This time last year – same drill, different focus

This time last year I had just published Cross My Heart (the 4th in the series), we had only recently brought home and introduced Jozee to the family and we received a good amount of snow. Jozee was thrilled on both counts – she loved her new home and she enjoyed playing in the snow.

Time jump to today and the 5th in the series is now in the hands of my editor and will soon be ready for publishing, Jozee is a year old but still in the puppy stage and after a recent winter storm brought with it a lot of snow, she’s been having a great time playing outside. February has become our true winter month in this area of the PNW.

Now that my book is in the hands of my editor, I’m in that in limbo stage…while I wait for the return of my manuscript with suggested changes and while I consider what project(s) I want to work on in the meantime and what I will completely focus on once the edited novel is published.

My young adult novel, in the making now for awhile because it keeps getting shoved to the back burner behind my other books, will take first priority. I’ve had to complete some particular research for this book and while reviewing what I had in my folder recently when I was conducting additional research, I couldn’t deny the excitement I felt at the prospect of finally completing this book. It’s a completely different genre and a world of my own making, which makes the project both intimidating and stimulating at the same time.

It may get tricky, but I’m also working on the idea for a new series and I do hope that while I focus primarily on my young adult, I’ll be able to take time to work on this series. It’s a project that has brought about new excitement while I’ve made notes about new characters, scenes and settings. I still have some planning to complete but I’m excited to begin, as this project has already proven to be near and dear to my wanderlust heart.

And for those who follow the Jorja Matthews mystery series, I have the story line of the next novel mapped out (until the characters take over) and will work on that novel as time permits. While working on multiple projects isn’t always easy, it’s great to have options if the characters in the other books don’t want to come out and play on any certain day.

One thing I’ll say about completing one project and preparing for the next is how clean my desk looks! My desk gets a complete face lift once I update my series Bible, file away my notes for safekeeping and store my notebooks for later use when I begin to work on the next novel.

I almost hate the thought of messing up my clean desk again…almost, but not really.  J