Monday Musings: What I Have Been Up To

This week I am going to take a break from my Character Study, which I hope won't disappoint anyone too much. I am so excited about my next post involving my favorite Villains, and I can't wait to hear your own favorites, but this week I am going to take a break and catch you up on what I have been up to.

I've been playing with kittens, obviously, but Wagzy got mad at me for manhandling and stalking her litter, and she has hauled them off to a new hide away. I haven't seen them all week. Such torture. I don't know what she is so upset about anyway. It's not as if I can help myself. I mean, look at that little face. Who would be able to resist loving on that?

When I haven't been scouring the yard for missing kittens, I have been frantically busy. I am in the middle of a bank merger at work, so I have been working long, hectic hours and have another week of long, hectic hours to look forward to. It has been exhausting, trying to get used to new facilities and computer systems, while trying to calm the nerves of panicky customers concerned about their bank accounts. This has, sadly, put a damper on my writing. By the time I get home and get dinner scraped together, and maybe splash suds around a few dishes, it's all I can do to find the sofa and press "play" on the TV remote.

I also took the time to actually sit down a read a book this week, which I do not get the chance to do as much as I would like. I've been so wrapped up in fantasy lately I decided to take a step outside my usual interests and read A Change of Fortune, a light-hearted, historical romp by Jen Turano, which I found for free on Amazon. As a brief review, I can say I enjoyed the story and finished it, although the plot was terribly unrealistic (so much so I often winced), and some of the characters got a tad annoying after a while, but there was enough humor to keep my exhausted brain amused in spite of those downfalls. It's not one I will likely reread, but since it was free, no harm done!

I have not managed to get much writing done this week, but today I did accomplish a major rewrite on two chapters for After, which I am very, very far behind on. I have only a month and a half to get this first round of rewrites done so that I can send it off to my editor. The story has become much more complex than the first little story I wrote, already fifteen thousand words longer, and I am only half way through the rewrite. If I am not careful, this novella is in danger of becoming a full length novel. I am also working out some other ideas for a bonus to this particular release, but I can't get into all that quite yet. Spoilers, you know.

On a more positive note, I sent the second draft of When Ravens Fall to my editor this week. That was such a good feeling, sending it away, because it means I can put it from my mind for a few weeks and focus solely on After, which really does need some undivided attention.

I also just received my tentative cover design for When Ravens Fall. All I can say is "Wow." I am so eager to share what my designer has come up with. Contracting the cover design is by far my favorite part of the story writing process. I love seeing what a designer can do with the words I have put together. Seeing my thoughts come to life through pictures is very satisfying.

And, on top of that, I am gearing up for After's cover reveal, some time in June. I will be revealing the exact date very soon. I have already started to hear from several bloggers who will be joining me in my first official cover reveal. If you are a blogger and wish to join them, please fill out this quick form so that I can add you to my mailing list. As soon as I reveal the cover, I will be hosting my designer on my blog. So if anybody is looking for a good designer in the upcoming months, you will want to be on the look out for this exciting guest post.

And, last but not least . . . Five Enchanted Roses will be released a bit later this summer as well! Scuttlebutt has it we are looking at a July release date, and I will be sure to let you know the exact date the moment I know it. I am so eager to read the other stories in this exciting collection. Have I mentioned that Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite fairy-tales?

And, (sorry, not quite done) Rooglewood Press will be announcing their next Five-Something-Something contest in only a few weeks. I will not be entering this next competition, but I am terribly curious to find out what fairy tale will be featured this year. I wonder which timeless tale it will be? I am going to take a stab in the dark and say Red Riding Hood. What are your guesses? Let's see if any of us will be right!

On top of all this banking and writing and cover revealing, I have to add two weddings, several graduation open houses, and home renovations into the mix. This year is proving to be one of the busiest I've experienced in a long while. It will be simply heavenly to get the bedroom gutted and slapped back together again, so that we can move out of the living room. Camping out isn't so bad, but my poor husband doesn't like sharing his bed with the cats, one of whom seems to think he is a human and has the right to sleep on the pillows, or your face, whenever he pleases. Right now, I am just waiting for Sam to finish pulling down the walls so that I can pull down the remnants of plaster on the ceiling and haul away the old insulation. Then, time to run the electrical! If you start seeing pictures on Facebook with me featuring a drastic frizzy, black hairstyle, you will know why.

What are you up to this summer? I would love to hear what mischief you have up your sleeves!