I noticed recently that I had not written anything here since last October. No reason really. The holiday months were pleasant and rushed by in a blink like always.

I did a lot of reading and finished 31 books last year. I’ve gotten off to a great start this year having already read six books this month alone. Getting a new Kindle has helped, and now I’m not always reading on my phone.

I celebrated my one year anniversary with my new work-from-home job this past week on the 24th. Hard to believe it’s been a year, but it was one of the best decisions I could have ever made. I’m so match happier, and healthier.

Another good decision was giving up fast food and caffeine back on December 19th. I also bought a treadmill for Xmas, and I’m down almost 15 pounds as of my weigh in this morning.

I finished writing a new book last fall and spent the rest of the year doing several edits. I took a break from writing during the last of December and picked it up again in the new year with part 2 of what I hope to be a 3 or 4 book series.

I’m a slow writer anyway, but I’m closing in on 14K words for the month which makes me happy. There were several days where the words would not come. I was still plotting the book out and taking notes. I don’t have the entire book mapped out, but that’s okay. I like finding out stuff along the way.

Yesterday, I got cover art samples for the first book in the series and I’m well pleased with it. It’s definitely got the appearance of something like I’ve never done before. I’ll explain later when I blog about it. I’ll also reveal the final cover here on the blog once it’s available for pre-order. For now, I’m doing one last edit and also working on formatting for final publication.

I’ve decided to go the self-publishing route again. Not to bad mouth my previous publisher since it was my first time working with them, but they did nothing to promote the book which doesn’t surprise me. I did several things on my own, but having control of the Ebooks alone and being able to do my own promotions and set pricing always helped me in the past. Lesson learned!

I was heartbroken by the passing of Lisa Marie Presley this month. Her music always resonated with me, and having lived in Memphis for several years, the Elvis Presley culture and musical history have always had a special place in my heart. Listen closely to the lyrics of her song, Lights Out. It gives me shivers when I hear it now.

The photo above is our back yard and was taken this past Tuesday. The snow is gone for now, but winter lingers in the Midwest sometimes all the way into March and April. I’m looking forward to spring though, and as Bob Ross said, I’m waiting on the good times now.