Josh Lanyon's Blog, page 13
July 29, 2022
Life as We Know It
I'm trying to figure out what the heck I've been doing for the last couple of months that's taking up so much time...
OH YEAH, WRITING.
And yet, I seem to have so little to show for it.
Of course, writing is not all I've been doing. We had our very dear friends from Finland staying with us for a few days. We had the preparation and celebration of our annual 4th of July party. I had rehearsals for our gig in Pleasanton this September (for those who don't know, in my other life, I'm in a Celtic band and we've started accepting gigs again WHY????????? But anyway...)
One thing that slowed me down was finishing up Hide and Seek. It turned out to be way longer than I'd anticipated AND the edits were more extensive. So I started Lament at Loon Landing late (try saying that fast three times) but quickly--though not quickly enough--realized I wasn't going to finish in time to be able to start Death at the Deep Dive so as not to also miss that deadline (and lose all my preorders).
So now I'm working on Death at the Deep Dive (which I'm LOVING) but that means that Book 7 in the series will come out before Book 6.
I know.
But here's the thing, I could pretty much change the book numbers and it wouldn't make much difference except that the way I'm doing the series is each book is set in a particular month based on what's going on on the island (the real island, Block Island, I mean). AND I wanted a book in between Body at Bucanneer's Bay and the plot point resolutions of Death at the Deep Dive. It's not crucial, but as far as the pacing of the series overall, I feel like that's important. So yes, the first few thousand readers won't have the benefit of that elongated pacing, but the first few thousand readers probably feel I'm overthinking it. ;-)
As far as overall story arcs, nothing that happens in Book 7 affects the mystery stuff in Book 6.
There are some other developments that will be slightly out of order, but in the long run, nothing major. Or at least, I don't think it's anything major. HOW SHOULD I KNOW?
Oh, and as for when Book 6 Lament at Loon Landing will actually come out?
Here's the thing. After I finish Death at the Deep Dive, I need to promote and catch up everything else for a day or two (because it's like weeks since I've responded to email or messages) and then rehearsals and then I have to get my booster shot so that I've got as much immunity as possible before we do this Labor Day gig. Having had Covid once, I'm really, really, REALLY eager not to contract the BA.5E = mc^2 variant. But I do seem to get knocked on my ass by the boosters, so I'll lose some writing time there. Then there is the gig itself (which is roughly five days including travel and prep).
I'm trying to be realistic, and realistically, it's probably going to be mid-September.
And honestly, that might be optimistic, because sometimes I get tired.
Sometimes, every month or so, I need a rest.
But anyway, I know the updates have been few and far between, so I figured I better explain myself before the confusion about release dates reaches critical mass.OH! Next week, I've got something special planned for the blog! A "conversation" with the wonderful Aki Fuyuto, who does the Japanese translations for my books with Shinshokan, and Yooichi Kadono, the brilliant artist who does so many of the illustrations. I found it so interesting, and I think you will too. ;-)
July 22, 2022
DEATH AT THE DEEP DIVE Playlist
We only see the things on the surface…
When Pirate Cove’s favorite mystery bookstore owner and sometimes-amateur sleuth Ellery Page discovers a vintage diving collection bag full of antique gold coins tucked away for safe-keeping in the stockroom of the Crow’s Nest, it sets off a series of increasingly dangerous events, culminating in Jack Carson trying to cook dinner. Er…culminating in murder.
So, yes, Death at the Deep Dive is coming out on August 14th as scheduled.
Lament at Loon Landing is likely to be end of September, but honestly I'm not committing to any dates on anything until next year. I really, really loved writing Death at the Deep Dive and I want to hang onto that...creative enthusiasm and energy. And the best way to do it, at least for now, is writing without any deadlines.
Anyway, as I said, I love writing Death at the Deep Dive. I'm not even sure why, except it has everything I love: everything from cold cases to cold weather. ;-) I've been playing this playlist constantly.
DEATH AT THE DEEP DIVE playlist
Mills Brothers - Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)
The Surfaris - Wipe Out
Regina Spektor - The Call
The Beach Boys - I Get Around
Jason Donovan - Sealed With A Kiss
The Mills Brothers - I'll Be Around
One Direction - Fireproof
OneRepublic - Someday
The Beach Boys - Don't Worry, Baby
Dick Dale - Miserlou
Owl City - If My Heart Was a House
The Mills Brothers - Till Then
June 10, 2022
LAMENT AT LOON LANDING Playlist
Just wanted to reassure everyone that although I did delete the preorder for Lament at Loon Landing on Amazon, the book is still happening. Because I'm writing so slowly, I needed a few more weeks to get it done, that's all.
In the meantime, I've been listening to the playlist I made for the book, and you might enjoy it as well.
Because this installment takes place during a maritime musical festival on Buck Island, you'd probably expect to hear more (or some) sea chanteys, but somehow that's not happening.
The Kathleen Edwards' songs seem to represent the character of Lara Fairchild, and her character is changing as I write. She's more complicated and more of a catalyst than I originally thought.
Also, Jack and Ellery are pretty solid at this point. They don't have an official commitment, but they're obviously committed to each other despite their occasional clashes. I mean, occasional clashes are a fact of any long term relationship. In book time they've only known each other a few months, so they're actually moving pretty quickly. If this was real life, the people closest to them would be telling them to pump the brakes. Not counting the islanders, of course, because they can see what's what.
Anyway, the playlist...
Goodnight, California - Kathleen Edwards
The Dark and Rolling Sea - Al Stewart
June 3, 2022
It was twenty years ago today, Sargent Pepper taught the band to play...
Okay, no, it was last year, and I sincerely wish Sargent Pepper had been there in time.
Anyway, what a difference a year makes. Last Memorial Day was the weekend everything started to go off the rails, and it went downhill from there. But the good news is this year we have running water, air conditioning, no sick doggies...no drama and no trauma. Yes the people in the house of doom did nearly start another backyard fire with their barbecue, but this time one of their guests saved the day. I just can't...
DID I MENTION I ACCIDENTLY DELETED MY MAILING LIST?
I mean, it wasn't totally by accident. I detest Mailchimp and pressing that DIE, DIE, DIE button was SO (momentarily) satisfying. And I did preserve all the names and emails of my little bitty list. I just haven't had time to do anything with them. YET. Obviously, I'm going to fix that.
So the good news is The Movie-Town Murders (Art of Murder 5) is out and available.
THAT DIDN'T TAKE SO LONG, DID IT?
Ouch.
And Hide and Seek is just about complete. This month for sure.
But given the fact that I now write five words a day (KIDDING, though there are days it feels like it) I had to remove Lament at Loon Landing as a preorder on Amazon. I can't write a book in two weeks. Yes. there are them what can and yay for them. I need more time.
Plus, I haven't had massage/physical therapy in over two years and, no surprise, my achy-breaky wrists are feeling it big time. So I'm aiming for the end of June for Lament at Loon Landing. Basically, we're looking at two weeks longer than originally planned? Fingers crossed.
From that point on, I might actually be able to stay on schedule. I mean, stranger things have happened.
There is a LOT of catch up needed on a LOT of things, but at least I'm writing again every day and the books are coming, slowwwwwwly but surely.
More news to follow. ;-)
May 31, 2022
The Movie-Town Murders (The Art of Murder 5) NOW AVAILABLE
Murder: Live and in Technicolor
Working undercover gives FBI Art Crime Team agent Jason West the illusion that he’s safe from his stalker, Dr. Jeremy Kyser. Though film history and preservation are not Jason’s area of expertise, he’s intrigued by the case of a well-connected UCLA film studies professor whose family believes she may have been murdered after discovering a legendary lost 1950s PI film.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, BAU Chief Sam Kennedy gets disturbing news: the Roadside Ripper, the serial killer Sam believes murdered his college boyfriend, may not have been working alone.
EXCERPT
He didn’t sleep well.
Thirty-one stories up, the wind pushed against the floor-to-ceiling windows and whispered outside the glass doors. Jason’s dreams went from bad to worse, and he woke, heart pounding, drenched in sweat, with Jeremy Kyser’s weird sing-songy, “Agent West?” ringing in his ears.
He knew where he was. Knew he was perfectly safe.
Yet it was all he could do not to reach for his Glock. All he could do not to turn on a lamp. It turned into a battle of will, lying there in the dark, listening to the building sway and moan. He was not going to give into irrational fear. He was not going to let Kyser control his life. Not in the big things. Not in the little things.
Which didn’t change the fact that he’d give a lot to know where Kyser was right at this minute.
The important thing was he was not standing on the balcony outside this room.
So…get a grip, West.
Jason punched his pillow and did what he usually did when he couldn’t sleep. Well, one of the things he usually did. In this instance, it was run over the details of his case.
He kept coming back to his victim.
The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that Georgette Ono was difficult.
The other thing everyone—with the understandable exception of Touchstone’s security team—agreed on was that it was almost as hard to believe she’d accidentally killed herself as it was to believe she committed suicide.
The problem was…
Well, there were a number of problems.
One, he was there to reassure the family, not reopen the case. No one wanted a coverup. But there was also no expectation that Jason was actually going to find anything. In fact, the expectation was the opposite.
If he actually reopened the case, turned it into an active homicide investigation, there would be, at best, a mixed reception from his superiors.
Two, even if he privately believed Ono was the victim of homicide, he had no real suspect and no real motive.
Even if LAPD had failed to discover Ono’s allegedly contentious relationship with Touchstone’s security—which seemed unlikely, since the head of security apparently had no issue in sharing that info with J.J.—it didn’t feel like enough of a motive.
Speculation was going to make it harder not easier on the Ono family.
Three—and this had nothing to do with his case—he felt like with each phone call, he and Sam were getting further apart. They were both reasonably articulate, they both wanted this relationship to work, so what was going on?
Was it just him or was it Sam too? He honestly wasn’t sure.
“Hell,” Jason muttered, and reached for his cell, peering at the screen.
Just after two, which meant, Sam might be asleep. He tended to crash around ten and be up and running—literally—by four. Jason tried not to interrupt those few precious hours when Sam allowed himself the luxury of turning off, but tonight…
Tonight, the distance between them was harder to take than usual.
He struggled with himself for a minute or two, then pressed Sam’s number.
Sam answered on the half-ring. “Hey.” He sounded wide awake; his voice as soft as if they were lying facing each other. “Bad dreams?”
Jason let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “No. I didn’t like the way we left things tonight.”
“Me neither.” No hesitation. It was like Sam had been lying there thinking the same.
“The thing about trying to make this work long distance is…not letting stuff pile up.”
He could feel Sam thinking that over. “What’s piling up, Jason?”
Jason not West. Jason considered that demarcation. Considered the careful gravity of Sam’s voice.
“I want to make sure you don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not that I don’t—”
“Trust me?” Sam sounded dry.
“Yes. It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“What is it then? Because there’s something.”
“It’s a fine line for both of us. That’s the lesson of Montana. You’re not just another agent. You’re a unit chief. There are potential conflicts.”
“That might hold water if you were in my unit.” No give. No leeway.
“Okay, let’s call it priorities.”
Sam said crisply, “You’re my priority.”
Jason gave a shaky laugh. “Well, wait a minute, because that’s not accurate. It’s not even the agreement we made. It’s not my expectation.”
He could hear the shrug in Sam’s voice. “Nor was it mine, but that’s the way it’s playing out.”
Did Sam really believe that? He was no liar, so yeah, he believed what he was saying. But what he was saying was not an accurate reflection of, well, you name it. It certainly didn’t reflect Jason’s experience.
“Since when?”
Once again there was that uncharacteristic wry note in Sam’s tone. “Probably since the morning you arrived at my hotel door barefoot, hair dripping, hollering how dare I phone SAC Manning about your fitness for duty.”
At the time, they’d known each other less than twenty-four hours. Now it felt like a million years ago.
“Hey, I never said how dare you.”
“Maybe not those exact words.” Sam actually sounded amused at the memory. “You were highly offended.”
Was Sam really implying he’d started to fall for Jason the morning after they’d met? For Jason, the awareness had been instant, the attraction had followed against his better judgment, but once he’d fallen, he’d acknowledged it, accepted it. Sam might have been interested and attracted, but he had fought those feelings long and hard. So Jason couldn’t help feeling a little skeptical.
Whatever it is you need, Jason, I’m probably not that guy.
“As I recall, the agreement was work would always come first for you and that I was willing to accept that for however long I could.”
“We all have our dreams,” Sam said. “That one fell by the roadside a long time ago.”
He was being ironic, but yeah. True. There was no point in rehashing ancient history. Sam had drawn the rules of engagement. Sam had also been the first to break those rules.
======================================
So yes, The Movie-Town Murders is now live on Amazon, Smashwords, Google Books, and Barnes and Noble.
It's not yet live on iBooks or Kobo. I'll try to get that taken care of. It has to do with the fact that Smashwords requires the final file TEN DAYS AHEAD OF EVERYONE ELSE. And I fulfill iBooks and Kobo through Smashwords, so I end up having to push the dates on those two back. It's not ideal, and I have to come up with a better plan.
PRINT IS COMING. Probably over the weekend?
AUDIO is coming but I can't tell you when.
Sorry it took so long to get this installment--which is NOT the final chapter--out to you. I would love to be able to promise I'll be much faster getting the next books out, but I'm still writing very slowly. It's just how it is right now. I'm trying to accept that and hopefully youse guys can too.
May 6, 2022
True Lies - Introducing Author Frank Spinelli
Good morning!
I know I've been a little erratic in my posting lately. Largely because there's not a lot to say right now. I'm writing. Very slowly. That's about it. That sums it up. Not exactly riveting stuff. :-D So I thought it would be a good idea to have a few guests, who DO have something worth talking about, drop by and share their thoughts about, well, among other things, being an artist in a world where the lines between fact and fiction have become increasingly blurred.
Which brings us to today's guest, Frank Spinelli, author of the terrific gay medical thriller-romance Perfect Flaw (Blind Eye Books).
(This book has everything I love: a flawed (AKA human) protagonist, a sexy cop boyfriend, mystery grounded in true crime, plenty of suspense and a few surprises.)
Perfect Flaw is available in print, digital and in audio narrated by Cooper North.
In fact, I believe we have an audio code to giveaway, so comment below!
A young doctor enters a world of money and beauty only to find some flaws run six feet deep.
When newly-minted Dr. Angelo Perrotta joins an exclusive concierge medical practice, he believes he has found success. His charismatic colleague, Demetre Kostas only adds to the promise of the new job. But when a series of tragic events transform his dream job into a nightmare, Angelo is confronted by disturbing accusations and the even more troubling cop, Jason Murphy. Now Angelo must unravel the secret entanglements surrounding him not just to save his career, but his life.
Balancing Truth in Fiction Writing: The Struggle is Real by Frank Spinelli
Before I wrote my first gay romantic thriller entitled, Perfect Flaw, I worked on a memoir entitled, The First Year. A story about a young Italian doctor in New York who lands his dream job, working for a Park Avenue practice, only to become entangled in a murder investigation after a colleague, posing as a physician, kills a patient.
But I struggled writing about my first year in private practice because I did not want to disrespect the death of an innocent woman. Anyway, did I really need to write another memoir? I had already written Pee-Shy, which recounted my history of childhood sexual abuse by my scoutmaster who I brought to justice thirty years later. Writing a memoir is cathartic; it’s also grueling and painful. Reliving those years of abuse, revealing intimate details of my marriage, and exposing my family to that pain again after we had repaired our relationship opened old wounds. Plus, whenever someone I knew read Pee-Shy, they looked at me like I was that abused eleven-year-old boy, not a grown adult. Did I really want to do that to my husband, my family and myself again?
No.
So, I put The First Year to rest in a file on my desktop. Years later, I thought, what if I didn’t write it as a memoir? Imagine a story about a young, Italian doctor who becomes ensnared by a seductive colleague and unwittingly makes mistake after mistake so that his life is upended after a woman is found dead? Sounds familiar? Yes, but the similarities to my real life end there.
Perfect Flaw is lifted from the headlines, but once I decided to write it as fiction – in fact, my editor, Nicole Kimberling, encouraged me to write it in the third person – I felt the lock of a metaphorical ball and chain release.
Now, I had license to do whatever I wanted to these characters. My job was not to relate my real experience but to paint my protagonist, Angelo Perrotta, into a corner and then figure a way to get him out of trouble. “Raise the stakes,” is a term I had heard so often by my writer friends, but I hadn’t understood what that meant until I was inventing a story, rather than just relating one. So, I raised the stakes and then kept raising them. I wasn’t so precious about the accuracy of the events because guess what? My book wasn’t a memoir anymore.
Perfect Flaw is based on something that happened in real life, yes, but it’s not about me. It’s about Angelo and his sexy cop boyfriend, Jason.
Still, because I am a doctor in real life, readers believe that much of what goes on in Perfect Flaw is drawn from my life, which took some getting used to. There is no escaping this trap. Readers fill in the blanks with theories about where Frank Spinelli ends, and Angelo Perrotta begins in the same way that I, myself, wondered how much Jack Torrance from The Shiningwas Stephen King.
We all write partially from personal experience, but also draw from other sources. We draw from our friends, family, and acquaintances. We draw from research and even from other stories to create a whole cast of characters. This is one of the reasons why writing fiction should have nothing to do with the writer’s sex assigned at birth or their gender identity or sexual orientation. Writers create the entire world of the novel, and every single character in it.
Still, now that I’ve moved away from memoir, I’m careful not to include too much of myself in my fiction.
Of course, I can’t help it.
My first rule is that I never include precious personal memories in my fiction because I must save those special moments for myself. Besides making stuff up is way more fun. I can’t think of a better job than creating vivid characters and then throwing them into peril. The second rule is to read while I write. Once I listened to an interview the author Jennifer Egan who said, write what you like and read the genre of what you want to write. No truer words have been spoken when it comes to writing.
==============================================
Frank Spinelli, MD is an American born physician living in New York. He has contributed articles for the Advocate and The Huffington Post. Writing credits include: The Advocate Guide to Gay Men’s Health and Wellness (Alyson Books),
Pee-Shy: A Memoir (Kensington Books), which has been optioned to be developed into a limited series and contributing author – Our Naked Lives (Bordighera Press) and Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men (Routledge).
He has made appearances on Sirius Radio’s Morning Jolt with Larry Flick and co-hosted Speak Out: Real Talk about AIDS.
Documentary credits include, 30 Years from Here (Emmy-nominated), Positive Youth and I’m a Porn Star.
Television credits include ABC News, NBC Nightly News, MTV, a national commercial and Sesame Street. In 2015, he hosted a season of Dueling Doctors.
Frank Spinelli is an advocate for child sexual abuse survivors and has given frequent interviews about his experience as a victim of sexual abuse while in the Boy Scouts.
Perfect Flaw is his first novel.
April 17, 2022
April 15, 2022
What Can I Say?
I'm struggling with coming up with blog posts because I know basically everyone just wants to know when the (***&&^^%$##@@!ing books will be out, and I can't answer definitively except to say not as soon as anyone (including me) wants.
ARGH.
But I mean, it is what it is. I'm writing as fast as I can. Granted, at the moment that doesn't seem to be more than about 500 words a day per project.
Do you ever go through one of those cycles where, no matter what you do or how careful you are in the doing of it, WITHOUT FAIL it comes bouncing back with a bunch of problems? That's me right now. Everything I start either ends with me falling down a rabbit hole or, worse, boomeranging back to hit me between the eyes.
But on we go...
Anyway, all is not lost. The Office Elf is slowly excavating my office from beneath years-worth of using it as a giant file cabinet. I might, in theory, soon be able to work in there again. I learned to make the perfect margarita. I discovered the series What We Do in the Shadows and rediscovered Aimee Mann. My miniature Japanese maples seem to have survived their first winter and so far the three roses I moved to larger pots are hanging on by their tendrils (I do not have luck transplanting roses, so I'm cautiously hopeful). We had a short cold spell, but it's warming up again, so I should be swimming tomorrow. AND I'll be celebrating Easter with my family for the first time in two years.
So...lots to be glad about.
I'm strenuously avoiding the news as much as is feasible and I've cut way back on both True Crime and social media. All of which has left me calmer and more optimistic and, believe it or not, more productive. ;-)
So what's up with you?
April 1, 2022
As the World Turns
It's been warm enough to swim for most of the last two weeks!
And, if the weatherman is to be believed, it will be warm enough to swim for most of the NEXT two weeks. Usually, we don't get these long stretches of warm weather until we hit May, so that's both the good news and the bad news. Good news for me. Probably not so good for the planet. It's major drought time in California.
But we're all gonna die anyway, so oh well.
(I try not to say that around the Office Elf as it doesn't inspire her to do her best work.) ;-D
So it's been a crazy-ass distracted start to the year, no lie--and also no signs of that letting up anytime soon either as we're once again trying to refinance the house. Also I'm going through getting our rental property up to snuff. This is time-consuming and nerve-frazzling stuff that I've been putting off for years, and now it has to be dealt with.
But about the books.
Hide and Seek is coming along beautifully--that 500 words a day thing is really paying off in a chapter a week.
The Movie-Town Murders is also coming along, but it's a more complicated story and, as I said, there have been a LOT of interruptions. Also a LOT of rewriting. I know I'm overthinking it, but at the same time, I have to be happy with it. Hopefully, hopefully, HOPEFULLYFORTHELOVEOFGOD I'll be finishing up by the end of this month.
I've got (I think) half the book, but despite my detailed outline, I'm not writing in linear fashion, so it's more like...well, picture the parts of a clock--gears, springs, tiny cuckoo bird--scattered across a work desk. The bits and pieces are all there, but not in working order. Not yet.
But it's coming. And I really love where Sam and Jason's relationship is at.
BUT CAN IT LAST?
Who knows.
Anyway, after The Movie-Town Murders, I jump right into the next two Secrets and Scrabble books, and then...I don't know. I don't have anything else officially scheduled. There are plenty of things I want to write--I really, really want to finish the Holmes & Moriarity series this year--but given how insanely slow things are going right now, I'm afraid to commit to anything. To be honest, this year's goals weren't about books and writing so much as getting my house in order. My literal house but also my metaphorical house.
So that's where we are. I'm working, I'm writing, the books are happening, but I've resigned myself to the fact that this year someone or something is going to be knocking at my office door every half-hour. I'm trying to be patient and good-humored about it. Four months in, I can safely say this is not the year I planned, but what else is new?
March 11, 2022
In Our Last Episode...
Holy moly.
Where the hell was I? Is it really Spring?
(According to the calendar, no. According to my garden, yes.)
So there's no denying starting the year out sick has slowed me down a bit. That said, it's still been a really productive start to 2022.
It's disappointing that Fatal Shadows: The Collector's Edition is technically available, but nothing seems to have shipped yet. So I keep forgetting that I finally got that done. But I did, so cross that off the list.
As you know, I've been working on strategies to keep my creativity high and my burnout level low. One thing I came up with is every morning, before I check email or do anything but have coffee, I write 500 (minimum) words on Hide and Seek. (The serialized novel I'm doing for Patreon.) This has turned out to be genius. Because it's only five hundred words, I know I can do it, regardless of how I feel or potential interruptions, and it gets me past that wobbly BUT I DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH!!! phase of writing my "real" rough drafts.
Basically, I'm tricking myself into writing before I have time to think about it. For anyone suffering from writer's block or burn out, this could be the way to get past it. It's definitely working for me. I start out the day hitting goals and being creative, which is inspiring in itself. And I'm able to deliver a chapter of Hide and Seek to Patreon just about every single week. Which is so fun because then I get the feedback in real time.
And it gives me extra product because I'll put the audio of the book up for sale eventually. We're all always trying to find more ways to be productive, so this is my recommendation. Write a little bit every single day on an "extra" project. Something completely different. Something just for fun.
Meanwhile, I just spent FOUR full days in tax hell doing two years-worth of taxes. (PRO TIP: DON'T SKIP DOING YOUR TAXES EVERY YEAR, NO MATTER WHAT.) Three days to pull all the paperwork together and one day at our accountant's office. YES. From 8:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. It took so ((**&&^^%$##@#@@!@ing long that she ended up having to pause us to take other clients and then bring us back. Oh, and let's not forget the two-hour drive to get there and back. It was exhausting. I find tax time really stressful anyway, and that's because I don't have a good accounting system. I have a rough idea of what I'm earning--and weirdly enough, last year was one of my highest ever income years?!?--but I'm not clear on what my expenses are. And when the writing is not going well, I tend to compensate by enrolling in online courses or investing in software or buying lots of cover art for projects yet to be written ALL OF WHICH I RARELY IF EVER USE.
It's not a great way to run a business (which is what writing is).
I'm an emotional spender. Which was demonstrated clearly in my taxes. And, frankly, last year was a more "emotional" year than some.
Lesson learned? I hope so. I'm trying very hard to make this the year I get my, er, ducks in a row. But
the number of ducks I have is kind of daunting. Like, for example, I was unaware that where I live it's technically illegal to rent my second house to family unless I have a business license, a safety inspection, etc. So... Okay. I'm now trying to bring all of that up to date because I've been "renting" to family for years.
What I'm trying to say here is life keeps getting in the way of my plans, particularly my writing plans.
Which brings us to The Movie-Town Murders. I'm currently one third of the way through the book (despite a couple of huge glitches regarding research and rewriting) which would be right on schedule, however a couple of real life things have cropped up. Like an unscheduled weeklong visit from my bestie. I'm going to grab as much writing time as I can during that week, but obviously it's not going to be my usual work day. And that's okay, life happens, and I love my friend and literally can't wait to see her.
It may or may not mean a week's delay on the book release. Hopefully not, but I'm trying to be realistic and communicate clearly to you what's going on.
The book is coming and it's good. I love it and I love this phase of Jason and Sam's relationship. As usual, they're largely working apart, but it's interesting to explore how they navigate the distance now that their relationship has been tested so severely. And of course everything is building toward the sixth and final book.
I guess what I'm saying is, everything is coming along, though perhaps more slowly than I (and you) would like. I feel relaxed and confident about the work and, even about life in general, though the earth continues to hurtle toward the sun.
I'M KIDDING.
Well, no, I'm not. But I've come to terms with our new normal, and I'm reasonably calm and surprisingly creative, and I will take the wins where I find them. ;-)
Hey, don't forget Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. I. CAN'T. WAIT. But seriously, I do like DSL. I vote we keep it. What about you?
