Update – July 2017

Note: This post was previously published on July 7th, but apparently no one was getting the updates. The issue should be resolved now. I’ve since deleted the original and re-published most of this info.

Hey, y’all! It’s been a minute. Okay, more than a minute. But while I’ve been a total slacker, social media-wise, I have been busy writing-wise. (The best kind of busy!) I’ve got a couple housekeeping notes before some Real Talk, so let’s jump in!

First off, Catalyst Moon: Breach (Book 2) is in my publisher’s capable hands. Launch date is August 16, 2017. Squee! Their editor is looking over the manuscript now; I know there’ll be a few things I’ll need to change, but I hope not too many. 😉 No matter what, I’ll keep y’all posted on any future developments.

Second, the third installment of the Catalyst Moon saga, (tentatively subtitled “Storm,”) is in its…wait for it…third rewrite. Yes, you read that correctly. When all’s said and done, I will have written this [expletive deleted] book THREE times. There are several reasons for this:

1. The initial rough draft was part of book 2, (which itself used to be part of book 1), but after I was done writing, I realized the book was unwieldy and decided to split it in half. Also, a lot of stuff from the previous book changed, thus necessitating many changes in the following book. It’s a process, okay?!
2. This happened twice. (Yes, I am insane. However, in my defense, this process spanned a couple years.)
3. I could’ve revised, but as I learned with Incursion, (book 1), it’s more prudent for me, personally, to fix a broken story with a rewrite than with editing. Sort of like putting on a new roof rather than just patching up the holes.
4. As previously mentioned, I am insane.

In any case, this rewrite is proving to be not terrible, because a lot of the content in the previous draft was actually pretty good and useful, and is making its way into this current draft. So I’m integrating a lot of the necessary changes prompted by the edits to book 2 with the previous draft(s) of book 3 and…yeah. Just that simple. 😉 I hope to have this draft finished by late October, before my vacation from reality at the Suwannee Hulaween music festival. (Which is gonna be AMAZING.)

With that out of the way, I want to apologize for my lack of updates/posts/tweets/etc. I am and have always been terrible at social media. However, as a budding author-person who would like to be taken seriously, I realize that blogging and tweeting and all that are part of the process of “building your online presence.” I get the concept. I just suck at it. But I also know that I’m not special, which means I’m not exempt from blogging etc. because no one really is. (I’m sure there are exceptions, but bear with me.)

But y’all, it’s really hard to overcome that little voice in my head that says “Why bother? No one cares. You have nothing new/important/useful to add.” For me, writing fiction is a creative endeavor; an art of expression. This means that even if/when no one else reads my work, I would still write because it is what I do, what I’ve always wanted to do. I write because I breathe. (And sometimes it works the other way around.)

However, sharing my explicit personal thoughts on subjects like character development, worldbuilding, dialog, etc., feels…pointless. I’ve been writing for over two decades, but I have so much to learn. I don’t really consider myself an authority on anything. So it’s hard for me to think anyone else could find what I have to say on those and similar subject worthwhile.

All that is to say I don’t not blog because I’m hiding anything, or because I don’t care about my “online presence” as an author. It’s just pure, insidious fear, clawing at me from within. A lack of self-confidence is one of those dragons I’m trying to slay; the battle for me is less about a single, noble charge and more like little, targeted feints every day.  No doubt this is a fight that will last me a lifetime.

So in an effort to change things, I have a ficlet planned for another blog post, and have been bouncing some ideas around with friends and other authors. I will try to be better.

Until next time, (less than five months from now, I promise!)

Stay awesome!

Lauren