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My First Author Reading

April 15, 2024 by Renae Wrich in category Writing

Cheesy greetings! While my wonderful illustrator, Winda Mulyasari, is hard at work making my crazy second book come to life, I’ve been busy checking a first off my list – My first reading!

Last month I had the opportunity to participate in my first official author reading! It was at a local daycare center my children attended years ago. I have kept in touch with a few of the teachers and the former site director, but I was floored when they asked me to come provide an “in-person field trip” for reading month. In preparation for the event, I printed off these super cute little bookmarks to give out to the kiddos at the daycare and they were a huge hit!

Luckily, my kids were still on spring break that day, so I dragged them along with me so they could visit with their old teachers and see their momma doing something rad. My oldest also served as my photographer during the event.

It was SO fun! The kiddos loved it and my heart just about BURST into pieces when the preschool class started reciting the story back to me during the reading. Many of them knew my book by heart and I know I have their teachers to thank for that!

On top of that amazingness, last weekend I vacationed up north at the family cabin that inspired me to seriously try writing romance back in 2020. It was a lovely girl’s weekend that involved wine, painting, thrifting, NCAA women’s college basketball, a brewery, and a meat raffle at the local Legion (yes, that’s a thing). I didn’t win any meat, nor did I get any writing accomplished, but it was a wonderful getaway filled with laughter and fun.

Until next time!

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Big, Cheesy News Update!

March 15, 2024 by Renae Wrich in category Writing tagged as Childrens Lit, Coming Soon, Mac and Cheese, writing

I’m so excited to announce that my second children’s book, Mac and Cheese in Outer Space is coming soon!

I will be working again with Winda Mulyasari, who helped my mac and cheese world come to life back in 2020 when I published Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please.

Winda is super talented and I’m excited to watch her take my wild ideas and turn them into beautiful illustrations. My mac and cheese heart is bursting with excitement.

I’m also feeling very fortunate that I get to have my very first official author reading on Monday! Pictures to come!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful St. Paddy’s Day!
Peace, love, and Mac and Cheese,
Renae

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Your Mantra for 2024

January 15, 2024 by Renae Wrich in category Writing tagged as 2024, Break Through, Mantra, purpose, strength

So I was recently doomscrolling and came across one of those ridiculous copy/paste things that people post on their social media feeds. I normally keep mindlessly scrolling when I see those, “find the penguin…only 1/10 people can find it” posts on social media, because literally everyone in the comments has found the not-so-elusive penguin. But for whatever reason this post captured my attention.

It was a word search with the title, “The first 4 words you see will be your mantra for 2024” and I thought, “Oh, what the heck… why not?”

My first four words were: “Break Through“, Purpose“, “Family“, “Strength“.

I was extremely caught off guard by the way these four words resonated with me. 2023 was a rough year in many ways. I faced numerous challenges in my day job including, but not limited to, changes to my hybrid work schedule, complex and difficult projects, layoff, reorganization, and losing the best boss I know I’ll ever have. It really zapped a lot of my energy and forced me to think more longterm about my goals – My purpose. At the same time, it was a break through and stark reminder that not all of my fulfillment comes from the job that provides my paycheck. My fulfillment comes from so many other areas – My family, my friends, my faith, writing, reading, walking my dog, sunshine, coffee, chocolate, Target, and so on. Granted, some of those things are suuuper dependent on my paycheck, like Target. It’s all about balance, right? 🙂

Hoping I have the strength and discipline in 2024 to truly pursue and prioritize the things that give me fulfillment.

Happy New Year!
Renae

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Fishing Trip Projects

October 15, 2023 by Renae Wrich in category Writing

Every fall my husband goes on his annual fall fishing trip with his dad. They head up north to brave the first chill of fall in hopes of catching walleye, perch and whatever else tugs on their line.

This fall fishing trip has become not only a tradition for my husband, but also for me. You see, I have a tendency of using the fall fishing trip to start projects. Not just any projects, these are the projects that I wouldn’t otherwise tackle. Painting, reorganizing, and ripping shelves off of walls. Don’t ask me why! it’s not that I can’t do these projects with my husband present. It’s just that I feel some weird desire to be like, “Look at this awesome thing I did while you were gone all weekend!”

It’s also worth noting that I do not properly plan out these things. It typically starts with me ripping a shelf off a bathroom wall or impulsively deciding to paint a bedroom.

I guess it’s fair to say that what I tackled this year wasn’t something that I could have planned to do, but I’m SO GLAD I did it.

I FINISHED my first draft of the next Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please book. It’s sooo fun!! I’ll be working again with Winda Mulyasari, the illustrator that I partnered with on my first children’s book.

After two years of working on this book, this feels like a MUCH larger accomplishment than a freshly painted bathroom.

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Places of Everyday Inspiration

September 15, 2023 by Renae Wrich in category Writing tagged as #writing

It’s fall!!! Well, kind of. My husband’s birthday is this weekend and he likes to remind me that technically his birthday is still in summer. But, it’s almost fall and it feels like fall – that counts, right? The leaves in Minnesota are starting to change, there’s pumpkin spice favoring everywhere you turn, kids are back in school, the stores are out of chili beans, and the temperatures are dropping.

One of my absolute favorite parts about fall is taking outdoor walks. I do this year-round, but let’s be honest, fall is definitely the most optimal time of the year. No need to wear extra bundles of clothing and worry about your face freezing off, or shed clothes like crazy and have sweat pour down your back.

landscape field and trees — Photo by Simon Berger on Pexels.com

I started walking outside during the pandemic as a way to escape the four walls of my house and keep my mental health in check. It’s since grown into one of my favorite pastimes. I queue up an audio book, grab the dog, and take a walk during my lunch. Sometimes my husband joins me and it has become a way for us to have meaningful, adult conversations without tiny voices interrupting us. I also find that this time has been a great source of inspiration to me as a writer. Very frequently an idea will come to me during my walk that requires me to stop and make a note in my phone.

Unfortunately, my “day job” company recently decided to adjust our hybrid work policy in a way that now requires us return to the office more often than not. This means that I need to say goodbye to my lunchtime walks. Side note – My office is not located in a place that is conducive to outdoor walking.

I find myself now mourning my midday outdoor walks and the everyday inspiration they’d bring me as a writer. I’m now leaning heavily on the other places that bring me inspiration. They are as follows:

1. The shower. It’s weird, but it works.
2. The car. Not so great for taking notes, but usually pretty effective for generating ideas.
3. Vacations. Doesn’t happen as often as I wish they would, but usually great writing time for me.

What are you favorite places and/or activities to spark creative thinking?

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