Sometimes, life happens. You get a new puppy who takes all your spare time. Your spouse has surgery and you help take care of him. You get sick and your head is in a fog. The air conditioner breaks and it's too hot to think. What does this have to do with writing? Everything. I don't have a job where I leave the house, sit down behind a desk, and forget about life for a while. My job is at home, sitting behind a deck, where all the things in my personal life are front and center.
I like to blame the lack of writing on the characters not talking, and to some extent, that's the truth. I have been working on Deacon, Book 12 in the Stone Society, for months now. Before the pup, I could write a book in a month. First draft, anyway. I am nowhere near half-way with Deacon. When I sit down to write, something comes up. If I have the time and the quiet, the characters are quiet. I have turned away from Deacon to start two other stories, but this book is calling to me to get it out there. Why, then, won't Deacon and Sabrina cooperate? I have no idea.
The good news is I'm getting a few words in Maveryck's story (book 2 in The Hounds of Zeus), and the final book in my YA trilogy. I keep toiling away a few words at a time on the other projects in hopes Deacon is finally going to stop being stubborn.
I found a new narrator for the Stone Society on audio, and so far, I'm loving this guy. The process is completely different, and I get to listen to Nikolas as it's being put together. With the first four, I had to wait until the end and listen to the completed audio. I still love the first four, and the narrator did a wonderful job, but this process is something I need right now.
Why am I writing all this? Because they're words. Putting any words down is a lesson for an author. Getting these words off my chest helps me see I'm not being lazy or slacking off. There are reasons Deacon is still sitting on my computer and not going to be in paperback ready for the Naughty Nashville signing in 3 weeks. Hopefully, by the time I write my next blog post, I'll have all three books out.
