Life is Crazy

Okay, I admit it. This past year has really been tough. I know you BGs are used to me complaining about how hard writing is. As far as I'm concerned, I haven't complained enough about the last year. It's not the contracts I mind. It's the deadlines that come with 'em.

I used to write an adult suspense every seven months. That's comfortable for me and allows some breathing room in between for my pea brain. Plus it gives me adequate time to spend on marketing. However, since last year instead of writing two books in 14 months, I wrote four books in 12 months. That's because two young adult suspenses were stuck in between the adult novels. And I gotta tell ya, I'm exhausted.

You writers who churn out books this fast all the time--keep it to yourself. I don't want to hear how easy that is for you.

I finished that fourth book on July 3. By then I'd been working nine or so days straight--looong days. I jumped right into entertaining for the fourth (didn't even have time to go to the store until that morning). On Sunday we flew back to California for a hectic two days in my office there. Then it was up at 3:30 a.m. to catch the flight to Orlando for the ChiLibris retreat and ICRS. Got up at 3:30 a.m. the following Tuesday to return to California. Spent a whole 10 hours there, flying through my office to pay bills, unpacking and repacking for weeks. Then we flew to Tacoma for a night. Then on to our Idaho home. Where I had a few days to prepare for my writers' retreat, which ended Monday morning. I now face the following, all due soon:

Rewrite of Last Breath, the second YA
Proofing of galleys for Dark Pursuit, adult stand alone releasing in November
Rewrite of Exposure, my next adult stand-alone releasing in April 2009
Proofing of galleys for Always Watching, the first YA

Oh, and did I mention my Mom's still here and soon I'll be getting more company. Why? Because next week on August 9 my son is getting married in our home. The wedding will take place in the great room, with the procession coming down the staircase, then moving out to the gazebo and backyard overlooking the lake. There are probably a dozen things I need to do for this wedding that I haven't thought about yet. Like what to serve for the rehearsal dinner the night before--for about 25 people. I haven't even had time to think about it.

Sleep sounds good about now. Maybe a week or two of it--straight. But no. Not yet. After the wedding we need to fly to southern California to move our daughter into her apartment for college. And I'll still be doing a rewrite. Somewhere in there I have to figure out what to write for my next adult suspense. At the moment I have no clue.

Sleep? Maybe in September ...