When an Author Gets Off Track... (With Consolation Giveaway)

Some seasons the words flow, and the story falls together as if everything you had previously experienced led to this collection of pages.

Some seasons the words won't come, or they feel all wrong, and the story closes itself tight within a bud not ready to be peeled open.

And some seasons...life happens. The words fit together if you force them, but you know there's a better way and a bigger picture if you would just stop rushing to see the puzzle completed.

* * * 

Here I am once again, asking for your forgiveness. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson with Morning Glory, but one can hope the lesson has at least sunk in deeper now.

(Note to self: Try not to announce target release dates until you have a first draft completed.)

I've come very close to finishing a first draft for Where Trains Collide, and there are some things I'm happy with, and others I'm not. I know for sure and for certain that there's no way I'll be publishing it on Earth Day, which was my goal - and for that I sincerely apologize. :( I think this story needs some work, and I still need to factor time in for editing by my proofreader and myself.

And it's quite possible that what this story needs, more than the energy that I don't currently have, is time and life. Perhaps I should factor that into my story process more often... That's what made all the difference with How a Star Falls. The story became something completely different and infinitely better when I let myself ponder it over the months and experienced life transitions in the meantime. When the time was right, the story flitting around in my head finally flew onto the page.

I know it won't always be easy. Sometimes the words will stop and start and eventually find the updraft they need to glide through to the end.

Sometimes life will plunge you into the sea, with words all around you but nothing to grasp onto yet.

My grandpa recently passed away, and between his loss and family turmoil and busyness at work and busyness after work, I've gotten off track (although I was already heading that way before his passing). And while I know it's not OK to make commitments and not keep them (and for that I'm truly sorry), I know it is OK to take time to ponder and feel and live. To readjust priorities. To rest. To remember.

* * * 

Lord willing, Where Trains Collide and Morning Glory, whenever they might finally be released, will be better for the wait. 

For now, I have a pair of extra paperbacks (Forget Me Not and Bleeding Heart) that I'd like to send one of you, which I'll be happy to sign to the winner. These are the updated matte/softcover versions. (The content is the same, but the covers are tweaked just a bit from the first batch, with the corresponding series number on the spines.) 

The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only due to shipping costs. But I'm also running a sale this week for the Kindle ebook versions:

• Forget Me Not: FREE April 13-17
• Bleeding Heart: Countdown Sale April 14-21 (starting at $.99 and increasing incrementally)

Thank you so much for your constant support and friendship! I hope that whatever season you're in, you'll ultimately be blessed by those times you get off track and experience life in new ways.

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