State of the Writer

And brother, am I in a state!

Boy, 2012 has been one LONG omnishamble (that’s the word of the year, if you didn’t know. I heard it on NPR yesterday. Loosely translated, it means something that’s gone wrong from beginning to end. In other work, a clusterf*ck).

Now, in order to explain where I’ve been, and why I’ve been largely ignoring this blog for over a month, we need to backtrack to the summer. When things went down in an interesting fashion at my husband’s work. He’s still employed, thank Bob, but from 1 August until 31 October, it was a rare week when my darling husband did NOT work at a minimum 50 hours a week. Sometimes 60. A few times 70.

At the same time, I started a day job. And my son started school, which includes required parental involvement as a school volunteer. Now, I don’t mind that. I volunteer in the library and they love me there. But honestly, for the past few months, time has been at a premium.

And writing? HA! I’ve been working on Sapphires and Gold for months, a novella that started life as a short story, and that my editor requested that I expand on. (Jenn, I will have it to you by the end of the year. I PROMISE!) I was planning on doing Nano, to finish The Willow Sword. Again, I say HA!

Add to that behavior issues for my son, school related issues not related to behavior, various illnesses and broken bits and the related doctor appointments , and one HELL of a car accident that totaled the car but did not damage the husband…

… and I suppose you can see how it would be kind to say that I’ve been just a little bit distracted.

Which is something like saying that water is a little damp, fire is warm, or the Himalayas are just a wee bit tall….

Now we’re coming up to the end of the year. And I’m trying to get control over whatever I can.  I tend to channel Marian, the Eyrian hearth witch from the Black Jewels series when I stress, so the house is almost spotless ( “This house will be CLEAN!” ) Almost because I have a small boy of my own, and one who I borrow 5 days a week.

Now, I need to get control over my writing, and over my diet.  I’ve been on a plateau, because when I stress, I find consolation with my good friends Ben and Jerry, and cleaning isn’t quite enough Activity Points to offset a pint of S’mores. We’ll see how that works on Saturday, when I weigh in.

And I need to get back in control of my writing. And so, for my first step in that direction, here’s my long-neglected to-do list:

To Revise:

To Write:

• Sapphires and Gold
• From Dusk ’til Dawn
• The Willow Sword
• Sea Prince (To be written with Danielle Jones)
• Tales from the Arena
• Wanderer’s Moon (next book in the Midnight Moon series. Not to be done until we sell Nomad’s Moon)

To Outline

• The Navigator (Steam and Screw, Book 1)
• The Captain (Steam and Screw, Book 2)
• Coral Throne (sequel to Sea Prince)
• Hidden Things (Mystere Book 1)
• The Lady and the Sword (Mystere Book 2)
• Ashes and Light (Mystere Book 3)
• Tablets of Stone (Mystere Book 4)
• Rainbow Wars (the teach-in idea. Definitely a  YA. And it needs a better title)
• Holy Orders ( Sequel to Heart’s Master)
• Temple of the Mysteries (maybe a shared world thing)

To Sell

• Nomad’s Moon
• Exile’s Moon
• Heart’s Master
• Kidnapped by Pirates
• Holy Palmer’s Kiss