First, I’m happy to announce that they caught the injured stray cat.  Took a week, but it finally walked into a trap and got taken to the vet.  Prior to this, the cocky beast would lounge on top of the trap and leave without investigating.  Guess it finally got hungry enough to explore.  Don’t know what will happen to him now, but I hope he gets healed and might even find a home.  Before anyone suggests me adopting him, half of this household is majorly allergic to cats.

In other arenas, I met all of my major goals this week.  March posts have been prepared and a list of some for April to hopefully promote Legends of Windemere: Ritual of the Lost Lamb has been made.  The personal project has been prepped, but I’m finding myself falling out of excitement with it.  I like the heroes and the world, but the villains aren’t coming out well.  I’m trying to alter them, but the majority are nearly carbon copies of each other.  There’s a reason I can’t stray too far or alter too much.  Part of me wonders if I should and just change the pieces that prevent me from publishing.  Although, that would mean this one doesn’t get much of a priority.  Don’t you love the vagueness.

All of the outlines for War of Nightfall have been made, which was rough.  My notes on this one were terrible because it’s a series I thought I’d always remember perfectly.  Clyde being one of the Big 4 in my head made me arrogant here, which might stem from his personality.  Going over the outlines, I’m seeing that Clyde isn’t always part of the action and I have to get used to that.  It’s become another ensemble cast, which I like.  Yet, it’s one that doesn’t have destiny pulling the strings and there is still a hierarchy with Clyde being the leader.  Some of the outlines look ugly too because I already marked them up with merges, additions, swaps, and replacements.  These are also coming in shorter than the Legends of Windemere books by about 5-6 chapters.  Closer to Bedlam length, which might be what I do going forward.  I can think of one other series that will have long books, but the rest might not be as hefty.  Guess we’ll see what happens when I sit down to write the first one . . .

So . . .

I have no idea what to do next week.  Part of me wants to simply take it easy and watch TV before tackling the Ichabod Brooks short stories.  I really do think I should make that the next project since I want to release it in the summer.  My estimate is that it would take 24 days at 3 sections a day to get it done.  That’s going by my novel writing though, which is overestimating.  Ichabod sections tend to be much shorter and concise.  Doubt I can write one short story a day though, but it would be nice to get it done by the end of February.  That leaves March for April post set up and editing the last two Windemere books.  Then I can . . . Well . . . I mean . . . I really don’t know where to go.

Here is basically what is on my possibilities list once I finish Ichabod and editing:

• Derailing Bedlam
• Private/Special Project if interest remains
• Stand Alone book that stems from the Legends of Windemere finale.  Can’t publish that until next summer.
• Dawn Addison story for October
• Start War of Nightfall

Doesn’t look like much, but they all feel so daunting.  Part of it is because I’m back to getting asked on a weekly basis if I’m ready to get a real job.  That really takes a toll on my focus and self-esteem.  Aside from stressing me out, it makes me feel like what I’m doing now isn’t considered a real job.  All the time, work, and effort I put in is nothing more than a hobby.  This is the crap I don’t need when I’m in a state of creative vertigo.  You know what happened when I finished the final outline for War of Nightfall?  I started to cry because it was an ending.  Call me stupid, weak, or foolish, but it’s looking like coming to the end of Legends of Windemere did a bigger number on my psyche than I realized and I haven’t even gone for the editing.  The added blows from those that have no fucking clue what I’m trying to do or what I’m going through don’t help.  So I find myself staring at this list and wondering where to go because part of me fears that it won’t amount to anything.  If the pushes continue and the outsiders win then I find a ‘real job’ in 2018 and most of my free time goes to my son.  This always makes me wonder how many stories have been lost to cubicles, mind-eroding tasks, and a push for the safe path instead of letting the imagination flow.

Normally, I’d leave a list of goals for the week, but I don’t have any.  I’m solo-parenting today while the wife and parents go to NYC.  Means I won’t be able to think much about what I’m doing.  Maybe I’ll do a little more work on Sin’s series while I let everything else sink in.  Part of me wants to start on Ichabod Brooks, but I think I need some downtime even though that seems to have been my entire month.