Springing Into Action

How many things can Jean do at once? We're testing the limits this month.

Did I go into this knowingly and willingly? Yep. It is a torture of my own doing because sometimes all the things just align like that.

Thing #1: Nugget the Space Chicken books 3 & 4 is on Kickstarter (pre-launch as of this post) and going live on April 7. If you'd like to help bring more adventures to my early reader sci-fi/fantasy chapter book series, please consider supporting our campaign.

Thing #2: My next book will be released on May 4. Siphon, my paranormal romance is wrapping up proofreading and then will head into formatting (that's me) and out to ARC readers.

Vampires full of tragic pasts and dark secrets are delicious.

Lavina feeds off the memories of others, the more traumatic the better, but once she’s fed, they’re fixed: looking for redemption, good…so very vanilla. Lavinia craves triple dark chocolate.

Stephanos is called to America to help his sire take over the blood-rich city of Northchester. The job, like all the others before it, is simple: kill the target, cause a little chaos, and enforce compliance with the new regime. Then he can go back home and not deal with his sire’s demands for a decade or two.

When a strange woman interrupts his killing spree, all of his plans go to hell. His sire is pissed, the target isn’t thankful, and everyone in Northchester is looking for him. Lavina has a safe place to hide the wanted vampire and a plan to make him last. Unfortunately, she’s never been good at sticking to diets.

Thing #3: Holland Lit Fest. I'm in charge of author selection and various other things for a new book festival we're launching this fall.

Thing #4: Finishing the rough draft of Nugget book 4: The Broken Bots of Quintus 9 so we can be ready for illustrations once the Kickstarter concludes #ThinkingPositive

Beyond that...all the usual things. I have four book events in April and four more in May, three of those eight will be long weekends of away from home travel. A new brood of chicks is on the way. The flower beds need lots of cleaning up and the garden will need planting soon. Zero (the current teen chick) is enjoying his/her (time will tell) first spring. What all can I get done in addition to everything else? We shall see.

I am happy to report that Penguicon 2026 was fantastic. It was great to see this convention return to it's mission of family friendly diverse programming. I met lots of great authors including David Weber (author of the Honor Harrington series) and Jim Butcher (author of the Dresden Files), sat on seven panels, attended a few more, AND managed to get some editing done. Did I stay up to late? Yes, but not because of room parties. I blame my lack of sleep on a rousing after midnight conversation with author pal Vera West, who I roped into attending the con with me.

Third Coast Author and Book Festival was also a great time and soooo many author friends were there but the festival hours were short and I was so busy signing books that I couldn't get away from my table to chat with most of them. #AuthorProblems  A few of us hung out after hours at a local brewery, but there we many faces I didn't get to see. Good thing the year is young. We'll hopefully get a chance to catch up at another event.

My road trip to Toledo Fantasticon was blessedly uneventful. The hotel was wonderfully quiet (I always use that same hotel when in Toledo for that exact reason) and Little Kay (the chicken on duty that weekend) and I got to meet lots of new and returning readers. 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the 

other participating writers. 

We've reached the part where I do my Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Hooray, if you've made it this far and aren't tired yet. I'm tired too. ;)  This month's question is about playlists and writing, and well, if you've been here for awhile, you know I don't listen to anything when writing. Silence is my friend. The better to hear the voices, she said.

So instead, we're going to quick chat about doing all the things at once and not going crazy. Consult the calendar. Make lists. Know your due dates and roughly how much time tasks will take. Time blocks are fantastic.

Unless I'm totally in the zone, I do better with short blocks to keep my attention on task. Fifteen minutes to half an hour works great for me. Find what works best for you. Catch up on email for fifteen minutes. Do twenty minutes of editing. Half an hour of writing. Go outside with the dog or check the chickens and get fresh air, stretch the legs. Fifteen minutes to set up a social media post or three. Got another half an hour to burn? Back to writing. You get the idea. These small goals make it so much easier to play catch up if life happens and you miss a handful one day. It's easier to accomplish lots of little things than forcing yourself to set at the computer for three hours to "get some writing work done". #ADHDproductivity