After writing 15,000+ words in January, most of which went into my fifth novel, February had very different things in store for me. I’ve continued to make progress in that novel (a suspense/contemporary murder mystery), and am writing what I think is the last chapter of Act I, unless the chapter goes overly long and has to be divided. That’s a thing that’s been happening fairly regularly in the book — scenes that I expect to take a few paragraphs end up taking an entire chapter. It’s been a fun experience and has lengthened the first quarter of the book.
In February, I churned out 6400 words. That total is so much lower than January because of a couple other (very time consuming things) I was working on.
Through my publishing imprint, Scarlet Oak Press, I am publishing another children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute, written by Claire E. Parsons and illustrated by Naomi L. Hudson. It’s a book about letting Mommy have a few minutes for self-care and meditation so she can better take care of her family. It’s scheduled for release on April 25. You can pre-order a copy from your favorite online bookstore.
Another thing that took a great deal of time and attention in February is that I’ve decided to attempt to obtain an agent for my fifth novel and sell it to a publisher. I did a great deal of research and came up with a list of 25 literary agents to submit it to. Now, I’ll be waiting for the next 8 weeks to hear back from each of them. If I don’t get any takers, I’ll publish it through Scarlet Oak Press, which was the initial plan. No harm, no foul.
Finally, Barbara Hinske and I released several episodes of The Write Approach in February, and we continue to be very proud of the guests we’ve interviewed and topics being discussed.
