New Year Reflection and Goals

    Much like everyone else in the world, the last couple years have passed in a massive blur. It feels like December 2019 was just yesterday and here we are at the beginning of 2022.

    Personally, I've had a lot of false starts and failed attempts at much of my work. Along with a constant battle with imposter syndrome which fed my blocked creative flow....or vice verse. I'm not sure which came to the party first but they have both stayed far too long past last call. The lights are on and the bar is closing.

    We made a massive family move this past fall and relocated to the East Coast. I resigned from an employer I've been at for over twenty years. In the last three months I've realized I had been working in an incredibly toxic environment for a company that no one is allowed to say anything bad about. 

    It took leaving to realize how bad life had been.

    Having a successful NaNoWriMo went a long way to bolstering my confidence. I went in a completely different direction and wrote a SciFi romance. Which was a lot of fun and still is. Editing is a challenge as I'm still developing this work and the language that goes along with it. But, writing hasn't been this much fun in a long time. 

    I'm keeping my goals simple and obtainable for this year. If the last two years has taught me anything, it's not to trust reality to go sideways again. 

    Currently I'm editing my SciFi romance and plan to submit it to a publisher in February. I'm also writing the 3rd book to the Temptation of the Gods trilogy. You can see my progress in the column to the right of this page. :)

    I'm not sure what this year will bring, but I'm going to take it as it comes and adapt as I go. 

#MotivationMonday

   Hudson Lin started #MotivationMonday. Each week she creates a post with quotes from authors on what motivates them to write.

This week featuring Chace Verity

Check out Second Chances: A Sapphic Romance Anthology, edited by Chace, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TZ6TCWX/.

Over the years, I've developed a lot of bad habits that made writing miserable. But when I don't write, I keep dreaming about the worlds in my head. These days, I focus only on projects that will make me fall in love with writing again. @chaceverity Chace Verity

#MotivationMonday

  Hudson Lin started #MotivationMonday. Each week she creates a post with quotes from authors on what motivates them to write.

This week is featuring, Andie J. Christopher. 

Check out Andie's latest book, HOT UNDER HIS COLLAR, at https://www.andiejchristopher.com/hot-under-his-collar.

I've always identified more with the sarcastic, fun side-kick than I have the protagonists in the rom coms. They're usually more fun, more sex, and all the good lines. I want to see happy endings for people who look like they're having the most fun--or at least who have interesting things to talk about in therapy. @authorandiej Andie J. Christopher

#MotivationMonday

 Hudson Lin started #MotivationMonday. Each week she creates a post with quotes from authors on what motivates them to write. This week features one of my favourite authors 'Nathan Burgoine. 

Check out 'Nathan's latest, VILLAGE FOOL at https://books2read.com/u/31lgXM

The first happy gay character written by a gay author I read was a defining moment. When I imagine giving that moment to another queerling, the words usually follow.

#MotivationMonday

Hudson Lin started #MotivationMonday. Each week she creates a post with quotes from authors on what motivates them to write. This week she asked me to participate :) 

And the gold medal for self sabotage goes to....

It's been a tough couple of years writing wise....the lack of completed books has made that painfully obvious. And, the longer I go between books; it gives strength to the imposter voice in my head. 

The last three years have been a major upheaval in my personal life. I accepted a promotion at my day job, gained custody of two young children and, like every one else, I've been trying to slog my way through the new reality this pandemic has created for all of us.

Now, I'd love for this to be a post to say I've conquered it and have a stack of books on their way to the publisher...but that would be a big ole fabrication. But, I'm trying to work past that. I think that setting reasonable goals and keeping a set schedule might work best, at least I hope so. And if it doesn’t then I’ll try something else. I’m not ready to give up on writing, and the voices in my head are certainly not ready to let me go.

My first goal is to update this every Monday. And write 1K on my book each night. Yeah, that's a HUGH number considering how out of practice I am. But, I have an opportunity in May that I'd like to be able to pitch for and the book should be done before I set myself up like that. 

For now, here's a picture I took this weekend of a rainbow at the bottom of the American Falls. There is still a massive amount of snow and ice piled up on the rocks that makes them larger than they normally are. 

Friday Flash Fiction March 30th

Life has been keeping me on the crazy train for months now and I fell way behind in the Friday Flash Fiction. I do love creating these little vignettes and I'm going to do my best to get back in the habit of them. 

This is our picture prompt for this week. Be sure to visit all the authors pages!! Half the fun of this exercise is reading the different stories each author comes up with from the same picture.  I'll post the links to the other creations at the bottom of the page as they are posted,. :)

"Do you remember that scene in Men in Black?" Jace glanced over his shoulder at his brother, who was currently checking out some blond in tiny skirt. I remember the days when a comic book store wasn't the place to go to pick up chicks. Not that he'd ever been interested in girls that way, he liked the ones who read Justice League comics for the story line, not because Jason Momoa played Aquaman.

When he brother didn't respond, Jace reached out a smacked him on the shoulder. "She's so out of your league."

"Yeah, I know." Liam shrugged, "But there is no law about what happens in my imagination."

"Just keep it in your head creeper." He pointed back at the large picture on the wall. "Look at this, doesn't it remind you of the marble on Orion's belt? The one with all the galaxies on it?"

"Dude, it's a picture. Two dimensional, there aren't any galaxies in there."

"Seriously, look closer. I swear the guy in it moved, or the lights shifted or something." Jace's heart was still beating erratically. Not just because the guy was hot, but for a brief moment he was certain he saw the guy's fingers flex slightly and the lights twisted. "What if this was a portal to another dimension?"

"There is no such thing as different dimensions, Jace."

"You need to get your head out of your ass and read something without pictures." Liam frowned at his brother and his condescending tone. "Before he died, Stephen Hawking wrote a theoretical paper that lays the groundwork for a multidimensional universe.

"I've read enough books to know what theoretical means, smartass."

"The smartest man since recorded time wouldn't waste his time researching and writing a paper about nothing."

Liam looked around the room before focusing his attention back on Jace. "Maybe you need to stop hanging out in this place. Mom's been asking me about Kevin, she wants to know if the two of you are back together."

Jace rolled his eyes. "She likes the idea of having a cute son in law she can show off to all her elitist friends. Kevin is a narcissistic prick with a nice ass." He turned back to the picture, wondering if his eyes played a trick on him. Looking back he caught his brother staring at the blonde again. "What don't you find some acceptable chick and squeeze out a baby to take the heat off me."

"You know I might just do that." Liam arched an eyebrow in a display of arrogance, "at least one of us is getting laid tonight."

"Whatever. Don't come to me for help when she empties your bank account." Jace turned away and looked back at the picture. A heartbeat later, he forgot how to breath. The hot guy in the picture hadn't moved, except that instead now his left hand was reaching out palm up. As if he wants me to take his hand. 

"Liam, do you see this?" He looked over but his brother was following the blond across the shop. Turning back he examined the picture, the guy hadn't moved again. His hand still reaching out...waiting.


Check out the other contributions this week!

Jeff Baker "Magic at Night"

Patrick Coulton "Virtually Special"

'Nathan Burgoine "Helios"