On a Roll: Another Work in the Works

Sometimes, my productivity surprises me. So far this year, I've released two children's books AND welcomed the second edition of The Pirate's Bastard with a lovely new cover, layout, and professional edits. Yesterday, I finished a 69,000+ word manuscript's final edits. Today, I sent it off to the publisher to start the review process. Today, I also started hunting around for my next project.

I'm either crazy ... or terribly antsy this summer. August comes with a new beginning - it always does - so I better make the most of "my" time over the next month and write another manuscript before school starts.

I have three projects in mind. The first should take about a week to complete, and it needs to be done. The second is an off-shoot of the first, the Jock Avery Adventures' hero leading the charge on an adventure intended for children who crave the kinds of adventures I had as a kid. (Thank you, Mom and Dad, and all my friends in Sherwood Forest -- you know who you are. You're fortunate you were nice to me--otherwise, you might end up in one of my novels!) Anyway, Jock Avery has been yammering at me all spring. Now, he and the other characters of the other children's book have been uncharacteristically silent so far. Maybe they need a break. Maybe they need to enjoy summer, as children often do.

Instead, there's a new character who is taunting me. She says her name is Julia. She was murdered. There's a garden and a historic home needing restoration. And a secret or two to unravel in this mystery for adults. I love a challenge, don't you?

Then there's the grant application to complete, a website to write content for, and a few other media-promotional things that are on the to-do list. Never mind that the grass needs to be mowed (where is a rent-a-goat when you need it?), the weeds that have won in the garden, or the kitchen that seems to always need a good cleaning.

Roulette, anyone?  (Sunny Harnett, super model of the 1950s, stands ready to take her chances.) I think I'll wait to see what tomorrow brings. How very Scarlet O'Hara of me.