Apologies & New Release

I've been struggling with depression and anxiety more than usual the past couple of weeks, and haven't been up to posting often or at all. December and January have always been difficult months for me, the ones where I hit my lowest of lows. I'm not sure if it's SAD or what, but functioning is so difficult in December, and by January, I'm just crawling through each day. Lately, I've wondered if I should just quit writing. The pressures to meet deadlines and the lack of sales do not inspire me. I had great plans for self-pubbing, but I just don't know. Maybe I'll get out of this dark place and back to where I need to be. I do know I can't support everyone living with me on my writing income anymore, and it's difficult to write much while working full-time. So there's this argument over that going round and round in my head. See? Am I not a barrel of laughs lately?

Anyway, tomorrow might be better, and I will try to get an installment or two up this week. I liked posting five days a week like I'd been doing before depression slammed me so hard.

I think, today, I'll go spend a few hours walking outside somewhere. Sunlight helps me to feel less shitty, and I need to move around.

Well, on to the new release.

I have a new release out-- The 13th Month, last one in the Calendar Men series. I've enjoyed writing the series even though it was a battle for me to do it. Getting back into the rhythm of writing, especially romances when I've had my own romantic life shattered, has been a challenge. So, I'm proud of being able to have kept up with this series. I hope y'all have enjoyed it. <3

The 13th Month

Babble and Writing Progress

I'm finally feeling somewhat recovered from whatever cooties kicked my ass this week. I've got The Jasper Soul printed out and ready to revise, finish, edit, correct, weep over, re-edit, then format for publication. Hoping to get a big chunk of that done today.

Then next week, I'll start on the new contemporary to be self-pubbed, revise the two books I got back from ARe and expand at least one of them, as well as get a good start on the book for Pride that will be due soon. I'm leaning towards a BDSM one for Pride, but who knows. Maybe I'll switch that around and self-pub the BDSM while writing a contemporary for Pride. Suggestions? I've got to get the self-pub going strong so I can keep writing.

I'm still house-sitting for Judi, and it's so quiet, she might not be able to drag me out of here :D

We've had snow and abnoramally cold temps here. The next ten days or so are supposed to be cold. Ick. I'm such a wimp!

All right, that's enough rambling and babbling. I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend!

***huggz***

Installment coming later today!

I stayed up until 6 AM yesterday finishing Mr. November-- I was really, REALLY late with it, and Pride Pub was wonderful and patient with me, thank Tinkerbell. After about two hours of sleep, I was useless most of Tuesday. I crashed hard last night and slept...and slept...and woke up with a too-much-sleep headache. Sometimes ya can't win, right?

But! I will be writing an installment today/this evening, not sure which. It depends on how long Naomi's appointment takes today, among other things.

Meanwhile, this post and the installment will make it possible for y'all to have two contest entries today, to make up for missing yesterday.

And here are some random pics, because it's been a while since I've shared any personal ones here. Also, I've noticed that close to half my photos are of my pets and flowers O.o

Roses from at Albuquerque Veteran's Memorial 

So, I have this small table that my grandfather made over 50 years ago. I use it as a nightstand. Priss uses it as her bed. Look at that adorable fluffball <3

No filter, no makeup, no care-- I do miss my lavender hair, though.  I'll be trying henna tomorrow...wish me luck!

Naomi-- isn't she beautiful? She titled this her bi-rate photo instead of pirate. She had on a flouncy shirt. 

Awwww, Priss and PNut like each other...or are too lazy to move. 

Why I don't get as many books written. I'm blaming the cats.

Flowers at the Albuquerque Veteran's Memorial. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking place, and also inspiring. Naomi and I go there several times a week. 

See? SEE? Olly is interfering with edits too! But he cute. 

Through thick and thin, ups and downs, joys and losses, PNut has been right there with me. He's such a loving pup.

Checking in!

How are y'all doing? I need to be more consistent with posts, not just the installments!

I've been going through edits on the first two Leopard's Spots books...scary how much slipped past us the first time they were pubbed. The books will be rereleased starting August 1st, and hopefully we tied up things we missed this time around.

I haven't written anything besides the installments. I need to finish revising the Calendar story into a shifter one, and I think the other shifter story I'd started here, Metamorpheses, is going to be the second book in the Calendar series. I'll have to revise it and finish it. I stopped not very far into it. So if I can finish that, and the Jasper Soul, which I left off needing a chapter and an epilogue, then hey, that'd be great.

However, I'm signing up to go back to college and finish my Bachelor's. I wasn't far off from having it, and I think heading toward work in the medical field is going to be my wisest choice. Authoring has stopped paying a livable wage for a lot of us, and that was the case even before I started writing so much less. I don't think, even putting out a book a month again, I'll be able to earn enough to pay rent and bills. Could be wrong, but I've lost a lot of readers by not publishing much in the past two years.

Let's see...Oh, I had a fun convo with my first ex today. That one ended in him screaming obscenities over the phone. Whatever. I mean, I left him 25 years ago, so...It seems that he may be speaking to my not yet ex, which is just weird.

I've found a lot of groups in Albuquerque to check into. Naomi and I went to a shaman meeting Thursday, and it was on forgiveness. Very interesting. We'll be attending a different class next week, different type of spiritualism. I love the diversity here.

I am happy, though stressed, and wishing I could write more, but it's not a lack of time that is stopping me. It's something else, and I haven't pinpointed what yet, so I can't address that and fix it. Burnout? Not on the actual writing part, but maybe from some of the other stuff-- industry people screwing us over, hate mail because I wrote a trans character, hate mail because there's not enough sex/I'm a woman/too much sex/not the right characters. Amazon taking over the publishing world. Authors trying to take each other down. All the drama in my personal life.

Man, I just want one big circle of love and support, a safe space for readers, authors, cover artists, editors, etc. *sigh*

Well, I love y'all and hope you all have many, many blessings and lots of love and joy. Thank you to the peeps who've emailed me support, and to those who comment, or just read the posts.

***huggz***

Installment will be up this evening, and I think...

It's definitely going to be an ***NSFW*** one, though we'll see how, er, horny the guys are.

Also, Amber and family are moving up here, to our apartments, even, in less than two weeks!! WOOT!

*ahem*

Let me just get back to editing ST/Naomi's lesbian YA short story now...