Spring Fever and Life After Book 2

It's March. That means spring is on its way, right? RIGHT???? I say as I open up the draft on the wood stove to try and get the house warmed up on this spectacularly cold morning. The weather guy says it's supposed to start warming up tomorrow, and I keep checking that forecast to reassure myself that warmer days are on the way.

This week I pulled out all my seed starting supplies. Seeds, planters, grow lights, dirt, a nice card table set up under a sunny window...I even have a gardening notebook started. All in the hopes that this year isn't as wet and awful as last year was. Immeasurable amounts of hope and faith, and patience go into a garden each year. An exercise in practical faith if ever there was one. It's no wonder Jesus told so many gardening and growing parables! So in hope I planted some pepper seeds, since they need the longest head start. Watering them and watching and having faith that they'll grow, and that it'll eventually get warm enough out there to plant them. It helps to feel like spring is that much closer, I suppose.

Meanwhile, since Unmask the Night's release, I've decided to take a short hiatus from Red Wolf and get a head start on another major project that's in the works. It's another series, and I'm SOOOO excited about it, but that's about all I can give away right now. The final Red Wolf book IS started, never fear. I haven't shelved it. It's outlined, started, and planned with love, merely waiting for me to catch my breath and come back to it.

Like this winter that's dragging on, my creative spirit has been feeling frozen and wind-blasted, starved for light and warmth and growth. After the struggles of this past year, I find I'm in need of refreshment. So, like planting seeds while it's still winter, I'm sowing some creative ideas as well, watering them, and holding onto faith that one day soon they'll be beautiful, and will help nourish my spirit, and maybe someone else's as well. I've been doing some amazing reading, and taking delight in some new ideas, and it's beginning to open my eyes once again to the wonder and grace that's in the world. And now that I can start to see the wonder again, it won't be long at all before I'm ready to pick up the final installment of Red Wolf and discover where Red and Aaro's journey takes them at last.

Book Launch

Today's the OFFICIAL day, folks! Unmask the Night is now available in Kindle and paperback editions. Yaaayyy!!!!!

Originally I had planned on announcing some fun extras to go with Unmask's launch this week, but of course, this was the week that the dreaded tummy bug chose to visit our house. NOOOO!!! As a result, I haven't gotten a thing accomplished all week. But, despite the lack of fanfare, it still got sent off into the world on schedule, and looking pretty sharp with another great cover from the talented Abby Rodriguez. I'm so excited to hear what you guys think of it!

Unmask the Night Release Date

Check it out, my friends. We finally got some snow! Oh, and that just happens to be the proof copy of Unmask the Night. Yep. That's right. My 4th book is about to be released into the world. *Sniffs* Proud mama here.

The official release date is January 25! The Kindle book is now available for pre-order on Amazon, so check it out!  See you in a week!

New Year's Non-Resolutions.

Greetings, fair reader.

I'm happy to report that Unmask the Night, that most troublesome manuscript of mine, is at last in its final stages of preparation. That joyous time when writing is finished, editing is done, and my inner author finally gets to take a very small break. That hateful, tear-filled time of tedious battles with Amazon's obtuse technical specs, the endless maze of navigating Microsoft Word on an ancient laptop that freezes every thirty seconds, and muttered insults at technology everywhere. It's a time of slowly, angrily dying inside. Of creativity and free spirit weeping and quivering in a corner of my mind... Anyway, you get the idea. Book 2 of Red Wolf is getting itself made presentable. I'm a bit nervous to give a solid release date, since I know how those things tend to fall apart on me, however, I am *cautiously* optimistic in hinting that it should happen before the end of January.

I never got around to making any posts for the holiday's this year, which makes me a little sad. I hope you all had a wonderful season. Ours was very nice, even with the inevitable party overload, but very chill this year. We went very simple, and didn't even put up a tree. Yes, I missed it. But after a rough year, it was really great to simplify and just enjoy having Hubby home for those extra days, relaxing, getting extra sleep, and pulling off those parties without extra fuss.

With the end of the year, I always get introspective. I've never been big on making New Year's resolutions, but I like to take a look at my life and spend some time dreaming and thinking about where I'd like to be. This season something jumped out at me that has stuck in my brain and really influenced a lot of my intentions and goals for the coming year, both for my home, and for this blog. It was a line from The Two Towers (the movie version) which I had a chance to revisit over the holidays. Orcs have overrun Helm's Deep, and Theoden, in a daze and expecting to be wiped out, says, "What can men do against such reckless hate?" I feel like that could be the lament for our time and our culture. Everywhere I turn, whether it's social media with its endless memes, to news media, it seems like America is drowning in rage. And if not rage, then sarcasm and casual indifference. Nothing is sacred, and rudeness has no filter. For an introverted empath like myself, it can feel like any contact with the world is an attack. And when I'm dealing with my own ugliness, insecurities, anxieties, and humanity, just turning on my computer in the morning can drag me into a really dark place if I'm not careful.

I'm not making any resolutions, or setting any hard goals for anything, but this year I want to be more intentional about creating peaceful spaces. I want my home to be a haven. I want to celebrate reading nooks, potted herbs, paper and ink, hazy summer mornings and whole, nutritious foods. I want to de-clutter and clean and create an environment where my soul can be at peace. Instead of visualizing some perfect future where I can be happy because all's right in my life, my house is clean, chores are done, and magically there's nothing else on the to-do list, I want to find moments to live in. Moments where I can slow down and take it all in and remind myself to simply be alive. And I'm really hoping to be able to share some of those moments here. I'd like to create a space here, even if it's just a virtual one, to celebrate those geeky, homegrown moments of goodness. Maybe share some recipes, or talk about old fashioned things. Go all fangirl over garden weeds like dandelion and yarrow that are actually undercover superheroes. Just sayin'. Maybe it'll happen.

For now, keep an eye out for Unmask the Night. I'm hoping to get some special book-themed posts up here in the next few weeks. Super excited!

Cover Reveal: Unmask the Night

Greetings from your writing hermit! It's been a while, once again, and I'm sorry for that. This has been kind of a crazy, rough year for me, and as many times as I thought about sitting down to write, whether on my blog here, or on my Red Wolf series, words just wouldn't come. Part of that was burn out, part of it was dealing with another round of anxiety and panic attacks, and their ensuing depression. All fun, exciting stuff. Maybe someday I'll write about it. It's sort of been on my heart for a while now, how people, and Christians in particular, react to those of us who are going through a time of frustration and pain, whether it's emotion or physical. But honestly, it's hard to talk about, especially when you're trying to move past it. Like if you look back too soon, you'll get sucked back in. Like you need a chance to leave that person you were (and still sometimes are) behind for a while and simply look forward. So that may or may not be a discussion for another day.

Dealing with all that definitely contributed to writer's burnout. As much as I love Aaro and Rowan and their world, I'd spent so much time with them, that my creativity seriously needed a refresher. Some time away and some other projects. I couldn't even look at my manuscript there for several months, much to my dismay. I've been trying to get into some more professional writing habits and get more productive, but that just hasn't worked well for me. Through this journey I think I've started to learn the value of working with myself rather than against myself-- meaning setting a schedule and trying to show up for work, as it were, just doesn't work for me. Especially if I get interrupted by an attack of nerves, and then spend the rest of the day depressed because I didn't get anything done. I've been learning to give myself permission to have off days. To forgive myself and move on, rather than dwelling on false guilt and thus making myself even less productive. And I think, slowly, things are getting better. Not every day is a good day, but the really bad days are farther between. I'm back to writing, working on a final round of revisions for Unmask the Night, and keeping things fresh with a side project that's gonna stay a secret for now.

All that said, I am VERY excited to be back to writing, and making really good progress again. I don't want to jinx myself, and Christmas will probably slow things down a bit, but I'm really hoping to finally get Unmask the Night out to you guys within the next couple months. Despite burnout and everything else going on during its writing, it's been an incredibly fun project, and I can't wait to hear what you all think of it. Then on to the final book in the trilogy! And yes, I'm planning on keeping that secret side project going until it's able to become a main project. Another thing I've learned is that I seem to work better on two things at once. Go figure.

Hopefully I'll get to check in again soon. And, finally, what you've been waiting for...
Here's the cover! Artwork once again by Abigail Rodriguez.