Bogged Down by Illness

Hello Everyone,

Well, it seems that my days of being well again were only in the single digits. Now I have bronchitis. This wasn't exactly unexpected. I have chronic bronchitis, but it does slow me down. I'm doing my best to finish the Christmas story, but I'm going at a pretty slow pace. I'm mostly dealing with a lot of fatigue. I'm counting my blessings it wasn't pneumonia. The way the doctor mentioned that made me slightly nervous. He kept saying things like, "I don't think we need a chest x-ray..." Chest x-ray? Eek!  Anyway, I'm going to try to take it as easy as I can with two children who are also still sick. (If getting over sickness makes you stronger, we're all going to be Spartans by the end of this ordeal. My entire household has been sick for over a month now.)

I'm working on the final draft of Spine Chillers: The Firefly. We should be able to publish it next week. I'm hoping that it will come out on Monday, but That depends on a few things. This weekend is going to be a busy one. I've had a great deal on my mind lately and it's sometimes hard to keep everything together. Also, I want to make sure its perfect or as perfect as it will be before I publish. As I mentioned, the bronchitis is slowing me down. I'll do my best.

I have the first sketch of the picture for the cover of the Christmas Spine Chiller. It looks awesome! I hope you enjoy it. We're planning a giveaway event to celebrate Christmas, so I'll keep you posted on that a little closer to time.  I'm hoping to get that story finished and ready to be published by sometime within the first two weeks of December, but I have a lot of work to do. While I have energy I've been devoting a lot of time to working on the story.

Something to show you how dedicated I am to these books and those who read them, I've been working on my stories instead of getting prepped to play in an awesome Dungeons and Dragons game. I've been looking forward to that game for months. I was going to send out a detailed character history, etc., and do everything to get ready and psyched up for the game, but I've barely done anything on it at all. Luckily, I'm reworking an old character history, so hopefully it won't take long when I finally get to work on it. Again, the problem is being ill makes me have to choose how I use my time. I get through with certain things and then I just feel like collapsing and resting for hours...so I do. If I don't force myself to rest I won't get better. The doctor said that rest right now is key.

Well, speaking of rest it's getting late. I have a little more work to do before I can relax, take my medicine, and curl up in bed. I'll keep you posted on the stories, and when I start feeling better maybe I'll tell you a little bit about my character for the game. Take care! Stay warm and try to stay healthy!

Hehe...I couldn't resist. Here's a picture of my character. Brynja is her name and yes, she might be a bard but she's also a viking! Her personality is a little like "Godbrand" from the Castlevania anime. I didn't draw this, but it seemed perfect for her given that it was clearly inspired by the video game Skyrim. Anyway, that's a sneak peek of what I'm planning for the game when I'm done with the awesomely fun horror stories I write. And no worries, even while I'm gaming I won't quit writing other stories. It's what keeps my imagination strong, and my characters need a voice. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Spine Chillers series!

Future Plans

Hey Everyone,

Halloween is over. I'll miss it, but there are some things to look forward to coming up. We had a very fun party. Joel and I went as "Team Rocket" from Pokemon. I love Team Rocket. We might have to wear those costumes again in the future. It was pretty funny. We were still a little under the weather during our party, but I was glad we at least got to do it. I'm pretty sure that everyone had fun.

On the day of Halloween our girls dressed as a bee and a ladybug. They were adorable. We dressed as Team Rocket again and we all went trick-or-treating together. They did better this year than last year. The process still scares them a little but my oldest did say "Trick or Treat" when people opened the door and my youngest eventually got a little less frightened. We didn't get to many houses, but in the end the consensus was we all had fun. Overall it was a very good month and a very good Halloween. Now the depressing process of taking down the decorations must begin.

For those who haven't gotten a copy of Spine Chillers: Empty Eyes, now is still a good time. It would be a nice way to relive a little Halloween scare while it's still fresh in your mind. After all, what's more fun than a school Halloween carnival going terribly wrong?  If you like stories about dangerous bullies, revenge of the nerds, possession, demons, other dimensions, and the fear of what you are capable of, you might be interested in this book.

There are a few things to look forward to in November. The next book of the series, Spine Chillers: The Firefly is coming out around Thanksgiving. I'm currently working on a few content edits before I send it out to fix any grammatical errors. I'll be continuing the writing process for the last book of the Spine Chillers series coming out in December.

I've also made a decision that hopefully you'll like. I think I'm going to continue the adventures of the children in the stories in a new series that will take place when they are in high school. That's right, I'm going to make a young adult series with the same characters that were in the original stories. This will be another work in progress. I'll need to start making some new notes and new scenarios.

I will probably take a brief break from writing after the last book of the Spine Chillers series, but it won't be for long. Basically, I'll be working on getting it into local libraries and school libraries and maybe even making an appearance or two for a books signing. Wish me luck. I think kids will really enjoy this series and benefit from reading it if I can just get the word out.  Also, during my break, I'll finish the first book of the Fay Bitten series for a slight change of pace. If it is well received I might publish it at a later date, but we'll have to see.

Anyway, those are my future plans. I hope that you enjoy the stories! Please let me know that you're interested by picking up a copy of what is out, preferably The Beast of Black Pond or Empty Eyes, and giving me a review. I really would love to hear some feedback. Thank you!

Keep reading and writing.