Post number twenty, and it’s pretty darn clear that I need to revise my organizing system. Oh, it worked pretty well for three months, but the last couple of months have been a slog and a battle. Oh, there’s logical reasons for it in many ways–a Covid booster here, gut stuff there, a convention here, other things happening there. It all adds up to one thing, however…things aren’t getting done as quickly as they have been, and not as much is getting done.
Well, at least I did get the final Federation Cowboy chapter drafted. It still needs reworking before I upload it to Vella, and I have a pretty good idea of what the sequel is going to feature–it came to me in the last five pages, just about literally. But it will be a standalone sequel.
In the end, the romantic elements ended up being lighter than I thought they would be. And I’m not certain but what I may end up tearing the whole thing apart and redoing certain pieces before releasing it. I just don’t know yet. It will depend on what betas think. I’m not that confident about this story now. But I’ll probably feel better once I do the second round of editing work on it.
Meanwhile, the lack of promotional activity on social media is showing up big time. I haven’t done much of anything in April and May, and it shows up on my dashboards (haven’t looked at the Ingram one yet, though).
So what needs to happen re-organizationally? I’m not sure yet. I keep thinking back, and it seems like I’ve been floundering to set up a routine ever since Daylight Saving Time started. I am one of those who absolutely hates DST, even in retirement. Part of the issue is trying to adjust to different routine times for the horse, but also just finding time to do everything that should be getting done. Doing the weekly accountability meeting and the monthly summary worked for about 90 days. Now, that is frequently the way these schemes function in ADHD–the organizational structure works for a while, until it runs up against some roadblocks, at which point it runs off of the rails.
Granted, April and May are transition months. Light and weather change during this time, and it’s also my prime allergy season. There are also events happening, and that puts me off my stride. They’re also summer season preparation months, just like September/October are preparation months for winter.
What to do, what to do?
Well, I’m thinking. Finishing Federation Cowboy has lifted a load off of my shoulders. It gives me time to think about the next projects–and I have three of them on board that I need to brainstorm. First is Tales of the Raven Alliance, which is a alt-history steampunk Weird West story with dragons. Or perhaps I should call it something else–the Raven Alliance is a secondary factor to the use of dragons (both real and artificial) as part of a combined Civil War/Western Colonization battle. Or something else, just set in the nineteenth century West with dragons. But who’s really at war? The dragons or the humans, and who is using whom?
Then there’s the final touches on the Martiniere Multiverse. I think The Cost of Power series is going to wrap it up. Two books or three? Not sure yet. Plus there’s the third book of the A Different Life series, where things really go dark for Ruby and Gabe. The Cost of Power universe is the one where the final digital clone multiverse battle gets resolved, however.
Finally, there’s the Goddess’s Vision series.
And…releasing a short story collection, either in June or July.
Okay. Maybe I do have enough to consider and produce this coming month. Maybe things aren’t so bad. It’s all just a transition season, and I’m ready to make the next move.
