I’m back in my office today.
The first half of my Sunday was spent in the air, winging my way back across the country to my new new mountain home in Colorado. It was strange to be back in the Eastern time zone after spending months getting adjusted to being in the Mountain time zone. And then catching up on lots of missed sleep.
But I think the thing that surprised me the most was the happiness at being back at the beach. My husband and I lived for five years in South Florida. The beach was always a short distance away, but we didn’t go often. There was always too much to do and other things that were grabbing our attention.
The writer’s retreat offered a chance to stay at the beach and enjoy it without having to worry about rushing off to the next thing or the next obligation. I was able to wake in the morning to the sound of the ocean, the cry of the seagulls, and the smell of salt on the air. It was relaxing in a way that I hadn’t realized I needed.
For me, the writer’s retreat was about taking a step back and slowing down. Since switching to being a full-time writer, it’s been rush-rush-rush. Gotta write the next book. Work on the promo. Get the cover. Get the book edited. Plot the next book. Release. Write. Repeat.
I love writing. I love writing books and meeting new characters, throwing them into crazy circumstances where they stumble, fall, and then get up again. I love my job.
But on the business side of things, there’s always the lingering question of whether I’m doing things in the most efficient manner and how can I reach even more people.
Can you believe that there are people out there who have never met Lucas, Snow, Rowe, and Ian?!?!? I know! It’s insane.
So, last week, I got the amazing privilege of going on a retreat with 14 other talented, sweet, kind, compassionate, funny authors.
We talked openly about the things that we’ve succeeded at, goals, dreams, troubles, worries, and questions. We shared information honestly and freely. We all extended a hand and said, “here, let me help you.”
And the end result is that we all benefit – authors and readers. We working smarter. We have a support group to turn to when we have questions and concerns. We have friends who will celebrate with us when we reach a goal.
The retreat also gave Rinda and me a chance to work in the same location. We talked about plans for our current series and future series. We also started plotting Rowe and Noah’s next book. It took a few tries, but I think we’ve got something that you’re going to love.
If we can get the rough draft knocked out in May, we should be able to release it in July. But first, we’ve got Killer Bond, Ward Security #5, coming out on May 24!
So, thank you to all the lovely ladies that I met in person at the retreat this past week. I learned so much and I hope that I can be a source of information and support in the many years to come as we work together to write some killer books for readers. Can’t wait to do it all over again!