Busy, busy, busy

A blog post on a Tuesday—I know, it is not my typical schedule. I’ve been busy—I mean, really busy. As a higher education administrator, this is a crazy time in my day job as we close out the academic and fiscal years. Yesterday was a 13-hour day. Also, my inlaws are coming from China and will stay with us for about four months, necessitating a deep cleaning and organization of the household that has spanned the last three weekends to the detriment of my blog posts. They arrive tomorrow. 

Writing will be challenging this summer as I serve as a host (at least until we get settled into a routine). We also have a bunch of little trips planned, which will take me away from my writing. I hoped to get The Novice of Thanatos as close to finished as possible before they arrived, but I’ve only managed to get about halfway. It is currently at 59,382 words. It is moving along nicely, and the story is on track, but interruptions will slow the pace, and the longer I’m away from a project, the longer it takes to get back into the zone. I still hope to finish it by the end of the summer so I can return to the Absolution of the Morning Star series in the fall and maybe, just maybe, complete Destiny of the Daystar by the end of the year. 

That said, I am super excited to have my inlaws for a visit. This will be the third time they’ve visited us in the States, so it is nothing new, but it will still be a challenge- though nice to have them around. We’ve developed a bond over the years that is difficult to explain. They speak no English, and my Chinese is passable at best, but we’ve had many interesting and exciting experiences together. COVID made it so I have not seen them in person in years, which has been difficult for the whole family. In the My Life in China series, you can read about my journey meeting my wife and them and a bit about their first trip to the US.

In other news, I’m still trying to peddle Koen. It’s been a good experience in toughing my hide to rejection. I’ve made it to one “to be considered for next year” list, but I’m still trying for something more definite. If all else fails, we’ll see how the above goes in August. If they ultimately pass, I will immediately move to self-publishing and try the process with the Novice of Thanatos. It will be in the 100-120k word range, which is much more marketable. We shall see! All you can do is keep writing. 

Cheers.