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Happy Thanksgiving!

11/20/2023

Happy Thanksgiving week! My apologies for not having a blog in a few weeks. It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say, but rather that I’ve been writing A LOT. I’ve done several short stories this month, worked on holiday promotion, and even did a fun holiday piece for the Conure Corner blog. Go check that out for a silly adventure with our parrot pals.

I wish each and every one of you a safe, blessed, and Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for your friendship. I pray you enjoy health, peace, joy, and blessing in the holiday season and beyond. Cheers to a happy holiday season 2023.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Broken Reality

10/30/2023

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I ran across an interesting challenge this weekend while researching how to write stronger short stories. The writer challenged me to find one underlying theme to all of my writing, and to adopt it as my “brand.” That not only distinguishes my work, but makes it easier to create new stories by exploring expansion on this theme.

I thought I already had a “brand” with the escape reality, but this challenge made me realize that it might be a bit broad, especially with the expanding themes of Broken Time and Singularity. I pondered how to whittle it down to something more specific, and had a brainstorm after the shocking ending to Loki, Season 2, Episode 4.

My writing isn’t about escaping reality. It’s about breaking reality, and forming new ones. And the shift isn’t just shamelessly stolen from popular media. I realized that my writing these past few years have reflected my struggles with anxiety and finding my way forward in life after the pandemic and losing my Dad three years ago. 2020 did break my reality. It broke everybody's’ reality. Since then, it seems I’ve been wandering in a “world between worlds” (to shamelessly steal from Star Wars this time) to figure out how to fix it. And, after pondering this question, I finally realize that my efforts this summer to heal and get “back on track” came from a broken reality breaking me, and it can’t be fixed. The solution is to build a new reality.

As it is in reality, so it is in fiction. Art really does imitate life, probably because we are creating it from the pieces of our perception. Perhaps we’re all in this place, but I can only speak for myself and walk my journey. If you feel the same, feel free to join me and explore how these stories speak to your truth.

It’s a big concept, and one that I’m still wrapping my head around. But for now, a good start is to accept and embrace it. So welcome to the rebranding, both of my writing and my life. I’m not sure what it will become, but I have faith that the Spirit is leading me (and my writing) right where I’m meant to be. I hope you’ll join me on this journey to explore the fluid nature of reality.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a fun and safe Halloween and a great week.

Bye!

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There's Nothing Like Reality

10/12/2023

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There’s nothing like reality to drag you out of your own world, and my busy schedule has done just that. I finally got enough distance from Singularity over the past few weeks to write a few short stories and enter some writing contests. Now, with the November 1 release of Duality approaching, I’ve decided it’s time to go back and do those rewrites for Singularity.

I do admit to returning to that world for some comfort. A busy schedule means there has been stress, and writing helps me to process things and relax. Anybody whose read my books can probably tell that I struggle with anxiety, and it’s been an active issue again the past few months with sinus infections, busy schedules, and numerous maintenance and repair issues. I know they say you should journal and I do, but it seems that writing fiction gives me more relief and release than straight journaling. That means I’m back to Singularity to see what I’ve created. Seven chapters in, and I’ve already caught some inconsistencies and questions. Then again, that’s bound to happen when the rough draft takes five months to write.

Slow and steady wins. Just as handling my anxiety will take consistent effort that will move in the Lord’s timing, so will Singularity. I learned that both with previous anxiety struggles and with Broken Time. You heal faster when you give yourself the time and space to do it right and let things work out for good in the end. And there’s another annoying lesson in patience woven in there, too. *Sigh.* I suppose it’s a good thing that Singularity is the only novel-length work-in-progress I have now. It’s been a while since I’ve been down to one.

So Duality is coming November 1, and you can pre-order it now or read it in advance in The Fourth Quarter. That’s the first mystery that I’ve written since 2014, and I had fun returning to that genre. I hope you enjoy it.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.

Bye!

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Get Out!

9/20/2023

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You’ve heard of writer’s block, but have you ever heard of being blocked because you can’t seem to get your head out of the book you just wrote? I’ve never heard or read anything about this, but it’s a problem that seems to plague me after almost every rough draft I write. I finished the rough draft of Singularity a month ago, but have had no success in writing anything new since then.

It didn’t bother me at first. I was busy preparing The Fourth Quarter and Duality for publication, then I got sick with a sinus infection, and then I went out of town for the weekend to see one of my favorite bands in concert. It’s been this past week when I finally realized that I’ve passed on every prompt or opportunity to get back to writing short stories. I tried to blame the prompts – they weren’t good, I had nothing, they just weren’t that inspiring. It was a couple of days ago when I finally realized what the real problem was: I was still stuck in Singularity!

Well, this is awkward.

It’s exciting to create a new world. It’s a lot of work and rough drafts can be tough – after all, it’s not easy to create something from nothing – but it comes to a point where it consumes you. You’re in that world. You know these characters. They’re real to you, and this alternate reality that you’re bringing to life is exciting. It’s only natural that, after you type that last word, there’s a mixture of relief to have it out of your head and on your computer, and disappointment that it’s over. People talk about the disappointment when they finish reading a good book. Believe it, it’s nothing compared to the deflation of when you finish writing a book, especially one that you’ve been working on for a while. Singularity started coming together around last Thanksgiving, so that book was nine months in brainstorming, research, development, and writing. Of course, it’s hard to let go of it. It was co-habitating my brain for three quarters of a year.

Sure, it needs rewrites, revisions, edits, and much more work to make it a publishable manuscript. But the fact of the matter is that I do need to let it go for a while so I can have an objective perspective when doing the follow up work. I need to walk away from that community and take some space in the real world to come back and fine tune that one. Being a writer truly is living in multiple realities. The trick is knowing how to toggle amongst them.

I need to walk away to find new inspiration for other work, too. My novels are usually in the works for two years before they’re ready to publish, so I need to create more in the way of short stories, articles, and perhaps even other long stories or novellas to keep new content out there. That means I need to open up my mind and my muse for new, different inspiration. The only way to do that is to move away from Singularity.

It’s time to leave that world behind, at least for a little while, to embrace others. Difficult as it is, I’ll find a way, and find that inspiration again. Perhaps soon, since I’m open enough to at least write this blog today. There’s hope.

That’s all today. Stay safe, and have a great rest of the week.

Bye!

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Goals Achieved

8/30/2023

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I’m happy to report that I healed from the cold, the birthday bonanza is successfully done, and my writing is back on track. I pre-published The Fourth Quarter and Duality Monday. The Fourth Quarter will release September 15. It includes Quarantine, Resonance, Duality, and A Christmas Proposal, and it’s available through Amazon or at all other online retailers through this Universal Link. Duality will release November 1, and is available for pre-order through Amazon or at all other online retailers through this Universal Link.

So if you get The Fourth Quarter, then you’ll get to read Duality seven weeks earlier. But if you have all of the other stories and only want Duality, then it’s coming November 1.

I’ve enjoyed working on these projects and the rough draft of Singularity, but now I’m ready for a break. I’m glad everything worked out, and I plan to return to my goal of writing at least two short stories a week until I’m ready to return to rewrites for Singularity, but first I’m going to take a writing break for the rest of this week and next week. I need it and would like some time to return to reading and working on my counted cross stitching. My reading has slowed down over the past month, and it’s been five months since I worked on that Believe in Santa pattern. Sometimes you need to do something different.

That’s all today. Have a great week and a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Bye!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Broken Reality

There's Nothing Like Reality

Get Out!

Goals Achieved

Escape Reality

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