A Year in the Life of an Author - February

This is my second installment in my year long series here in what happens in an author's working life over the course of a year. I suppose that is sort of self-evident in the title, but you never know. LOL. If you are interested, my January post can be found here.

February was a working mom's nightmare. Two words: sick kids. For two full weeks. I think they went through the entire litany of flu, ear aches, and finally settled on bronchitis. Then came the double-whammy of four snow days--of course when the kids were healthy. I watched in frustration as my writing schedule and goals evaporated into thin air to the sound of hacking coughs.

To write, I really need a block of uninterrupted time. To dive in and just live in the story. Unfortunately, I saw little of that, so my page goals are rather in ruins. I have high hopes for March, where I have (fingers crossed) four full weeks (counting this one) of uncommitted time to write. I'll still be behind, but if I can stick with catching up, I won't be SO far behind.

My other project for February met with a little more success: the re-release of my first three books, BRAZEN ANGEL, BRAZEN HEIRESS and BRAZEN TEMPTRESS, as digital books. Hurrah for ebooks, they are giving new life to stories long out of print. Not only did I bring out all three individually, but they can also be had in a boxed set edition. You can find these on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. The iBook edition is coming.

Bringing out a book on your own makes you realize all the steps that go into publishing behind the scenes and make you thankful for your publisher. I've had to learn the ins and outs of epubbing, formats, ISBNs, and jump through all the hoops of the various vendors. I've spent a lot of late nights filling out forms and uploading files to get it all to fall into place.

Last but not least, February was rounded out with a quick trip down to Huntington Beach, California, where I spoke at a Reader's Tea for the Friends of the Huntington Beach Library. Lovely group of women, truly delightful company and tea! Okay, I am such a sucker for a tea. But it was a chance to get some sunshine--Seattle winters are GRAY and DARK--and meet some lovely readers. And I have to admit, I love speaking to groups. After spending most of my time working alone, the chance to get out and talk to real live people who are not in my head keeps me from living in my sweats and muttering too much to myself.

And so ends February. Off to March and writing. Fingers crossed for a ton of pages and a fun trip to PLA in Philadelphia.