… and in conclusion

Back in January, I talked about my approach for this year. Basically, I wanted to keep up with my serials, focus on longer fiction, and try to tackle one major project per quarter.

I did keep up the serials (with the exception of this past month for the newsletter serial), and I released both Corn Maze Murders and Bodyguard of Lies. I made good progress on Bodyguard‘s sequel, but it won’t be ready to go for a while yet. Quarterly projects? Not so much. In fact, I didn’t get to writing any of the four that I originally thought would be this year’s projects.

I submitted a couple of short stories I hadn’t expected to, including one I wrote specifically for an anthology. Still didn’t focus on the short fiction, but I decided it has its place.

So my plan for the year didn’t work out terribly well. However, I’m still pleased with what I got done, and I’m hoping next year will build on things I started this year.

Today’s post was inspired by the topic “Conclusions” — December’s topic in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check out the next posts in the series, by Sandra Barret, D. M. Bonanno, and Margaret McGaffey Fisk.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on first stories, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!


Subscribe to my newsletter now — receive updates twice a month, including a newsletter-only serial and recipes:


2015 halfway point

Back in January, I talked about how I was planning out my year — one major goal per quarter, keep up my serials, get Corn Maze up for sale, and make progress on the 50 States mystery series.

Yeah . . .

I’m still finalizing Corn Maze edits, I’ve set aside 50 States for now, and I finished nothing new in the second quarter. I have kept up on the serials, though, and I’ve tried to be better about blogging.

New project I’m pitching, though, involves a comic book miniseries. I didn’t get the pitch sent in by the end of June, but the publisher is supposed to reopen to pitches in September, so we’ll see how that goes.

I’ve also been looking at older work, novel manuscripts that I set aside because I didn’t yet have the skills to fix them, to make them the best they could be. At this point, that’s probably going to entail writing them over from scratch, rather than patching up sentences and paragraphs here and there, which on the one hand is a little depressing (more time and work involved) but on the other is a testament to my growth as a writer because I don’t think a simple edit is good enough.

Goal for the rest of the year is still to complete two more projects. Let’s see how that goes.

Today’s post was inspired by the topic “Midyear check-in” — July’s topic in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check out the next posts in the series, by Sandra Barret, D. M. Bonanno, and Margaret McGaffey Fisk.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on first stories, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!


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Beginning 2015

So what am I doing — or planning to do — with my writing in 2015?

I have specific goals, some of which I’ve talked about in my newsletter: still need to get Corn Maze Murders up for sale, and I’ve started the new 50 States series. I’m continuing my serials, both the one in my blog and the one in my newsletter. I’m not really planning on much short fiction for the year — some drabbles for SpeckLit, but not a lot else.

Instead, I want to focus on just getting a few things done, and maybe setting up for future work, doing research and the like.

Inspired by M.C.A. Hogarth, I’m basically focusing on one major writing goal per quarter, with perhaps smaller goals on a monthly basis. I was really amused this morning to discover a post on Fast Company about how 90-day goals were better than annual ones, which just reinforced this plan.

Hence, I have a lovely board (whiteboard-style posterboard, so I can make changes as necessary):

planning calendar

Whiteboard for the year

So far, I’ve got quarterly goals, a few things up under “Year” for things to think about and consider, and only a couple items on specific months, such as the release date for The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk (which has my story “Blood and Gold” in it) and the expected end date for Bodyguard of Lies (followed by its publication as an e-book and POD). Right now, it’s looking reasonable. Let’s hope I have the sense to keep it that way.

Not on the board are things like my daily sketching, and my freelance work isn’t on it at all. This is just my writing board.

How are you planning out your new year?


Today’s post was inspired by the topic “New Beginnings” — January’s topic in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check out the next posts in the series, by Sandra Barret and D. M. Bonanno.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on first stories, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!


Subscribe to my newsletter now — receive updates twice a month, including a newsletter-only serial and recipes:


One of my crazy 2015 projects

I mentioned this in my last newsletter, but I know that not everyone subscribes to my newsletter, so I’m letting everyone know here, as well: next year, I plan to do a sketch a day and post it to DeviantArt. I’ve had an account there for around five years and never done anything with it, so you can see my work from the beginning.

Sketches might range from a ballpoint pen drawing of a bluejay (I’ve been doing those in my daughter’s lunch already, so that’s not really a challenge) to trying my hand at colored pencils on a dragon. I don’t know; I have 365 days to fill.

If you’re interested in following along, you can find me here: Eimarra on DeviantArt.

Wrapping up the year

Looking at what I’ve done this year. There have been some very slow months, but overall, it’s gone quite well.

  • I’ve written more than 120,000 words to date (which would be enough for two full cozy mysteries or one nice-sized fantasy or science-fiction novel if I hadn’t done so many short projects and flitted around from flower to flower).
  • I have three current serials running: one on my blog on Tuesdays, one monthly in the newsletter, and one (illustrated) in my daughter’s lunch notes.
  • I’ve read a ton of books (and realized yet again that I will never read everything I want to). I’m currently reading a few nonfiction works, but I’m still working on the piles of MG and YA titles as well.
  • I did volunteer work at the school store for the boy during the first part of the year, formatting the SFWA Forum, and reading for the Norton Award jury.
  • I picked up one steady copyediting gig and received other freelance work from both old and new clients.
  • I joined some new social media networks and launched my newsletter (subscribe below if you haven’t already!).

On the flip side,

  • I haven’t been exercising much, my ankle is in almost constant pain, and my muscles get cramps more easily than they used to. (Why yes, these are all inter-related.)
  • So much to read!
  • And, as always, still trying to figure out the best time balance to get enough paying work done and write as much as I want, while still spending time with family and doing my crafts and my reading and . . .

Today’s post was inspired by the topic “Conclusions” — December’s topic in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check out the next posts in the series, by Sandra Barret and D. M. Bonanno.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on first stories, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!


Subscribe to my newsletter now — receive updates twice a month, including a newsletter-only serial and recipes:


Looking back

Back in January, I talked about my grandiose plans for the year. Yeah, that didn’t work out so well.

I didn’t finish the fantasy novel yet, although I did submit it to Viable Paradise.

I’m still working on fine-tuning the next cozy mystery, and I haven’t started the other series I mentioned I was thinking about.

I haven’t written the other middle grade novels nor the Dreampunk series novellas.

In fact, the only things on the list I’ve managed were the application to Viable Paradise and getting The Christmas Tree Farm Murders into paper (but not audio).

Yet for all that, I feel I’ve made progress this year. I’ve isolated things to work on improving, I’ve tweaked my work flow, and I think I’m finally getting a handle on how much I can reasonably expect myself to get done in a given time frame (the fact that it will never be as much as I want is depressing but must be accepted).

I’m going to see how some of what I’ve learned shakes out over the next two or three months before I set solid goals for 2014. I think the one thing I’m sure of is hat hey won’t be as far-reaching as this year’s were.

How about you? At the 5/6 mark of the year, what are you still aiming to get done in the next couple of months?


Today’s post was inspired by the topic “2013 project review” — November’s topic in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check out the next posts in the series, by Sandra Barret and D. M. Bonanno.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on first stories, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!

Looking forward

What projects lie ahead this year? Well, I posted recently about everything I’m working on, and all of it’s still in process (especially those items in the planning stages): the cozy mystery, the next paranormal romance, the middle-grades, the fantasy, the SF. What else is there to say?

Well, I’m playing around with planning another cozy mystery series, but it probably won’t see the light of day until 2014. I’m hoping to do the planning and start writing this year, creating a backlog so that I can publish the books at one-month intervals.

The fantasy — Sundered Sword — I’m hoping to use to apply to a writing workshop because although I’m reasonably comfortable considering myself at a pro level (well, okay, there are entire weeks I keep thinking someone’s going to realize I don’t belong doing this), I know I can still improve, and concentrated work for a week with half a dozen pros and a couple of dozen others at the beginning stages of their careers could be immensely helpful. (And if I don’t get in, I’ll publish the book and spend the week with a pile of writing books I’ve been meaning to get to.)

I’m also aiming to publish a couple more novellas in the Dreampunk line.

Other than that, I’m not really defining what I’m working on. I have a lot of ideas, a lot of possibility, and something new may turn up. I’m keeping myself open for the cool things to show up in my life.

The big news for 2013, though, is expansion of options. Print books are coming, and later in the year, audiobooks as well. My goal is to have everything longer than a short story available as e-book, print book, and audiobook.

Today’s post was inspired by the topic “2013 Goals/Anticipation”– January’s topic and theme in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. The next post in the tour will be on the 3rd, by Sandra Barret. Be sure to check it out.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on crossing genre lines, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!

It was a very good year

Some of the things I did this year were things I set out to do:

  • I took my son with me to Boskone this year.
  • I sold a story to a SFWA-qualifying venue.
  • I became eligible to join SFWA (Associate level), although I haven’t done so yet.
  • I finished writing 1 book I’d previously started (Daniel).
  • I wrote more than a dozen new short stories.
  • I wrote a new book for NaNoWriMo.
  • I wrote and submitted a new novella for the UPC SF contest.
  • I attended my first WorldCon.
  • I ran a 5k race. (Okay, the original goal was a half marathon.)
  • I read, on average, more than a book a week (including magazine issues).

Some of the things I did weren’t on my agenda to begin with:

  • I started a sole proprietorship publisher, Hartshorn Publishing, to put some of my work up as e-books.
  • I got my first book contract (with Moongypsy Press, for Touching Time). (Didn’t actually get a formal contract yet, but then, I don’t have a complete book to deliver yet, either.)
  • I put four short works and a novella up for sale as e-books.
  • I lost a fair bit of weight and a couple of inches as a result of my running. (Honesty compels me to admit that the lack of said running through the summer and fall did away with the majority of this progress, especially with holiday treats to cap it off.)
  • I participated in the A to Z blog challenge in April.
  • I wrote another A to Z series of blog posts, focused on women writers of science ficiton and fantasy.

And, of course, there are things I planned to but didn’t:

  • I wanted to complete the quilt I was working on for a contest deadline in January.
  • I wanted to finally get a raised bed put in to grow vegetables and herbs.
  • I wanted to have more novels under contract with publishers.

Making money from my writing? (These numbers combine all avenues of income.)

  • Short stories: $558.48
  • Articles: $38.25
  • Novellas: $20.77
  • Novels: $0

Overall, definitely a very good year. Now, having exceeded expectations, I need to start working on my dreams and goals for 2012. Onward and upward!