…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 was fortunate to participate in a series of interviews on handwriting, graffiti, and letter writing for a radio show called To the Best of Our Knowledge. Stop by if you have time. It’s a great line up!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. Mine was both festive and relaxing.

My first semester was fantastic. I loved the professors and the material. The classes I took were Human Behavior and Social Environment (got an A) and Social Welfare Policy (A-). My Human Behavior class required me to do my two favorites things: write and analyze people. In total, I wrote eight papers and gave three power point presentations. It was insightful and exhausting. Now I am enjoying the downtime before it starts again later this month.

In other news. . .sometime in November an unexpected opportunity presented itself. It looks like I might (might!) have a book to write in 2013. Once details are finalized I will share—ideally by the end of the month. Hope your year is off to an inspiring start.

The semester has begun and I love it thus far. The material is engaging and all my assignments are reading and writing (no tests), which is how I prefer it. As you can imagine, there are abundant reading and writing assignments. Therefore, my dreams of telling you about my would-be books have been dashed. But! I have an idea. I’ll come back between semesters. I forgot about the generous college winter break. Mine is from December 15th – January 22nd. Have a fantastic fall, and I shall return at Christmastide.

If you’re visiting here for the first time: Welcome! Make yourself at home. Have a look around. There are plenty of back blogs to read. I am currently taking a break from blogging to pursue my master’s. I am still writing letters for people—schedule willing. I hope you learn something while you’re here.

Reader Hope from California left a comment on my “Back to School” blog yesterday and my heart skipped a beat. It’s beautifully written and enthusiastic. I have felt all this year that getting my MSW is an ideal next step for me. Unfortunately I haven’t been unable to articulate exactly how or why. Feelings have not become words for me in this case. Hope, however, hit the nail on the head with her comment. Reading it made me happy and sad all at once. I am thrilled for the next chapter in my life and sad to leave this one behind. I asked Hope if I could post her comment here and she graciously said yes. Thank you Hope—for reading this blog and sharing your thoughts with us.

Samara, I am thrilled for you! Thank you for leaving the website up. I’ve always loved writing and receiving letters and your site was one of the first I discovered when I went to out in to the ether to see if anyone else had this ‘crazy’ hobby. I subsequently bought both your books and a couple of others on letter writing. I truly thought I was the only one who had this devotion to this ‘dying’ art form but nope, there are plenty of us who love fine stationery, pretty stamps, and appreciate the unique characteristics of individual handwriting. Thank you for sustaining all of us who love the written word!

Many blessings and best of luck to you!

School starts this week. I am psyched! I am not leaving LetterLover just yet though. I have a plan for my final blog. Over the years people have asked if and when I’m going to write another book. The short answer is: I’ve tried. I have pitched several ideas since my second book came out (in July 2008) and they haven’t worked out for one reason or another. I want to summarize some of the ideas for you–just so you know what’s been brewing in my mind.

I had hoped to have this finished by the time school started but that obviously didn’t happen. Please bear with me, and I will try to post the ideas soon. Then I will sign off for the foreseeable future. Thank you again for your support! Enjoy the last week of August.

Last March I announced that I was about to start a new job. I am now happy to share the details. For the past few months, I’ve been working at Temple University as an administrative assistant, and I’m about to take advantage of their tuition remission benefit. Therefore I am also happy to announce that I’m going back to school in the fall.

I’ve been accepted to the Master of Social Work (MSW) program with a scheduled graduation date of May 2015. I know it’s probably not what you expected. An MFA or advanced degree in journalism is what people expect from me. This path, however, feels 100% right. My end goal is to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). A LCSW is a social worker trained in psychotherapy who helps individuals face mental health issues and personal problems aiming to improve overall life satisfaction. In other words, a therapist.

Fear not, I will still be a writer. I will ALWAYS be a writer. This degree is going to round me out in ways I cannot imagine. I’m certain it’ll make me a better writer while giving me a whole new skill set in the process. I’m super duper excited!

And now for the bad news: I’m going to stop blogging. The time has come. I am going to leave LetterLover up because there’s information here I think passersby might find useful. I’m also going to continue the letter-writing service (schedule willing). I’ll still be on Twitter & Facebook. I’ll also try to write for The Huffington Post every few months. I’ll be around—just not here. In three weeks or so I’ll post one final blog welcoming people to the site, inviting them to look around, and explaining where I’ve gone. Thank you all for visiting my little corner of the Internet these past few years! I am endlessly grateful. I have no idea if I’ll blog again after graduation. We’ll see what the world is like in 2015. . .