State of the Author Address!

Today is my first ever "State of the Author" address. While it may not seem like much is happening, there's a lot going on here at my end (both in my mind and in reality XD), so I wanted to take some time to explain that.

Many of you may already be aware that I am planning to publish a sequel to my original novel, "The Heart of Everything." (If you weren't aware of that, well, surprise!) The novel is in fact written and I'm in the process of considering and rejecting the various edits suggested by my very patient editor.

Of course, as it happens in real life, editing isn't the only item on my plate these days. Nine months ago I had my second baby, and for someone so small, he takes a LOT of work! Along with that I have a three-old-year who's in the process of toilet training (so much fun, let me tell you ><). In addition to my challenges at home, I'm now working four days a week instead of just two or three. So my "free time" has shrunk considerably this past year. And with my husband intending to pursue a career change over the summer that will pull him away from family time most evenings, I'm expecting that free time to shrink even more.

​
​That being said, I still have hopes of publishing the sequel later this year (see the above "pre" fan art, done by one of my teen advance readers, and try to guess what it's about ;-P). I don't know how realistic those hopes are, but I do still have them.

See, I'm wanting to switch to being completely "self-published" instead of using a third party publishing service. Part of doing that relies on my husband to be available to help me format and design a cover (and I mentioned earlier that he will be unable over the summer). The other part of that switch involves transitioning my previous books as well. That would mean pulling the current books off the market (temporarily!) and re-releasing them through my own author accounts. But that means more work before publishing another book so that all of my works can be available in the same places at the same time.

Suffice to say, I'm not in a position yet to guarantee whether or not I'll be able to release that sequel this year. And that makes me very sad :`-(. Because I'm really, really ready to complete the story arc that I started 4 years ago! But I want to do it right. And doing it right means making sure I have the time to put all the pieces together for a product and a process that I am proud to have my name on. I hope you'll continue to be patient with me as I fight to make it all come together. Please stay connected with me on my journey, and pray that I'll have the strength and wisdom I need for the days ahead!