Happy Maker Monday, friends!

Yesterday, I gave myself permission to play.

I always reserve weekends for family and personal time, so I wasn't determined to 'work' or 'finish' anything in particular. I didn't set out to accomplish some big, impressive thing.

I just wanted to…play.

My Morgan Freeman pyrography portrait has been staring at me from my workbench, untouched, for a couple of weeks now. So, late afternoon I poured a glass of red wine, put in my ear buds, launched Pandora for some awesome tunes, and I completely 'zoned out' on making art. It was incredibly gratifying to spend some time with my burner in hand, adding a little more depth here, softening a shadow there, slowly coaxing more life into that wonderful face.

And I was reminded of something I sometimes forget:

Making doesn’t always have to begin with a new project.

Sometimes, making means returning to one you've already started...picking up where you left off.

Coming back to that piece of leather sitting on my worktable, or opening the manuscript waiting on my computer. Coming back to something we’ve already poured hours—or weeks, or months—into and saying, Okay. Let’s take you a little farther today.

That’s actually a pretty good description of my creative life right now.

Because while Morgan Freeman has been gradually emerging from a piece of vegetable-tanned leather, another project has been steadily moving toward the finish line, too:

Jack Mac Paidin and The Missing Sister.

This is Book Five in my Jack Mac Paidin series, and it will finally be making its way into the world later this month.

There’s something wonderfully different about this stage of writing a book. The wild discovery of the early draft is behind me. The story exists. The characters have lived it.

Now I’m polishing.

Re-reading.

Tweaking.

Catching those little places where a sentence could be stronger, a moment might land a little harder, or a scene could breathe just a little more.

In some ways, it isn’t all that different from pyrography.

You can’t rush either one.

A little too much heat in one place can change the leather permanently. And sometimes one word—or one sentence—can change the entire feel of a scene.

So you work slowly.

You pay attention.

And every so often, you lean back and realize…

Hey. Look how far this has come.

I think we forget to do that often enough.

We’re so focused on what still needs finishing that we don’t always stop to appreciate what our hands, hearts, and imaginations have already made.

So that’s what I’m doing this Maker Monday.

Morgan is getting a little more fire.

The Missing Sister is getting a little more polish.

And both are getting closer to being finished.

Whatever you’re making right now—a painting, a garden, a meal, a manuscript, a business, a healthier life, or something entirely your own—I hope you’ll take a minute today to notice how far it’s already come.

Then add one more little piece.

Want to see what I’ve been making?

🔥 WATCH MORGAN FREEMAN EMERGE FROM THE LEATHER

I’ve been taking photos along the way as this portrait has slowly emerged from a plain piece of vegetable-tanned leather—from the initial art-transfer and those first burned lines to the shadows, textures, and details I’ve been adding lately.

I put the progression photos together so you can see the transformation for yourself.

[SEE MORGAN’S PROGRESS →]
(*You'll find them by scrolling ALL the way to THE BOTTOM of the Home Page on my website)

And then...

📖 WANT A REAL SNEAK PEEK INSIDE THE MISSING SISTER?

I’ve actually had the first five chapters of The Missing Sister available as a free preview on my website for quite a while now.

So giving you Chapter One again wouldn’t exactly qualify as sneaking, would it? 😂

Instead, because you’re one of my newsletter friends, I decided to do something a little more fun.

I’m jumping all the way ahead to Chapter NINETEEN.

No, I’m not going to tell you everything that happened in between.

And yes, I’m dropping you straight into the middle of things.

All I’ll tell you is this:

Inez Mac Paidin believes she has everything under control.

She does not.

😈

[SNEAK INTO CHAPTER NINETEEN →]

And while you’re peeking at what I’ve been making, I’d love to hear about your works in progress, too.

What are you making, growing, writing, fixing, learning—or slowly bringing to life right now?

Hit reply and tell me. I’d love to hear all about it.

With Love and Light ❤️,

​
Tracy