Deanna Frances

Wow! It's been a while. Looking back and seeing my last blog post was a reality check that I've really been "away" from myself for a while now, and it's about time I got back to doing some of the things that make me "me". In my last post, I announced that my life was about to change forever, and did it ever! On March 5th, I was blessed with the most amazing little boy, my son Declan. While being a mom has been the most amazing journey so far, I found myself forgetting a little bit about what makes Deanna "Deanna". When you become a parent, I think it's so easy to lose a little bit of your former self to become a better parent to that beautiful new person in your life, and that's totally okay! But I also think it's so important to make time for your own personal hobbies, which I know is incredibly difficult as a new mom. Trust me! I want to spend every waking minute (and sleeping minute) with my son, but I realized that with the COVID regulations over the last year, starting my master's degree in January 2021, and having a baby in March, I haven't read a book (other than a textbook or a book for my classes), or really sung in over a year, and that's such a crazy feeling!! If you know me personally, you'll know that I've been a singer for much longer then I've been anything else, and the fact that this past year was the longest I've gone without singing in a choral ensemble is the craziest feeling for me. I need to sing. It's a huge part of my heart and soul, and it's what makes me "me". Being a singer was my first and most beloved identity (now only second to being a mother), and I can't wait to get back to singing with other local musicians this fall. While I do sing songs to my son, it's not the same as using my full voice, and I can't wait to experience that feeling again. Apart from being a mother and a singer, another huge part of my heart is reading and writing, and while I've been both reading and writing (in significant amounts) for my graduate classes, it's still not the same as reading a great romantic novel, which of course is something I absolutely love to do! So, this summer, I signed up for my library's adult summer reading challenge, and I set a goal of reading at least 3 novels for fun this summer, which of course sounds like a very small number for someone who loves to read and runs their own book review service, but factor in that I'm taking two graduate classes, running a youth fishing league, and of course, taking care of my son, 3 books is a very achievable goal for me. This summer, I encourage you to set achievable goals for yourself that help you feel a little bit more like "yourself". Whether it's a reading goal, something that helps you practice self-care, finally cleaning out that closet you've been looking to organize for months, or just spending more time with family and friends, set some goals for yourself that make you feel more like "you". At the end of this summer, I hope that I'll be filled with even more joy than I am today, and I hope to find more pieces of "myself" along the way, creating a beautiful blend of who I was, and who I am today. 

I wholeheartedly believe that to be a writer, you have to be an avid reader. I would have never been inspired to write without having read hundreds of books. In my last post, I talked about my first book, Imperfect, which was loosely based on the Clique novels by Lisi Harrison. While Imperfect may have been a little too closely based on someone else’s work to ever be shared with the public, the books that I’ve written since then have been more original, but not uninspired. 

When it comes to writing fiction, I tend to follow a pattern of writing what is pertinent to me in my life at the time. When I was first writing Taking Chances, I was thirteen, and about to enter high school. So, what did I write about? A girl in high school. Now, if you’ve been to any of my live events, you’re aware that while the story line of Taking Chances does have some similarities to my life (my hometown, my local high school, and even some of my friend’s names, to name a few), the protagonist, Sydney Baker, is a fictional character who goes through fictional life events that I have never had to experience in my life. It took a lot of research and discussion to decide how I was going to proceed with Sydney’s story, but one thing was clear in my mind: I wanted to write a story about a high school girl that was different than the others I was reading at the time. I wanted Sydney’s story to matter in a way that I couldn’t understand at the time. When I started to tell people what I was writing about, I had several people reach out to me in regards to their similarities to Sydney Baker and her life, and I was stunned to hear their stories. Their life stories helped me write Sydney’s story in a way that was sensitive to my readers, but also told her story in a truthful way without having experienced her life myself. 

As I’ve gotten older, my interest in reading and writing books has aged with me, in a way. When I was in college, I wanted to read and write stories about collegiate students. As a first year music teacher in 2018, I wanted to read and write about women in their early twenties. Now, as I am about to turn 26 in July, (yikes!) I find myself wanting to read and write more adult contemporary fiction stories. 

As my literary interests have evolved over the years, I’ve come across several incredible authors that have inspired me with their writing, which was the catalyst for my latest literary adventure, the launch of my own book review service, Simply Romantic Book Reviews! 

While I have been reviewing novels for Windy City Reviews for several years, I've found myself wondering how I can review more books and assist other writers. That's when the idea for my own review service for romantic novels came about. While I will still continue writing reviews for Windy City Reviews, I am so excited about this new personal literary venture, and I am looking forward to reading some incredible romantic novels!

To learn more about Simply Romantic, or to see reviews, visit the Simply Romantic tab here on my website. 

When I was twelve years old, I wrote my first book. It wasn't a full-length novel by any means, but it was the first time I'd ever written anything longer than a paper or a short poem for school, and I was so proud of it. Little did I know at the time that the next book I would write would become my first published novel, Taking Chances.

My first book, titled Imperfect, was loosely based on the Clique novels by Lisi Harrison (my favorite books at the time), and told the story of an average 8th grade girl who becomes friends with the "populars", a group of the most beautiful and popular girls from her school. 

Even though Imperfect was never published (and probably never will be), I'm still proud of my first book, and I go back and re-read my handwritten manuscript (which spans across three spiral notebooks) every now and again. 

While I haven't been avidly writing this summer, (yet) I have been reading and taking the time to pursue some of my other hobbies, including photography. Today was a perfect Midwestern summer day in Illinois, so my sister and I decided to take some photos out in the sunshine. As I looked at the photos that my sister had taken of me, two words came to my mind: perfectly imperfect. I wasn't wearing any make-up, and I hadn't dressed up for a photo shoot, but somehow, I loved quite a few of the photos that she took of me (which is a rare experience for me, trust me!). While some of these photos turned out great, there were others that were taken at just the wrong time, or showed too much of my imperfect legs. There were photos that featured my not-so-interested-in-photos dog, and others that just didn't turn out how I expected, which seems to be a reoccurring theme for 2020. 

The summer of 2020 has been perfectly imperfect for me in many ways, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. While I do enjoy staying at home, spending time with my family, and reading, I'm missing out on a lot of things that bring me joy, such as teaching, counseling at a music summer camp, and assisting with summer reading activities for children at my local library. I also just found out that our local state park won't be hosting their annual 4th of July fireworks display, which will definitely put a damper on my July 4th birthday traditions. 

While I won't get to participate in these activities this year, I'm trying to see the good in everything going on around us, and find joy in the little things I'm doing these days, like reading books that have been on my shelf for years (I'm currently reading Sarah Dessen's Once and for All, which has been on my to-read shelf for WAY too long), and photo shoots with my little sister. Even though this summer will most likely continue to be perfectly imperfect, I hope that all of you can enjoy the perfect moments that you find this summer.