Tag: Writing updates

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Camp NaNo Updates: Day 2 and 3

Maggie Hemlock

I had every intention of blogging yesterday – I really did. Then I got caught up in the side job and then I wanted to do a bit of reading and a friend called me. Those are the reasons I write in the morning and like getting up before the rest of the world (or at least the people I know) are awake. That quiet time really makes a difference and the fact the time change STILL has me waking up an hour or so later than my normal time is affecting my word count. I’m slowly working on getting this back to normal without giving up too much sleep. The best tool in a writer’s toolbox is a healthy sleep schedule – well, it is if you ask me.

Brown Tabby Cat Lying on Cat Tree

My current WIP is at 37,399 words. I hoped to reach 40k words this week, but I didn’t and that’s okay. I got pretty close.

April 2nd: 4,190 Words

April 3rd: 4,029 Words

So, that makes 1/3 writing days where I hit my goal so far. Though, I did have 2/6 days overall of hitting it this week. I think I’m within a few days of hitting the plotting point and that usually kicks up my word count once I have the ending plotted out. I’m close, but no cookie yet.

If you’re participating how are you doing so far this month?

What I’m Writing: Book 7 of Love by Glitter Bomb

What’s in Editing: Nothing :O

Current Pre-Orders: Love By Glitter Bomb Box Set 2 & Dead Mates Society (Pre-order is in Amazon’s review process and the link will come soon.)

What I’m Reading: Insomnia by Stephen King & If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

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What This Writer Read in January 2021

Maggie Hemlock

Welcome to my January 2021 Reading Wrap Up Blog! Don’t worry – I know this is a lot of books, but I’ve still managed to get a lot of writing done on my WIP Guardians of Glitter Bomb (Book 5 of the Love by Glitter Bomb Series.) I’m at 27/39 chapters written. Barring any super long chapters like a few which came up last week I normally manage 3 chapters throughout the day from writing sessions. So, sometime this week I should be wrapping up the first draft and moving into polishing it up a bit before I send the guys off to play with my editor.

Now – onto what you really came here for. Yes, I read 20 books this month. Well, I read 14 and listened to 6 books this month. Though, since I count them for my GR challenge I’ll talk about them here too. This blog is just a short list of the books I read this month and what they’re about. I’ll be doing another post soon about my favorite books of January.

Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde: A young man’s life changes as his brother returns from the Vietnam war with a drug habit and he begins caring for a hermit’s dogs.

This Close to Okay Leesa Cross-Smith: Woman saves man’s life by lying to him about not being a therapist. He lies about who he is. A doomed romance ensues wrapped in beautiful life altering moments. I received an early release of this book through the Book of the Month Books Box.

Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton: (Book 7 in the series) Anita Blake once again works with the police and ‘monsters’ to save the city from a boogeyman between balancing her supernatural love and sex lives.

My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan Hyde: After losing his brother to suicide a young man aids an older woman in escaping domestic violence. In the meantime, they fall in love, but she still leaves. Years later they run into each other again and have a second chance romance.

Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks: Two high school sweethearts are brought together by the death of a mutual mentor. Reconnecting isn’t easy because the things standing between them have only grown and since this is a Nicholas Spark book, we all know not everyone gets out of his stories alive.

Elanor Oliphant is Just Fine by Gail Honeyman: A woman with CPTSD, Alcoholism, and maybe DID loses control of her life and the past and present blend together for her – even though she can’t remember the past. With the introduction of a new friend life starts to look up.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch: A young man rapes his friends and makes excuses as to why he can’t be a rapist. I’m not one to usually say bad things about books – but this one left a horrible taste in my mouth. I would not recommend it.

Have You Seen Luis Velez? By Catherine Ryan Hyde: A young man stumbles onto a mysterious disappearance after his best friend moves away and he begins to help an elderly blind neighbor.

Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman: First in the series of The Walking Dead novels. It’s basically what you’d expect from TWD. Gore and humans sucking more than zombies.

Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton: (Book 8 in the series) In this one, Anita’s on again/off again werewolf boyfriend Richard is caught up in a lying scheme and falsely charged with ‘accused rape.’ She and some others make their way to Tennessee to rescue him and manage to piss off the local Master Vampire and the human police in the process.

Heretic’s Anonymous by Katie Henry: A high school kid who has spent most of his life moving around because of his dad’s job starts Catholic School as an atheist and makes some unlikely friends as he falls in love and figures out who he really is.

I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll: This one a slow burn mystery/thriller where in a woman finds herself wrapped up with a young girl’s disappearance and under threat because whoever killed her believes she knows a lot more than she does.

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.: This is a stunning historical fiction novel that explores the beautiful and forbidden love story between two young men in the south. As slaves on a plantation dubbed “The Empty’ all hell breaks loose as everyone turns on each other. The writer does a beautiful (if haunting and heartbreaking) job of spinning the web of intricacies. I don’t think I’d ever have the words to do this one justice. This book was another one from the Book of the Month Box.

Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan: This is an Anne Boleyn biography written by a mental health specialist and it’s like no other Tudor bio I’ve ever read before.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: If you don’t know what this one is about; we can’t be friends.

Pyotra and the Wolf by Elna Holst: This is a queer retelling of Peter and the Wolf.

Coming Clean by Kimmie Rae Miller: This is a memoir of growing up with hoarders for parents. It was heartbreaking and insightful.

Quiet by Susan Cain: This is about how introverts both struggle and fit into the world. It’s well written and well researched. I’d recommend this one to any introvert looking for validation that they’re not crazy and extroverts really do go out of their way without realizing it to drive us crazy.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier: After Mary Ellen’s mother dies, she goes to live with her aunt and uncle. One of whom is part of a notorious smuggling scheme. Gothic and gritty at heart this book is adventurous, mysterious, and a tad bit romantic all at once.

Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunter Handler: A young girl is determined to prove her brother did not take his own life.

How’s your 2021 reading year treating you? Any good books you read this month you wanna recommend?

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I’m Bad at Taking Time Off: Confessions of a Workaholic

Maggie Hemlock

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I don’t identify as the classic type-A workaholic/perfectionist personality, but I’m a self professed workaholic. In school, I was the kid who actually used study hall to do homework. I loved the proficiency and having my afternoons and weekends free.

This habit didn’t always carry into my adult life. Before I started freelancing (and eventually transitioned into indie publishing) I’d put in just enough effort at jobs not to be noticed in good or bad light.

Now, I wake up on a morning I was planning to sleep in with a thunderstorm raging outside. I’m annoyed with mother nature and sit down at the computer to work. Then it hits me I finished the first draft of Claiming the Shaman yesterday. It’s now off with my editor for the first rounds of edits. I planned to take today and tomorrow off before starting another book or to work on the cover of the one I just finished. Sitting down this morning annoyed and ready to work I realized that somehow over the last nine years of being a a professional writer first in freelance and then in indie publishing I’ve become a tried and true workaholic. (See this blog as proof. I needed to write something this morning or my routine would be broken. Not working makes me antsy.)

I started freelance (and some ghostwriting) writing when I was 21. A weird set of circumstances brought me to it at a time of need. (That’s a story for another blog.) Then, I got addicted. I mean, I always wrote or had a story running in my head for as long as I can remember. In high school, I thought I’d eventually publish if I could. That was back before indie publishing was what it is now. But life went on and eventually I wrote less and less until I started freelancing.

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Eventually, after years of freelancing it wasn’t enough to write what others wanted me to write. No, I needed to tell my stories. I’ve written under a few different pen names over the years until I found a genre I really loved and didn’t get bored of. I’m a Gemini so bored is my number one enemy. Is that why I’m a workaholic? Maybe. Likely at least partially.

Now, almost everyday I write. I have to. It’s like breathing. In fact, it was my lack of writing over the fall/winter of 2018 that let me know something was indeed wrong with my health. I was always too tired to write. Friends told me it was burnout. Others said I was depressed. They were all wrong, but it wasn’t until my random exhaustion kept me away from the keyboard that I told my doctor about it. I figured with my luck I was probably dying. Morbid? Nah. Practical. Or so I thought. Mostly, I need to quit smoking (something I”m still struggling with) and my vitamin D was super low. I should have guessed given the symptoms, but there was a reason I became a writer and not a doctor.

Recently, I took my last medical dose of vitamin D. I’m feeling better than ever even if I’m still smoking about a pack a week when people piss me off. Why didn’t I go to the doctor sooner? Well, two reasons really. Okay, three: The first, the circumstances that led me to freelancing also left me with a distrust of most doctors. Two: I have an over active imagination. I was sure he was going to tell me I was dying. I had some sort of rare disease eating away at me. Probably related to smoking. The third: I needed to work. I didn’t want to take the time off my schedule to call and make an appointment. Then have to keep the appointment and take a morning off. Then take another morning off for blood work results and a follow up. I probably lost more time by not calling the doctor, but hindsight, you know. Eventually, I did, but not until writing 1k words a day was a problem for me. Yeah, that’s the reason I thought I was dying. Moral of the story is get your vitamin D checked before you need to. lol

Now, I’m starting a daily vitamin and made a few lifestyle changes to assure that’s not going to happen again. But it also made me realize I’m a workaholic. I write most days of the week. I am for 3k+ on those days now that I’m back to myself. I usually end up somewhere between 4.5-6k words a day. I take Tuesdays off for errands, but usually squeeze in some work anyway.

Now, with all of that said: I don’t hate my job. I love what I do. I love sitting down at the keyboard and pouring my heart out into a story. Sure, some days are harder than others. Some scenes more belligerent than others. But at the end of the day, I want to write. I want to write more than I want to play video games or have that extra time to do whatever it is people want me to do. The thing is I probably work about 4-5 hours most days. Even if I worked everyday I’d be working less than a traditional full time position. So, when people tell me I work too much I always roll my eyes. Yes, I’m a workaholic, because I don’t know how to start the day by doing nothing. No, I’m not a workaholic because I work too much.

Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ll be off writing a few more blogs to schedule so my brain believes I squeezed in a decent word count.

 

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Self-Care For Writers

Maggie Hemlock

At the time of writing this I’m having a bad writing day. I’ve only written about 1,300 words on book 6 of my Hemlock Wolf Pack Saga. I’ve written a few blogs to save for later. (I’ll likely save this one for later too.) Today, I’ve realized something, though. I’ve fallen into a self-worth pitfall about word count goals.

My writing days usually end one of three ways.

  1. Met my goal: Meh. That’s pretty good. I did my job anyway.
  2. Beat my goal: Go me! You’re getting ahead.
  3. Didn’t reach my goal: You are the worst writer on the face of the earth. You’ll never get this book written or published. You should never write again.

I have some ongoing external conflicts in my life at the moment that are definitely affecting my mood, but this is my pattern all the time. And let me just say I thought I was the only one until I sent out some text messages to some writer friends. I’m not the only one. That made me feel better for maybe two minutes. Then I realized how mean we are to ourselves. Yes, word counts and plot point goals are uber important to our chosen careers. They’re like 50% of our job. (Rewriting, plotting, marketing, etc. take up the other 50%.) But at the end of the day they don’t define us as people. A bad writing day doesn’t make someone lazy or horrible or a complete failure. It’s one day. One writing session. Sure, if it’s an ongoing problem we should examine what’s going on and see what the best way to work through it would be. I’m not giving all of us free reign to never pursue a writing goal again. What would we read if we all quit writing? What would you read, person who’s reading this?

So, what am I saying?

Simply that when we get caught up in creating other people and worlds and epic plot lines and romances we shouldn’t forget about ourselves. Sure, we maybe people with universes of stories living inside of us, but we’re still people. Besides, if we don’t take care of ourselves where will all the stories live until they’re born into books?

So, for all of my fellow writers and creative spirits out there here are some self-care tips to help you birth new worlds into existence.

  1. Be realistic about your goals and leave room for slower writing days.

Not everyday needs to be a writing day. Even if you’re a full time writer. I don’t know where this myth came from but I wish I could summon a dragon to eat it. Think about the other professionals of the world. Sure, some brain surgeons are on call at all hours, but they do have down time. So, sure, if your main character wakes you up at 2am to finish a scene. Go for it, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve days off.

Using a word count tracker and planner. I use PaceMaker. When I’m planning out how long it’ll take my to write a novel I make sure to include every upcoming appointment date that will hinder me. I take into account everything from errands to meal prep. Then I add three days to the end of when I think I’ll finish it.

2. Kill the negative self talk before it kills your story.

This just isn’t about word count. It can be about any part of the writing/editing/publishing/marketing process. Tons of information exists out there on how to do this. The same method won’t work for everyone. As I said at the beginning of this blog I still struggle with this.

3. Don’t forget to celebrate victories.

If you totally kick butt on your word goal it’s okay to celebrate. When you finish a first draft (even if you’re behind on your timeline) you should still celebrate. Do something nice for yourself.

4. Make your work area comfy and nice to look at.

If your chair is hurting your back replace is ASAP. If every chair hurts your back talk to your doctor or other medical professional. Hang up inspirational quotes and photos. I like redecorating my wall space with each new novel. Yeah, I pin up a lot of notes about things to remember for the rewriting process, but I add things that remind me of the setting or my main characters. I also have a longstanding love affair with scent candles. Aromatherapy for the win!

5. Get up an move!

As tempting as it may be to sit and stare at a blank screen when you’re having a bad writing day don’t punish yourself like that. Get up and move. Take the dog for a walk. Go for a bike ride. Do a yoga workout video. Do something to get your blood moving and get out of your own head for a minute.

6.Remember writers are always working.

A lot of my friends lift a brow at this one, but it’s true. When we’re planning or writing a book we’re always thinking about it and that’s okay. Today, while having a horrible writing day I figured out a major plot point for the middle of Claiming the Shaman. My brain needed time away from the keyboard and screen to say “HEY! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!”

7. Alternating word sprints with other activities is a life saver!

Some days I wouldn’t get a thing on the page if it wasn’t for this method. Most writers will be familiar with the concept of a word sprint. If not, it’s basically setting a timer for a per-determined amount of time and writing your heart out until the timer goes off.

On bad writing days I’ll try alternating this with doing household chores or playing quick little games on my phone. This one has really turned around some of my bad writing days.

8.Relax your shoulders or treat yourself to a massage.

Sitting at a desk all day writing can be hell on your neck and shoulders. Remember not to scrunch your shoulders up like a turtle trying to hide in her shell while typing. I’m 100% guilty of this one.

Also, if you have the time, cash, and inclination treat yourself to a massage! Maybe you could do a massage swap with your SO!

9.Chat with other writers.

If you’re new to publishing speaking with other writers can be down right scary! But if you can make a few good writer friends you’ll have someone to shoot weird questions to. Most of which will include “Is X normal?” or “Do you do X too?” It’s a great way to feel a little more connected despite working in a career of solitude.

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 17: Fred the Dragon

Maggie Hemlock

Brain cells? Do I have any left?

Well, yes, in the literal since, but I didn’t want to drag my butt to the keyboard today. Nicotine withdrawal is still kicking me every chance it gets. If this were any non NaNoWriMo month I wouldn’t have wrote today at all. I would have vegged out and gave my brain a break. But since it is Camp NaNo the show had to go on!

I fell back on my secret weapon. Thee one weapon which never fails me on brain dead days: Writing Sprints! You know the ones. You set a timer and write until the buzzer cuts through your soul. Then you do it again. And some days again. You sprint until the words actually add up. For me, that meant 6 writing sprints of 15 minutes each totaling just under 3.8k words. Bringing me to a total word count of 31,885. I’m technically two days ahead by the NaNoWriMo calendar, but since I’m taking weekends off I’m right on schedule. Speaking of weekends… Is it here yet?

In all honesty, tired or not I really enjoyed the part of the story I was on today. It’s really close to Blake’s first *time* with his mate and though first sex scenes can be challenging I think I’ve gotten the flow of both characters down so it won’t be too difficult. I may even get to it this week.


One thing I keep thinking about today is how many readers have asked me about “Fred the Dragon.’ I didn’t expect this big of a response about a man who never actually appeared on the page. Answers will be given in the next book, but rest assured Fred is gloating in all the adoration and curiosity. What red blooded dragon Alpha, wouldn’t?

Fred would like to apologize to his fans. He will not star as a main pov character in Book 5 of the Hemlock Wolf Pack Saga.
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Camp NaNoWriMo Pep Talk: The Importance of Taking Breaks

Maggie Hemlock

Camp NaNoWriMo is the more laid back version of NaNoWriMo. Not everyone tries to push out a novel during Camp, but many people do. Whether it’s your first time or your tenth time there’s a rush and an urgency to the month.

An epic challenge has been laid out before you. It’s a duel you can’t turn away from. The month starts in a mad rush of words flung across the page. We move just as quickly as the heroes of our books jumping into their own new adventure.

As the month goes on we discover we don’t have the stamnia of our heroes. We’re not magical unicorns who never need to sleep! Burnout does happen. I lov the buzzy atmosphere of Camp NaNo, but in my expereince a break will help you write more in the long run. Feeling burnt out today? Take the day off. Tomorrow you’ll wake up refreshed and likely itching to get back to work on your book.

At the end of the day novel writing is like everything else in life: Best in moderation and balance.

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 11: The Day of Blah!

Maggie Hemlock

Some writing days are just better than others. I woke up pretty exhausted this morning despite sleeping in an hour later than usual. I’ve recently cut my nicotine gum down by a 1/4 and I think that’s taking its toll on me. It’s about 5 PM at the time I’m writing this and I’m ready for bed. I’m going to try to stay up a few more hours before crashing.

I’m trying not to get caught up in the fact that quitting smoking is slowing me down in every other area of my life. It’s a good thing to do, but that little ‘nicotine addict monster’ likes to claim I could write so much more if I just smoked. I don’t want to smoke. At this point it’d likely make me sick. I just don’t want to be tired anymore. Oh, tomorrow is another day. I’m so ready for this weekend!

What I accomplished today:

Today I wrote chapter 11 and 12.

Snags Along the Way:

Mostly just being tired. I think I need to write out another plot soon too, but I’m too tired to do that today.

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 20,074

Total Words Written: 2,150

Ending Word Count: 22,224

After thoughts:

I’m going to have to remember slow and steady wins the race. No matter whether I finish this book this month or next – I tried despite being in the process of quitting nicotine.

Goals for Tomorrow:

Tomorrow I just want to meet my word count goals and start my weekend early!

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CampNaNoWriMo Pep Talk: How to Make Your Writing Time Sacred

Maggie Hemlock

It’s Day 7 of Camp NaNoWrimo. The excitement of the first week has worn off and you may be feeling the time crunch. Committing to writing a novel in a month isn’t an easy feat! Just attempting it is a courageous act of creation!

As a full time writer my friends always ask me how I keep going. I promise I’m not a mythical creature with extraordinary endurance for pounding my fingertips against the keyboard. I have my good, bad, and ugly days. I’ve just made my writing time sacred. I don’t have another job in the mix, but I do balance family,friends, free time, and hobbies with work. There’s no one formula that works for everyone, but here are 4 tips to be a magical unicorn with a daily writing schedule.

1.Be Realistic

When I first started writing I had outrageous daily word counts. I could easily pump out 5-7k of words 5 days a week. No problem. I can still do that in sprints, but as a lifestyle it’s not maintainable or realistic to me.

Like forming any other good habit you have to really consider where it fits into your schedule. Did you need to wake up 30 minutes earlier and squeeze in some writing before the kids wake up? Do you need to write on your lunch break? Can you clear Sunday evenings?

Figure out how much time you can realistically devote to writing. Sure, there are times where I’ve sacrificed other things to write. The muse is a demanding asshat some days. He’s there and he’s ready and screw the book I started reading last night and the errands I really intended to run. But if you intend to stick with writing and make your writing time sacred you need to set the time aside daily or weekly and stick to it.

2.Don’t Wait for Inspiration or Motivation

This advice is everywhere, but it’s worth repeating. Writers are writers because they write! If I sat around waiting for inspiration to slap me upside the head and invite me to the keyboard I’d never finish a book. Inspiration and motivation are fickle bedfellows and should be treated as such. Some days they’re randy and ready to go. Other days they go out and play with their other friends. Learn to work without them.

3.Close the Door and Hang Your Do Not Disturb Sign

It’s never easy telling our friends and family we need time to spend on something without them, but sometimes you have to. We’ve all encountered those in our lives who don’t take our passion or work seriously. They’re the hardest ones to get the point across to. Be firm and do your thing. If it’s your writing time. Turn off your phone and don’t answer the door. Remember, this is your sacred time to dedicate to your craft.

4.Aim for Scenes Not Words

This may go against the Camp NaNoWriMo spirit, but it’s in the best interest of finishing your project. Sit down with an intention of writing your characters from point A to point B. Don’t worry about how many words it takes to get there. Words make up your books, but it’s the scenes that make your story worth reading.

How do you make your writing time sacred?

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 4 Recap:The Day of Good Distractions

Maggie Hemlock

At 7 AM this morning I felt better than I have all week. I slept like the dead last night and woke up with Blake and Jonah on my mind. No, Blake didn’t steal all of my avocados this time 😛 I sent off a few quick e-mails to a friend who’s also participating in camp and then it was time to get down to work. I love starting the day on a new chapter that I haven’t worked on. Most of the time my flow stops in the middle of a scene or chapter, but yesterday’s stopping place left me ready to start chapter 5.

Karsyn @ KaKiJoKoJa Hope you had a great writing day too! You guys should go check her out! She’s participating in Camp for the first time and recording her experience on her blog! Go say hi, show some love, and let her know I sent you!

What I accomplished today:

Today was my best word count day of camp so far! I’m halfway through chapter 6 and tomorrow will be the day I sit down and finalize the plot for book 5. I’m so excited! That will put me coming back after the readathon ready to get down to business. I’ll also have a rough idea of how long the book will be. I originally thought Healer’s Oath would be about 80k words and it ended up being just over 93k at publication. So, I’m a bad guesser. lol *shrugs* What can I say a man like Bane Hemlock demands a lengthy book.

Snags Along the Way:

My biggest distraction today was chatting with other campers. I love hearing/reading about everyone’s camp experience and the progress they’re making on their current projects. Though, eventually I did pull myself out of the social media/blog world to work on my book.

I have a secret project in the works to release later this month. It’s taking a little bit of my time every day, but not much.

Today was the first day I spent a lot of time referencing my Hemlock Wolf Pack Series notes and making more notes for future books I have planned in the series and the Hemlock Mpreg Universe books. I’m getting a chance to introduce a new ‘family’ that I’ve only hinted at before. They’re still mostly hinted at in this book, but they’re super important for future books. That’s one of the things I both love and hate about writing a series. I love layering things together, but all the fact checking can be tedious.

The only other snag I’ve ran into is I don’t have a tentative title for this book. I spent some time staring into space thinking about it. Then I got back to the keyboard, because a book that’s not written has no need of a title.

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 8585

Ending Word Count: 11,053

Total Words Written: 2,468

After thoughts:

Today was a great day writing wise. Going into camp I was concerned I was jumping into a new book too soon, but I think camp was the motivation I need to jump into book 5. I’m really looking forward to messing around with the plot tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’ll get any words on the book itself tomorrow, but I’ll do a recap update either way. 🙂

Happy writing fellow campers! What’s your biggest distraction this month?

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Camp NaNoWriMo: Day 3 Recap: The Day I Wrote Anyway

Maggie Hemlock

This morning the universe conspired to keep me away from the keyboard or at least away from my Camp NaNoWriMo project! But alas, as a writer I have learned to laugh at the universe and jump over boulders. lol

But no really. If this morning happened during any other month (well maybe not Novemeber) I would have stayed away from my book for the day! But it’s April. It’s Camp NaNoWriMo! So, I carried on like a good like book zombie. After switching the weight of todays and tomorrows word count I only needed to write 900 words to stay on track. There was no way 900 words was going to stand between me and staying up to date!

What I accomplished today:

Today was all about chapter 3 and 4! Both of which are finished. I think tomorrow I’ll be ready to go ahead and work out the rest of the plot. If not tomorrow then definitely Friday which was my original plan. I sprinted past my word goal for the day and came in just at 2k words. I can feel myself settling into my main characters and really getting inside their heads.

Snags Along the Way:

Today errands sprung up out of nowhere and a reader messaged me to say Healer’s Oath isn’t showing up on Amazon.au! I’m so sorry if any of you reading this have been patiently waiting in Australia for Healer’s Oath! I’ve contacted Amazon to find out what the problem is. I’ve published four previous books without any problems and this morning I discover Amazon is hiding my book from a whole country!

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 6,578

Ending Word Count: 8585

Total Words Written: 2007

After thoughts:

I’m a little on the nervous side about figuring out just how many chapters book 5 will have. Once I do I’ll have a better idea of how long the book will be. If the chapter lengths so far tell me anything I think it’s going to be *slightly* longer than just 50k words.

Happy writing fellow campers!