I do try very hard to shy away from posting a lot of personal information on the blog/social media.

It’s not that I’m ashamed of my personal life; it’s just that it is exactly that. Personal.

I, however, have taken to monitoring Facebook (and for some reason, it’s more of a problem on Facebook than any other social media…probably due to the significant outpouring of birthday wishes I got from people!) and I’ve been deleting mentions of my very big personal news in between birthday wishes. As much as I’m doing this deletion for privacy/safety/personal reasons, I need to not be playing censor on my social media accounts.

I will say that I mostly use Facebook/Twitter/this blog for writing related stuff. I’ve prosecuted some nasty cases in my time, and so I’m quiet and cautious about what I say and what I do…because I’m trying to very carefully be social and visible without jeopardizing those I love. In that end, I refer to people in my life as Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Nephew, Grandma, etc., to avoid drawing some of those lines…I’m not trying to be obscure, just generic. If you know me in real life, you know who I’m talking about, and if you know me only by my writing, or only by my work life, then you either already know who I’m talking about, or there’s no reason for you to know. I’m doing that to protect them.

I’ve started to refer to someone in my life on Twitter as BF, short for Boy Friend. We’ve been together since December 2011. Since we’re not teenagers anymore, talking about having a boyfriend sounded like I was in junior high, so I abbreviated.  He has an eleven year old son, whom I’ve referred to once or twice on Twitter as The Boy. BF has started to petition for a new online title, since our status has now changed, however we haven’t come up with a better online title for him yet.

SUFFICE IT TO SAY…WE GOT ENGAGED ON AUGUST 17, 2012. We are currently planning a wedding for May 2013. I kept the news off the internet as long as I could so we could tell people in person or by phone as necessary, but I think we’ve hit most of it. I apologize if we’ve missed anyone.

I’m over the moon happy. I’m ecstatic to be marrying someone who is so supportive, so sensitive, so caring, and so wonderful. I’m excited that I’m going to be a stepmother (and those who have read THE GRIMM LEGACY know how funny that is), and my future stepson is a wonderfully funny kid whom I completely adore.

So, while I might not be linking our names on Facebook, or using their first names, it’s not because I’m hiding them, or because I’m ashamed of my personal life. It’s because I’m trying to balance my need to be cautious with people’s desire to say congratulations as they hear my news.

I appreciate your good thoughts…and will definitely need all your good wishes as I plan a wedding and try to deliver my first write-to-deadline book all at once!