Slow and Steady

So I’ve been working on this book.

Since February.

I typically finish a book in 60 to 70 days, but this one still isn’t done…four months later. Part of the reason why is because I finished about 25k words and realized the story was wrong. All wrong. My story arc didn’t fit. The beats were off. The hero did some stuff that I didn’t feel the heroine could reasonably get over in the timeline. Basically, it wasn’t the right story for this book.

So, I spent a month brainstorming, outlining, tweaking, drinking coffee, hiding under my blankets, reading books, and trying not to pull my hair out. Then, another couple of weeks wrestling with a few things in the outline and motivation for characters.

Until I finally had a few epiphanies in regards to not only this book, but the future direction of the entire series.

I’m sure this entire process wasn’t helped by the fact that I hit a wall in my personal life in February. Since 2018, I’ve been the main caregiver to my father, who’s been ill and in need of help since then. And, since he lives with us, I chose to homeschool my daughter for the 2020-2021 school year in hopes that we could protect his fragile health during the COVID pandemic. After 3 years of all the stress and responsibilities, I’ve been tired. So, so tired. Toward the end of February, I just didn’t have the energy for…anything.

BUT that is changing. Slowly but surely. I’m feeling more like myself. I have a little more energy. I feel a little more motivated. Every day it gets a little better.

I usually release 3 or 4 books a year and I probably won’t hit that this year. And while I wish I could for all of you who are waiting on more books, I’m also okay with it. I think we’ve all been under tremendous stress since 2020 and we’re all just doing the best we can. And I hope we can give each other some grace.

So, if you’re waiting on Blood & Bone #4, or Wraith Files #4, or NSFW #5, or another book I’ve talked about writing, please be patient with me. I’m working again after spending the spring in a horrible funk. It’s slow, but it’s steady.

Thanks for sticking with me, y’all. I appreciate each and every one of you.