Finished Blood Moon and my 100th Post on this blog...

Hello everyone,

Sorry I've been so quiet lately.  This is a special blog since this is the 100th entry.  YAY!  It's kind of hard to believe I've written on this blog 100 times.  It makes me feel good to know that I kept up with it for so long.  I do enjoy blogging, and hopefully I'll write at least 100 more. 

As you know, this month is National Write a Novel Month (NaNoWriMo), and I'm pleased to say that I've finished "Blood Moon."  I still need to proof it and send it to my test readers, but it came out to a decent 90,000 words and I'm pleased with it.  I also have enough notes to officially begin "Blood God," the final book of the trilogy.  I wrote 30,000 more words in "Blood Moon" this month.  Hopefully, I'll reach my 50,000 word count by the end of NaNoWriMo, but I don't plan to stress out over it.

It was never my goal to "beat" NaNoWriMo this time.  It was my goal to finish the second book of my trilogy, and I did reach that goal.  (If I can "beat" NaNoWriMo as well then even better, but I believe in quality over quantity in my writing, so I was taking my time instead of rushing through it.)  I really like my "Blood Rain" trilogy and I really like the main character.  I want to see her through to the end of her journey before I begin anything else; to do anything less would seem like abandoning her.

I feel that if I start on the third book, I'll probably come up with more ideas and at the very least be able to finish the notes by the end of December.  My goal is to have the final book done by the end of January or February.  I think that is a realistic goal, especially if I finish the notes.

This has been a good Thanksgiving holiday.  I spent time with my family, some quality time with my husband, and USC beat Clemson.  I took a little break from writing and that was enough to rejuvenate me, making the day that I decided to work hard on my ending for "Blood Moon" a very good one.  I am a firm believer in occasionally taking a little break so that you don't burn yourself out, but not a break long enough to make you lazy  Still, I do plan to take another during the Christmas holidays if at all possible.

There are many things I'm thankful for this holiday.  I'm thankful for my baby's health and for my husband's constant love and support.  I'm thankful that my Mom is still free of breast cancer.  I'm thankful for everyone in my family.  I'm thankful for my good friends.  I'm thankful that I was able to finish my book.

And, above all, I'm thankful to Jesus for his sacrifice and for looking after me and those I love.  I know that despite our financial strain this year, things will work out with prayer, patience, and hard work.  We've been given many blessings, more than we deserve.

As for the next project after the "Blood Rain" series is over, I'm not sure.  I have a lot of different ideas, though.  We'll just have to see.  I was planning on writing my changeling urban fantasy story, but I've come up some different concepts in the last few weeks that are promising.  I'll keep you posted.

I also might start doing a little bit of data entry work in my spare time to make a little extra money.  Since the baby will be here in April, any extra money I could get between now and then would be helpful.  Still, no worries.  I'll find time to write.  I always do.  (Also, after my appointment on December 10th, I should actually know the gender of the baby.  That's exciting.  I'll keep you posted...) 

Even after the baby is born, I still plan to write when I can.  I believe changes in our lives strengthen us and make us better writers because they give us more experiences to draw on for our stories.  Having a baby will be a great adventure.

In the meantime, as per my usual advice, keep reading and writing!  I hope that you had a happy Thanksgiving holiday.