Note: “Possession” was the working title for Pawns of Zier.
Another year has gone by–would it be too cliché to say it seems time flies?
Looking back on this year, I think it’s safe to say that day-job-wise, it’s been the most stressful year of my life and I finally realized I had to slow down a few months back. I’m still in the midst of doing that, but boy am I glad I took this step! When you start to get frustrated with all your friends finishing phone calls with “And don’t work too much!”, then heed my advice and take a good hard look at what you’re doing in your life.
Writing-wise, 2014 has been a year of many choices. My very first novel, The Binding, despite getting some wonderful comments from all sorts of editors I admire, ultimately did not sell. I knew this book in many ways was–and is–my most unconventional novel, but needless to say this was still a big disappointment.
This year, I also finished my first novel-length erotic romance Before and After the Wedding, and my first plan was to get that one out there next. However, my fantasy ideas were nagging at me for attention, and I realized that focusing on two genres simultaneously would really make any series novels appear very far apart. This didn’t seem like a very good idea.
All this put me at a crossroads of sorts–what did I want to work on next? I had plenty of options, and several novels in the works–Imprisoned and Coma on the romance side, Dual and Possession for fantasy.
After some soul-searching, I decided to simply follow my heart–and while I love both genres, my fantasy ideas were the ones currently keeping me awake at night. I have no doubt I’ll be returning to romance one day as well, but right now, I’m itching to finish this trio of fantasy novels set in the desert city of Zier–Possession, Dual, and the still unnamed #3.
So, since I’m now back and focused on fantasy for the moment, I’ve decided to put Before and After the Wedding away for a bit. I figure it’s not going anywhere. 🙂
And that has been my main writerly journey of the year! Lots of choices, but I feel I’m on the right track, and I’m already hard at work on Possession–even trying out plotting!
What things, great and small, have characterized your 2014?