The words of Valerie Griswold-Ford

I won’t lie – it’s been a rough few weeks. But I did finish Winter’s Secrets, and it’s in the hands of beta readers now. We’re on schedule to release at Balticon and ConCarolinas with ACTUAL BOOKS! And tea. Because, well, you can’t do a book release about Carter’s Cove that doesn’t involve tea. And scones. So hopefully I will see you guys there!

In addition, I’m putting together a blog tour for the book release, to happen within the book release time frame. Part of what I’m doing today is setting up the blog tour. If you’d like to be a part of it, drop me a line!

There will also be another Carter’s Cove story this year, because there’s still more stories to be told. This one will bring in some new characters, and some old ones, and will involve something that you can follow along with, should you choose. Yeah, I’m a tease. More information later.

Now that the current book is done, I’m going back into the Dark Horseman universe to start the Shanna stories. That’s my goal right now – to get the first book done. I’m actually opening with the vomit draft today, as soon as I set up the Google calendar for the tour. So much to do! But it’s good, because it’s what I need to do. And every word I write is one Mom can read, because I know she’s still reading. Heaven for her would be a bookstore, with unlimited amounts of tea and scones.

For the rest of the year, here’s what I need/want to write:

Novels:

– Forgotten (Ghost Tales #1)

Novellas:

– Contemporary Romance (under pen name)

– Tales of the Scorned Lady, Season 1

Short Stories:

– A Princess, A Lizard and a Boatman

– The Lonely Child

Other Projects:

– Advent Story #2

– Podcast Tales, Season #1

– Record Horseman

I’m sure this will change, but this is what I have right now.

Even when you don’t get home until 3:30 am from a ghost investigation – it’s still a day of rest.  A day to catch up on Once Upon a Time (my new favorite show, next to Castle and Bones), write, do laundry and dishes, and just renew myself.  I really do like this new schedule – I feel more alive.  And the words are coming again.

The words are coming because of a few things: I’m doing the daily pages every day at 750words.com, I’m taking the time to do things like watching TV again (a few selected shows only), and I’m reading again.  I just finished The Between, by LJ Cohen, and now I’m reading Hard Magic, by Laura Anne Gilman.  Because of that, and the fact that I’m on the right schedule, I’m getting words.

Which is good, because I’ve set myself a goal of finishing the first draft of Forgotten, the book I’m currently working on.  I haven’t talked much about it here, and I won’t for a while, but it’s a totally different world than the Horseman books.  Ghost stories, in fact.  I love ghost stories, and now, I’m free to write the books I want to read.  So, first draft of Forgotten is on deadline for May 30th.

I need to post a honey do list for this year, but I’ll do that later.  The big things on it, though, are Forgotten, the first draft of Schrodinger (whatever the title will be) and getting both Spells and Swashbucklers and Last Rites onto the shelves.  And, in non-writing stuff, I need to redesign the website.  Badly.

But today, I have just a few things to do:

– vacuum the living room

– empty the drainboard

– empty the sink

– Daily pages

– 500 words  on Forgotten

– Update the calendar in the living room

Lots to do today, and daylight, as they say, is a-burnin’.  Good news is, I don’t have to get up at 6 am tomorrow.

Yep, I’ve finally gotten it up! You can get Snow for a mere $0.99 for the month of December (it might go up after that, but I haven’t really decided) in all formats, DRM-free!


And for those who want more goodies for those new Kindles, Nooks or smartphones that you’re all getting for Christmas, you can check out all my books in e-form on both Amazon and Nook. Links, you ask? Links, I say!


Amazon
Barnes and Noble


Amazon
Barnes and Noble


Amazon
Barnes and Noble

And what do I want for Christmas? If you’re feeling generous, I’d LOVE a review! Please!

Enjoy!

Following up on Tuesday’s post about sick days – the other side of that coin is that writers tend to be hard on their bodies. Sadly, the image of Hemingway or Capote drunk and spinning brilliance out of the bottle is a romantic myth that our profession can’t seem to shake. And it’s an old one: think Poe, for example. Drugs and drink (mostly drink, I think) seems to run as rampant through writing as it seems to run through the music/acting industry. But it doesn’t have to.

Most of the writers I know are actually trying to keep themselves in relatively decent shape, but it’s not an easy battle. Writing is a sedentary job. You sit, and you type. I know Gail Carriger has a walking desk, but I don’t know how prevalent they are. For most of us, we’re on our butts at least 1-2 hours a day, to write. Not counting our day jobs. And that is not conducive to being healthy.

There are as many ways to get healthier as there are writers. I’ve had folks swear by the Eowyn Challenge (which I really want to pick up again), and some are doing Couch-to-5k. A couple do Zumba, or walk – Nathan Lowell has an awesome podcast that he does just about every morning while he does the 2nd mile of his morning walk. The big point is, we’re all trying to stay healthy, so we can write longer. And write more.

Point being? Don’t neglect yourself. Move just a bit, every day, and keep yourself healthy. You’ll find it helps your writing too, because your head will be clearer. And yes, I’m trying to do my own part. I’ve posted before about my struggles with weight loss, and I’m sure I’ll be posting again. Maybe I should add days exercised to my tracking stuff for next year. Maybe.

Right now, I’ve pulled my Wii out, and will be committing to 30 minutes of Wii Sports and/or Resort every day for the next 30 days. I can do this. I’m also over on Lose it! as captain_hobbes, if you’re interested. It’s a great little program to help

What about you? What are you doing to exercise? And if you have any suggestions for Wii games (I don’t have a Fit, just the regular Wii), let me know!

I’ve been bad about keeping up on things, which is why I failed to notice that both Dark Moon Seasons and Rum and Runestones have joined Not Your Father’s Horseman on the Kindle! So if you want a cool present for someone, there are three! For that new Kindle Fire that I know you want to get them. 😀 You’re welcome. (I’ll have links on the website very soon, I hope – gotta work on that this weekend!)