Decompressing, Clash of the Titles and My First Interview

I've been MIA for the past week, busy doing what I set out to do after mailing in my manuscript, which is shore up the non-writing areas of my life like family, church, and homeschooling my daughter.  So I hope you will forgive me for my absence. 

It's funny how so often when a challenging situation is upon us we are able to roll up our sleeves, step up to the plate, and get to work.  Tasks we might consider near impossible get done when we rise to the occassion and eat that elephant one bite at a time.  But as soon as we take that last bite or fulfill the last responsibility, the stress we shrugged off along the way seems to finally come crashing down, doesn't it?  That's what I felt like after the thrill of mailing off my manuscript.  I had been laser-focused for months on getting my edits done and psyching myself up for entering the contest, and a day or two after it was in the mail I found myself battling a mini-depression.  Luckily I knew the source, and I knew how to handle it (prayer and support of family).  I wonder though if other writers experience something similar whenever they send a final draft to their editors/agents.  Is this a cycle I should expect regularly?  So I've allowed myself the time to re-center and just slow down the pace and decompress. 

However, as the first official "Clash of the Titles" week approaches, the excitement is building!  I hope all of you, my followers and lurkers, will check out COTT and participate in our voting process- you won't be disappointed!  And with that in mind, I am also so excited to share my first interview.  Today I visited over at Lynda Schab's blog and answered some questions regarding COTT.  So stop by and say hello!  I'll be sure to smile and wave to you from my spot in the blogosphere. =)

~ Michelle