I took this video in the meadow a couple of days ago on a walk with Ginger. The sun was shining, the snow was melting, and the frogs were croaking. Spring had arrived!
Today is the first day of my "summer" job at the boat ramp. This is the current view outside my booth where I have two heaters cranked up to combat the 24 degree temperature. If a boater shows up, I'll probably faint from shock. LOL Not that I'm complaining, mind you, since I have a ten hour shift and nothing to distract me from writing.
April is one of those months where you never know what will happen. Kind of like my WIP (work in progress). Without a signed contract for this book/series, I've been struggling to stay focused and on track. My personal deadline (complete a book every five months) will be up in June, and I'm only a little over the half-way mark. I've come to the conclusion I won't be finished by then, and I honestly am not freaking out about that. I put a lot of pressure on myself to produce, and I need to ease up! My publisher is waiting to see how well my current series sells before offering a new contract, so I can adjust the timeline accordingly at that stage. If I get a new contract... But let's not go there and just assume I will.
I wrote in another post that I was going to put together an outline to better stay on track. I actually did! I know, shocking, right? I have a few rough notes scribbled in a binder, plot points that need to happen in the next quarter of the book. I even put together a romance arc to keep that part of the story moving forward. I was pretty pleased with myself...until I actually started writing. Just like the erroneous assumption that spring had arrived and it would be smooth sailing (get it--boat ramp LOL), those clouds rolled in and snowed on my parade. (Sorry about the mixed metaphors.) My characters got off track immediately. I tried to drag them, kicking and screaming, back to my outline, but they're stubborn. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow. Maybe they'll work their way toward my plot points in good time. Or not. I've come to the conclusion some things can't be forced. My hope is my characters know what they're doing. I guess we'll find out.
In the meantime, pick up a copy of BURIED TRUTH. I need sales to get that next contract. Help a paranoid author out, and happy reading!
