Still Alive and Writing
It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated this blog. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. You can easily see the dates. There’s just been a lot going on. My father passed unexpectedly, my son had surgery, and I’ve been occupied running a publishing company. I think that about wraps it up.

As you can see, it’s been crazy. Judging by my friends’ and family’s experiences along with the news at-large, I’m not the only one who’s been through some stuff. But I’m still here, and if you’re reading this, you are too. So let’s make the most of the time we have.
A little over a month ago, I woke up and started writing. It felt good. It felt right. For the first time since I lost my dad, my creative mind moved forward. You know when you have a head cold and you can’t hear because your ears are plugged up, but you don’t realize you can’t hear until one of them pops and suddenly everything sounds pristine. That’s what it felt like. I didn’t know anything was wrong until it started to feel right again.
I had to do something to keep this feeling. I couldn’t fall back into that dark funk, where all I did was fake it all the time. It was time to do a little bouncing back. So some of my writer friends and I decided to start an accountability group. We meet on Saturday mornings, set our writing goals for the week, and determine our own punishments if we don’t meet our goal. We’re not a critique group, though we do talk if we’re stuck or want some advice on story. We’re not advertising each other’s work, but we offer advice about what worked for us. Basically, we’re a fledgling professional group using peer pressure for good: finishing our writing projects and moving forward in our publishing career.
And it works. I finally finished book two in the Emergence series. See that beautiful cover for The Collector in that header up there? It will have a sister very soon called The Healer. Apropos I’d say. And I’m already outlining book three.
So if you’re having trouble pushing through, if you just can’t seem to hear through that clogged ear, find your group, your tribe, your people to help you shake it loose. It makes all the difference in the world.
I’ll keep in touch and keep these creative juices flowing.
What barrier have you busted through lately? What tools work for you if you get stuck? Let me know in the comments.