Well, that resolution lasted about a minute

I really did mean to keep this blog up to date, but damn, I failed miserably.

Here's the deal: I work full-time. I write in my free time. I have a social life. You do the math. Publishing isn't my first love any more so I don't invest as much of myself in it.

What is my new love? Damned if I know. I haven't found it yet. Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy writing, but I no longer am angsty about how it will be received, if people will love it, if I get good reviews, or hell, if I get a publisher. I'll just publish it myself if I feel like it. Or not. Maybe I'll just write because I want to.

So this blog will be updated, but hopefully I'll go back to my 2x weekly schedule. That's the best I can hope for, I think. And check my web blog for what's going on with books.

I missed a day because ...

I was busy. Icky busy. Icky as in, I had a colonoscopy so I had all that lovely prep to do. Nothing like sitting in the bathroom for a few hours to help you get caught up on your reading, at least.

Everything went well -- I think. Some biopsies were taken and we'll have the results soon. I don't have any particular worries, but you know how it is -- a curve ball can come at you at any time. So I remain cautiously optimistic.

As I sat there, doing my business, I was reading Jane Eyre. I have toyed with the idea of writing a kinda Jane Eyre book. I hesitate to say too much about it unless I actually get working on it, but suffice it to say, I found Jane absorbing enough to my mind off my woes. Hats off to you, Ms. Bronte!

And I spent the afternoon after the Event resting and relaxing. I was so groggy I had to just be limp. I watched some TV then in the evening I indulged in pajamas and a movie: Finding Neverland. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I realized, as I watched it, that I was truly feeling better. I figured out a way to turn Peter Pan into a murder mystery.

Add another book to my To Be Written stack!

Craft versus crap

I forgot what it was to Craft a book, not just write one. I'm taking my time, thinking about every word, examining the scene and making sure I have a goal there, making sure the scene is moving the book forward.

I don't do that when I write a mystery. I tend to get the story down quickly then I go back, fluff it up a bit, then I consider it done. Once Kathy has read it, I add more to it, tweaking it here and there. I don't Craft as I go.

But this Big Book has to be done that way, I think. Otherwise it's going to become superficial. And Lord knows, this won't be a superficial series if it works out the way I want it to.

Fingers crossed I can maintain this level of concentration. If I can, I think I'll have a story worth reading...

Good Lord, this is hard

I'm working on my Big Book. Actually, it'll probably turn out to be 5 books or more.

I've been working on this for 5 years I think. I've started innumerable drafts, finished some, tossed some away, started from scratch 5 or 6 times. It's a Big Story -- spanning generations, etc. It's all-consuming when I work on it. These characters take root in my head and just live there for months at a time.

I love working on it but I despair of ever getting it Right. I feel like I'm doomed to always write a rough draft.

Maybe this time.

Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep writing. Keep writing.

Deep breath... promo

Started on my New Year's Resolution: promotion. I made a foray back onto some loops to post blurbs about my books. I've decided to focus on 3 different books each month. Lord knows, I have enough of them -- 20 at last count.

So I'll post something daily about one or the other of the books. Today I did If Not For You and Mist. An old book and a new book.

Will it make any difference?

Who knows!

I lied

Yep. I'm going to keep this blog going. I'm using it as a record for 2012. I don't expect anything exciting to happen, but a blog is a simple way to keep a record of my doings.

So here we are, Jan. 2: what's happening? I'm trying to decide whether to get a new car. I wrestle with this question often. I buy a car, I love it, then after 2 or 3 years, I want a new car. My husband thinks I should lease because "I can't make up my mind." He just doesn't understand that sometimes a person just wants a change.

So I may go out and test drive some cars today.

On a writing note: I'm not sure what to work on. I think I should write something that I feel like doing, but right now I'm torn between my latest mystery (the Pooh book) or my sci fi series (Booker's book). So I may take a day off and think about it.

Or maybe I'll go to a movie and say to hell with it all for the day! I'm trying to let my spontaneous side out to play...