H
appy 2020! New year, new decade…it’s pretty amazing that we’re here already.
To get a few things out of the way first…
- Yes, I’m alive.
- Yes, I’m still writing. (More on that in a minute.)
The thing about raising tiny humans is that it seems to put time in flux. I know time has passed—my little ones aren’t as little—but I couldn’t quite grasp how it was slipping away from me. Case in point: I did not intend for there to be such a gap between my last post and this one!
But…I’ll cite aforementioned tiny humans and lack of sleep. Not much else I can say, really, other than thank God for coffee!
To very briefly sum up the past year, Baby #3 arrived on her due date last April, just as her daddy predicted, and is growing up way too fast trying to catch up to her older siblings. My toddlers are starting to talk more (and with my older boy we’ve finally hit the “why?” stage), and my step-daughter is turning into quite the young lady. The recovery ministry my husband and I both work for (my job is part-time) is growing and thriving, as is another ministry my husband volunteers for.
Oh, and we moved into a house in town this past August. We’re only here for a year, so we’ll be moving again this coming August (our life has been quite the adventure the past few years), but for now, we’re enjoying living in town. (And I’ll admit it—I’m also very much enjoying the fact that we’ve got access to better internet again.)
Now for the writing news…
2019 was actually a decent year, all things considered. Having a baby naturally took a chunk out of my available writing time and energy, but I’ve mostly bounced back. Writing helps keep me sane in the midst of all the normal chaos in our house, and the Lord has enabled me to find (and make) blocks of time throughout the week to put fingers to keyboard.
In addition, I’ve been taking a number of workshops that have been of tremendous help in learning more about the craft and art of writing. (I”ve come to the conclusion that this particular season of life has been my learning season.) My writing time might be limited some days, but my learning time is a lot more flexible.
So far, 2020 is shaping up nicely. Took a page from one of my mentors (Dean Wesley Smith) and bought myself a pack of little gold stars as a motivational reward. I’ve set myself modest daily word count goals. (What with all the tiny humans and homeschooling, and all. LOL.) The days I hit that goal, I get to put a gold star on the calendar in our kitchen.
Gotta say, it’s been pretty encouraging to see some of those little gold stars glittering at me when I walk by.
Project Updates:
While I’ve started Book 5 of The Guardians, I haven’t made much progress, due to lack of sufficient brain power to handle all of the plot threads involved. It’s the final book of the series, and I don’t want to drop anything because I’ve been sleep-deprived. LOL. The characters have been rather understanding of the situation and have kept to the background, but they’re starting to stir and demand that I get back to their story. Planning to commence work on it a little later this year.
In other The Guardians news, the first three books of the series are available everywhere in an omnibus. (Ebook only, I’m afraid. A paper edition would probably break wrists. :P)
Gold-dust Roses:
Still don’t have a final title for this book, but it’s been a blast to write. I’m in the last quarter of the story, approaching the climax. Hoping to have it finished in the next few months.
The Stone General
No progress to report on this one, unfortunately, though I do plan to get back to it later in 2020. The characters have been waiting very patiently in my head, and I’m looking forward to telling the rest of their story.
Ink Realm, sequel to Lady Ink
Ditto for this one. Needs to be written, just haven’t gotten to it yet.
New Projects:
About a decade ago, I started a detective story and never finished it. I never forgot that story, however, and always thought it would be a lot of fun to go back and write the rest of it. Well…this past year I went back to it. Can’t say too much yet, but I’m having a blast with it between other projects and hoping to have something to announce later this year.
There are a couple of miscellaneous things in the works, but nothing worth mentioning yet.
One of my other goals for this year is to not let time get away from me and keep me from posting blog updates consistently.
Until next time…