Straightening out the carpet…one wrinkle at a time.

It’s been just over a month since the world as I knew it changed in a way no one can ever be prepared for.  It’s strange to say that it’s only been a month; sometimes it seems just like yesterday while other times I feel as if a much longer period of time has passed. 

Many might wonder how I’ve been doing and, admittedly, I won’t blame them because I’ve not made myself very accessible except to my most immediate family and to only very few friends.  The loss I’ve experienced has been very difficult to deal with and I’ve only been able to manage being around those who share my grief and might understand what I’m going through.   

It’s not my intention to completely expose my feelings too much here, except to say I’m doing “okay.”  That is the answer usually provided to the question I hear very often…“How are you doing?”  While usually just a casual question anyone can answer with a stock answer, that seemingly harmless question only makes me think about why I wouldn’t be “okay.”  In all honesty, I truly look forward to the day when that harmless question won’t make me wonder whether my stock answer might actually be a lie.

Whether I’m doing okay or not, I made a decision last weekend to do what I can to get my butt in the chair and get back to writing.  I won’t lie…it’s been difficult.  I had hoped to be more on track with my writing by now but it has not been easy due to a new experience I’ve been dealing with – the inability to remain focused for very long.  Distractions too easily deter me from my intended tasks.  It’s something that I understand is expected considering what I’m dealing with emotionally but as a writer, I am frustrated that I’m not meeting  the goals I’ve set for myself.   

One day at a time.  Take baby steps.  Live in the moment.  Make the most of every day.  Or, as my title indicates, I will straighten the carpet that turned my life upside-down by smoothing one wrinkle at a time.  It’s a big carpet, so it may take a little while. 

Until then, I’ll work on my books, one chapter at a time as I can, and I will continue to post updates here and on my Facebook page, as the mood strikes me.  Eventually, I know I’ll get back on track.  Eventually, I’ll have the pleasure of announcing exciting news about a book event, or my latest short story, or my next two novels.  I don’t know how much longer it will take before I can move on, full steam ahead, but when I do…my plan is to be a force to be reckoned with.  

How to continue "as-is" when the carpet is yanked out from under you.

I posted my last post for 2014 on December 28th, sharing what I had accomplished and how I had plans and ideas for what I expected to achieve during 2015. But what I did not know was that my world would turn completely upside down the following day.

In other, more truthful words, my world fell apart and will never be the same again.

On Monday, December 29th, I received a phone call mid-morning that no one ever wishes to receive...there had been an accident.  It was my Dad.  He was terribly hurt and in the one hospital in our state that leaves you with the fear that the injuries are life-threatening but also some comfort that if any doctor can make your loved one better, it will be someone there.

That first day is now pretty much a blur.  The second was about the same, as was the third, while we all clung on to every little bit of hope that a miracle would occur.

Four days later, just after the passing of the first full day of our New Year, my dad passed away.

There are so many thoughts and feelings running through me about what happened - but due to how my Dad's life was taken, I really can't express them here.  Instead, I am posting now just to share why, for a little while, I may not be expressing myself as often on my blog or even on Facebook. My emotions are running a fast-paced course from both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between and it's really not something I want to express here.  Eventually, I will get back to writing for others and sharing my journey again as I continue to write but for now, I feel the need to take a step back and write for myself for awhile as I attempt to heal from this terrible loss.

2014: A Year in Review & Top Blog Posts

Another year is almost over and a new one is about to begin.  How did this past year work out for you?  Did you accomplish what you expected or are you going to continue tracking your goals into the next year?  For me, it’s a little of both…

After having published the first two books in the Jorja Matthews mystery series, No Mother of Mine in 2012 and Best Kept Secrets in 2013, I got to work on the third book in the series, Ties That Bind, expecting a release date in 2014.  Obviously, I made the 2014 release date, even after hiring a new editor and working around her busy schedule, but my goals did not stop there.  I also wrote and published a short ghost story, 1313 Psycho Path, which was released earlier in February 2014.  I initially wrote the book and gave it to my boys as a Christmas gift in December 2013, but then we decided it was something we wanted to share with others.  I have since been asked to write a sequel to the story, and because it was such a fun story to write, it is on my list of possibilities.

The first half of this year was spent publishing 1313 Psycho Path and completing Ties That Bind so that it could be sent to the editor for review.  The second half of this year I spent time taking part in Camp NaNo during the month of July so that I could complete another short story I had also hoped to have published in 2014.  The rest of the year was spent completing Ties That Bind, and then anxiously waiting for word back from my editor after her review of the book, which occurred in late September.  The book was returned with edits in October, and the book was published in November.  Having published so late in the year, it was difficult to schedule book events with the holidays in November and December literally taking up most of our time so I will plan an event next year.  I already have a fun idea for a book event and, while it may be a challenge, I really hope it will work out as I imagine.

I took part in only a few book events this year, a pretty low key schedule actually.  The first was a speaking engagement at a local senior center the first half of the year.  I just love senior citizens and I adore how much they adore my books.  When I meet with them, I am reminded of my grandmother and I very much wish she had lived long enough to see me publish my first book.  I know she’d be both tickled with joy and extremely proud.  Another event that took place the second half of the year was a craft fair I decided to join in on for the fun of it.  I hadn’t actually intended on selling any books at the fair, as I had actually made some ornaments and scrapbooks for the event, but my third book in the series came out just before the craft fair and I was given permission to use the event to offer the books I had available for sale.  It turned out to be a fun event and, while I didn’t have copies yet of the third book with me, it was a great way to promote the series.

What I wasn’t able to complete this year was the final publication of my second short story I wrote during Camp NaNo.  It’s just about ready to go but since Thanksgiving and due to the busy time caused by the month of December, I’ve had very little time to work on my writing.  That is about to change and I look forward to getting back into my writing routine.

I may not have completed everything I intended to this year but I’ve come pretty close.  I feel very accomplished by the fact that I published two books in 2014 and began working on two more.  I will continue to track my goals from 2014 into the New Year, as I also add new ones to the mix.  Completion of my second short story and scheduling a book event are two goals I need to complete, as I also continue working on the fourth book in the series so that it can be published in the fall.  I also plan to join Camp NaNo in April again so that I can focus some more time on a YA novel I hope to publish sometime next year.  It will be a challenge but I look forward to working on something completely different. 

To finish off this post, here’s a short list of some of my most popular posts for 2014:

• Editing – learning the tricks of the trade give me, and readers, a treat
• What’s your scare threshold?
• Looking for a quick read before bed?
• Game Plan in the Works
• Please don’t hate the author…

This will be my last post for 2014. I always experience a combination of feelings this time of year… sadness that another year has passed so quickly but excitement at what a new year will hold.  For me, 2014 was a good year overall with more ups than downs, and that’s always a good thing.  I truly hope yours was as well!

Making a list…and checking it twice.

I don’t know about you, but this has been a busy month for me and that’s on top of all the holiday prep, shopping and events we always deal with this time of year.  And we’re only half way through the month!

The third book in my series, Ties That Bind, is now out.  Of course, that’s not news to you if you follow this blog or my Facebook page.  It’s always an exciting time when another new book is released and then…I finally get my head out of the fog so that I can focus on the list of to-do’s I need to complete once the book is finally out.

What kind of list?  Here’s just a sample of some of the tasks I needed to complete:

• Send out group e-mail about the new book to everyone I know
• Blog about new book release
• Update blog with new title and where to purchase the book
• Update Amazon author page
• Make new book available on Barnes & Noble as paperback & eBook
• Update Facebook cover photo
• Look into scheduling book events/signings
• Research my name and book names to see what pops up and where
• Take a peek at author rank, just because it’s fun to see that spike when sales happen

There’s more to the list, I just can’t remember all of them right now.  So how have I done with my to-do list so far?  Not too bad, actually.  The group e-mail went out, I blogged about the new release, my blog has been updated so that my books are now listed on a separate tab, my Amazon author page has been updated, and I finally replaced my Facebook cover photo with a new one today.

The book event was tricky.  It’s a terrible time of year to try to schedule book signings because of how busy our schedule is between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.  I really didn’t expect to be able to squeeze any events in this month and had planned on focusing on scheduling a book signing sometime after January.  However, I had already signed up for a craft fair taking place the first week in December so I was able to use that event to promote my books.  Even though I didn’t have any copies of the third book available at the time, it turned out to be a lot of fun and I was pleased with how well the event went with regard to sales of my prior books and with how I was able to market my new book. 

I try to research my name and my books on line every few months throughout the year, and especially after a new book is released.  I do this to see how quickly someone can find me, either by looking for my name or the titles or series name of my books.  When I ran a search for my name and my books just after Ties That Bind was released, I was upset to discover that the newest book in the series had already been pirated.  The digital format was being offered for free by a company actually located in my home state and which is subject to US copyright laws.  I immediately sent the company an e-mail regarding the copyright infringement, to which they replied:  “Thanks for your report!  Links was removed.  Kindly yours.”  That’s it, bad grammar and all, but I checked the site and found the book was no longer available.  The problem here is that dealing with companies who pirate books is like playing whack-a-mole.  You can hit one over the head and make it disappear, only to have another one pop up in a different spot.  Some authors view it as free advertising, while others go the length of hiring attorneys to deal with the issue.  I’m just dealing with it as it comes up but I don’t want to let the issue completely consume me.

Book ranking                                 Kindle ranking

Checking my author ranking is something I used to do all the time when I first released No Mother of Mine – I spent too much time watching the numbers go up and then go down, all the while trying to figure out exactly what made them go up and down.  It can give you a headache.  And it’s really not a good way to spend your time as a writer.  However, I now look at my author ranking about once every quarter, just to see when the ranking dips and when it spikes, whether it’s after a new release, after a book event, a holiday, cyber Monday…you name it.  

Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason but either way, it can be a good tool to use, as long as you don’t let it completely control how you view your worth as an author.  I checked my ranking for the first time today after months of not taking a peek and it was great to see that a spike did occur right after Ties That Bind had been released.

Overall, I’ve tackled my to-do list pretty well.  Based on the list above, I’ve covered them all except for one, which is to add the book to Barnes & Noble’s website (and I apologize to anyone out there who uses a Nook).  There are more tasks I can add to the list, as always, but I feel good about where I am with my to-do list at this point. 

So, for the rest of December, I think I can now focus more on my writing and also spend some time checking over my “other” list…my Christmas shopping list.  We’re at 11 days and counting – the holiday will be here soon! 

Good luck if you also have your own holiday list to check off and have a great week!

Jorja Matthews, Book #3, is published!

This has been a long year for me and it has taken a bit longer to get the third book in the series published, but the time has finally come…Ties That Bind is now available in paperback and as an eBook! 

Why did this book seem to take longer?  It was a number of things, from my schedule to the editor’s schedule, to the additional time it took to review the book, run through the edits and then review those edits.  The cover took me a little time as well – starting with a test cover, just so that I could order a proof copy of my book, which meant that I later had to spend the following weekend working on the real cover. 

I’m now in that place with my writing that I enjoy…I’m moving on from one story and completely moving on to another.  I’m in the same series, of course, but adding new characters and new mysteries to solve.  I’m away from the review and revise status of writing that can really drain me.  I can finally take that deep breath as I move to the beginning of the line and start the process all over again with a new book.

So if you’ve been waiting for Ties That Bind to finally become available – it’s here.  In paperback and as an eBook on Amazon, in paperback via my eStore and at some point in the near future, I will also take care of making the book available on the Barnes & Noble website, as well.  That, I believe, is the last thing to do on my current to-do list.

Next on my future to-do list will be to schedule a book signing or two but because of the time of year, it won’t be happening anytime soon.  We’ll have to get through the holidays and into next year before I can even think about when and where we might be scheduling a book event. 

For now, if you read the book, please let me know your thoughts, leave me reviews on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, or where ever you frequent, post on my Facebook page…whatever works for you.  I’d love to hear the feedback. 

And last, but not least, thanks for following me on my journey as a writer.

Have a great week – I know I will!

Ties That Bind – Cover Reveal!

After making some changes to the initial cover, the proof of Ties That Bind with the new cover was finally delivered yesterday.  Really, even Christmas has a hard time comparing to the feeling I get when I discover there is a box with my latest book waiting for me at the post office.  I feel like a kid opening a gift every time.

Ties That Bind by P.J. Howell

Now that the cover is complete, I can check that task off my list as we move closer to the publishing date.  Since I am nearing the date   when the book will finally be available on line, I’d like to share the book cover with you – here it is:

I would ask what you think of it…but I won’t.  Right now I like it and that’s what’s important at this point.  If I keep second guessing myself, this book won’t get published before the end of the year and I fear many of you will never forgive me if it isn’t available to you before Christmas!

I will admit to something I should have put more thought into when my first cover was revealed, and that’s the fact that I wish I had stuck to a certain look that could have carried over from book to book so that it was apparent they were part of the same series.  While I like the fact that they each have their own character, as far as covers go, I think it would have been better if they had a similar look (and it would have been easier and less time-consuming too).  Now that I’m three books into the series, I’m past the point of no return; however, I was at a local bookstore the other day and I was reminded of the fact that not all book coves are set in stone.  That reminder came from the Hunger Games when I saw that all the books recently got a face lift – new covers with a different look.  I’m already thinking ahead to how fun it might be to redo all the covers for my series once (if) I reach an end to the series so that they all have a similar look.

But that’s obviously a long time from now so I will focus on the covers as they stand.  Now that I have the proof and have thumbed through it again and again, I do feel happy with the result so that I can move forward with finally getting this horse out of the gate.  There are just a few more details to finish with and right now the expectation is that Ties That Bind will be available next week (December 1st is the plan). 

Just one more week! 

I will post an update during Thanksgiving weekend – until then, have a great week.

NaNoWriMo, not really for me, no

I shouldn’t be so negative – I’m only half way through NaNoWriMo but based on how the first part of the month has gone, I am fairly positive I won’t be able to complete the contest this year. 

I do have good reasons for not being able to write, so I really shouldn’t give myself a hard time.

The best reason for getting behind on my writing is that I’ve been working on completing the steps necessary to publish the third book in my series.  It has taken me and others time to review the paperback edition of the book, in order to spot any errors that may have snuck in during the editing phase (and I very much dislike that they do sneak in!).  In addition, there was a fair amount of time I had to spend on putting together a decent cover because I absolutely hated the first version.  I like the second version of my cover much better – I hope everyone else will like it too. 

Another reason for not writing so much involves the family – last weekend I spent a day away to search the streets of Portland for books, gifts and food, and this weekend I spent another day away north of Seattle to celebrate my niece’s first birthday and my nephew’s eighth birthday.  Obviously, writing must take a backseat to such events.

Since the day job takes up most of the daylight hours during the week, I’ve only been left with weekday evenings and Sundays to actually spend any time on my writing.  And here comes my other reason for not writing as much as I’d planned…I was sick with a head cold at least four days last week and by the time I arrived home after work at the end of each day, all I wanted to do was cuddle up on the couch under a blanket with my tissues and a cup of tea.  The creativity just couldn’t flow out of me when I was fighting a constant sinus headache, sniffles and tired, itchy eyes.

Thankfully, I’m on the mend.  We still have half of the month left, so I will do what I can to add as many words to my word count as possible, even given the fact that we still have more family gatherings to attend before the month is up.  Whether I complete NaNoWriMo this year really isn’t going to be an issue for me because at this point, I’m happy with the fact that I’ll finally have the third book in the series published and I’ll have a good start on the next book, regardless of the actual word count.  That’s progress and the fact that I’m moving forward in a positive way is not something I can be negative about.  

So off we go…we’ll see how the second half of November treats me and I’ll do what I can to keep up the progress!