One of those days

I've been juggling several projects recently. I'm excited about getting through another round of editing for The Old Royal. That just means it's inching closer to publication. I know there are some guys I work with who will be happy to hear that. But, alas...

On the tail of the good news comes some not-so-good news. Work on Rabbit on the Run has slowed to a stop. It seems my motivation to write dries up when I sit down to work on it. I'm still excited about the story. It just seems like Royal is sapping my motivation. Who knows? Perhaps when I get The Old Royal out the door things will pick up for Rabbit. This doesn't mean I'll let this story slip through the cracks. Hear me now and believe me later: I fully intend to complete this novel and have it published this year.

Of course, there is also Lathem's Lament to look forward to. I've already completed one editorial pass on that story, so I don't have to contend with creating something anew. This is perhaps the only occasion when editing isn't such a drag. After much thought, I've decided to release Lament and Rabbit simultaneously. I came to this conclusion after I realized that I was jumping around genres. Since it is a Southern Gothic and Rabbit also has similar characteristics, I've decided it would be best to release them together. That way, I can give my readers who want crime fiction a book while also reaching out to some new readers. Lament is a book I wrote several years ago and I refuse to see my efforts go to waste. Besides, I really like the story and think others will, too.

However, this post wasn't meant to be a status update. I wanted to express my frustration with the state of my writing. On the surface, it seems like I'm not being very productive. My blog posts are lagging, stories seem to be stalling in progress, I'm becoming distracted by external activities, and I've gained some weight. Yeah, I know, that last one has nothing to do with writing. But, it still sucks, especially since I was so good last year and lost 50 pounds.

Now that I give it more consideration, I think I'm just in a temporary funk. My writing hasn't really hit any brick walls. This is just a temporary mental thing that everyone experiences from time to time. I just need to stop dwelling on it and move on. I'm about to meet with a writer-friend for our weekly lunch where we talk about reading, writing, and practically anything else that interests us. I always enjoy our discussions because we're very like-minded. I'm sure it'll be fun and I'll get motivated again. Thanks for stopping by and listening to me rant. I promise, I'll try not to do this very often.

The Old Royal release date pushed back

*SIGH* Okay. So I said earlier that I wanted to release The Old Royal near the end of January. Well, here we are, the end of January and sadly I have to announce that I am not even close to releasing the book. (I guess my audience of one will be disappointed. Sorry about that.)

I've handed the manuscript over to my primary beta reader (my lovely and beautiful wife) who is still working on going through it. I don't envy her the job of proofing my work because...well, editing is a shitfest. There, I said it. Reading is one thing. But, reading something that you know may contain flaws, plot or otherwise, puts you on your guard. Not to mention, cross-referencing some fact(s) that may crop up hundreds of pages apart for accuracy. No, I don't envy her task, although that is what I do several times before ever handing it off to one of my beta readers. And, believe me, it sucks to read a book over and over and over. Even if you wrote it, I guarantee you will eventually come to hate reading it.

I think I painted a bleak-enough picture of the process so you will understand how badly it sucks. Just the other day, when I asked her how it was coming, she said I could read the notes she's already made. I told her I didn't want to do that, that I would prefer to wait and just hear the whole impression at once. She said, "Well, you could get a head-start on fixing the problems." That's never good to hear. I asked her if they were big problems. Basically, from what she alluded to, it's close to a rewrite, I think. I might be over-estimating the magnitude of said "problems", but nevertheless, it looks like the book will not be out for a little while.

Whenever she finishes, I will correct whatever is wrong with it, shaping it into the story I thought it already was and hand it off to the next beta reader. I usually get the opinions of at least three different people. So, now that I've made my announcement and eaten crow, I'll continue editing and writing the next couple of books in the queue. I've decided to quit trying to predict releases for this very reason. It sucks to be ambitious and announce a tentative release date only to miss the mark by so much. Until I get better at judging my progress, I'll just keep quiet about future releases until they are much closer to actually being finished.

In the meantime, I urge you to get a copy of one of my other books if you haven't already done so. Hopefully, you've read one...and enjoyed it. So, why not help a struggling author out and get another? I'd certainly appreciate it. You can find links to the various formats in the right margin. Thanks for reading and stayed tuned for updates as I get closer to the release.

P.S. This picture pretty much sums up how I feel...