"When I'm not writing" with Leah Petersen

 Today I'm very excited to bring you a When I'm Not Writing post by Leah Petersen.  I love "discovering" local authors, so I was immediately interested when I read that she's a fellow North Carolinian.  I also love a quote that she has on her blog:  "Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.  -Richard Feynman (1918-1988)"  A young author who thinks physics is for fun?  I'm totally on board!  Now over to Leah, and what she's up to when she's not writing!

When I’m not writing, you might find me knitting. I picked up the hobby years ago as something productive to do with my hands, something I could point to and say, “See, I did that!” (This was before I wrote my first novel, but, seriously, I could knit a dozen pairs of socks in half the time it takes just to vomit out the first draft of any novel.)

One thing I love about knitting is that it’s very meditative. It’s just distracting enough that it tunes out all the stress and anxiety, but it allows room for daydreaming, plotting—books, not world domination—and just finding the beauty in life. I love to knit outside on a lovely day. Pretty much any time I sit down and my hands aren’t otherwise occupied, (oh if only I could knit and type at the same time!) I grab the latest project and knit away. It also makes me feel virtuous about any TV watching.

A surprising benefit to knitting is the friendships it seems to start. I learned a while ago that knitting for my family was an exercise in futility. Partly because I’m not the greatest at sizing, and partly because all the fun stuff I find I want to knit is usually for girls and my daughter is picky as heck. So my usual projects are hats and gloves, and lately socks. The beautiful thing about those is I can just give them away when I’m finished. And not as gifts, just give them away.

I’ve done this several times at conventions. I’ll bring or knit up a few Jayne hats while I’m there, and just randomly offer them to people I might strike up a conversation with. I had a great experience with this at one convention where I’d knitted a child-sized hat. A family was passing my publisher’s booth and I offered it to the two year old. She loved it. Her mother sent me a few pictures later of her randomly wearing it as she played around the house. That was such a great feeling.

On other occasions I’ve done a little work on request and it’s always been satisfying. I knitted a custom pair of gloves for an acquaintance who had lost a finger, fixed a young cousin’s favorite sweater, made a Dr. Who scarf for a Whovian friend, and made a couple of pieces for a friend who wanted to cosplay a character who wore a distinctive hat and scarf. Then there was the time I gave the pair of gloves I was wearing to someone in our group who was clearly colder than I was. She was so sweet and such a skinny little thing I figured she needed them more than I did, so I told her to keep them. A year later when I ran into her again, she was wearing them.

Learning to knit has been one of the best things I ever did. It’s not difficult once you get the hang of it, it’s productive, it’s a great way to clear your mind or to focus on something you actually want to think about. It makes good use of otherwise “idle” time like reading or watching TV. It’s been altogether lovely and when I’m not writing, it’s a great way to gear up for the next time.

———————————

Thanks so much for visiting us, Leah! For more about Leah and her books, check out the following links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

———————————

Here's the scoop on Impact Velocity:

Jake has finally found peace and a family with the man he loves. But when the unimaginable happens, Jake finds himself on the run with his greatest enemy and the man who betrayed them both.

If he can’t find a way to bring down the man who now wields the power of an emperor, he’ll lose not just his own life, but his daughter’s as well.

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

And here's where it all began:

———————————

Do you guys have suggestions for who you’d like to see featured on the blog? If so, you can make your suggestions on this page. No guarantees that your favorite authors will be able to participate but we’ll try!

Authors, would you like to visit  us? Please email me at marieharris725 (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll set it up!

Posted by Tynga at 01:00

 When I'm not writing  2 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

Follow Tynga on: Facebook | Twitter