A Year in the Life of an Author - April

If you've been following my posts (January, February and March), you'll know I've been working towards finishing the draft of my next book, traveling more than usual, and trying to keep up with business. April was no exception, 'cept that it whirled by! I did finally get the draft done. After 5 solid months of writing, the draft for the 2nd book in my new Rhymes with Love series is done.

Tentatively titled, And the Miss Ran Away with the Rake, I really like this book. Love the characters and it has been a fun book to write. Not all books are like that, but this one has--thank goodness! However, as it always is with my drafts--it looks like swiss cheese right now. Missing scenes, no love scenes, and a lot of XXXs where I need to insert . . . something!

On top of finishing the draft, I added into the mix, the kids Spring Break. We headed off to Hawaii to stay with my dear and wonderful friend, Jane Porter and spent an idyllic week on the beach. And that is where is I got the draft done. If you think the writer's life sounds perfect, know this: we always have work hanging over our heads and it goes with us everywhere.

No rest for the wicked.

After returning from vacation, I've had to immediately start prepping for the Washington Romance Writers Retreat, where I am the opening speaker and giving a workshop. These things take time to write and prepare, so the life of a writer is also about being able to shift gears from one thing to another and back to the first. So as I write this, I am once again packing, gathering pages to bring with me to work on, and of course a couple of books to read.

Now one thing of note happened in April that I must share: my upcoming book, Along Came a Duke got a starred review in PW. I couldn't be more proud. This is one of those moments where you take a deep breath and look at the email twice and then say, "Shut the Front Door!"

Here's the link, and for those of you who love digital reads, Along Came a Duke is being offered for pre-sale at $4.99 from Kindle and Barnes & Noble and most every online purveyor of ebooks. See you May 29th!