Sometimes I go quiet because I’m really busy with fabulous projects and amazing adventures and I lose track of time or simply forget to post to the blog. Sometimes I go quiet on the blog because things have been especially rough and I’ve not had the extra time or energy to write up anything new to post here.
This time, as too many other times, it’s been the latter, I’m afraid.
I saw a headline recently, probably for a Medium article or maybe something posted to Twitter, about how “your brand” is whatever your readers and followers have come to expect from you. In that moment, I had the stark realization that I’ve not published any new books since the tail end of December 2018, and I haven’t been posting anything at all to the blog. I’ve not been sending out regular newsletters, either, and I’ve become somewhat scarce on Facebook—I mostly visit that site to offer birthday greetings. I have been posting nature photos to Instagram from my morning hikes, and I’ve been pretty active on Twitter where my contributions are a strange mix of politics, optimistic encouragement, health issues, and adorable animal photos.
…. Which makes my brand “scattered and random”? I mean, I guess that’s about right.
I will not promise to do more or to do better, because I likely can’t do more right now and I’m still trying to wrap my head around whatever “better” might look like. Chronic illness and pain are a bitch, and this crap will steal your time and your energy and your focus.
But I am still here, and I am still working, albeit much more slowly than I’d like to be. I am slogging my way toward the end of draft 1.5 of the first book in a new series that’s a follow-on to the Rune Witch series, though in a different location (Oregon Coast) and a different tone/genre (paranormal mystery). I’m working on the broad strokes of a Unifying Literary Universe that could encompass so very much of what I’d love to work on moving forward. I am studying craft and marketing in order to level up my work and possibly to reliably support myself and my household through my books. I am researching and experimenting with health solutions and strategies that just might improve things over the long-haul.
I am also buying the occasional lottery ticket in hopes of sending myself to the Mayo Clinic for focused and comprehensive medical testing and management—because sometimes a girl’s got to dream.
That is what is and has been happening. And come November—which, trust me, will be here before you know it—I plan to attend both Orycon in Portland and the 20 Books to 50K conference in Las Vegas again. Maybe I’ll see you there?