So I haven’t been very good at blogging or keeping up our website (On Fiction Writing) lately, because Kurt and I decided that we should sell our house. Seems a great plan, with him across the country and us here, not seeing him for months at a time, but there is that little thing called “all the shit that goes with it” that’s a bit of a problem.
I decided that I agreed with the realtor when he suggested I rent an apartment while we fixed up the house and showed it to potential buyers. I mean, one look at my shitty housewifery and the dogs and those poor bastards would run fast and far.
I’ve spent most of April packing up, throwing away and cleaning. I ripped out carpets, painted and expanded my list of known profanities by about 20 or so words. I love inventing new swears. It’s therapeutic. On Thursday, we moved into the apartment, and Jesus shit, that was an event. First, I hauled all the things we’d need at the apartment to the entry way. Now, to me it looked like a couple of truck loads, which is what I told my little brother who was helping, but apparently I have no spacial whatever at all. Try five loads. My bad.
I dropped a few things, bumped toes (don’t move in flip flops) and just basically bruised up my entire body, but I got moved. Oh, and let’s not forget the metal bar that slingshot into my nose. That was awesome. Even better, I had to wear a Band-Aid on my nose for days. It was hot.
Anyway, all I have to do now is clean up the yard, keep the grass cut, clean the house, possibly paint one more room, haul away all the garbage, and then we can list the house. That’s not much. I figure by June 1st, things should be almost back to normal, and all my wounds will have healed. When I don’t have all that extra work, my 10 trips up and down this apartment’s asshole flight of stairs, so I can take the dogs out, won’t be such a big deal.
But it hasn’t all been fun and games lately. I’ve been working hard on THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY, and it looks like the June publication goal is definitely a go. Yay! Because this one was so much fun to write, I still worry that it sucks. Is that weird? Probably. I’ve had such amazing feedback on IN THE BONES, that I worry JACK will fall into the second book slump. We know what that is, right? Where you release a fantastic book out of the gate, then you lower the bar on subsequent books. Oh man, I don’t want to be a cliché. Fingers are crossed.
While editing JACK, I’ve also been working on editing LUCKY, the first in a series of paranormal novels which I will publish under the pen name, Dawn Franklyn. I decided to use a pen name for clarity’s sake. If you’re a fan of thriller/suspense, reading my paranormal work thinking you’re getting the same thing will probably piss you off. The pen name is intended to prevent that. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t enjoy pissing off folks I like. The ones I don’t like…well I kind of enjoy pissing them off, but that’ll be our little secret.
So, over the next few months, I only have to sell a house, possibly move across the country, finish BLIND, a thriller/suspense WIP and finish NEFARIOUS, the second in the paranormal series. I can totally do that.
What are your summer plans? I bet they’re more fun than mine.
Dangling on the Edge of Insanity 
And when you’re in a nursing home, looking back, this will all seem so much fun. Good luck, Renee.
I agree with Mike. You’ll look back at this and laugh. Or you’ll gaze at Kurt as he slumbers in his separate bed hooked up to that stupid ventilator and who needs that, like, really, so you decide to pull it out and then that beeping thing starts losing its mind…
*cough*
I’m waiting on a few more people to give me feedback on REAPER. In the meantime, I’m researching my publishing options. I’m leaning towards a small press publication because (1) agents give me anxiety and (2) I DO NOT have the know-how or the patience (yet) for self publishing. I may test the self-pub waters with a small short story collection but I haven’t decided yet. Also, it’s all systems go on BOOKSELLER. I really like this story and I’m pretty sure others will too.
And I’ll mention this here because I was going to email you about it and I’m too lazy to open a new browser window: I’m marking this moment in the history books because I think this is the first time you and I have not felt similarly about a book. I read The Rapist and, honestly, I wasn’t that impressed. I felt like there was a HUGE CHUNK missing from it. I liked the build up, liked the character, but the end left me kind of ‘meh.’ Should I even chance The Bitch?
That’s interesting Kat. I’m not sure. The Bitch is a totally different story, and I think it is definitely more complete. If you liked his voice and style in the Rapist, the Bitch is worth a go. I agree with you about The Rapist in that it did feel like there was stuff missing, and I wanted more at the end, but I felt that was due to the POV, which always feels too thin to me. I love the book because it’s the first in a long time that I tore through like a ravenous dog, and that made me really think about what I was reading and how it made me feel.
As for your projects, I think at least an effort toward traditional publishing is worthwhile if only because it gives you both knowledge and skills you’ll need for self publishing. I think publishing something shorter first is a fantastic idea, and I have to say, if a publisher doesn’t pick up Reaper, we should wash our hands of the lot of them.. I loved it.
Mike: Thanks…I don’t know that this past month will ever inspire fond feelings. 🙂