Well, hello there! Long time no chat. Trust me when I say I’ve been up to my ears in work - and a bit of play, as well. 

So, to catch you up if you aren't on FB - WHAT LIES BEHIND is D.O.N.E. - and has been accepted by my editor, who really liked it. Will wonders never cease? And I mean that truthfully - I don’t think I’ve ever had such a difficult time with a book, and it took me literally until the 11th hour to get the story to come together properly, but the 5 months (5 MONTHS!) of work paid off. That book comes out in June (5.26.15 to be specific) and I’m incredibly proud of how it finally came together. Huge props to my husband and my BFF Laura Benedict for shepherding me through the process. And of course, all of you.

I did things differently this time, too. Usually my beta readers see the book before my editor, but this time, they’re going to see the last version prior to copyedit. I like shaking things up!

And so now it’s on to Nicholas Drummond #3. I had a week off between finishing WLB and flying to Cali to start ND#3 ( we have some titles, but none have been finalized yet.) I got back home Friday, spent the weekend putting my poorly neglected house and yard back to rights, spent yesterday cleaning my office, which, I must say, looks quite divine now, with everything put away and organized, and downloading research articles and books. I have a steep learning curve on this new book, so I actually have to do research prior to starting to write.

After a few weeks away from the craziness that was August, with the travel and the deadline, my schedule got all sorts of shook up. So I’m taking advantage of that to make some changes to how I work.

Sunday was my first SIS - Sunday Internet Sabbatical. It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. Since I’ve been on the road, I’ve been online in snatches, so I didn’t really miss it. I’m looking forward to the unplugged day, and I’m also not going to write on the weekends anymore. I feel like all I’m doing is working, as my house’s sad demeanor can attest to. I didn’t even play golf this summer, which is a travesty. So, let’s change that. Check.

I’m also trying to turn my laptop into my creative workstation, and do all my business on my desktop. And... doing an hour of business, then walking away. I am the worst about trying to sandwich in every single little thing that needs to be done to clear my plate for the writing, which oftentimes leaves me at 4 or 5 in the evening having accomplished a great deal, but none of it fiction. Which is my real job. 

So the plan is, I will limit the online business time to 3 times a day - 9am, lunchtime, and early evening - and then it goes off. No more answering email at 11 p.m. Check.

And, since I’m finding so much inspiration these days, I’m going to start sharing some with you.  My buddy Anna Benjamin sent me a box full, and they are lovely and profound. I will be using them as inspiration, and I hope you like them too. Ergo: see above.

So how about you? What have you been up to?