I could probably just do this without telling you. I mean, given all of the things going on, if I slowed my pace a little on this side of the blog, you wouldn't even know it from your end. I have a new novel out with another one coming on Halloween. I am planning an audiobook version of Slender Man and have the next Deklan Falls novel with a Beta reader and rewrites coming for that for a Spring 2017 release.
Like I said - you probably wouldn't even notice a slow down.
However, that is never how I have run things around here. I love blogging and have been doing so for - geez - 10 years? I think I was running my own blog starting way back in 2005 or '06. I have always shared my opinions (my first blog was ALL opinion) and when I decided to try making a real go at this writing thing, my career as a writer has been very open. I have told you about health issues and the highs and lows.
So, 2016 has been very busy. The Man From Taured came out Christmas of 2015 and promoting that book carried into 2016. Then in March 2016 my second novel in my Elementals YA series - The Lord of Winter - came out and promotion for that took up the spring. There was also the short story The Elevator Game in February. I made the previously-collected short story Vermilion available on its own.
I also wrote the next Deklan Falls novel (Radiowaves). I edited and did rewrites on Rotate the Earth: Book Two: The Starting Line. I also wrote my thriller TEXT, sent that off to Beta readers, edited, rewrote and published that one. I also decided to produce a print version of Strange Fruit and the Slender Man, which is now out.
Whew.
Oh yeah, I also have that full-time job, volunteer for a local political party, found out I was diabetic, have lost weight, dieted, and exercised. I also promote local charities... Let's just say things are busy.
So, I recently started a new novel. It's currently entitled The Wraith and should be another spooky, scary epic set in my fictional town of Knorr, PA. Yes, Warren and Tabitha are back and there might even be a guest appearance by Noble Randle from Man from Taured in it. When I write my stuff, I work in the morning mostly and strive to produce 1,000 words a day.
There's just been a bit of a problem with the latest WIP. I find that I am writing 1,000 words sort of - on automatic. I sit down, crank it out before work, then dash out the door. There have been a couple of times when I thought - what the heck is going on here? That is never a good thing.
So, I have decided to slow down a bit. Now, that means you will still get RtE2 in October. I am sure SOMETHING will be there for you on Christmas, even if it's just a Kindle sale. Then in early 2017, I am expecting edits and rewrites to be done on Radiowaves, with a publication date sometime around March of April (maybe).
Now, that does not mean I am stopping writing The Wraith. Instead, it may mean I skip a day, or only write 500 words, or 300 or whatever.
See, the last time I pushed myself when writing and feeling a little tired, I kicked myself into a Depression spiral. I sought help and stopped anything bad from happening, but my brain is telling me maybe I should relax a bit for the last part of 2016. Enjoy the fall. Go for walks wearing a hoodie and enjoy the leaves changing. Even better - read a book or two.
I will still be blogging. I will be on Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Twitter. I will be promoting the heck out of my work and, as I said, if I hadn't written this you'd probably never know I was slowing down at all. But I am. Just a little.
I'd also like to bring some more things out as audiobooks and stuff, too, so that may be coming.
2017 is looking to be busy. I will finish The Wraith. I want to write a new piece of non-fiction (about baseball). I want to write a novel out of Myth of White Butterflies. I have to write the third installment of Rotate the Earth and the next book in the Elementals series. Some day I would like to get back to Sin-Eater, too!
So, I am not retiring. Not stopping. Still hoping that I will eventually write that one thing that really kicks into high gear so I can do this book-writing thing full-time. Stick around and enjoy the ride with me. Now, go take a walk and enjoy fall!
BWA