A look back at 2015 - the year that slipped by...

Someone mentioned to me that I seemed to have missed my yearly round-up that I usually do after New Years. To be blunt, I was avoiding it. Looking back on 2015 does nothing but make me feel negative. It started strong, with Shift being recently published at the end of 2014, and I eagerly got to work writing most of the third Crow book, as well as a large chunk of two other books I have in the works, all in the first two months.
Then things went south.
Directly after my birthday I was hit with severe depression and writing stopped cold, with only a handful of chapters left to write for Release. I took a short break, worked on another project, and when I was ready to finish the next book in the Crow Series, things blew up in my face.
I got very ill.
I'm not going to go into too much detail, because those sorts of things are personal, but re-recuperating has not been easy and took several months. I'm still not 100%, but after taking care of myself, since not doing so was a large part of why I got sick, I'm finally ready to get back to doing what I love.
Writing and editing are a lot of hard work. It's both mentally and physically exhausting at times. Add to that the fact that I have two kids under the age of five and I really have my hands full.
But I've learned my lesson.
Take care of yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you. 
If I'm ill, I can't take care of my loved ones who need me, and I can't do the things that bring me joy and fulfillment. When I look back at 2015 I feel like I lost a year. I had so many plans that never came to fruition.
So this year, I'm taking it slower - not working myself to the point of falling apart. I hope, if I'm diligent and patient, I'll get done the things I want to do without neglecting myself in the process.

I pushed myself too hard, trying to get more done than I could handle, and ended up doing nothing in the end. Every time I think about the last year this song plays in my head (and it's starting to get annoying!!!!)


Okay, now it's stuck in my head again. But yeah, I feel like I lost a whole year - it just slipped by - but it taught me many hard lessons. Basically, at this point, the books will be written as I can write them, edited as I can edit them and published when they're ready. I need to work at a pace I can handle, without sacrificing myself in the process. It's the best that I can do, and I'd like to continue doing it for as long as I can - which means not stressing out if I have to push back a release date or postpone a book for a month because I need time to rest or time with my family. I hope you as readers can understand and forgive me for the long wait. It boggles my mind sometimes, as I'm editing Release, to know that I originally wrote this book almost exactly a year ago and I'm just now getting it finished. I feel bad, even though I know it couldn't be helped.
All I can promise is that I WILL keep writing and I WILL get these books out to you as long as you care to continue reading them.

Thank you for taking the time to read.