Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Never Give Up, Never Surrender



Is it just me, or does it seem as though time flies by, and we are left breathless, trying to get everything done on time?

In one of my earlier posts, I had stressed the importance of pacing yourself. From where I am standing today, I can only wonder where I went wrong. I am exhausted. I can barely keep up with the internet demands of marketing and promoting my books, fellow authors or just keeping on top of my emails. Fortunately, I have completed my writing course and this should lighten my load somewhat.

 I had been taking an advanced writing course for select graduates, offered by the Institute of Children’s Literature. In my course, I was supposed to write a book under guidance, edit and revise it, and then prepare it for submission. I ended up with one book completed, publishing contract in hand and a second book, the sequel to Amethyst Eyes, 80% completed. Not a bad feat. (I had an amazing instructor and author assigned to me for this course, Clara Gillow Clark).

My original plan, and what is it that they say…“Life happens while you are busy making plans”, well, that’s what happened, because my plan was to complete Emma, the prequel (of sorts) to Amethyst Eyes, first. It is the story of Tommy’s parents. After that it would be the sequel to AE, followed by Rebirth. Uh, not…and the rest is history. Never in a million years did I think I would be juggling 4 books at the same time.


Now, if all I had to do was write and promote, then it’d be OK. My reality, however, is something other than an ideal “author-like” existence. Almost anything that has to do with writing comes after everything else on my list…and not by my choice. It is foremost on my mind, but by the time I get around to it, I am often alone in the middle of the night, reading, rereading and writing while everyone else sleeps soundly.


Right now, with the holidays fading away into the cold of winter and -30 degree temperatures, I plan (there's that word again) to restructure my days in such a way that will allow me to write and sleep in a more normal fashion.  While taking care of the rest, no less. 


I had mentioned that Rebirth had been released as of Dec 6th. The publisher and I both agreed to wait until the new year to promote the release and I will keep you informed of any blog tours and activities around the new book.  
Read2Review has an upcoming event near the end of January. Now that my pc problem has been fixed, and I can once again post on my blog, I will share the links and details with you all shortly. 
Info for Rebirth can be found on the blog and it is available from several online stores already. For the link to Amazon US, just click HERE.