I’d like to say that I’ve been so focussed on writing that I haven’t had a minute to spare for blogging in the (gulp!) two+ years since my last post. It’s more honest to say that when I find myself drifting off topic during my writing hours, it does me more good to mess around in the kitchen than to turn to another kind of writing (I’m a very good kitchen-messer!)
Today, however, I am thrilled to be blogging! Because today I’m sharing a major life achievement.
If you were with me during the Great Agent Fiasco of 2010-11, you’ll know that, after I finally finished licking my wounds, I accepted that if I ever wanted to see my work published I was going to have to do it myself. And, half measures never being my way, I vowed to not only publish that book but three others that were in various degrees of completion. Well, in April 2012, I did indeed put out The Breast of Everything. Followed by “Merle Darling’s” alternative history/fantasy, The Upsilon Knot, in August 2013. February 2015 saw the launch of Under the Bus. This week….astonishing as it is to contemplate, I can hereby declare the mission a wrap with the release of Chasing Fireflies.
And, as they say on game shows, there’s more! Not more book (though there will be more books in time; I’m currently deep into work on an Upsilon sequel, The Omicron Negative) No, there’s more significance than the conclusion of a four-book writing/publishing marathon. I began planning to write Chasing Fireflies so long ago that…Well, let’s just say I was still in college when the seeds were planted. It took years for me to feel ready to write it and, more critically, to be able to write it. I was nearly at that point when I made my decision to begin the four-book marathon, and very deliberately made this book the last lap. So you could say that Chasing Fireflies is, for better or worse, the achievement of my lifetime. I tend to gag on the word “closure,” but I suppose that’s what I feel: oddly peaceful, like lounging on a pool float on a not-too-hot afternoon with a tropical cocktail in my hand.
Pretty amazing, huh? It’s been one hell of a ride. All of it. Was it easy? Not in the least. Fun? Only sometimes. Am I glad I did it? Very!
It’s been wonderful to have so many supporters with me throughout this adventure. When it go hard to keep going, you cheered me on. When I doubted myself, your reactions to the work gave me the confidence to push forward.
Thank you so much for your love and support!
