Reemergence of the muse

Finally a moment to write a blog! I probably shouldn't be taking the time to do this, since I'm in the middle of editing Book III, The Wolf Moon, but...I have some things to share...

First of all I've backed off of FB a bit, using my extra time to write and edit. I check it from time to time but feel somewhat lost now that I have so many 'friends'. At the beginning I could keep track of things, recognizing the same names who were posting in the various groups, but now when I check I have no idea who all the people are or what is going on! I have joined over ten different groups and I think that adds to my confusion. In any case I consider my time more valuable than I did a few months ago when I hadn't begun this final edit.

About the edit--I wrote the entire book several years ago and haven't even looked at Book III for at least a year. That, combined with all the changes I made to Book I and II makes for quite a lot of work! The fun part is all the new detail I'm adding--the skeleton was there but there was no flesh on the bones! My earlier estimate of having it out in February has been moved to March and I plan to have a professional go through before I send it to Createspace.

I had a Goodreads giveaway for Saille during the month of December that seemed quite encouraging. Had over 600 people enter for the five copies that I gave away. More than I had on Amazon the last time I did the Kindle select thing...I encourage everyone to try it!

Speaking of Kindle Select, it continues to be a thorn in my side. The Moonstone is signed up until February at which time I will NOT renew. I now have Saille, the Willow on Smashwords via Rik Hall who formatted for me. Most likely I mentioned this in my last  blog but I can't say enough good things about working with him. The Moonstone is formatted and ready to go, waiting until Amazon allows me to put it elsewhere!

Another thing I wanted to share was that I have managed to get my books into three places here in Tucson. One is a yoga studio and the other two are what I would call metaphysical stores. I have a list for other places here and in other parts of Arizona and will take it one step at a time. I really enjoy the face to face aspect of this. Although maybe not as lucrative as the e-book thing, it's nice to have a personal relationship with those who are stocking my books.

One last aside--I've been despairing of ever finishing this last book of the series. The editing was not going well. I attributed this angst to two things--1. The idea that I had to get it finished and out by February--2. That the book was the END of the series.
So yesterday I had a talk with myself. First of all there is no deadline although I'd like to have it out sooner rather than later. Second, I've begun a sequel so this is not the end of the series! I asked the spirits to help me, those muses who have been by my side during all the writing. I lit a candle and burned incense and had a quiet moment before I began. And it helped get me over a rather large hurdle.

How do you deal with these issues in your own writing?