Looking Ahead and Behind

So, it’s 2020. A new year. A new decade. Let’s see what I was doing in 2010:

~I launched Turtleduck Press with Siri Paulson, KD Sarge, and Kit Campbell. With that launch, I published my first poetry chapbook, Life as a Moving Target. It was my first publication, apart from poetry in literary magazines, ever.
~I had entered into my nth draft of Pirouette (now titled Death Dancer), hoping that this time it will be ready for a literary agent. This is before self publishing took over, and I ended up setting it aside on the advice of my writer friends who felt I was too wrapped up in revisions. I ended up writing Fey Touched instead (and published that in 2012).
~I started writing an odd, supernatural thriller thing that to this day is still waiting to be finished. I’m close. It is important because of how the idea came to me, and how the story has warped and changed over time. It is also a new genre that’s a bit out of my comfort zone, but that’s a good thing.
~I had been married for one year, yay! And we’re still going strong.
~I had three foot surgeries, the most recent this past March. I am hoping that’s the end of ALL surgeries for awhile.

So, pretty major stuff going on. In the decade, I’d release another poetry chapbook, four novels, a novelette, a flash fiction collection, and a nonfiction book. Unfortunately, none of it is Pirouette or the supernatural thriller. I am working on both, and my plan is get them both published as soon as humanely possible. I am damn proud, though, as in the beginning I’d had nothing out there. Now I have quite a bit, despite chronic health issues.

Turtleduck Press is going to have its tenth anniversary this year. We have some things planned, so stay tuned. 🙂

In 2010, I was working for a food brokerage company. In 2017, it closed and I was laid off. This is how I became a freelance editor/author assistant/e-commerce consultant. I didn’t want to go back to traditional office work, my health was unstable, and I needed a change desperately. In less than a year, I had several clients. And now, almost three years later, it is booming and I am extremely busy. Which is awesome. What isn’t awesome is finding time to write. But it is an adjustment, and I will figure something out, because writing needs to be there. Every day.

Which brings me to my plans for 2020: <she says with an evil grin>

First and foremost, The Vanishing, Reaper Girl #3, needs to happen. I’m at 41k of a projected minimum of 60k. It’s not so much the plot; it’s finding the time to work on it. My original deadline was December 1st (*cough* last year *cough* ), and then it was changed to January 1st. Now, it’s whenever I can finish it. I feel terrible, but it’s been rough. I had surgery, I found out I have a pinched nerve in my back, and work has been busier than ever, so while the drive is there, the energy isn’t. But I will try, and keep trying, because I want to tell this story and get it out there.

~I would also like to get Pirouette/Death Dancer revised/edited/whatever for release with TDP. I’m very excited about it, and it needs to happen. It’s been too long, and it’s a perfect fit for TDP and I just need to get in there and do it.

~Contemporary romance. It won’t be a TDP release, so it’s not the priority, but I’d love to write at least one of the CR ideas I have. I got premade covers for several (oops?) so it’s just a matter of when.

~Survivor, which is officially my oldest book, is sixteen years old this year. It’s a psychological thriller I wrote for a class I took on writing a novel. Fell in love. Finished the first draft in 2009. Set it aside, as it was a mess. Procrastinated because it was a mess. Finally decided to rewrite it (the writing is ATROCIOUS — was I really that bad a writer then? <shudders>), and wrote 10k last year in the summer as a Camp NanoWriMo project. I have yet to add any more words to it.

~And finally, the supernatural thriller thing. It’s about 15k away from the projected ending. There may be a sequel. It’s totally different and doesn’t fit TDP’s brand, so it will be my own release under a pen name. I really want to finish this book and see how it ends. I have a rough idea, but sometimes endings change. We’ll see.

And lastly, I want to make more time to write. And also have more down time. I’m still working long hours, and my schedule is still not figured out, and I feel like I’m bouncing from one thing to another without any kind of efficiency. I do get things done and make my deadlines, but I feel like I could be more efficient, and that will help with the no writing problem and maybe even provide me with more down time. I’ve been logging my bedtimes just to see over time what my average is, and if there’s anything that can be tweaked.

So, things are brewing. I hope they will come to fruition. I want this year to be amazing.

What do you want to accomplish this year?