Explanations and Goodbyes

If you had asked me a month ago if I had ever dreamt I’d be writing this post, I’d have laughed at you. Yet here I am, with a heavy heart, typing the exact words I had refused to accept. While August was more hectic than any month I’ve had before, I had several other excuses for staying away as well. The distance helped me clear things up in my mind and I had to make some tough decisions. Since I’m the kind of person that likes to do it all, I feel very guilty of leaving things out of my to-do lists completely. Here’s a breakdown of my plans for the future, written in a conversational Q&A format to make it easier for me to address everything before I take your leave.

 

Q. What will happen to Pages That Rustle?

A. I regret to inform you that I will no longer be actively posting on this blog and am considering deleting altogether in the coming months. It breaks my heart to have to do this but I hope you understand that what with my new job and my daily commute (that I’ve talked about in previous posts), I’ve been having limited time for my other activities. I’ve been feeling that this blog has been directionless for months now and the passion that once drove me has all but vanished now.

Q. What about the second blog, Unputdownable Books?

A. I have good news to share on this front. I have decided to shift my focus and concentrate solely on building my online presence as a reader, so I’ll continue posting on there. It may seem like the allure of something new is driving this decision, but rest assured that I’ve given it a lot of thought. When I looked at where my writing is at the moment and whether Pages That Rustle was the best platform to showcase that, things didn’t quite add up in my mind. I find that my reading hasn’t suffered because of my lifestyle change, so I’d like to stick to talking about my passion for books from that perspective for now.

Q. Should I follow Unputdownable Books now?

A. I don’t think I have any right to tell any reader what they should or shouldn’t do. If you think you’d like a book blog on your feed, feel free to follow it (link here). But if you’d rather not, I completely understand. If you don’t want to follow my other blog but want to stay in touch with me or get updates on what I’m doing, you can follow me on my social media. I’m most active on Twitter, but you can find me on Pinterest or Goodreads as well.

Q. What is happening on the writing front currently?

A. I did mention early on in August that I’ll be taking part in The Scribbler’s Challenge this month and I’m happy to report that I successfully completed it. It was quite difficult to meet deadlines at times, but it kept me in touch with writing and the feedback I got really helped me get a sense of where I stand at the moment. Based on that, I think it’s best to take a step back from my novel-writing and get back to basics. So, as for now, I’ve decided to suspend writing for a few months.

Q. What plans do you have for the future?

A. At least for as long as I’m working, I plan to maintain only one blog. I haven’t thought too far ahead into the future, but once I start taking my writing seriously (which may take years), I might consider building an author platform from scratch. The way this blog is currently, I don’t think I can re-purpose it for that later. So, unfortunately, Pages That Rustle is shutting down for good.

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I can think of at least a handful of people who would be disappointed with this choice, but I hope that you, dear reader, who has stuck with me through thick and thin, understand why I’m having to do this and will consider supporting me in my future endeavours. I must say that I’ve learned quite a lot from this blog and will always be grateful for the experience. If you have any additional questions or just some thoughts in general, let me know in the comments section below. With that I must bid goodbye, so here’s a quote that puts it best: