First, a big reminder that my newest book (probably for a while) is now available on Amazon. War of Nytefall: Lost is filled with action, humor, colorful characters, and angry bunny antics. Seriously, this was a fun story to write because Lost really shined and ended up bringing out a lot in other characters. Her mere existence has changed a few that I can’t mention here due to spoilers. Not to mention Archillious shaped up to be a great villain. So, click on the link above or the cover below to head for Amazon and grab a copy:
Cover Art by Alison Hunt
Now, where to even begin with this week? My son went back to school on Wednesday and was nervous at first. For those who don’t know, he developed a fear of the morning bus, which was starting to come back. Thankfully, he got on with moderate tears the first morning, minimal tears the second, and no tears the third. So, he’s fine with getting on the bus, which means the biggest hurdle is over. There are a lot of holidays going on the next few weeks, so it might take all month to get into a routine. Still, he’s doing with the transitions since he knows they’re coming. Fingers crossed that this is a good behavior year from beginning to end.
The bulk of my week was spent job hunting, which is draining. I was hoping to find something that would allow me to be home in time to meet my son’s bus and help him with homework. So, part-time, flexible, and night schedules were the big draw. I was surprised how many entry-level positions required years of experience or Masters degrees, which I didn’t have. Thankfully, I do have an interview on Tuesday for something that could work. I’ve also found a possibility that will take some time because it requires a few workshops and tests. Those are going to be a focus this month. Both give me hope that I’ll get a job soon and it won’t rattle my son’s world too much. Heck, maybe I can figure out a way to do both even for a little bit to bring in a quick influx since it looks like the books have died.
My fear is that the announcement of my semi-retirement and delays in War of Nytefall: Rivalry might have caused more damage than I realized. Traffic has slowed to a near stop since September started and it wasn’t much better in August. I’ve tried to think of ways to fix this, but I’m working more on the job hunt. Once I get that settled, I might be able to get 2 books out a year, but I don’t know if people will be patient. It hurts because I’m sacrificing Bedlam and Ichabod Brooks to the blog for now. If I have to put any writing time into something, it needs to be my main series. Maybe Ichabod will be saved and just be delayed by a year since there is an odd chance that I will only be able to do short stories due to time constraints. I’m hoping, but there is another issue going on that’s hard to talk about.
I’ve become scared to touch my books.
Due to things that are going on here, I’ve become too nervous to touch even my notebooks that are already gathering dust. I don’t have it in me to some extent, but I’m also scared that I might let my current emotional turmoil sour these ideas that I’ve held so dear for years. As far as editing War of Nytefall: Rivalry, I have the same worry. Last thing I want is to take my negativity out on characters because they are reminding of what is going on in reality. They don’t deserve that and it would put a swift end to the entire series. Ichabod Brooks might be a safer project in a month due to being low risk and quicker stories. He could even be the one to help me get over this, but it really depends on how my life turns out. I still want to release War of Nytefall: Rivalry in March/April, but that requires editing and I haven’t done my personal run through that I prefer to do before letting others read it. Who knows? Maybe I can get into the mindset after the first interview if it gives me enough confidence. Everything is up in the air.
So, what are the goals of the week?
- Entertain son for the two days he’s off.
- Go for job interview with confidence.
- Check out other option and fill out paperwork.
- Study for exam.
- Take 2 online workshops.
- Watch more of anime ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.
- Start setting up Derailing Bedlam posts that will start in November. (Need a picture for this unless I always use the covers for the first two. What do you think?)
- Prepare for 3rd workshop.
- Biking, cooking, sleeping (trying to), and showering.
Final Note: Don’t forget War of Nytefall: Lost!
(Yeah, I’m going to make one last announcement. It might be my last hurrah, so indulge me for a bit.)
Legends of Windemere 
Congratulations on the release of your latest book. I haven’t brought my copy yet, but plan to next week.
That’s awesome about your son getting on the bus in the mornings. I hope it continues, and the issue doesn’t come back.
Great that you’ve got that interview and are working towards another potential job too. I hope you get at least one of them, and things improve for you afterwards.
If you need to have some time to focus on job hunting and such rather than writing, take that time. Also, people need to accept that your circumstances have changed, which means your writing can’t be your priority any more. With that being the case, it’s understandable you won’t be able to write and publish as many books as you were. People need to learn to accept that. If they can’t… Well, there’s nothing you can do about it, so there’s no sense stressing yourself out over it. You’re only human, you can only do so much, and that’s all there is to it.
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Thanks. Fingers are crossed for the job situation to improve. One of the hardest things about the writing is that I’m putting it aside more because of fear than outright necessity.
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That may be, but the more you stress over doing so, the worse you’ll feel about it, and the harder it will be to get back to it later.
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Best of luck with the job situation. I know how draining the hunt is. All too well. Being nervous about touching project…ugh, yeah, I know how that is, too, though in my case it’s less worry about my emotional state messing with what makes it so fun and more just-plain-fucking-it-up.
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Thanks. Hope you can get back to your projects as well.
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Traffic seems to have risen once school started back up. It’s been like a seizmograph though. Holiday weekends killed it completely, then it seems to come back. I wouldn’t sweat it too much. I don’t post seven days per week and it doesn’t seem to hurt my stats.
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I haven’t seen much activity, so I hope you’re right. Might be a little distracted due to everything going on around here. I think getting the daily ‘Congrats on the 800+ posting streak’ has me wanting to keep going too.
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I hope for the best in all fronts! Congrats and keep us posted 🙂
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Thanks. Really hope this is the start of an upswing, but it’s hard to tell.
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I’m glad your son has settled into riding the bus this year, that must be a huge relief for you. I hope traffic picks up for you soon. Good luck with everything this next week.
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Thanks. Traffic still seems pretty down. Starting to wonder if weekends aren’t what they used to be here.
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Weekends seem to be slow everywhere, no one is even looking on Etsy or eBay this weekend, I blame it on football.
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That would explain Sunday afternoons. I wonder if people are simply trying to become unplugged more often.
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I wouldn’t doubt it, I’ve been trying to stay off my iPad more lately myself.
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Have a good week, Charles, and hope the job interviews go well.
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Thanks
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You are welcome.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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Thanks for the reblog
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You’re welcome, Charles!
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