Midlist Writer: Insecure Writer's Support Group: What, it's February Already!!!???

Wednesday, 3 February 2016

Insecure Writer's Support Group: What, it's February Already!!!???

Welcome to another post from the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where once a month we poor suffering writers air our insecurities to the world. This is the second post for this year, and that brings me to this month's insecurity.

Yep, all those New Year's resolutions have been delayed a month. January was filled with freelance work. I needed the money, folks, and my own projects had to go on the back burner. Besides a bunch of stuff for Upwork clients, I was also doing the edits for my next book from Osprey Publishing, an illustrated history of the Apache Wars, due out in the summer. Those edits took so much of my time that I didn't even get to blog last week.

I did get to do some work on The Last Hotel Room, a novel set in contemporary Tangier. I didn't finish it like I had planned, but it's almost there. Now that February is upon us and I have a lot of big freelance projects behind me, I'll be able to finish that and start, Emergency Transmission, the fourth in my Toxic World series of post-apocalyptic novels.

Now hopefully I can catch up and finish all my plans for 2016 by December 31. . .

So how did your January go?

9 comments:

H. R. Sinclair said...: Good luck getting to your own stuff this month. Darn, that need to eat thing! Stupid basic needs, they always get in the way. (It gets in my way, too.) :); 3 February 2016 at 06:11
Hart Johnson said...: Hey, you did GOOD. You made a bit of money. Put in some writing time on something that is DEFINITELY happening. AND you got some writing done. All in all it sounds like you had a pretty good month! I hear you one frustration on plan delays, but definitely no reason to be hard on yourself.; 3 February 2016 at 06:53
Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: If it pays the bills, have to go where the money's at. But now you can focus on your own books!; 3 February 2016 at 07:23
Unknown said...: Sounds like you have a bit of break coming up. Grab hold of it for all you worth!
It sounds like you had a really productive January though.; 3 February 2016 at 12:15
Unknown said...: Your 4th in a series?! Wow! That's so cool! I've always wanted to write a series but I guess I doubt I have the "fans" to support them, especially when sales usually go down with each subsequent book pubbed even if there are fans calling for more. Good for you and the freelance work! I'm glad you did what you had to and can now concentrate on doing what you want to. :); 3 February 2016 at 12:43
Cherie Colyer said...: Sounds to me like you did a lot last month. My goals are more long-term this year. I did do a good job exercising patience. I consider that a win.; 3 February 2016 at 15:32
Cathrina Constantine said...: Writing must go on the back burner to make a living. I could never survive on my royalties.

And it sounds like you're finding time to get some writing in. Hope February slows down somewhat...; 3 February 2016 at 17:27
Stephanie Faris said...: Emergency Transmission? That sounds like a good book!!! A series of that size is definitely a huge undertaking.; 3 February 2016 at 19:01
cleemckenzie said...: That's a lot of writing. So congrats on getting that done. Sounds like you're rather serious about this business.; 3 February 2016 at 20:42

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?

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Wednesday, 3 February 2016

Insecure Writer's Support Group: What, it's February Already!!!???

9 comments: