. Any needs I have are a 7-10 minute drive away on quiet roads. My life has changed drastically in the last few weeks. I’m not at all upset about it. It’s quieter, calmer, and more freeing. The people are friendlier too. There are plenty of problems in the South just like anywhere else. But there’s definitely something to be said about Southern hospitality and manners.
In the same way that my life has restarted, so has my writing. This is the first time I’ve sat down to do writing in several weeks. Packing and moving and planning left me with absolutely zero brain power to create in this way I love. But my routine is settling. Most boxes have been unpacked. That desire to edit and write that’s been quietly growing over the last week or so is picking up speed.
Eliora, Einar, and Hardwin are all whispering to me about book 3. They want their story told. Hadithi continues with those piercing eyes that communicate, “I will stare at you until you write.” Yuvraj and Hova are on either side of me, pointing with exasperation and judgment at book 2.
It’s a fresh start. I wrote Child of Shadows out of desperation. I wrote to relieve the pain and fear inside my head. Books 2 and 3 also bear some of that same desperation. Book 2 was a means of exploring darkness and anger. It was a way to give voice to the morally gray and the consequences of decisions we make when we believe the end justifies the means. Book 3 holds more grief than I was ready to face before I moved.
I’m ready now. I want to face the grief. I also want to finesse book 2 so I can share it with the small world that follows my writing.
When New Start Meets Old Love
So what happens when a new start meets an old love? So far: magic!
Granted, I’m still in the honeymoon stage of living in this small town of Gibsonville. But if this quiet, laidback life is what’s considered “normal” around here, then I’ll take it!
I truly cannot wait to see what happens with my life and my writing in this new space. It’s a new adventure in a new town in a state I already love. I’m ready.
Thanks for being here with me.
Talk soon,
Ellen
Ellen ES Ceely 
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