Hey, everyone. Here we are on the last day of June. The year is half gone, and I can’t say I’m sorry. Like many people, I’m ready to put 2020 to rest.
I was on vacation last week, or rather “staycation.” We didn’t even do a day trip, but I enjoyed relaxing at home. It’s MUCH different than working from home. In nine days, I got out of the house a grand total of three times.
Anyhow, I’m happy to report that I’m making progress with Cold Dark Night, the first book of my Legends of Madeira series. Now that I’ve started writing again, my creative juices are flowing. I even brainstormed lead character names, occupations, and the legend/folklore for books two, three, and four.
I started recording my daily word count again. Doubt I’ll meet or exceed last year’s total, but that’s okay. I’m writing and that’s what’s important.
Along that line, I’ve given thought to blogging. I need to get back to a regular schedule. My plan is to blog two or three times a week. The content is likely to change for the foreseeable future. While I enjoy Mystery Mondays, the research for them is time-consuming, so for the time being I won’t be writing any of those posts.
I want to publish Cold Dark Night this year as well as a short story prequel titled Woman in Black. To accomplish that, I must devote most of my time to writing and editing them.
As far as blogging, I plan to split time between Tuesday Book Shares, WIP Wednesday, and Thursday Thoughts. And as always, I welcome guest posts from fellow authors. If you have a recent release or special promo, click on the “Let’s Connect” link and use the contact form.
Until next time!
Joan Hall 
Joan, a lovely visit this morning and learning what you’re doing. I’ve not been very consistent on my blog lately but not due to writing a book. I took a fall a few weeks back and it’s kept me in a depressed state of mind every since. Not what I expected or wanted after my surgery and recovery. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next and keeping up with you any way I can!
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I am so sorry to hear that, Sherrey. You’ve certainly had a rough go if it lately. Prayers for better days.
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Thanks for an enjoyable “visit.” Nice plans…
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Thanks, Rae. Glad you enjoyed the visit.
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I did manage to finish NANO last year, and have a great start to my current WIP. I need to get back at it. I have slacked a lot in the past few months. An occasional blog post and a recipe or two. I can’t wait to read your WIP.
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I was exhausted after finishing NaNo and I also slacked off. And with this crazy year it’s been hard to get back into it. I’m excited about getting started again.
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Happy Writing, Joan! Hope the words flow for you.
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Thank you, Judi!
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Love the titles of your upcoming books! Staycations are our normal, lol, but that’s okay, we love gardening 🙂
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I’ve seen some of your beautiful photos. Can’t blame you for wanting to stay home to garden.
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Staycations are fun, but this one is different for me. I’m not trying to produce new words, and only dabbling with other parts of the writing life.
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You’ve written a lot of words this year. Taking a break is good. And if you’re like most writers you’re brainstorming ideas even when you don’t write.
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That’s part of the plan, but we’ll see how it shakes out. I’m trying to keep the plan pretty loose.
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Sounds like you’re back in the groove and making a lot of progress, Joan. Like Priscilla, I hope you’ll continue Mystery Mondays every now and then!
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I plan to try for once a month. If I have the time (ha) I can write and schedule weekly posts in advance.
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Just like musicians need to play their music, we have the same deep need to write and we aren’t complete when we don’t. Blogging is time-consuming and the only thing I’ve managed to stay consistent with is #TarotTuesdays. The rest is hit and miss and I’m okay with that. I’d love to offer up a guest post for a Tuesday Book share with my two new short stories. Just let me know! Thank you! And keep on writing!!
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That’s so true, Jan. I “have” to write. Even when I’m not writing, I think about it.
I would love to have you as a guest. I’m at the day job now but I’ll contact you this evening.
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It’s so hard to do everything we want to do, isn’t it? Happy to hear your progress on Cold Dark Night.
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There’s never enough time. I am delighted to be writing again.
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Well, if you enjoy Mystery Mondays maybe you can do them just once in awhile. Hope you’re having a good week, Joan!
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I’d like to do one a month. Once I’m through with the first draft of the novel, I’ll get back into a weekly schedule.
Thanks for the good wishes and hope your week is good as well.
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Great plans, Joan. Best of luck with the writing! 🙂
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Thanks, Harmony. Hope you’re able to write again soon.
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Although I agree about wanting this year gone, it would be a shame not to have done something creative, if only to thumb our noses at one of the worst times in our lives!
You are setting a wonderful example to the rest of us, Joan…
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Thanks, Jaye. I’m determined to get something published this year (much later than I’d originally planned). And I’m equally determined not to write a book set in 2020.
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No, I can’t see that happening either…
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Glad to hear you had a nice vacation. It is nice to relax:) Its great the creative juices are flowing for you! Yay. I agree this year can’t be over fast enough.
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It feels good to be writing again. I need something to escape the reality of 2020, as do a lot of people.
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