I have been neglecting my blog for far too long. In truth, I have just been in the doldrums...a reading slump, a writing slump. It's not a pleasant place for me to be.

I realized that I wrote myself into a corner with one of my most recent works-in-progress. Of course, my characters were misbehaving in a gloriously fun way, but that made my plot go all askew. And yes, I'm blaming this all on fictional characters. I still think I know where my characters are going to end up by the end of their tale, and to get them there I am going to have to do a fairly major rewrite. I'm going to have to kill some of my darlings to get there, though.

Well, today is November 3 and NaNoWriMo 2018 is officially underway. This is the fifth year I have participated in National Novel Writing Month and I am off to a good start. The goal for today was to get to 5000 words. I hit that goal somewhere around 11:40am. I took a little break to work on a non-NaNo project, but my new goal for the day is to reach 6000 words. As of right now, I have 475 words to go. I think I've go this.

I'm switching gears this  year and trying something new. Instead of writing romance, I'm trying my hand at telling a thriller/suspense type story. The way it sounds in my head is good, but the challenge is to get that story translated onto the page in a meaningful way.

As for my previous projects, I'm working on finishing up Porter's story. The first draft is still fairly rough, so it will still need pretty extensive editing before it's ready for its release into the world. I'm not going to even try to give an estimated release date yet, since there's so much work to do on it yet.

Ok, I've dawdled long enough. Those 475 words aren't going to write themselves, you know.

Until next time, folks...

The suffering artist I am not

I have had a rough summer. August was especially awful, because of personal reasons that I have no wish to put on the internet. Suffice it to say that I am glad to see September arrive.

Until today, I had not written a single word since the end of July. That was when my troubles started. I have many friends who are fellow writers and who can bury themselves in their work to cope with their pain.

I am not such a person.

I retreat inward. My characters exit stage left and remain silent. I think much of being a writer is having a way to bring your internal world out. Retreating into yourself runs counter to that. In my grandiose moments when I imagine myself to be the next Hemingway in the making, I think all  I need is a cabin in the woods, a bottle of whiskey, my demons, and a keyboard...my great American masterpiece is sure to follow, right?

Sadly, that's just not how I operate. I will never be the artist who must suffer for my work. Life, inevitably, will bring along with it some very painful moments. I find myself unable to write to my pain.

I suppose that means I must, instead, write to my joy.

Hi all,

I know I have been absent from writing for a few weeks. I have a confession to make...I'm in a bit of a slump right now. Just a slump. I can't even really call it writer's block, since the ideas in my head are flowing at a fair clip. No, I simply have no motivation.

It's a terrible state of affairs.

I open my manuscript. I write a few sentences here or there. Sometimes I even go back and fill in a few known plot holes. But really, I'm lucky to be writing 500 words a week, when I should be writing at least twice that much each day.

My slump will lift, this I know. I'm filling my time, instead, by catching up on some reading that I have neglected. My unread pile of books on my coffee table is becoming smaller, and I can feel myself rising out of the slump. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm working on it. Slowly.

New Release

And now the wait is over. My new release is ready and is officially launched!

Western Secrets

            In the midst of the Colorado mountains, lived three brothers who were driven by love, loyalty, and secrets. In this wild, untamed land, each brother would find scandal, betrayal, and a love that threatens to burn out of control.

The Agreement

A young widow, Rachel Waters, is in search of a better life for her son after leaving her home in New Orleans. Warner Ellis needs her help. After the untimely death of his wife, he is left alone caring for his infant son and trying to run his ranch. The agreement between them was meant to be strictly business, but they could not escape their longing for each other. Now her life has been threatened, and Warner’s resolve to protect her will be tested to the limit.

  

Now available on Amazon here: http://tinyurl.com/zohd8eh

The release of my second book is behind schedule. I fully acknowledge my time management problems.

Now that that is out of the way, I have good news! It is ready for release...almost. It is written, edited, re-edited, re-re-edited, and formatted. I am now simply waiting for my cover art to be completed. Also, A Dream and A Kiss has been renamed to "The Agreement." I thought this title fit the story better.

A new post will come as soon as The Agreement is ready to go live. 

Happy New Year!

I'm a day late, I know. I have a good excuse, though, as I have been sick. Quite the lame way to ring in the New Year, indeed.

In other news, I'm putting the final editing touches on A Dream and A Kiss. I will be working on the cover art (or rather, finding a good cover artist). My new expected release date is February 1, 2017.

In the newest installation in this series, you will follow Warner Ellis' journey. A recent widower, he needs someone to help tend to his infant son and is in dire straights until Rachel Waters, a widowed single mother in need of work, comes to town. What started off as merely a convenience quickly becomes something far more. That is, until several untimely accidents begin to befall Rachel.

Who is trying to harm her? Can Warner keep her safe?

Well, stay tuned...