So, things have been a little quiet on my end.
Truth be told: I needed a vacation after my vacation. I took a mental holiday from writing for a while. For non-writers, it might be a little hard to imagine writing as stressful. What can be the big deal? Just sit at a keyboard and write. It's not rocket science. Unless, of course, you're writing about rocket science.
But when you're indy published like me, there's a constant battle between creativity and productivity/self-promoting. How do you find time for both? When do you know which is more important? I see fellow indy writers churning out book after book and rocketing to the top of the charts while I work at a comparative snail's pace. Book Bub ads get handed out like candy to others when I just get vaguely-worded rejection emails. Adding to this crisis were a few unpleasant encounters with troll-ish Amazon reviews and poor reception to Allies and Enemies: Rogues.
It made me question if I had what it takes to be a "real" writer and left me in a head space that wasn't a very nice place to be.
I had to take a step back and decide what kind of writer I wanted to be. Is my goal really to churn out a book a month like some of "book factory"? Where do I want to focus my time and energy... writing or promoting?
In the end, I know I'd be happier just writing. Maybe I'll sell a few less books, but the ones that I do sell will be better constructed, polished stories of which I can be proud.
Allies and Enemies will continue. I'm working on a revised plot for book 3, Allies and Enemies: Exiles. It might end up being uber-long... which I hope isn't a bad thing.
