Can we talk about the fear of finishing a project, and how it's a legit thing? Of all the reasons I might have imagined for a story to be difficult to finish—writer's block, lack of motivation, busy schedule—I never anticipated that my brain would hit the brakes because it was scared to finish writing it.
It's not as though I don't have plenty of story ideas to work on, right? It's not like I don't know what I want to do next. It's not even like I don't know where I want the story to go. Just the idea of hitting "publish" on something has me quaking with fear. Is it the fact that I know people will actually read it once it's out in the world? Perhaps. But I think part of it is that once it's done, once I hit "publish" on that project and release it into the universe, that's it. I can't easily come back and make it better.
I think that's what scares me most. The fact that I can't keep improving and polishing my stories once I let them go.
But it is said that art is never truly finished, only abandoned, and so I must summon the courage to do that.
With that said, I'm pleased to announce that I have successfully "abandoned" one of my projects! Viridios, which previously appeared in the Big Feels Monster Romance Anthology, is now available on paperback and eBook! This novella-length story follows Dr. Alaya Monroe and the 30-foot-tall tree man who whisks her away thinking she is his cute new pet. Alaya knows she has to return to the human colony before the colonists notice she's missing and come after the giant with torches and pitchforks, but the longer she's in his presence, the harder it becomes to leave.
Universal links aren't working right now, but here is the amazon.com link!
And love the cover? Great news! It'll be available as a poster soon in my merch store!
The next item on my to-do list is Thief of Joy. The first draft is done (YAY!) and now I have to read through it and do my first round of edits before passing it off to my beta readers. After that, I'm going to shift gears a bit with a fantasy romance called Otilia and the Orc Chief. I'm even going to try writing in the first person for a change of pace. I think it will suit the story I want to tell a little better than the third person I normally use.
Other than that, non-writing life has been keeping me busy! I still have far too many chickens and that doesn't seem likely to change any time soon. My garden is overgrown, but I'm still getting more tomatoes than I know what to do with. My "day job" is going well, and I am debating whether or not I want to return to in-person teaching in the fall. My health has been so much better working from home that I may just keep doing that.
And of course, we all know what's going on in the broader world, so I don't need to talk about that. All I will say in regards to what's happening is "stay aware, stay active, stay hydrated." As long as we draw breath, our fight is not yet lost. That's what I keep telling myself.
Until next time, avid readers!
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