Here I am

Wow. If I never have to have another root canal, I'll be happy.

Though the procedure went well, the pain afterward has not been fun. I still have to go have a filling and cleaning done, then get the crown on the root canal. Bleh. This hasn't been super fun.

In other news, I've been querying! I've sent out 6 so far. Got one rejection already. 25 minutes. It took 25 minutes to get my first rejection on Dark Ember. I don't want to take it personally, but damn. Although, the letter didn't seem so form-ish. The agent said "Though I was captivated by your story's premise, its not a good fit for me."

"Captivated" is a word I don't get in rejections that often. Interesting.

I'm going to let these queries sit and get back to my faves, writing. I am worldbuilding now, but the story is taking shape. I managed to get my hands on a totally unused "Planning Your Novel Workbook" at Half-Price Books for like $4. I'm using that, and the Scribe Forge Essential Worldbuilding Blueprint and Workbook that I got as a gift from my bestie a loooong while ago. I like worksheets/workbooks. They soothe my OCD.

My next book is just going to be paranormal romance. Screw it, steer into the skid. I love romance, I read quite a lot of it. I don't see anything holding me back, except that I'm not sure I can write it as well as others. I'm gonna give it a shot. I'm excited to write something new, as I always am.

Between my first book and my second, I learned a lot. It took almost seven years to write The Guardian. Took just about a year to write Dark Ember. Hopefully, it won't take six months to write the third.

I'm still considering self-publishing, but I can't seem to let go of that hope I can snag a traditional publishing contract. Who knows?

Reading. Oh my Lord, I've rediscovered reading. I read an article some time ago that basically said a lot of adults don't read because its considered a 'waste' of time since you're not earning. That drew me up short. Since reading that, I've read something like five books and working on six.

Alright, I want to get some work done this morning. Hope everyone is having a great day!

-C.A.