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Astronomical Clock, Prague |
So,
it’s that time again, when we’re compelled to do wrap ups of the old year and
project into the new one. Never a bad thing, and especially helpful in sorting
out the brain-draining whirlwind that the holidays can be, and setting
priorities for the year to come.
2014
was a good year. I settled into a new life in Scotland and acquired a great new
family. The year was full of celebrations: my brother’s wedding, my nephew’s
naming day, my niece’s engagement, the one-two-three holiday punch that we get
in the UK: Christmas, Boxing Day and Hogmanay (Scottish for New Year’s Eve).
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Gullfloss, Iceland |
There was a lot of fantastic travel: Prague in February; Yorkshire in March; New Orleans in May; San Francisco and then Harrogate in July; Ireland in August; the Highlands in October. In November, we visited San Diego, Long Beach, and Joshua Tree, and then went straight on to Iceland. (Yes, I’m still having haunting wilderness dreams…). I love having a whole new continent at my doorstep and a fellow traveler to explore it with!
This has also been a year of waiting, which I’m not very good at.
There
were some frustrating delays in the re-release of the Huntress series. The
delays put me off my own schedule and I’ve had to hold off on releasing the other
book I finished this year: Story Structure: a revised and expanded textbook version of Screenwriting Tricks for Authors, in
print! - with double the content and new story breakdowns. It’s been really hard to
sit on it, but it makes no business sense to publish that book before the
Huntress series comes out, with all the attendant marketing that Thomas & Mercer has planned for it.
The
constant flips in the schedule also slowed down my writing on the first book of
the new series I’ve started, a crime series set half in Scotland and half in LA
(well, isn’t everyone always saying “Write what you know”?)
Delays
aren’t fun. We want what we want as soon as we want it. But sometimes the
Universe has other plans. Maybe I was being given time to adjust to my Scottish
life. Maybe this revised schedule is the best possible timing for the series. Whatever the reason, the wait that seemed
interminable is almost over, the launch is just around the corner, and it’s time to get excited about the series
reaching so many new readers.
So
this month Huntress Moon and Blood Moon will be re-released wide on
January 27 (ebook, print and audio). Story
Structure will be available in
print in February, Cold Moon shortly
after that, and then the German translation of Huntress Moon, from Amazon Crossing. And a paranormal I wrote three
years ago is finally scheduled for the fall. A veritable flood of books!
And
I’ll be able to get back to the new book, with Book 4 in the Huntress series waiting
really noisily in the wings for its turn.
But
the fact is I could have finished one of those other books this year. It’s not
only the external chaos that prevented that, although it definitely didn’t
help. I’ve also been deeply torn about which book I should be writing next.
Which book would be better to release next is a real issue. Which of the TWO
books I’ve outlined for the Huntress series I should actually put out first (a
chronological Book 4 or a prequel focusing on Cara) is another compounding
factor.
So
my first priority in the new year is re-launching the Huntress series, but the
second is
connecting with both my subconscious and the Universe (well, maybe
there's no difference…) and getting clear about which book I should be finishing
next.
As
clear as writing ever is, anyway!
Full
list of my 2015 intentions to come next, but for now, it’s back to work.
So
how was your 2014?
Wishing
everyone the most magical year ever!
- Alex
4 comments:
Great update, Alex… "and thanks for all the fish!" I love that line.
Happy New Year, Reine! I'm misquoting, but somehow the line summed it up.
It works for a lot of misquotes! Happy New Year, Alex!
Living ins Scotland? Sounds fantastic!
My wife's Christmas present to me this year was the purchase of a square foot of land in Glencoe, Scotland, which apparently makes me a Scottish Lord. Woohoo! Or at least that's what the accompanying documentation says.
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