Thursday, May 28, 2015

Still busy, but far happier

After a solid month of horrible gray rainy days, I can't even tell you how happy I am that Colorado has finally stopped pretending it is the Pacific Northwest. We're still getting thunderstorms every day, but hey, at least the sun shows in between the storms now!

Sun on the Flatirons - at last!
Seriously, I would never survive in Seattle. It's truly amazing how much happier and energetic I am on sunny days compared to rainy ones. (Snow is okay. Snow means skiing and sledding and fun. Rain just means dampness, dreariness, and flooding. Also, my son's school constantly cancelling all their afterschool activities, because in Colorado people think children will melt if they get wet.)

So my life remains crazy busy, but now the sun has returned my stress levels have gone way down. I'm chunking along on my structural edits for Labyrinth of Flame - only a few weeks more work, and the book will be ready for line editing. One big step closer to publication, which is exciting and nervewracking all at once. But mostly exciting! My goodness, I've been working on this book for so long it's hard to imagine a day when it'll finally be finished and in readers' hands. But that day gets closer all the time.

In other news, registration for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold conference is now open. I'm teaming up with fellow fantasy author Kerry Schafer (no relation, believe it or not!) to present a workshop on our experience with Kickstarter, sharing lessons learned, tips, and advice. This is my first time presenting but my sixth time attending; I highly recommend the conference to any writers in the area if you have the cash. It's where I first met my agent and joined my critique group, both of which have been absolutely invaluable. The conference sold out last year, so if you're interested, don't wait.

And now, back to edits! I'm so close to the finish line. (Or one of them, anyway. But this one's a big one.) See you in June...