Round Robin Blog Fest January 2016

Welcome to another installment of the Round Robin Blog Fest!

This month's topic: What are one (or two) writing projects you  want to accomplish this year? What will be any obstacles you might encounter?

This year I have two books on my schedule. The first is for a new book in the Danger Cove series by Gemma Halliday Publishing. My book is called Steeped in Trouble about a quaint tea house in Danger Cove and a woman who has recently divorced her philandering husband and battled cancer. She's looking for a fresh start and ends up with so much more.

The second book is the fourth in my Wild Blue Mystery series from Books We Love Ltd., The Painted Lady. I've had to set this series aside for a while to focus on another series, but Katie, Lucy and the gang will be back for another mystery set in Packham.

Obstacles? Yup, there are a few right now!

2015 was a long, crazy year for me. Between health issues, losing the job I enjoyed, and my marriage breaking down until hubby and I separated and he moved to the southern US right after Christmas for a new job. My writing suffered. My sanity suffered. My health suffered. I took a temporary job to make some money while I figure out what I want to do with my life now that things have flipped over completely. Since I still have 2 teenagers at home and an older son who lives away from home, life is extra busy with activities and their jobs. Just keeping track of our schedules is a full-time job!

January is my time for a deep breath and getting back on track.

Health:  I am looking for answers as to why I am in constant pain and what will give me relief - besides a big glass of wine now and then!  While I can no longer go on long walks in the woods, I can do easy yoga and aquafit. I can find ways to relax and declutter my environment as well as cleaning up my diet and losing a few pounds.

Job: I took a temporary job at a fast food place just because they're the only people who called me back when I applied all over the place. If I'd been smart, I would have taken a month or so off to just screw my head back on straight, but I was pushed by outside forces to "get a real job" and "take care of things." Unfortunately, those things didn't include ME. Mentally and physically, I need a job that has far less stress and I don't have to be on my feet moving and lifting for 8 hours a day. I'm off to the employment center to narrow down my search criteria and do what I want to do.

Romance:  I have a new love. ME. I need to take care of me the way I want to be taken care of. Making time to write, hang out with friends, and exercise are all a part of that. There's a great song right now called "Cheerleader" by Omi. My favorite lyrics from the song are the chorus:

Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader
She is always right there when I need her

I used to think I needed someone else to be my cheerleader. Now I realize, I have to be my own cheerleader. I am the only one right there when I need someone.  Including with my writing. I need to clean up my work environment, bring my books and manuscripts out of the closet (literally) and into the open, and be my own cheerleader and manager.

No matter what direction my life takes in this New Year, I need to be my own best friend and take care of me.

And I need to get to work on those books!

Diane

Please drop by to find out what obstacles my fellow Round Robin writers are dealing with!

Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Margaret Fieland http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Bob Rich  http://wp.me/p3Xihq-Bm
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Kay Sisk http://kaysisk.blogspot.com
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Hollie Glover http://www.hollieglover.co.uk
Helena Fairfax  http://helenafairfax.com/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/

Getting back into routine.

Inevitably, September brings school. My New Year. New routines, new writing supplies - they're not just for the kids! - and new challenges.

In two more days, I'll grade for my yellow belt in karate. It hasn't been an easy road but definitely an enjoyable one. I've made new friends and overcome some of the pain I've dealt with for the past two years.

My writing was put on hold for the summer due to company, kids underfoot 24-7 and me wanting to spend time with them. This fall, the excuses are gone. My agent is reading two of my novels and I'm working on a third one now. Several more lurk in the closet waiting for the first in the series, The Bookstore Lady, to find a home.

I am in "hurry up and wait mode." Some days it seems like I'll never get another book published even though my desk drawers are bursting at the seams with them. Other days, I get small incentives to keep going. My e-novella, Murder on Manitou, has had 576 downloads at last count and I have print copies coming soon.

Baby steps.
Several deep breaths.
Keep learning and don't give up.

That is the only way to get to where I want to be in my life.

 

We'll be back after these brief messages....

I took a brief, unexpected hiatus from my computer this month. Firstly, to get ready for Christmas and secondly, to show my dad the sights, sounds, and people that I write with. He was impressed. He wishes he had a similar group in Alberta to work with but says no one seems interested. Yet he tells me about people he records and works with in the music industry.

Sometimes it seems like we sail through life alone in a little wooden boat full of termites. Once in a while we find others just like us who are sailing through life in other little boats that seem to be made of sturdier stuff. They've just learned how to have a harder shell and endure the storms. Criticism can be a hard thing to take. I've heard it my entire life. So has everyone else. Sometimes criticism can shipwreck us.
Most of the time we weather the storm and sail on.

I plan to make 2010 a year of sailing on and weathering the storms.
I've joined the local Art Group. I'm still with the writing group.
And I'm making my novels stronger than ever. I'm also working on my dad's memoirs.
All I have to do is get them out of his hands!
All the best to you in 2010. May you be strong and weather the storms as never before.

Diane