A crisp winter chill has fallen across Pennsylvania where I live. I’m inviting it in, hoping that this change of season will perhaps change some of the terribleness of 2020. This blog post isn’t intended to be a “year-in-review” (not yet), but I have found, on a personal level, a deeper dependence on Christ these past few months. My how I’ve slipped away from my time in prayer. There’s nothing like an election and civil unrest to drive someone closer to a God that never changes.
Wow. I didn’t mean to start off this blog post on a such a serious note, but I think it’s fair that you, my reader, know what I’m working on and discovering in my life. That’s why you come here and read these, right?
Despite the heighten political emotions of November, it was actually a very exciting and rewarding month for me. I’m not going to beat around the bush. If you didn’t see it on social media, I finally finished The Dark Ruler! Wahoo! That is really the ONLY news I have from this past month.
I had planned/hoped to finish it by the end of October, which would have given me two weeks to focus on revisions before sending it to my editor, but it ended up taking me until 1am on November 15th until I could finally call it DONE.
Now, even though I’m using that word “done”, there is still a bit of work to do on this book. It is presently with my editor who will invariably send it back with a slew of changes she’d like me to make. So, I will have some more work to do on it before it’s ready to see the world, but hopefully those changes will be relatively minor. And of course, I have my list of character names I will need to change. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m notorious for using filler names while drafting a book and then going back at the last minute and changing those names to something I really like. I’ve got a few in The Dark Ruler that definitely need to be changed.
A lot of people have been asking me now, ‘What have you been doing since you don’t have your book to work on anymore?’ I’m usually tempted to shoot back with something like, ‘The same thing teachers do during their 3-month VACATION. You know, lay on the beach the entire time. I’m being sarcastic in case you can’t tell… My sister is a teacher and I know a little bit of the reality of a teacher’s “summer vacation”. The truth is, teachers still do a lot of work during the summer, and it’s the same for me right now.
Whenever I finish a rough draft of a book or right after sending it to my editor, I always make it a point to go at least a week or two without even picking it up and looking at it. The writer’s brain needs that time to disconnect. It allows me to go back to it with fresh eyes and new perspective. In my last blog post, I told you all that I was still going to attempt Nanowrimo during November. I did attempt it, but I didn’t finish it. This was a little bit of a blow for me, but I was pretty burned out from all of the writing I’d done in September and October and even the beginning of November, that I had nothing left in my gas tank.
So, it’s true, I haven’t been working on my book for these last few weeks, but there’s a lot more to author life and publishing than just writing books. I’ve been planning the launch of The Dark Ruler which I’m really exciting to share with all of you. I have a fun giveaway planned and some other new stuff. Plus, I’ve been doing a lot of planning around how I will communicate with you all during 2021. This past year I’ve been doing a combo of Facebook, Instagram, and blogging, but I’m considering a new approach. An approach that will deliver some exclusive content to my email subscribers only. So, stick around to hear my idea about that. And of course, Christmastime brings with it a whole new to do list. Trust me when I say, I’ve been plenty busy since sending off my book to my editor.
I don’t have an official release date for The Dark Ruler quite yet, but we’re looking at late January/ early February. In the meantime, I am actively recruiting for my Advanced Reader Team aka my Street Team. This is a group of people who read advanced copies of my books and then help me launch them with gusto! You get FREE copies of my book before anyone else. If this is something that interests you, you apply by clicking here >>> http://eepurl.com/g4r6Qr I would LOVE to have you on my team.
Until next time, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Recent Comments