WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING
Hey! It’s been a while… and I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t forgotten about you or all of the books I still want to write and publish.
In early 2020, I had so many plans! I had schedules. I had books written and almost ready to publish. I was keen.
And then… well… I always knew I was at my most productive when I was in a stable environment, but the pandemic and all the other stuff that happened in the last 18 months really proved that to me. I have been lucky in so many ways (none of my family had COVID), but the situation has still done a number on my creativity and productivity. From learning how to do my day job from home to everything else… Yeah, let’s not do that again any time soon. Okay?
Well, here’s a recap of what’s been happening:
After a long struggle with kidney disease, my little shadow, Darcy, left us in the fall. It broke my heart and I still miss him.
Our new place is in a little baby town and there are several undeveloped lots around ours. We have houses around us too, but this view from my front step makes it look like I live in the woods. I haven’t seen any wolves yet, but there have been deer.
We sold one house and purchased another. I painted the kitchen cabinets in both houses. (I may be a little crazy.) Plus… I painted every room in the house we were selling. I’m not sure my brush and roller holding hand will ever be the same…
I also miss my old garden. It was finally at the point where we could just go outside and relax. My new one doesn’t have much in it, so it’ll be fun to make it our own, but it’ll be a lot of work too. I have ideas. So many ideas. But we’re leaving most of the garden work until next year. So I’m trying not to look at it too closely at things this year…
So… I had to give up my office at my old house. I loved that space! And I don’t have a new office at my new place… yet. We have plans to build one in the basement. But who could have guessed that the cost of lumber would go so crazy? Ouch! Still… I have my fingers crossed that things will change soon.
Our other cat, Mikka, loves our new place. She now has her very own window and she spends most of her day spying on the dogs in the neighborhood.
UP NEXT!
So that’s where I’ve been… And now it is time to start thinking about where I’m going.
My first step is to *finally* publish book 3 (Auras and Assassins) and book 4 (Hexed and Haunted) of the Dark Guards series. My current thought is that Auras will be out in the fall 2021 and Hexed will be out in early 2022. And then… well… I have to make some decisions. There are more Dark Guards books to write, but I have a lot of other ideas too.
Also, my day job boss is retiring soon. He’d originally planned to retired in July 2021 and go travelling, but… well… travelling now isn’t quite the same as it used to be. So he might postpone a little longer and I told him I’d stay as long as he needed me. And when he does retire, I will be able to focus exclusively on writing and I can’t wait!
I want to be consistent with my publishing schedules. I don’t want to get derailed again. I am taking steps to make that happen.
XOXO
Lori
