By Jennie Griffin
When I reflect on the last two years, I can’t help but smile as book covers dance through my mind. When I started The Redhead Notes in January of 2022, I thought I would read books from independent authors and post reviews—end of story. I never anticipated developing so many deep and lasting relationships fueled by a mutual love of the written word. What started as a way to give back to the writing community soon became a source of incredible positivity in my life.
Don’t get me wrong. There have been challenges, both personally and professionally. (Can I say that now? Am I a professional book reviewer?) In truth, I had no idea what life had in store for me or how The Redhead Notes would come to be a light in some of the darkest moments of my life.
Over the past two years, my family has gone through two cancer battles and the death of my stepson. Any one of those events could have easily shut down this dream of running a website dedicated to indie authors, but I kept taking steps forward. Many days, it felt less like steps and more like crawling on my hands and knees, but I moved forward no matter how slowly.
As we are about to ring in 2024, I must stop and ask myself, “What’s next for The Redhead Notes?” The good news is that it’s not going anywhere! BUT there will be changes that will better allow its mission to fit into my new role of foster mom. Fostering is a path that my husband, Keith, and I went down many years ago, and here we find ourselves again, opening our home to those in need. It is simultaneously the most exhausting and rewarding job we have ever accepted. In many ways, this may be the most important work we do together in this lifetime.
In light of this life change, The Redhead Notes will no longer accept submissions. Instead, books will be selected by invitation only based on various factors. This is not about being exclusive or not wanting to give all indie authors and books a chance. This is about fitting this passion for reading and reviewing into my daily life as a wife, foster mother, caregiver to my mom, and full-time employee. Until we can figure out how to clone me, I need to practice a certain level of self-care so I can continue to show up for all those who need me at this stage in my life. This likely won’t be a permanent change, but it is my path forward for now.
I am excited about the future for The Redhead Notes and the Griffin family! I hope all of you wonderful readers and authors will stick with me through this next phase of professional and personal growth because I have a feeling that 2024 is going to be the best year yet!
