Perhaps you’ve noticed that I haven’t been around in a while. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but either way, it has been almost a year since I’ve posted anything, and it has been over a year since I’ve released a book.

I had to take some time away from writing. I actually haven’t written anything at all for a year. (That’s me sitting at my computer putting words down, or even brainstorming for ideas.) Back in last February and March, I was reading over one of my works, but wound up abandoning it for the time. This was followed by completely removing myself from social media one by one. I didn’t check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Goodreads at all. I don’t think I read anything either. Honestly, I didn’t want to think about or look at books. I felt like I really might be done.

I needed some time to get things into perspective. Writing and publishing and self-promotion were really weighing me down. I was becoming so focused on the process that the writing itself had taken on the form of a burden. I had become obsessed with sales and reviews, and it stressed me out.

So what has come from all this?

My mental health has vastly improved. I’m happier, more positive, and I haven’t been depressed for no reason. That’s truly a blessing. I haven’t thought about writing or stressed about it. I haven’t felt badly toward others who were more successful than me (which has always been a problem, especially if I didn’t care for their work). I haven’t felt like a failure. I’ve been living my life and I’ve created non-writing goals for myself. These are good things. I feel that I have really grown as a person this year. It was a rough year in some ways, but I made it through.

The best thing that I’ve gotten out of this is that I’ve distanced myself enough that I’m finally ready to write again just for the enjoyment of it, which is how it should be in the first place.

So! With that said, I’m releasing The Mark of Thorn: Book of Beauty (book 2) on February 11, 2020. It is already available for preorder on Amazon, here.

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I’m going to continue with the Mark of Thorn saga because I want to. I finally feel the love for it again. I feel that I have come back into my own, and I can go forward with Mark of Thorn Book 3 with confidence. I’m not going to give myself a time limit except that I want to finish it this year. I’m going to write it for writing’s sake – like I used to. I’m going to rewrite it as many times I as need to for it to be a great product, and then I’m going to release it.

I still might not be on social media very much. I may not post very often while I’m writing. I want to love the art of it, the wordsmithing and the tale-weaving, so this is what I have set myself to do. You will definitely know when my next book is ready.

I hope that in the meantime you will continue to enjoy the works I have already released.