Bi-yearly check in – Still loving what I do

I’m moving into the second half of my second year away from the day job while I continue to focus on writing and the business of being of an author. Another six months has passed and now I’m critically reviewing my calendar to determine what I’ve accomplished and what I can do to continue to move forward toward my goals.

First of all, the most important thing is that I did publish another novel the first half of this year. Priceof Betrayal, the fifth in the series, was published in May. Yay! On top of that, I republished the remainder of the series with new covers so that they all have the same vibe. It was a huge undertaking and took me away from writing for a bit, but in the end it had to be done and I’m happy with the results.

As for the remainder of the first half of this year…

I’ve continued to work on my young adult and my new series idea in between completing the fifth in the series while revamping the whole series look. While I had hoped the young adult would have been completed by now, I will have a final first draft ready soon. The new series is still a WIP and I’ll continue to work on it when inspiration peaks, while I work on the sixth book in the Jorja Matthews mystery series. I also have some other book ideas and, believe it or not, they aren’t mysteries.

I’ve continued to review and revise my business plan in order to try to stay on task. I’ll continue to use this plan, along with monthly and quarterly check-ins because I like to revisit what works or doesn’t work and I need some form of accountability. I especially need these tools to stay focused considering the number of writing projects I want to complete and the new book ideas I’d like to get started on. I’ll agree that there’s something to be said about focusing on one project at a time. Do it and get the job done. But I’d rather not put big ideas away for that long, so I’m working on time blocking. I can block out three two-hour sessions and work on a different project each session, with breaks in between, unless I want to work on one project all day. However I manage it, at least when I do work on a project, it’s the only one I work on at that time.

Getting ready to greet hospital staff

I mentioned before how Jozee and I were taking classes so that she and I could become a therapy dog team. Since then, Jozee and I completed our training and took the required exam. We are now a therapy dog team for our local hospital where Jozee can say hello to visitors as we wander the halls and where she specifically visits with the hospital staff as part of a care-for-the-caregivers program. It really has been a wonderful experience and we visit every other week. For those who wonder…Jozee is bathed and groomed before each visit and we follow strict healthcare guidelines whenever we’re at the hospital.

Speaking of Jozee, I started a new blog: Jaunts with Jozee. I need to add more posts when I have some time, as I’m only six in, but it’s a simple blog about Pacific Northwest parks we visit with Jozee and what we enjoy about each of them, along with photos to share.

In order to help me form better daily habits to stay on task, I also started morning pages and I'm making an attempt to form a better morning routine. I’m not 100% at either but then I’m not perfect. Changing your habits or forming new ones really is a difficult process and I’m learning quite a bit about why we do things the way we do (or don’t do them). We humans really are funny beings when it comes to what we feel comfortable with or what we do to avoid making changes, whether it’s for mind, body, business or soul, even if that change is good for us.

In the midst of everyday life and my jaunts with Jozee, my plan is to continue to form better habits when it comes to writing, the business side of being an author, health & exercise and a morning routine. Each week might be a mixture of enthusiasm and uncertainty laced with satisfaction and a tad of frustration, but in the end I’m doing what I love and I love what I do.

Winter projects: writing, therapy dogs & the ideal routine

PNW winter

I’m singing the winter blues while I look forward to the comfort and warmth of mild spring weather. The idea of spring seems far-reaching when temps in the PNW continue to hold fast to flat-out bone-chilling cold and we are teased with a few days of sunshine only to get blasted with a blanket of snow again. 

Getting out for walks with Jozee is a highlight for me, and we were treated to a few days of beautiful weather last month and the end of January when we were able to enjoy parks and lake and river walks, even if it was a little cold. The sun on your face helps you ignore the cooler temps. 

But I’m seriously ready for spring and warmer weather, even if it means rain.

Jozee on a river walk

In the meantime, while I dream of hikes on sunny days, I’m working on my book projects...

My young adult is coming along while I continue to write and also while I work through notes and pages first typed years ago – it’s interesting when I can see the difference in my writing (then versus now) and can make changes based on what I’ve learned since I first began writing the book.

My new series has also received my attention and I have a list of projects to complete now that I’ve mapped out what I want to do with the series. I’m excited to start checking those items off of my task list.

In addition to my writing projects, I’ve also focused on a couple of other projects…

Therapy dog training

Jozee and I have begun some new training. I’m currently taking classes to become certified as a therapy dog handler and she’s taking classes to prepare her for testing to become a therapy dog. My classes will be complete later this month and her classes go into next month, after which we’ll complete a test together as a team. If we pass, we’ll begin visiting at a nearby hospital a couple of times a month. If we aren’t able to pass the initial test, it’ll mean some additional training and another test in six months. It’s not all bad, as that would mean Jozee would be older (closer to 2 years) and I’ll have shadowed other handlers to learn better skills. Either way, we’ll get there and eventually take part in the rewarding experience of visiting hospital patients.

This time of year is when resolutions from the New Year begin to fizzle and I’ve noticed a swarm of posts and worksheets or e-course offers from bloggers and writers about how to avoid procrastination, increase productivity, find an ideal routine and prioritize priorities in order to stay on task. Since I’m a writer and not immune to procrastination or self-sabotage, I read some posts and took advantage of some of the worksheets and a few e-courses. While I have my 90-day plan for my writing projects, which helps me review my goals in an attempt to stay on task, I never thought about a 90-day plan for my personal life. In my review, I realized I haven’t been solidly on task and that my work/life balance isn’t really balanced, possibly because I’m working from home and sometimes those lines are just too easily blurred.

The month of March is going to be a month of learning, where I’ll learn more about therapy dog training, more about myself as I work on the “ideal” routine and more about my writing while I review and revise a project from the past and get to know new characters as I piece together a completely new series.

These projects will keep me busy enough while I wait for the break of winter when it finally gives the stage to spring.

What about you? What projects keep you busy during the cold winter months?

Whatever the project may be, stay warm out there.

Until next time…

This time last year – same drill, different focus

This time last year I had just published Cross My Heart (the 4th in the series), we had only recently brought home and introduced Jozee to the family and we received a good amount of snow. Jozee was thrilled on both counts – she loved her new home and she enjoyed playing in the snow.

Time jump to today and the 5th in the series is now in the hands of my editor and will soon be ready for publishing, Jozee is a year old but still in the puppy stage and after a recent winter storm brought with it a lot of snow, she’s been having a great time playing outside. February has become our true winter month in this area of the PNW.

Now that my book is in the hands of my editor, I’m in that in limbo stage…while I wait for the return of my manuscript with suggested changes and while I consider what project(s) I want to work on in the meantime and what I will completely focus on once the edited novel is published.

My young adult novel, in the making now for awhile because it keeps getting shoved to the back burner behind my other books, will take first priority. I’ve had to complete some particular research for this book and while reviewing what I had in my folder recently when I was conducting additional research, I couldn’t deny the excitement I felt at the prospect of finally completing this book. It’s a completely different genre and a world of my own making, which makes the project both intimidating and stimulating at the same time.

It may get tricky, but I’m also working on the idea for a new series and I do hope that while I focus primarily on my young adult, I’ll be able to take time to work on this series. It’s a project that has brought about new excitement while I’ve made notes about new characters, scenes and settings. I still have some planning to complete but I’m excited to begin, as this project has already proven to be near and dear to my wanderlust heart.

And for those who follow the Jorja Matthews mystery series, I have the story line of the next novel mapped out (until the characters take over) and will work on that novel as time permits. While working on multiple projects isn’t always easy, it’s great to have options if the characters in the other books don’t want to come out and play on any certain day.

One thing I’ll say about completing one project and preparing for the next is how clean my desk looks! My desk gets a complete face lift once I update my series Bible, file away my notes for safekeeping and store my notebooks for later use when I begin to work on the next novel.

I almost hate the thought of messing up my clean desk again…almost, but not really.  J

So long 2018…it’s been great knowing you!

Another New Year is about to begin…are you ready?

Ocean Shores

I wasn’t sure what to expect from 2018, to be honest, since this was going to be my first year away from the day job, but as I reflect on this past year I will say I'm happy. When I reviewed my year with photos, I was reminded of all the fun this year has been, and when I reviewed each month with regard to my author life, I feel satisfied with how I tackled my first year.

In February I was finally able to publish the fourth book in the Jorja Matthews mystery series, Cross My Heart. This was perfect timing considering the next two months or so I was sidetracked with my new puppy, Jozee, who demanded much more of my time than I had anticipated. 

The rest of this past year I focused on writing the fifth book in the series, which is almost complete and has an appointment with my editor in February. I also published another book, this time trying my hand with nonfiction with Note to My Author Self. This was a book I decided to share with readers but which was written for myself; because I needed to. Some books are just born that way.

Over the past year I took part in multiple events to include speaking engagements and book signings in May, June and November, an in-person women’s business conference, an in-person writer’s conference, multiple business and author webinars, and full day or week-long online seminars. Now that I’m looking back at the number of events I took part in, I realize I could have provided updates on these events in order to share some of what I learned at each event. I can still do that, in time if I get to it, but this next year I plan to stay on top of those updates. Due to some extensive organizing this past month, I’ve mapped out a plan on what I need to do in order to accomplish that goal.

I’ve worked from home before, when I was a private investigator for over a dozen years, so I knew I could do it. However, I also figured I’d have to expect setbacks after going back to an office job for a handful of years before changing things up to work from home again. The first half of the year I winged it in a semi-organizational way, but eventually I had to concede to the idea that I had to get serious with the business of writing and finally create a business plan. Originally, I planned on quarterly business plans with the idea of moving to six-month plans, but I’ve since decided I prefer going over them every three months. I know that reviewing my plan four times a year will help keep me on task.

I changed the look of my blog, which was time-consuming but rewarding when I realized how much I preferred the final result. I teeter-tottered back and forth about whether or not I would join National Novel Writing Month in November but eventually decided not to let the challenge take priority over my current WIP, considering how close I was to completing it.

I’ve updated my writing calendar so that I can begin 2019 with fresh new pages for my writing updates and to-do’s and I’m currently working on putting together a new bullet journal for this next year. I first wrote about using a bullet journal in January when it was still fairly new to me and I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to stick with it because my attempts at the end of 2017 were hit and miss. However, I’m pleased to say I was able to stick with it the whole year and I’ve enjoyed creating my new journal for 2019. I look forward to filling in each page as I move ahead in another productive year.

I hope you also look forward to the coming New Year and that it will be ripe with possibilities, full of inspiration and complete with satisfying results.

Happy New Year!

A Year in Photos; Proof of Where Time has Gone

I hope you’re enjoying the weekend and that you find time between all the hustle and bustle to take a breather before jumping in on the holiday fun with family. I’m looking forward to a brand new year, but I was feeling a little nostalgic while going through photos of this past year. 

It’s been a busy year, but it’s also been a fulfilling year. 

While it was difficult to choose just one photo per month, I thought I’d share the past year in photos with some of my favorites:

January:

Koa and Kai move in – at this point we only had Mandy, our 10-year old (9 at the time) lab/border collie mix. It took her about three months to get comfortable with having cats around the house again.

Koa & Kai

February:

Jozee became a part of our family – and Mandy didn’t like us much at this point. She was still keeping her distance from Koa and Kai, but she had no idea how to deal with an energetic pup who insisted on trying to force playtime.

Jozee & her first day with us

March:

Life with pets – I enjoy posting photos like this, along with videos, to share our life with pets on my Instagram account @ www.instagram.com/pj_howell. Not just the cute photos, but how they make us laugh or on those days when I can only shake my head and wonder how long each stage is going to last.

Someone has an issue with the tissue

April:

It was my birthday and we celebrated with a few days in Vegas. You can never go wrong celebrating your special day.

Vegas b-day trip

May:

Jozee was not quite five months when we took her to the beach for the first time. She loved it – this is a cute photo my son took when she was looking out at the water.

Life is a beach

June:

We decided Mandy didn’t have enough playmates so we brought home a rescue we named Booker. He wasn’t sure what to think about moving in with two dogs and two older kittens (who were turning one in July), but he settled in fairly quickly and has been an adorable and fun addition to the family.

Booker is dreaming he caught a mouse

July:

Jozee loves going for walks and we thoroughly enjoyed roaming both Washington and Oregon in order to find new parks to explore.

Lake Sacajawea

August:

Road trips are my favorite, especially when we get to visit Montana and Wyoming. We had to change things up with our itinerary due to the fires at Glacier Park, but we never fail to enjoy ourselves when we get to explore these two particular states. I share photos of both local and out-of-state places we visit on my Instagram account at www.instagram.com/road_trip_junkie.

Montana river

September:

Last year I enjoyed Halloween Horror Nights with my boys and we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity again this year, especially when I’m able to enjoy the world of Harry Potter during the day.

HP world at Universal

October:

The weather in the Pacific Northwest was so beautiful and mild throughout October and into November, so that we were able to continue enjoying walks at local parks during the change in the seasons.

Tumwater Falls park

November:

Jozee is one month shy of turning a year old and I just adore her.

Jozee

December:

When someone in your family turns 21 years old and you can make Vegas happen, it will leave you with lasting memories. Even better is when your visit is this time of year, when you also get to enjoy all the holiday spirit and decorations around every corner.

Vegas and the holidays

So that’s my year in photos. We made great memories and have a lot to be thankful for. When my husband asks me what I want for Christmas, I can truthfully say, “nothing,” because the whole year has been one wonderful gift and nothing in wrapping paper could ever compare.

I hope your year has also been a great one and that you made your own wonderful memories.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

When the holidays sneak up on you

Koa - cute, cuddly and a big baby

Thanksgiving seems early this year, or maybe it came up on us fast, I’m not quite sure. My dental hygienist had a good laugh at my expense the other day when I asked about scheduling an appointment for next week. She shook her head and told me next week wouldn’t work because it was Thanksgiving.

I actually replied to her in astonishment with, “No it’s not.”

And then she showed me the calendar.

I use calendars, obviously. I’m a paper planner addict and have one for both my personal and writing life. How the heck did I miss that next week is Thanksgiving? In my defense, I’ve been busy with writing, marketing and book promotions, a book event, and planning ahead for book promotions throughout the rest of the year.

In addition, I enjoy celebrating Halloween all through October and realistically, I begin to think about Christmas on November 1st. I am one of those people, yes, who begins to listen to Christmas music or watch holiday movies right after Halloween. Thanksgiving is just another day smack dab in the middle of ghost stories and holiday baking.

Although, I have to say I enjoy left-over turkey sandwiches. If I had to choose, other than time spent with family, that is my favorite part of the holiday.

And pumpkin pie.

Can’t forget the pie.

Okay, now I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving. J

Joking aside, this month is more about family. The food is just a bonus.

In addition to family, my other focus this month was on writing and health/wellness. My writing schedule is still going well and I’ve been able to reach my word count just about every day. As for the remainder of my focus for the month, I took part in a fitness challenge and did about half as well as I expected but ended with a better mindset and some good advice on what I need to do to stick with a routine. I also began a gratitude journal the beginning of the month and I’ve actually stuck with it - I’ve tried to do this before but would usually fizzle out after a week or so. And, I began a new meditation practice this past week that has helped me feel calmer this time of year than I remember ever feeling before.

I guess that explains why I didn’t completely freak out when I found out next week was the holiday. I’m not prepared and plans are still up in the air, but I’m okay with that. Which is a bit odd, coming from me. I suppose that’s additional proof the meditation technique is working.

Other than not keeping up with what date the holiday was landing on, the month of November is providing for me what I had hoped. And considering the fact that December is going to be a fairly busy month, I will appreciate the limited focus in November. It’s something else I will add to my grateful journal.

Whatever your plans for the holiday and the rest of the month, I hope you find time to be with family and celebrate the areas in your life you can be grateful for.

October is a mixed bag, filled with fun

A river walk in October is my kind of treat

The month of October has become a mixed-bag for me but thankfully, it’s a mixture that hasn’t made me feel overwhelmed, and hasn’t affected my word count.  

On the writing side of life, I’ve enjoyed having more time to write and being able to reach my daily word count on a regular basis. This might sound corny but it makes each day feel complete.    Much of my summer and also September involved completing and promoting my non-fiction book, time spent away on vacation, author conferences and webinars, marketing and promotion, and admin duties a mile long. I’m happy to step away from the more “serious” side of the business so that I can focus most of my time on the “creative” side for a bit.

And on that note, I’m still trying to decide whether I should join NaNoWriMo this year. Today I had the thought that if I’m making my daily word count anyway, it won’t hurt to join, and it will help me stay on task through the holidays. 

If I decide to join NaNoWriMo, I’ll be posting on my blog to help with accountability.

Get your copy here

Speaking of holidays, Halloween is coming…duh…but I would be remiss to remind you I have a short ghost story out. 1313 Psycho Path is a quick read, apparently a bit scary to some (I’ve been told), and at .99 cents for the eBook (or free if you have Kindle Unlimited) and $5.50 for the paperback (free shipping if you are an Amazon prime member), it’s less than a large latte at the coffee shop. 

Or you can read it my way, with a paperback in one hand and a Pumpkin Spice latte    in the other. Yup, I’m one of those.

Okay, just had to get that dash of promotion out of the way.

One last note about my writing life: I received a memory on Facebook of my very first book signing after No Mother of Mine was published. To anyone who has been following me since the beginning, it has been six years since that day!

Moving on to the personal side of life, I’ve been able to spend some quality time with family, including out-of-town relatives who ventured to our neck of the woods for a visit. Due to the beautiful weather we’re still having (although it was gloomy today), I’ve been able to take Jozee out regularly for walks that we can both enjoy, especially with all of the beautiful falls colors.

Jozee loves a good walk

There were a few tasks around the house we had to tackle, since the weather will be changing soon…putting outside furniture away or under cover, burning branches that had been piled up and put on hold due to the burn ban, cleaning out gutters, recaulking the windows…those sorts of chores. It always feels good to play the responsible homeowner.

As noted by a "younger" person,
it's a true life save button!

I didn’t mean to, but I also spent some time organizing a file cabinet in my office. It was an author-related task, mind you, because I realized I had file folders full of records and documents I used for my PI business that I no longer need. That file space could now be better utilized for all of my writing materials I’ve accumulated over the years. Why am I sharing this? Because I thought it was hilarious when I found these floppy discs in a batch of documents I still had from when I first became a licensed PI. I don’t know what’s more interesting: the fact that these discs were very old (from the late 1990’s) or the fact that I still had them! I have repeatedly been called a packrat, and I have been working on it the past few years, but it’s going to take me some time to get through everything. J

Overall, October has been a “fun” month, with fall colors, family, finding plenty of time to write, freeing up space, finally tackling necessary homeowner tasks and, of course, my favorite: the fur babies.

Carry on, read on and enjoy the rest of October!

Reading tires Booker out

When summer collapses into fall

Saying goodbye to summer isn’t always fun, but because fall is one of my favorite seasons…actually, I’ll say it is my favorite season, so I’m only slightly sad to see summer go. I’ll miss going barefoot but I look forward to green grass again and saying goodbye to fire danger. I’ll miss the beautiful t-shirt weather, but I look forward to cozy days wrapped in sweaters with a cup of tea. And, I always look forward to the holiday season, especially with Halloween right around the corner and the multiple choices of spiced hot drinks that never fail to brighten a rainy fall day.

While our days are still somewhat nice, we’ve lost the high temps, we’ve actually been treated to some rain, and I’ve noticed the past few days that the wind has really been kicking in every once in awhile. The seasons are beginning the shift. 

"And all at once, summer collapsed into fall." ~Oscar Wilde~

Jozee, such a happy girl

The last month of summer as well as the first week of this September has been a busy time for me, but also quite enjoyable. Since my last post where I shared about extra outings with Jozee and the expected release of my next book, I’ve enjoyed more hikes with Jozee and more time at the beach…

Cape Disappointment State Park 

…a visit to my favorite bookstore in Portland (Powell’s books)…

…a road trip to Montana and Wyoming…

…we celebrated my grandmother’s 89^th birthday, I attended a writer’s conference and…I released my latest book!

Available in paperback and as an eBook on Amazon

Here’s the blurb to give you an idea of what it’s about:

Note to My Author Self is a compilation of notes the author hopes will inspire others so that following their dreams doesn’t become buried by a busy or stressful life. The notes begin from the author’s initial writing journey after she realized her passion was to write and her purpose was to share her stories and inspire others. She shares her experiences during her journey while she navigates writing and publishing as a new author and when she finds herself desperately searching for inspiration as she attempts to continue writing during some of the most difficult years in her personal life.

Note to My Author Self includes motivational thoughts from the author about realizing the dream, living a creative life and avoiding the act of just existing but rather, actually living in a way that brings each of us joy.

Speaking of my grandmother, I dedicated this particular book to her. She doesn’t know it yet because I’m waiting to share a final copy with her, and it has been difficult keeping this fact from her but I’d rather she have the final printed version in her hands when I tell her about it. It wasn’t a difficult decision to dedicate this book to her. I have a chapter in the book titled, “Remain Unique and Unstoppable,” and she is, without a doubt, the most unique and unstoppable woman I’ve known. I can’t wait to share the news of this book with her.

Note to My Author Self is nonfiction, as I noted before, and a completely different experience from writing fiction, obviously. I expect I may try more nonfiction in the future but for now, I look forward to giving my full attention to the fictional world of Jorja and her mysteries, as well as the young adult book I’m still working on. If you happen to buy Note to My Author Self, I’d really appreciate hearing feedback, or would really appreciate receiving reviews on Amazon.

Now that summer is over, my plan is to get back to blogging more often; at least every other week, if I’m not able to manage once a week. We’ll see how it goes. For now, though, I hope you enjoyed the remainder of your summer days and are also ready to fall into fall. J

The dog days of summer

Jozee is people watching

As I prepared to write this post, I was actually startled to look at the date and realize August is almost half over. It seemed like yesterday when I shared a photo on Instagram about the hay bales in the field and how that usually marks the end of the beginning of summer for me. Suddenly, it’s been almost two weeks since then and now we’re really not that far away from entering the next season.

It happens every time; the rapid end of summer, but it surprises me each time, nonetheless.

This summer has been a hot one, with temps in the 90’s more often than we’re use to in the PNW, and apparently with more on the way. Today I’m enjoying the fact that I can work comfortably in my office with temps in the low 70’s after a huge amount of rain yesterday. The rain was certainly a welcome sight considering how dry everything has been and the constant threat of fire in too many areas at this point.

Happy Dog graduate

This summer has also been a busy one, especially since my last post, with family gatherings, small-town festivals, and multiple visits to the beach and various parks around our state in order to get out more to explore with Jozee. I love taking her on walks and hikes and we meet so many nice people who are also dog lovers. Jozee was also in her first training class this summer and she graduated the end of July after having a great time proving she’s a bright pup. I’m a little biased, of course, but I guess you can’t blame me. J

But summer hasn’t kept me away from working on my writing…

In fact, I just completed another book that will soon be published. I’m excited and nervous about this publication, because it’s personal, it’s non-fiction, and its purpose is to be motivational. When authors talk about dealing with imposter syndrome, I really hadn’t understood it, until now. Until now I’ve been writing fiction and I just haven’t been inclined to believe there’s any reason why I shouldn’t be writing and sharing my stories. I always hope readers will enjoy my books but I know not to take it personally if they don’t. However, now that I’ve ventured into the world of non-fiction, and with a book that’s so personal, I believe I can finally understand. While the book expresses my own thoughts, which is enough to make anyone nervous, what I’m anxious about is whether readers will accept and understand what I’m sharing due to my underlying need to fulfill my desire to inspire others. And beyond that, whether they’ll believe I’m equipped with the experience to inspire them.

As with all things, only time will tell.

So whether I sweat from the high summer temps during the remainder of our dog days of summer, or from nervousness as I wait for feedback and reviews, I’ll hope for the best and continue moving forward. The most recently completed book is in the final stages and if all goes according to plan, it should be available by the end of August. I’ll definitely share the news and the links once it’s available. In the meantime, I’m back to working on the next book in my series, as well as a young adult novel I’ve been working on, so it’s back to the fictional world full time for me. And I’m okay with that.

I’ll share a post when the next book is available so until then, enjoy the remainder of your summer, stay safe and stay cool!

How to generate character and story ideas…just walk the dog.

It’s the time of year again when the calendar days fill up so quickly, it may become difficult to carve out your own free time. It’s a busy time with graduations and graduation parties (us included, with our youngest graduating from college), mixed in with birthdays, weddings and babies (we are expecting a great niece the end of the month 😊), in between work and family responsibilities. 

Visit to Budd Inlet, Olympia

I sit enough during the day while I work on writing projects so when I carve out free time, it doesn’t usually mean time to relax. It means getting out, walking, checking out a new trail, finding a new park, or finding new sights that I can enjoy and photograph. 

Getting out benefits more than just myself, since it means I can explore with my almost six-month-old puppy, Jozee. I’m not sure I’d get out as often if it weren’t for her, so I’ll give her credit when it comes to keeping me moving more regularly. Walking, getting some fresh air, discovering new places…the combination is not only good for a growing puppy, but also for my health and my creativity.

It’s been fun the past couple of months to find ways to get out and explore the sights with Jozee. We take walks around our property or at the local city park, which is fine when I only want to take a limited break from a project, but when we can take half a day or a whole day, my husband also joins us and we’ve had fun visiting old haunts (so that Jozee can see them for the first time) or exploring new places. Part of the fun is mapping out where we’re going to go next, what trails we might hike or which parks and beaches we can visit. Whether we’re visiting local parks or areas an hour or two away, the sights, people we meet and the adventure as a whole provide me the break I need and also food for thought when I’m mapping out new story or character ideas.

Visit to Pacific Beach

And meeting new people is a never-ending feature these days. One thing I’ve noticed now that I’m out and about with Jozee is how many new people you meet when you have a dog. It’s so easy to remain introverted and isolated when you’re by yourself; but when you have a dog with you, especially a puppy, the number of new acquaintances you meet is quite high, as most are dog-lovers who won’t hesitate to strike up a conversation. 

Being a self-proclaimed introvert, I’m still getting used to randomly having conversations with strangers at any given moment in a pet store, on a city sidewalk, on a rural trail, at the beach or even while visiting a rest area. On the plus side, meeting so many different people during various types of situations gives me a larger deposit of character and story ideas when I’m open to receiving them.

Visit to the Witch's Castle in Portland

Case in point is a woman we met last weekend at a rural rest area on our way back from Portland. She had a little white dog and we got to talking while her dog and Jozee got to know each other. She was from Portland and was heading up to Seattle to see her daughter while her husband was on the east coast at a business meeting. We were just getting ready to leave when I walked by her vehicle and she told me that she had accidentally locked her keys, her phone, and her dog inside her vehicle. One of the volunteers working at the rest area let her use their phone to call a couple of locksmiths, but she learned the soonest anyone could get to the rest area wouldn’t be for another four hours. Four hours! It was already around 8:00 p.m. at the time she called them. She was at a loss. She couldn’t call her daughter to say she’d be (really) late because she didn’t know the number by heart; she couldn’t call her neighbor to ask them to bring her the extra key because again, she didn’t know the neighbor’s phone number by heart. She could call her husband, a number she did remember, and ask him to call their daughter and their neighbor, but he was three hours ahead of us, could already be asleep and she didn’t want to call him and worry him if it wasn’t necessary. One of the rest stop volunteers tried to jimmy the lock, but that didn’t work. Finally, she used my cell phone after we discussed contacting the state patrol, to see if they’d be willing to figure out how she might be able to get help in a shorter period of time. The 9-1-1 dispatch operator put her through to the state patrol operator, who then said she would do what she could. Since we had no idea if or when she’d receive help, we stayed with her to keep her company. It was maybe a half hour later when a tow truck operator arrived, having been sent by the state patrol to assist. It was wonderful to see him drive up and save the day, and the dog! A quick stop at a rest area for Jozee’s potty break turned in to hanging out with a complete stranger for a few hours. It was completely out of the norm, as far as what we’d expect at a rest area, but as we left that day, my mind wandered… What if…? There are so many ways this ordeal could have worked out differently, and there are many endings I could attach to it, but for now what I like to think about are the number of characters I can attribute to this visit at the rest area. Each played their part and the end result was a good one. 

If we had left before knowing how things worked out, my mind would have wandered, leaving me with thoughts about the many “what if” endings my imagination could come up with. And I probably wouldn’t have been able to get to sleep because of it. 

Instead, when we finally left the rest area that evening and drove the rest of the way home, it was with the satisfaction of knowing that the woman and her little dog were safely on their way to Seattle. And I was able to sleep very well.

A good ending all around. 😊

The many moments in the month of May (so far)

A photo my son captured of Jozee 

while we were at the beach

Sometimes everything goes as planned, and sometimes they don't, but that's not always a bad thing.

I had planned to post on my blog over the weekend, but…it was Mother’s Day weekend so I took some time off to play. What I wanted for my Mother’s Day was at least one day at the beach, which did happen and turned out to be a great idea considering how perfect the weather was. If you are also from the PNW, you’ll understand my excitement about the fact that we actually had a nice day at the beach, and in the month of May!

While May is only half over, it has already provided me with a good feeling on how this next quarter will end. All I can say is, hooray! In addition to spending a lot of time on one of my writing projects, here’s what I’ve been up to:

I finally completed a business plan – why now, you say? I just kept putting it off, maybe because in the back of my mind I believed I didn’t really need it. But, writing is a business when you hope your efforts result in making a profit so, I finally forced myself to work one up. Right now I’m sticking with revising my business plan quarterly, so that I can focus on projects actually pending at this time, but I plan to work up to six-month plans once I move in to next year.

Session at Inspire:

Women's Business Conference

I attended a women’s conference the first week in May for business owners – again, thinking about writing beyond the craft and what I can do to focus on the business end of things so that what I’m accomplishing involves both my head and my heart.

The women’s conference was a nice day retreat for me since my days are usually spent by myself (unless you count my dogs and cats), I met some great women and business owners and from each session I learned some useful business sense tips.

I’ll enjoy attending more of these events if the business organization continues to offer them. 

I finally signed up to become a member of a local writer’s association. By “local” I mean Seattle, which is a horrible drive these days from my locale, so I won’t likely attend many of the monthly meetings, but I’ll be able to access the relevant meeting information online, as well as other member perks. I can’t honestly say why it’s taken me until now to do this…I enjoy attending conferences, and I attend them when I’m able (which takes actual physical effort), while the act of becoming a member of an association was such an easy task I could have completed a long time ago (um, can anyone say online registration?) but just kept putting it off. I can’t explain my delay, other than it must be that writer’s procrastination issue I hear so much about. 😊

I had some fun designing new business cards and bookmarks – time will tell whether I like the business cards more than my original design, but because my books now include a series and not just the first book (it’s been that long since I designed the first business card), I decided to make a change since the time to update them was long overdue.

I spent some time promoting my series the past two weeks, playing with the P.I. writing about a P.I. idea, then for Mother’s Day, and also for upcoming book events I have scheduled this month and next month. Speaking of which, for those who are local, I have the following author events coming up should you wish to attend where I’ll discuss my books and my writing and publishing process and sign books for those who have or will be purchasing them: 

The first event is this coming Saturday, May 19th from 1p to 3p at The Firs in Olympia (426 Lilly Rd NE)

The second event is scheduled for Wednesday, June 6th from 10:15a to 11:30a at the Olympia Center (222 Columbia St NW)

I'm looking forward to both events and in meeting new people, so if you’re in the area and can attend either they are both open to the public.

So, the month of May for me has been a productive one. I see the last half of the month following suit and I look forward to that!

Quarterly check in: April showers, fur babies & serial killer?

As I sit at my desk contemplating what I might want to blog about today, I’m hearing the constant downpour on the rooftop just outside my office window. The forecast for today indicates 100% chance of rain, but I really don’t need a weather app to tell me that.

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest means this much rain doesn’t faze me all that much. In fact, I find it kind of soothing. Of course, what I really mean is that I find it soothing when I can remain indoors, warm and dry. If I have to venture out and drive in it, I’m really not all that thrilled. And, to be honest, as much as I don’t mind the rain, I’ll admit I longingly look forward to warmer days when I can spend more time outside or when I can take part in a vacation to a warmer climate.

Until those warmer days or my next vacation, today is a day when I’m staying put so if Mother Nature wants to treat us to an excessive amount of rain, so be it.

Since rain does mean staying put on a Sunday afternoon, I’m taking time today to go through my writing tasks to get a sense of where I am with them, or how far behind I might be, in order to run through a quarterly review. I’m already aware of the fact that I’ve had good days and bad days when it came to staying on task the past few months, for various reasons, so the fact that I’m behind isn’t a surprise.

Koa & Kai - inseparable

Having a puppy and two kittens that constantly demand my attention is obviously one of the biggest reasons I’ve been distracted the past two months. 

From the kittens chewing or scratching up papers, to digging miniatures out of my dollhouse, to sitting on my desk right in front of my computer screen, and from Jozee needing regular potty breaks and chewing on shoes and walls and the kittens themselves, I’m up and out of my chair more times than I can count. If I had a dollar for every time I said the words, “no” or “stop that,” I’d be set for life! But then the kittens eventually settle down, Jozee does her best to behave, and I keep telling myself to just breathe…it’s temporary…it’s just temporary…eventually I’ll get back on a regular schedule. And at least I’m moving more regularly and keeping up a good step count. J

Jozee

January was a productive month, and I was able to complete the tasks necessary so that the fourth book in my series was finally published the first part of February. Just in time, too, since the beginning of February was primarily focused on Jozee. 

The rest of February and much of March were hit and miss when it came to making real headway on my projects, but between my young adult, another book in the series, and a short story, when I do find the time to work I have plenty to work on.

Between watching Jozee and the kittens to working on my books in between naps and play time (seriously!), here are just a few other notes with regard to my recent progress:

I shared in one of my last blog posts that I had started reading “The Artist’s Way” and that I was going to try to make use of the morning pages idea – that didn’t really pan out for me. I was too busy with Jozee first thing in the morning and by the time I was able to sit down to work on anything, I wanted to use my limited free time to work on my books. I’m probably going to try the idea again in another month or so.

I did, however, begin reading again “The Writer’s Workout” by Christina Katz. Right now this type of book is easier for me to stick with and the daily tips will continue to push me as I move forward and continue to adjust my new writing schedule around the daily distractions of fur babies and whatever else pops up.

I also shared in a past post about my attempt to start using a bullet journal – I’m finally getting the hang of it and I really enjoy it. It’s messy, compared to all the pretty examples I see others sharing, but it works for me and I love the freedom I have to make it my own so that it works for me.

I got our taxes done – have to celebrate that one! J

And, odd fact, I was running through and updating information on all the characters in my series – I found it interesting that I’ve killed off 12 characters so far. I’m a virtual serial killer. Not sure what to think about that!

Although I feel behind on some tasks, I’m still making progress as I’m able, and as long as I continue to do that, all will be well. Just like the little saying I have at the beginning of my bullet journal, “A little progress each day adds up to big results.”

Have a great day!