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If this were a Buzzfeed article, something really exciting would follow this.
“I haven’t slept all night – wait til’ you hear why!”
“I haven’t slept all night – Wow are these sex moves hot!”
“I haven’t slept all night – I’m Cheating on my Husband!”
You know. Something like that.
Unfortunately, this is not a Buzzfeed article, so all that follows is –
… because I did that thing where I was lying in bed thinking for a while and couldn’t get to sleep so I got up and had a snack and journaled for a while, then I still couldn’t sleep, so I read a book, then I got restless again and decided to write an article and now here I am writing a new blog post, 9 in the morning, and still, no sleep –
– “because I am a closeted vampire!”
What? Buzzfeed is getting outta hand.
Anyway, I’ve decided to sit down and write a new blog post, because why not, I can’t sleep anyway, and the people need updates! (That’s you.)
So here’s an update:
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been working on building up my audience. I’ve been writing articles again for Elephant Journal (you can see some of them here), I’ve been posting more frequently on Facebook and Twitter, and, of course, I’ve been writing more than my traditional one-blog-post-per-year.
This is all leading somewhere very exciting.
(“You’ll Never Guess Where My Audience-Building Was Going All Along!”)
Ahem. I’ve decided to re-focus my attention on a particular series of books: my Is series. The first of these books, “Just Call Me Is,” introduces young readers to mindfulness. The second, “Call Me Perfect” builds on that concept, but focuses more specifically on creating a positive body image. Both are a story, journal, and exercise book all in one – completely interactive with the reader, illustrated, and of course, narrated by the reader’s somewhat snarky Inner Self (or Is!) (After all, these books are for middle graders.)
There is so much more potential with these books – I want to talk about things traditional publishers shy away from: addiction, gender, sexuality, consent. Things that kids really need to know about – but apparently, aren’t reading about.
So I’ve decided to continue the series, and in order to do that…
(“When You Find Out What Comes Next, You’ll Be Shocked!”)
… I will be launching a Patreon in the next several weeks! This Patreon will allow me the funds to continue writing this series of books – from the time and energy spent on their creation to the funds needed to design and publish them. And in exchange for your support, I’ll be offering all sorts of things, not limited to:
– exclusive video and blog content
– reading groups for the books
– guided meditations
– one-on-one coaching for parents and/or kids (on mindfulness, body image, etc.)
– group calls / support group space for kids / teens struggling with body image, being mindful, consent, gender dynamics, sexuality, etc.
– much more
I am not officially launching this Patreon – not just yet. But I wanted to let you know here first, it is on its way.
I’ll keep you guys in the loop on this. And – thank you for your support thus far! ❤
For more info on my writing: http://www.NatalieGrigson.com
For more info on my work with teens and kids:
http://www.Presentco.org

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And by minute, I mean, about a year.

Here’s a very succinct recap of what I’ve been up to, just to catch you up:

RelationshipsTravelingHangingoutwithmydogHikingTakingWalksInTheRain

ClimbingTreesImprovTeachingImprovStartingABusinessMovingAwayFromTheBusiness

SpendingTimeWithFriendsAndFamilyFallingInLoveMovingInRedecoratingEatingBreakfast

WritingArticlesResearchingFreestylingMakingArtMeditatingReadingWatchingTheGreatBritishBakingShow

SwimmingBartonSpringsMoreGreatBritishBakingShowGettingOffTwitterGettingBackonTwitterGetting

BackIntoWritingDoingLaundryGettingNewBedding

I think that about sums it up. So onto new things: as you can see, I am back on the blog, baby! If you’re being a good detective a la Randy Potts (Peter Able series, check it out), you might have surmised that this means I am getting back into Author Things.

And I am – I’m feeling excited and re-motivated to get back into my books/articles/author career, after nearly a year of exploring other things. My last post announced my new company, Present Company, which does still exist. But in exploring creating a business and working directly with teens, I realized what was missing for me: WRITING!

I really need the creative expression of writing in my life, and while I’ve continued writing poetry and articles over the past 12 months, I have put marketing my current books and writing new ones on pause. And this blog post is here to tell you, I’m pressing play. Or, taking it off pause. Or if you have an AppleTV, just pushing that big button in the middle.

At any rate, I’m aiming to get back into writing more on this blog, being more active on Twitter and my Facebook author page, contributing more to Elephant Journal, and ultimately, creating new books*. 

I’ll have an announcement soon about those new books and new content. For now, I just wanted to say – it feels good to be back. You’ll hear more from me soon!

❤ Natalie

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Lately I’ve been taking an intentional step back from Author Things and focusing more on the side of Connection Things. What that looks like: spending more time with my friends, really diving deeply into community, stepping more into leadership and facilitation, and, as of today – starting a company!

My good friend, Scott Gregory and I were wanting to collaborate on something.

“Where do we both feel mastery?”

Easy – working with kids and teenagers.

And so we decided to take the tools we’ve learned from Authentic Relating* and bring them to teens and teachers to help today’s youth feel more present, more connected, and more compassionate. Just a day later, we were already getting booked for our first events – and we hadn’t even thought of a name for our new business yet!

Well, now we have a name, and even a very snazzy website.

Present Company.

Check it out and get in touch if the work we’re doing is something that you or your teenagers need in their lives.

Horray!