Final ROW80 Update of 2012! Eek!

Alright guys. I don’t have long for this post. Life has blown up around my ears and I barely have a clear view of the door, which I fear I’ll never reach through all this muck.

Yes, I’m being dramatic. But there’s also lots going on, and that mental space I need to finalize the novel I’d planned to publish this fall just isn’t happening.

Here’s a very quick “life” update. Just like everybody, Christmas and Solstice always bugger up my writing plans with a myriad of additional stuff to do. Cooking, baking, crafting, shopping, wrapping, gifting, gathering, reflecting, celebrating…it’s all precious, and we need these activities in this season. We need to think about something outside ourselves as winter closes in, we need to think about those we care for, and do right by them. We also need to reflect on the year gone by and anticipate the coming year. It’s a season heavy in spirit, and the hours we spend focused on that great wheel of life pay dividends as we begin the new year more centered and whole. Yet I never consider all of that time when it comes to setting writing goals. Maybe in 2013 I’ll wise up. 🙂

I’m also competing for a promotion at work. I’ve had two interviews in the last few weeks, and now it’s down to waiting for the BIG NEWS after the holidays. In the meantime, work has been busy, busy. Between current projects and thinking through how I’ll hit the ground running if I get this promotion, I’m pretty worn out by the time kiddos are in bed. Far too frequently these days I’m going to bed early instead of writing…but if I’m supposed to be superwoman during the day…anyway, I won’t go on and on. I’m sure you know what I mean.

I had two goals this round of ROW80, and I didn’t complete either one. I did make progress, and that’s the side I’m focusing on. 🙂

1) Publish Queen Witch. 
Queen Witch will be out within a month. But that’s about three months behind what I said at the beginning of the round. I’m a little sad that I haven’t gotten a book out during 2012. But onward and upward — I can’t waste precious time worrying about weeks gone by, only what’s coming up. 
2) Revise Flight, the third Children of the Sidhe novella.
I haven’t mentioned this goal recently, but I have been working away at it. I’m about three-quarters of the way through my first edit. It’s pretty clean. I know there’s work to do at the end, because when I wrote the first draft, I hadn’t outlined the final two books in the series. Now I’ve written the book that comes after this one, and outlined the final novella, including how the epic battle goes down. Revising the end of book three is going to be super fun now that I know so much more about what comes next. Yay! That’ll be my task as soon as Queen Witch is published.
I also wrote the first 8,000 words of the sequel to Queen Witch during this round. That’s a good start, and I’ll pick it back up in 2013.
I’m wishing everyone a happy holiday season. Hold your dear ones close, and rejoice in what you have, and what is to come. Blessings to you and yours.

About J.R. Pearse Nelson

J.R. Pearse Nelson is a fantasy and romance writer from Oregon, USA. She lives with her husband and two daughters among the plentiful trees and clouds of the beautiful Willamette Valley. J.R. is always searching for the magic in our world. She weaves tales rooted in mythology, bringing legend to life in modern-day and fantasy settings. J.R. is the author of the Of the Blood fantasy romance series, the Foulweather Twins fantasy series, and the Water Rites fantasy series. You can connect with J.R. and learn more about her fiction at her website. Visit jrpearsenelson.com.

5 comments on “Final ROW80 Update of 2012! Eek!

  1. Hurray for your progress! I think goals give us something to aim at, but the progress, the moving forward is the really important part. Nice work!

    Hope things clear out and calm down a bit soon. Happy holidays!

  2. LIfe has thrown me some curve balls lately, too…bad ones. I put my writing on hold until next round. But that’s the beauty of ROW80…we can adjust our goals to work around those things that happen.

  3. Don’t sweat it. The holidays are definitely crazy. Publishing two books in 2012 is plenty of an accomplishment! Merry Christmas and good luck with the promotion!

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