It’s been a long time coming, I know.
There are several reasons for that.
The first one is that at the end of last year, after Productivity for Writers was published, I decided to focus on The Writer’s Cookbook and developing my marketing skills.
I did take a break to take part in NaNoWriMo, but I honestly hated doing that so much that I almost never returned to writing fiction again.
No really. I genuinely hated it that much.
So I ended up needing a break from fiction.
My birthday present to myself (back in March) was meant to be returning to fiction for a week, but then when I tried…it was like putting on clothes that looked like they were in my size but just didn’t fit right.
I really, really struggled to get back into writing fiction after taking a nine-month break.
Then, to make matters worse, we had some really cold weather. My fibromyalgia is exacerbated by cold weather, meaning that the snow and ice and freezing temperatures ruined me for several weeks.
THEN, my nan fell ill. Really, REALLY ill. We thought that that was it—she was on her way out. But fighter that she is, she kept going.
Needless to say, writing fiction and poetry wasn’t a huge priority for me for a while. I still did it, but I did it slowly. I focused on my mental and physical health first and foremost.
Writing fiction and poetry is part of how I look after my mental health, but the pressures of publishing can sometimes distract from that.
So, instead of rushing to publish Return to New York, I decided I’d get a version of that I was happy with, send it to beta readers, then move on to writing What Happens in Barcelona.
Originally there was going to be an overlap in the timelines, so it would’ve helped with that.
Instead, the overlap that was going to be in What Happens in Barcelona you can now read on this very site under the name What Happens in Texas. (The next part will be coming on Friday!)
Doing it this way meant that I had more time to focus on writing and the pressure was all off. Writing was fun again!
When we put too much pressure on ourselves, the stuff we love can very quickly turn into stuff that we hate—we can end up losing the very thing we loved about it in the first place.
I knew that with a long enough break—and the right project—my love for writing would return. And it has.
Now that Return to New York is finished, I’m going to focus on editing What Happens in Barcelona. When that’s ready to go back in the drawer, I’ll work on what comes next. While I’m not ready to share what happens beyond Barcelona just yet, when I have decided on the order, you’ll be the first to know.
In the meantime, you’ll be pleased to know that you won’t have to wait as long between Return to New York and What Happens in Barcelona as you did between What Happens in London and Return to New York!
If all goes to plan, What Happens in Barcelona will be out early next year 😉
Now, I’d better get back to editing if I want to maintain that timeline!
Oh, and don’t forget to preorder your copy of Return to New York! 😉
