I had a lot of hurdles during the process of completing my first children’s book, “Horsing Around In The Town Of Gold Hill.” As with many side projects, my main jam (designing and making jewelry) had to take precedence. I had to tuck this book project away for months, sometimes for years, at a time. The pandemic allowed me the time and head-space to focus whole-heartedly on editing/re-writing and finding an illustrator. Working with the very talented illustrator Sidney Meireles was somewhat challenging due to the facts that he lives in Brazil and there is a language barrier. Nevertheless, we persisted. I hope my convoluted, creative journey can serve as encouragement to anyone else who has had to temporarily shelf a project. While the length of every project varies, breaking it into accomplishable, bite-sized chunks is helpful. Personal perceptions and misaligned expectations also play a role in one’s frustration level. You work a little and review. Work a little and review. Wash, rinse, repeat for as long as it takes. And when that contemptible, whiny voice inside your head says, “But I’ll be __ years old by the time I finish this thing,” just remember that you will still be __ years old if you don’t finish it. If you’re anything like me (and my condolences if you actually are) you probably enjoy telling that petty, little voice to shut the f@#& up.