In Which Autumn Brings Much To Think About…

good morning, cyberspace!

With the chaos of the Silmaril Awards taking up the majority of my blogging time over the past few weeks, I’ve had difficulty finding the right time to squeeze an update post in. A lot of these have been rather update-y lately, and for that I sincerely apologize (goodness knows I’m getting sick of them, too, lol!), but it is my hope–and goal!–that this will be the last one for a while. For… multiple reasons, aha. Unfortunately, since we’re trying to get ALL of the updates out of the way today, this might be a bit of a topsy turvy kind of post. Lots to cover, little time and all that. So sit tight, friends, and enjoy (maybe?) the ride. It’s gonna be a bumpy one. XD

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life.

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Biggest Life update as of today–I no longer work at the coffee shop. I don’t talk too much about my personal life on here, I feel like (probably a good thing? #stalkers), but my friends and probably a few casual readers will know that I’ve been working at a coffee shop for the past two years–quite shocking for the fact that I do not like the bean water at all. However! We also served tea, and I must admit that during my two years there, I definitely got addicted to Chai. (I’m still addicted, actually. It’s fine.)

Unfortunately, chapters do eventually come to an end. Even the ones that we wish could go on forever. And while it absolutely broke my heart to leave the coffee shop (I can’t sugarcoat that no matter how hard I try), I can firmly say that this new career path is one that I’ve been dreaming of for years.

Friends. I am officially a Children’s Librarian. past Kenzie would be so proud, oh my word

Obviously, I’m still learning a ton. As I write this, I’ve only been working at the library for about two weeks, but I’m already starting to settle into a sort of rhythm and flow. It’s definitely still a process–goodness knows I haven’t quite fallen in love with it yet–but I think I’m at the point where I could fall in love if I let myself. It’s that precarious moment where you start to tip just a little, but aren’t sure if it’s wise to let your heart go entirely yet. That’s where I am–on the edge and ready to fall.

Guess I just have to let go.

But I can’t yet, and I think that’s where I’m stuck. It’s all still so new and strange. Strange having a set schedule. Strange being surrounded by books all day and getting paid for it. Strange building my own routine and programs and basically doing all the things I’ve always wanted to do. It’s strange. A weird kind of strange. But also… a good kind, too. And I think eventually I will fall entirely, but for today, I’m still a little split.

Which brings us to my current non-Life dilemma, which comes in the form of blogging.

More specifically, what on earth is going on with my blogging schedule, and what–if anything–blogging will look like from me in the future.

Remember when I said this road was gonna be bumpy? Yep. We’ve hit the bumps, my friends.

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blogging.

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Okie-doke, most painful band-aid first, then. As of November, I will no longer be blogging at Smudged Thoughts. There’s a myriad of reasons for this, but first of all let me clarify the elephant in the room and state that I will still be blogging! I’ve come this far, obviously it’s too late for me to stop now. I just don’t feel as though Smudged Thoughts is my “home” for blogging anymore, which is both extremely sad and exciting at the same time.

For one thing, this has been my blogging home for over 6 years now. That is a loooong time. But for another, this means that I’m growing as a writer! The changes I’m making are reflections of that, and I couldn’t be more excited to begin this new adventure. It’ll be scary for sure–potentially terrifying!–but I know that this is the right decision for both me and my career.

So what, you might be asking, is this new change? If we’re not blogging at Smudged Thoughts, where are we going?

Well, friends. I’m glad you asked.

Introducing….

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FeatherWick Press.

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Re-branding! Don’t let the cyborgs fool you, friends, it is most certainly not a fun time.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. I’m definitely enjoying this process, but goodness gracious there’s a whole lot of housekeeping when it comes to completely rebranding your brand! For one thing, email. And social media. And alllll the many little things you slap your name on without even realizing it. But alas. We’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Yes, friends. It is official. Kenzie is rebranding her site! Smudged Thoughts was–and is!–a lovely little blog, and it will continue to be that since I don’t have the heart to take it off the internet entirely. But as I move forward in my author career, I realized I needed a larger space to share my thoughts and dreams and findings. I needed a whole website–one without .wordpress on the end of it!–and thus…FeatherWick was born!

Well, I guess you could say it’s still in the process of being born. I kinda botched something up in the domain name purchasing area, but come November I’ll be able to fix it, so… heh. There’s always that. Personally, I’m just very excited to see this idea flourish and grow and hopefully not wilt and die as it does in all of my wildest nightmares lololololol. The current timeline for when all of this will launch is yet-to-be-determined–web-design, finding guest posters, all that jazz, you know?–but if you’re following me here or on Instagram, you’ll be sure to catch the news before anyone else does!

And also! If you’re interested in learning MORE about FeatherWick (or potentially contributing!), please stay tuned! There may be opportunities false: there WILL be opportunities for guest posts by bloggers and authors, and maybe even a podcast or two coming soon, so if that’s something you’re interested in…*stares at you awkwardly* please I’ll give you cookies

All in all, I’m very excited for where my little writer life is headed. It’s terrifyingly new, but for the first time in a very long time, I think I might be ready for it.

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next up on the blog…

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“Okay, Kenzie,” you say. “So you’re starting a new website blog thing. Good for you. What does this mean for Smudged Thoughts? Are you not going to be blogging until November? What, exactly, are your intentions here other than to wildly confuse us all, of course?

All good questions, all good questions. And I really wish I had the answers, lolololol.

Okay, no, I do have some answers. For starters, I’d suggest following me on social media! #shamelessplug Now that we’re rebranding, I’ve got some new pages for y’all to check out. Specifically–and most importantly:

• Instagram – follow for live updates, quick tips, behind-the-scenes content, bite-sized book reviews,, Talk-To-Me Tuesdays, and more(?)!
• Facebook – follow for more in-depth updates, writing challenges, and “be-in-the-knows” about current happenings (basically quick links to what’s happening on the blog once the blog is actually a blog. #helpful)

Once you’ve followed those (ya know. if ya want to please follow me I’m desperate), keep your eyes on Smudged Thoughts for updates about FeatherWick’s launch! All of my now-till-then posts–such as writing updates, the Silmaril Awards Ceremony, book reviews, whatever–are going to happen here until the new site launches. I’m not sure how many posts that will be, but I’m hoping to get at least a few penned and published before FeatherWick’s release!

All in all, things are shifting, and for a while it’s going to be massively confusing for us all. But it’s a good kind of confusing, friends.

…we hope. XD

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talk to me, peasants!

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All right, friends, let me know what you think! Confused? Have questions? Couldn’t care less about this change? (Can’t say I blame you. XD) Let’s talk about ALL OF THE THINGS down in the comments below! And if you have any questions whatsoever about FeatherWick Press, or if there is something very glaring and obvious which I have forgotten to mention, please don’t hesitate to ask!

And as always, until next time…

* flings cookies in the air and disappears *

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