Chilling in Limbo

Once again, I kind of dropped off the radar. February was a tough month. I said goodbye to my beloved corgi, Gracie. I also had to undergo a series of medical tests and got, while not horrible, results that I really didn’t want, but with my family history, I knew constant monitoring would be a part of my future; it’s just happening a lot sooner, though I consider myself lucky that it was caught now. In light of these two events, blogging didn’t seem that important at the time. Now, with time behind me, I’m ready to dust off Blood and Ink, finishing off the Let’s Research series with at least one more entry — possibly two (see below). After this particular series is wrapped up, I have plenty of other planned posts, including fictional deaths, the historical woman, the beauty of imperfections, and much more.

My querying adventure is at a standstill, with me sitting in limbo with Heritage Lost, my sci-fi novel. After the full manuscript request fell through with the agent requiring a sudden sabbatical, I did receive a partial manuscript request from another agent. I haven’t heard anything back as of this point, and in the background, I’m working on readying the book for a self-publishing release with it being in the trusty hands of my editor. It’d always been my intent that this agent would be the last attempt at the traditional route. Sure, I will be over the moon if she responds back with a “GIVE ME MORE!” but I’m very much a realist and a prepper. I want to make the transition from querying to self-publishing seamless if I get a pass. Yes, there are still plenty of agents I could reach out to, but I’ve made peace with the self-publishing approach — yes, I won’t be in brick-and-mortar stores, but the story will be out there and that is all I want at this point.

I have a sizable marketing plan laid out — one I think will be quite successful — and my only concern is that I won’t fully commit to it or fall behind on it. I hope to find an accountability partner prior to the release to keep me on track. Perhaps my biggest concern is that I’m starting out with a bit of a handicap. I have sizable medical bills, so beyond the cover, I can’t invest in too much at the beginning. However, I have taken that into account in the plan.

Writing-wise, I haven’t sat on my laurels, though I have not been as productive as I had hoped, especially after I’d stuck to my new writing goals . . . well, until February. Work continues on both Heritage Lost‘s sequel and my historical fiction novel, which has the working title, Under the Black Oak. I’ve also been dabbling in pre-Heritage Lost short stories and scenes that show lead character Katya’s life prior to the main story. It has been fun to step back in time with the characters. Also, in the Heritage Verse, I’ve completed a marathon of tarot reading session for numerous characters. Dang, it really fleshed many of them out, developing personalities of secondary characters who will be getting more screen time, as it were, in future books. I used the layout that I wrote about back in 2013; it can be found here if you would like to try it out with your own characters.

I’m trying to focus more in my writing efforts. I have too many plot bunnies hopping into my life and I feel like it is hindering me as I’m now spread too thin. Setting weekly writing goals is going to be a lifesaver for me and is something Write Smart, Write Happy: How to Become a More Productive, Resilient and Successful Writer by Cheryl St. John has really inspired me to do just that. I’ll actually be writing a full review on this book in the near future and how it has inspired and impacted my writing plans.

In short, there is a lot of momentum happening currently despite waiting for an email, and there will be a possible exciting announcement at the end of June/beginning of July. Stay tuned! But for now, it’s time to talk about the potential Let’s Research Part Six.

Looking for your questions

I’m hoping to have a Let’s Research Part Six, but for it, I need readers’ research questions. Is there something you are struggling with research-wise? Share it in the comments, and I will try to answer it in the Part Six post. Without any questions, there can be no part 6! Well, unless something else research-related pops into my mind that I want to write about. One never knows!