At 4:01 p.m. today I turned in my third book. 70,265 words. Whew. I turned it in a few weeks later than originally agreed upon. This was due to school distractions and also consistently finding I had much to say about topic. I still have more to say. I had to scale back some of the sections. I can look at unrequited love from many different angles–sociological, literary, psychological, and personal.

The new book’s Goodreads page has been posted–the cover you see is not the final cover. I was shown the new cover last week and I’m beyond excited. It’s gorgeous! I look forward to sharing.

My second semester of grad school ended on May 4th. I got two A’s this time–none of that A minus nonsense from last semester.

Last week reader Hope sent me an encouraging article about teens who enjoy letter writing. I was happy to hear from her. The timing felt right. It’s time for me to re-join the world–the blogging world and the real world.

It’s been an intense few months. I am at once grateful for the experience and glad the season is changing…Now onto the editing portion of the program.

…I’ll have a new book out.

Last fall I had planned to write a summary of the book ideas I’ve had over the years as a way to officially put them on the back burner whilst in grad school. Well, unexpectedly and extraordinarily one of the proposals came through at the end of 2012.

The book is called Loves Me…Not: How to Survive (and Thrive!) in the Face of Unrequited Love and it is scheduled to be published in February 2014. Although the theme is different, this book will be similar to my other two in that it will include a mix of personal stories, history, pop culture, literature, and, of course, advice. If ever there was a subject matter that invites itself into all forms of creative expression it’s unrequited love. I’m going to tell the real story of The Little Mermaid (spoiler alert: very sad ending).

The manuscript is due soon, so I won’t be back to blogging until late spring. Over the next few months, I am going to work full time, take two classes (6 credits), and write a book. I’m not sure how I get myself into these things. I’m not complaining! These are good problems to have. I’m just amused that it’s all happening at once… I guess there is no other way.

I am reading Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son by Anne Lamott. I am neither a parent nor grandparent, but I love her humor and take on the human experience and therefore I read whatever non-fiction she writes. While reading yesterday, she made mention of the Four Immutable Laws of the Spirit and listed them. I was moved by how simple and insightful they are. The truth is usually simple and approachable. Lamott did not come up with these, an organizational expert named Harrison Owen did. They are the following (number three is my favorite):

1. Whoever is present are the right people.
2. Whenever it begins is the right time.
3. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
4. When it’s over, it’s over.

Last week I wrote a letter on behalf of someone with a broken heart. When our exchange was finished I offered to suggest some books that I thought might help. (I didn’t want to volunteer the titles without her wanting me to). She took me up on my offer. I list them here now, too, in the event anyone passing by has a broken heart.

I should note that these books are insightful for us all–whole and broken hearts alike. Each book focuses on self-awareness and that will have a positive personal impact regardless of relationship status. The first two books are man friendly and the last one not so much. Although there is plenty of good advice for any person regardless of gender, the title just leans toward the feminine. You know what, who cares?! No one has to know what you’re reading!

1. The Mastery of Love – This book is simple in the way it’s written and profound in its message. It’ll take you two days to read if you plough through. It’s more about self-love than romantic love and it emphasizes that no love is possible without genuine self-love.

2. Calling in the One – This is a workbook. Every day for 49 days (seven weeks) the author has you do an emotional exercise (involving journaling, meditation, etc.) to help you get closer to yourself and understanding your past behavior. I find the promise of the book “7 Weeks to Attract your Soulmate!” to be cheesy, but the book itself is fantastic.

3. The Single Woman’s Sassy Survival Guide – This is a Kindle only book (totally worth buying a Kindle for!) The author, Mandy Hale, has hit the nail on the head with how to mend a broken heart and heal in a proper (non destructive) way–so you’re ready for love when it comes along. She’s full of energy and gives great advice.

Way back in early 2008 I wrote a blog called “The Grass is Rarely (Almost Never) Greener”. It was one of my favorite pieces but was passed over by The Huffington Post–meaning they did not feature it on the front page of the Living section as they’ve done with some of my other blogs. It also didn’t gather any comments. I was disappointed but knew it wasn’t worth dwelling on.

Out of the blue last week I received an e-mail from a publisher in the UK asking if they can include a quote from that very blog in a book. How random and wonderful. I suppose they could cast the quote in a negative light, but based on the title/topic of the book I don’t think they’re going to. The lesson is: You never know! If you have an idea you want to share, share it. Put it out there and keep it out there. You never know who or when someone might want to quote you. Here’s the message and the quote:

We intend to republish the following quote by Samara O’Shea. The quote will appear in a book entitled The Man Diet, a topical self help title that focuses on relationships and feminism.

“The peanut gallery tends to assume single people are always looking for a significant other, and many of them are — so it’s a reasonable assumption. This assumption, however, is based on the fact that life is better when you’re in a relationship. The birds sing more often. The sky is bluer, and you don’t have to deal with pesky emotions such as loneliness and dejection. My keen eyes can confirm that this is, in fact, not true. Every depressing sensation you can feel as a single person — misunderstood, isolated, and sad — you can certainly feel while in a relationship. And the elations you feel in a relationship — satisfied, triumphant, and ecstatic — you can feel while being single.”

I first learned of Diana Athill last year when a friend sent me this article: In Life’s Latest Chapter, Feeling Free Again. Diana had a remarkable career as an editor—helping the British publisher André Deutsch establish his publishing company in the early 1950s. She has edited the works of Margret Atwood, Jean Rhys, John Updike, and Simone de Beauvoir.

When Diana retired at the age of 75, she went on to write three successful memoirs (a nice reminder that it’s never too late). She had dabbled in memoir writing a bit in her younger years, but not to the same success as her later ones. Her first book called Instead of a Letter (1963) is about her fiancé who left her for another woman during World War II and then died in combat, so she was never able to confront him. But it was her post-retirement book Somewhere Towards the End (2008) about aging that was a critical and commercial success—winning the National Book Critics Circle award.

At the age of 91, Diana is not done. The Telegraph reports that she is publishing a collection of “letters written between 1981 and 2007 to the American poet Edward Field, to whom Athill was first introduced through their mutual friendship with the eccentric American author Alfred Chester, whom she published in the Fifties and Sixties.” The collection is cleverly called Instead of a Book.

I have read Diana’s first book (from 1963), and I’m excited to get my hands on this new one. As The Telegraph notes, “Letters, of course, provide a completely different form of self-revelation from memoirs. Gossipy, amusing, confiding, Athill writes about friends and family, her tribulations with decorators and newfangled technology; her unabashed delight in the late flowering of her literary career – ‘What could be more enjoyable than an appreciative audience!’”

On Saturday morning I had a wonderful conversation with a writer named Lisa Phillips . She’s writing a book about unrequited love. After seeing my article in Marie Claire she asked if she could interview me. She’s interested in finding more women to interview about unrequited experiences. If you’d like to share your story with her (you may do so anonymously), please contact her at Lisa@LisaPhillips.com . You can also take her anonymous survey. (Women only for now. Hopefully there will be a follow-up book for boys =)