Revamping the Round.

#ROW80 is A Round of Words in 80 Days. It’s a quarterly writing challenge where you define your personal goals and blog each week about your progress. It’s made to be flexible and allow for tweaking.

Whew! I missed last week’s check-in due to a massive book release. The boxed set, Midnight Ink, released. It was a great success and honestly working with the ladies has been a fantastic experience. We’ve made the rounds, had our parties and now the book is off and chugging along.

If you want a copy, it’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo. It’s also enrolled in Amazon’s Matchbook program, where if you purchase the print version, you get the ebook at a greatly reduced price.

I’ve also been writing like a fiend! I’ve officially won NaNoWriMo, with over 50,000 words written this month–and I’m not done. I can’t afford to be done! OMG way too much to do!

There’s also been some serious work behind the scenes, a lot of which impacts my immediate writing schedule. I know I came into this ROW80 with some heft goals, and they’re just getting bigger. In the true spirit of maneuvering your goals to fit you, I’m going to have to do some switching around!

For posterity’s sake, here’s what I’d wanted to do:

• Finish writing Good Guys Wear Black #2
• Edit Good Guys Wear Black #2
• Get critiques on Good Guys Wear Black #2
• Finish writing Bayou Bound #2
• Edit Bayou Bound #2
• Get Midnight Ink released
• Get How Zombies Stole Christmas released
• Possible alternate Christmas project to also consider

I’m still working on finishing the draft of Line of Duty, Good Guys Wear Black #2. I should honestly finish it this week. It’s so close to being ready for some editing love, a quick read and off to the editor! I’ve already seen edits for Hot Tango, book 1 in the series, and it’s shaping up to be a spicy little book. I would anticipate Hot Tango releasing in the first quarter of next year.

So Inked #3 is officially off to the editor and not on my radar for a month or two. I could use a break–even though I’m dying to jump back in the series! There’s some big stuff that will be happening in book 4. Someone’s getting married, there might be babies, and you know someone is getting laid. But for now, I’m glad for a little break.

Bayou Bound #2 has some serious chops to it, but sadly I’m going to have to postpone work on this book until January due to scheduling conflicts. One of the great things about intending to self-publish a book is that you control the schedule. One of the horrible things about self-publishing is that you control the schedule. Never fear, this book will be awesome, and it will also feature a short story called Picture Her Loved which is a follow up to Picture Her Bound in Midnight Ink. It’s all crazy connected! But that is officially on the 2014 docket.

Holiday Spice wasn’t on the list when we started, but it is now. This is a short story in a multi-author anthology that came out in early November, but there’s been some hiccups. While it’s available on Amazon, it’s nowhere else to be seen, which really bites for my non-Kindle readers. I’ve learned about agencies doing self-publishing though, so I can walk away from the experience with knowledge under my belt.

How Zombies Stole Christmas is a week away from release! Woohoo! I’m not sure I’m ready, but it’s about to happen whether I am or not. I haven’t heard much feedback yet about it, but I’m hoping readers love it as much as I loved writing it. I need a reason to write another book in this world!! I was actually brainstorming another potential idea for a third story in this world. I have one I’m trying to find time to write. It’s all plotted out and everything! Here’s hoping 2014 isn’t as uber busy as I’m thinking it could be.

Project Paper Bag is my super seekrit addition to the list, taking the spot of Bayou Bound #2. It’s one of those rare opportunities that land in your lap and you can’t say no to. This project has a due date of 1/1/14, and I’m still drafting the book. It’s  not an ideal timeline, but I can make it work!

So what does my revamped ROW80 list look like?

• Finish Line of Duty, Good Guys Wear Black #2
• Edit Line of Duty, Good Guys Wear Black #2
• See How Zombies Stole Christmas released
• Finish Project Paper Bag
• Edit Project Paper Bag

Oh, and did I mention that my family surprise decided I am hosting Thanksgiving? Yeah… off to clean and prep the brisket for tomorrow. Happy Holidays!!