It’s no secret, I love writing conferences. I’ve been lucky to attend RWA nationals in 2016 and 2017. This year, I’m thrilled to be attending Chicago North RWA’s Spring Fling.

I registered as soon as I could back in the fall. Workshops, networking, and–gotta be honest–a couple nights in a hotel room alone help recharge me. I am excited to listen to authors I admire and come back with new ideas.

I’ll share a recap later but if you are in the Chicago land area and want to check it out: Spring Fling 2018

2018 is off to a great start!

This year, I decided to track the words I’m writing in a spreadsheet. I love the NaNoWriMo programs but was curious about how productive I am the rest of the year.

So far, from January 1st through March 31st, I’ve written 89,265 words (not including edits). I’m feeling great about that word count!

I’m busy editing a project (can’t wait to share!) and it’s required an adjustment to the cycle of hurry up and wait. During the times of “waiting,” I finished the first draft of the third book in a trilogy (clean suspense), started the first draft for the sequel to the project I’m editing, and the first draft for a standalone story. Writing is my passion and has become a bit of therapy as I’m working through a few things. The standalone has been a fun project. I have no expectations for it (doesn’t need a specific word count and no one is expecting the story) and the freedom to write whatever I want has been awesome. I was hitting a bit of a wall, and writing this story reinvigorated me.

I love these stories and am excited to share as each makes its journey from the first draft through publication. Not sure how big the word count will be over the next quarter. I have two more novels and a novella I’d like to write this year. I have five stories to edit and hopefully submit to my publisher.

Sorry for the silence.

Winter is a season of long nights, dreary days, afternoon coffee, and lots of writing. I try to stay consistent with my projects year-round. But something about the winter (maybe being trapped indoors and dreaming of escape?) inspires me to work hard.

I’m editing a project and am so excited to share all the details when I can. Yep! I’m being cagey, but it’s all good news. Working with a new editor is exciting. I’ve got a steep learning curve and am determined to rise to the challenge. I’m in the process of polishing the manuscript to a high shine and don’t have a release date or cover yet. When I do, I’ll post!

The process involves a bit of hurry-up and wait. During the downtime, I’m letting my imagination run free. I have ideas for six novels and novellas and am tackling them one at a time. I gave myself permission to write without any restrictions on the most current project. I didn’t focus on a certain length or on a particular line. The result is a first draft that flew out of me in eleven days. I’ll be continuing to add layers and develop the story.

It’s been a very fun project about a dream trip and a split second decision to tell a little white lie…

I’ll be working on another novella for Sariah Wilson’s Royals of Monterra Kindle World next. And today I submitted another unpublished project to a contest. Basically, I’m writing, editing, dreaming and having a fabulous spring.