'Til We Meet Again

I had an "aha" moment today. I was explaining to my Dr how nice it was to have a sinus infection, because my brain focused on that rather than the concussion headaches.

Let's pick that apart a little. Ever had a sinus infection, where your cheekbones and brow bones hurt so much when touched or tapped that you want to hit back? HARD?

This is a relief from my headaches. I can't even.

I know I posted last week about going dark, but after talking it over with my family and my doctor I'm expanding the timeline.

So this is goodbye. Hopefully for just a few months. Hopefully just till summer.

I can't even tell you how hard this is. I've spent over 5 years developing an online presence, networking, getting to know other writers and readers. It's like admitting defeat. I feel like nobody is even going to remember me in 3 months if I'm not steadily chirping away from my nest.

In an effort to make peace with this decision, which has become a necessity to try and heal physically, I've had to step back and reevaluate where I am. In truth, I'm not in a bad spot.

I have SIX published novels, including my very first completed series. I have a handful of published short stories, at varying lengths. Those are still all going to be out there for general consumption.

I have my VERY FIRST AWARD NOMINATION! City of Light is up for a Swoony this year. If you're not familiar with the Swoony's, you can check out the page on Goodreads. In short: The Swoony Awards are a reader’s choice award recognizing excellence in clean romance fiction. We wanted a way to show our appreciation to these awesome authors who write the kind of books that we love. It’s also a great way to find new books and a good go-to when looking for something fun to read.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out. Seriously, this is one of those moments where you're just happy to be nominated. Recognized. Sure, I'd love votes--I'm not gonna lie--but just being on the list is enough. The coolest thing is, as a reader, you can vote for up to 100 books on the list, so if you're an avid book devourer (as most of us are) you can vote for ALL of your favorites. :)

Also, if you're in the market for some free books, I've got some Goodreads Giveaways scheduled for the next couple of months. Stay tuned, the links will be up once each giveaway goes live.

I've already stated that I have no plans to publish this year, so there's no pressure for me to write. I can just step back, concentrate on my family, and let myself heal. I'm not going to say that will be easy. Last night I was bitten by the urge to write so hard that I almost got out of bed to do it.

I may even have to resort to handwriting, although I don't think that would give my brain a rest any more than an hour or so on the computer. It would just be a different sort of exercise. That being said, I'm not going to push it.

So, farewell. Though I can't say when I'll be back I want to say it'll be soon. It all depends on my brain.

Now that's a terrifying thought.




 

Welcome to 2016!

It's a new year, and that means a whole new set of "resolutions." I say it like that because I make writing goals every year, so it doesn't fit the standard model of what you might think of when someone says resolutions.

Because of my head injury last August, and the resulting recovery, I thought I'd go easy on myself for 2016. The first thing I did, with the help of my youngest daughter, was take my favorite story ideas--that I hadn't started writing yet, that was key--put them up on the dart board and whatever the dart hit was the story I'd write.

The idea stemmed from a Facebook meme, of all things, that referred to today, the first day of a new year, as the first page of your book. I thought it would be fun to write a page a day of one story, not including Sundays--because I don't write on Sundays. Including the leap day, that's 314 pages--which is a pretty respectable size book!

But one page a day is hardly any effort, and even with my head injury I figure I can do more than that. I wrote down a list of all the stories that I've started but haven't finished, figuring that by working on those stories I could feel I've accomplished something each day--except it's a sizable list. There are currently TEN books/stories I've started but haven't finished. That's a workload that doesn't exactly fall in line with the idea of going easy on myself--on my brain, which is really what I'm trying to do. Work but not overtax myself. Remind my brain that writing is something we do.

I've written in some cushions for these goals--ways to keep from overdoing it this year--because, let's face it, brain health is important. I have to strike a balance between working too hard and not working enough. I also have to give myself some leeway for bad days, days that writing even one page is too much for me.

This is that balance: While I have a lot of lofty writing goals, I have NO (zero, none) publishing goals for 2016. I mean it. If I do get around to publishing something this year it will be because the story is absolutely ready, and my only other option with it is to shelve it until 2017. Remember that at the end of 2014 and throughout 2015 I had rather lofty publishing goals--and I met every single one of them, in spite of my head injury. (of course, most of them were met before I got hurt...)

So, I plan to publish nothing in 2016. I'm going to write--which is the fun part of my job as an author--and work on the existing stories I have. Sure, I hope to have stories ready to publish in 2017, but I'm not putting a number on that. I'm not putting a deadline on it. Part of my reasoning is, as I've mentioned, to give my brain time to heal properly, but the rest of it is to help rediscover the fun of writing. This year I'm going to swashbuckle with some pirates, write a tragedy, solve a mystery in Paris, go back to Fayterra, go underground with a princess, explore the angst of a vampire with a penchant for citrus fruit, and shoot across the stars with a changeling who thinks high school on Earth will be a cinch.

Now, doesn't that sound like fun? :)