So Many Things

It’s a new year, a time to look back over what you did in the previous year even as you chart a course for the new one. I’ve had a very busy 2017 and 2018 is already shaping up to be more of the same.  This year I published three books and a novella. I also got engaged and am in the process of moving in with my fiancé. It’s an exciting time, but also a busy one.

I took the week between Christmas and New Years off for some much-needed family time and so I could get some wedding planning done since my wedding date is in June. I’m glad I did it because my brain really needed some time off, but now I am so busy that my eyes are crossing :-). I’ll probably have very little time off until I finish the first draft of Dragon 3 and put Aileen 3 to bed.

In the midst of all that hubbub, I did make time to see Jumanji—twice. Because it was just that good. Seriously, I laughed the entire time. I think it’s my favorite team up between Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. I’d recommend seeing it if you haven’t.

In addition to wedding dress shopping and venue visiting, I also finished watching season one of Riverdale and am now stuck waiting for season two to hit Netflix since I refuse to watch things out of order. The wait is killing me.

As for books, I got to finally finish Flame in the Dark by Faith Hunter, which as always was awesome. The real surprise for me was a book called AName Among the Stars by Mark Henwick. Oddly enough, I’d read part of another series by him previously but had forgotten about him until I found the most recent book. I really liked the book. It’s a Sci Fi and has great world building and a main character I adored. The romance is sweet but the focus of the book is on the external political plots. If you like that sort of thing, I’d definitely recommend.

I also had a trip to the vet first thing this year since my new cat, Odin, got a viral upper respiratory infection and ear mites. He was sick over New Years so I spent the weekend waffling between wanting to take him to an emergency vet hospital since my normal vet was closed and thinking he was fine given the fact he chased Loki all over the house a couple of times.

Since I did it last year, I figured I’d do it again this year since it really helped me focus. Below is a tentative publishing schedule for 2018 for those of you curious about when the next book is out.

Moonlight’s Ambassador – Aileen 3 – Early February

Dragon 3 – May

Broken Lands 3 – July-August (Very tentative as books in this series tend to be longer and take more time to write)

Unknown Project – October/November

There you have it. My plan for 2018. As always, this is subject to change.

Happy New Year, everyone. May your 2018 be everything you wish it to be.

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I am so excited. Thanksgiving is right up there as my favorite holiday, along with Halloween and New Years. Some days I think it is my favorite-- until one of the others roll back around. I think, mainly, because Thanksgiving involves a ton of food and spending time with your loved ones. I know what you're going to say, so does Christmas. Yes, but Thanksgiving is wholly focused on food and the preparation of it. There are no presents to distract from the feast.

Cooking is how I show my love for the people in my life, and this holiday lets me do just that. Nobody will judge me if I spend two days straight cooking. This year is shaping up to be more of a feast than normal. The family is making turkey, ham and gumbo (a family tradition), in addition to what everyone else wants to contribute. We have almost twenty people coming. So yeah, lots and lots of food.

For my part, I'm making a pumpkin pie totally from scratch-- crust, filling and the whipped cream that goes with it. There are a few other things I'm making-- garlic-brown butter roasted mushrooms, and a citrus green bean salad-- but the pie is what I'm really excited for. I've been wanting to make one for several years but have never found the time. Here is hoping it turns out well and doesn't make anyone gag.

What is everybody else making for Thanksgiving?

Triple Crown Loop

I've survived my trip of backpacking on the Appalachian Trail and have several blisters and bruised toenails to show for it. I can say with all seriousness now that Shea is a bad ass for being able to hike up some of these mountain passes. The mountains I hiked up weren't anywhere near as high as what I have Shea traversing in my imagination and these nearly kicked my butt.

We had originally intended to hike 32 miles of the Triple Crown loop near Roanoke, VA but decided after hiking 12 miles the first day and several near melt downs that it would be better to drop the packs for the rest of the trip and do day hikes. Instead of 32 miles we ended up clocking somewhere around 25 miles.

I can say with all honesty that this was probably one of the most physically intense experiences of my life. There was one mountain near the end of the first day that nearly crushed my soul and managed to destroy the group's morale. The mountain just kept going up and up and up. Every time you thought you'd hit the top, you'd round a bend and find that there was still more to go.

Silver lining - I came away with some great photographs (another hobby of mine) and some great insight into Shea's character. As I'm currently smack dab in the middle of writing Pathfinder 2, this experience was very timely. I'll have a lot of material to draw from to lend realism to some of the characters.

Overall I'm glad for the experience even it has taken me several days to recoup some of the energy and willpower I expanded forcing my way up these mountains. Still, let's not do that again anytime soon. :-)