Just some news...

Deciding not to do NaNoWriMo this year turned out to be a good decision. Life has a way of taking unexpected turns, doesn't it? And sometimes decisions you make for one reason end up being the right one for very different ones.

WINTER BREAK was in edits at the beginning of the month and my second Sweet Spot book was half-written. The initial reasoning for not participating had to do with those two stories. A few days in, it had become obvious that the editing time and the writing time would conflict, so I bowed out of the annual, wonderful write-in that is NaNoWriMo.

And then an aneurysm burst in my brother's head and everything else took a backseat.

Editing is easier to do than writing when a crisis occurs. So WINTER BREAK will release before the end of the month, as promised. But the Sweet Spot story? I haven't written a word on it since November 9th, when the world turned sideways.

Mike's not doing as well as we'd hoped. The initial surgery to repair the aneurysm went well - he woke afterward and spoke with the nurses and the doctor in ICU. But a short time later, his brain swelled and they had to take him back into surgery. He hasn't been awake since.

Modern medicine is a true marvel. What they were able to do (and are doing) is nothing short of amazing. But hard decisions are coming on us and it's very difficult to be creative when they loom in one's thoughts.

The upshot? WINTER BREAK will be released in less than a week (Yay! A bright spot!!!), but the still-unnamed Sweet Spot story will be delayed until after the New Year. You'll like it, though. Remember Emily, Wiste's best friend who is her safety when Wiste does her self-bondage? She got short shrift in TIED TO HOME, so I decided she needed her own story. Good thing she meets a hunky psychiatrist who has only recently hung up his shingle in Port Clef...:)

Keep my brother in your thoughts and prayers, if'n you would. Thank you.

Play safe,
Diana

PS. A special treat for those of you who read this far. Click on any of the links above for a sneak peek at WINTER BREAK. :)

Okay, so maybe not so much NaNoWriMo...

November starts with such good intentions. Write a novel, start to finish, in thirty days. It can be done. Did it last year. Can do it again this year, right?

Yeah. About that.

Last year's NaNoWriMo novel was an historical romance set in 1777 British-occupied New York City, entitled THE REVOLUTION OF CLARA SIMPSON*. I'd spent several weeks in October doing the research and, at the start of the month, already had the first chapter (more or less) written. While more research was necessary during November, the bulk of the time was devoted to writing.

Eliza Floyd is the best friend of Clara Simpson in last year's novel. I've wanted to tell her story, too, and thought this year's NaNoWriMo would be the perfect time to sit down and do it.

So, starting on November 1st, I pulled out the two paragraphs I'd written last year and set aside and let my fingers start creating, drawing a clear picture of Miss Floyd and her mother in a carriage as they left the city for safer environs.

Fifteen minutes later (after writing one hundred and fifty words), I needed to look up a detail about the family. Which, of course, led to delving deeper into the New York City culture of the time. And where, exactly, was their destination? I know I bookmarked a map that was very helpful last year...

Two hours passed and the story wasn't any further, the questions in my head that needed further research had quadrupled and it became quite clear that, if I wanted to complete a novel for NaNoWriMo, Eliza's story wasn't the one to tell.

I have another novel I'd been working on that I set aside when WINTER BREAK (a novella that will be released at the end of this month) came along. It's already 22,000 words long. Another 30K should finish it off. But then I couldn't count it as a NaNoWriMo novel. The goal is one novel, one month, 50,000 words.

What to do? What to do?

It's already the third day in and so far, I have nothing to show for it. With edits soon to be returned for WINTER BREAK, and a half-written novel started, it really makes more sense to abandon the noble NaNo goals and concentrate on those works-in-progress. This way, I'll have one new piece released just after Thanksgiving and another new novel ready for release just after Christmas.

All that means, no NaNoWriMo for me this year. The timing just doesn't work out.

Play safe!
Diana

*THE REVOLUTION OF CLARA SIMPSON is currently "in the queue" at two publishers. Thought going the traditional route might bring in a wider audience for my other books. Am losing patience, however. One company has had it since April and the other hasn't returned/acknowledged my query. If I hear nothing from either by Christmas, I'm going to self-publish it and not keep readers waiting any longer.

Hmmm...three books released in three months? I'd better get writing!
D.H.