Book and Life Updates April 2017

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted updates on books, life, or anything else so I thought I’d do a short update on things then share some news about an old book.

Those wondering when my next book will come out, all I can say is soon. Very soon. I’m towards the end of my second rewrite. It’s been a slow process mostly because my free time is limited. I work on the book every day from 4:30-6:30 a.m. At that point the kids are up and life takes over. There are little kids to feed and big kids to get off to school. Then it's off to my job. Once I’m home at night there are sports practices for some kids, church activities for others, homework to do, and dinner to prepare and eat, and then it’s time to get the younger kids ready for bed. By the time everyone's in bed for the night, I’m too physically and mentally exhausted to write.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not complaining. I have a nearly-perfect marriage, seven wonderful kids, a day job that I love, and a home to keeps everyone warm, dry, and happy. Having lost everything that mattered many, many years ago, I wouldn’t trade any of that for more writing time because books are books and families are forever.

But the books will keep coming. I promise you. They won’t stop because for some reason I can’t stop writing the stories that filter through my head. In the meantime, here’s some news about my first book.

The nice thing about owning the rights to your own book is that you can do whatever you want with them. It’s been 10 years since my first book and memoir Room for Two was published. To celebrate, I’ll be posted the entire book in my blog. Starting Monday, I’ll post Chapter One and will continue to post a chapter for the next 16 weeks until the entire book is up.

So if you haven’t read Room for Two before, now’s your chance to try it out. If you have, then you can enjoy the journey again, one chapter at a time. 

Starting Monday.

An Overdue Update

Since it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, several readers have emailed me over the last week or two asking if everything is okay. I appreciate the concern and am happy to report that, yes, everything is fine. Great actually. Life is just really, really busy. So busy, in fact, that blogging is one of many things that have fallen to the side. That being said, I find myself with a few minutes to provide a brief update on book, life, and a few other things.

  • Chronos update: The book as gone through its first editor. It was a bruising edit but it came back with a lot of good suggestions and feedback. I’m currently one third of the way through the revision process before the book will be handed over to a second editor. I wish I had all day to write so I could make faster progress but I do my best to make the most out of the 60-90 minutes of writing time I get each day. I don’t know when the book will be done but I’m doing my best to have it available this year.
     
  • Until I get this book out the door, I’m putting the Widower Wednesday columns on hold. I am still answering emails. So if you have a widower-related issue, feel free to email me or join the Dating a Widower group on Facebook (for girlfriends and wives of widowers) or the Widowers Dating Again group (for widowers who are dating again, remarried, etc.).
     
  • Marathon Girl and I are expecting our seventh, and final, child in November. A girl. And for the first time we’re actually close to agreeing on a name before the child is born. The kids are excited to have a little sister. Marathon Girl is exhausted. I’m just trying to fill in and help out the best I can until the baby comes.
     
  • I’ll be speaking at the 2015 Wyoming Suicide Prevention Conference next month as well as holding a workshop. Details of the speech and workshop can be found in the link.
     
  • I started a new marketing job at the beginning of the year. I love it. The work is challenging and it keeps my mind engaged and it doesn’t come with all the craziness and long hours of the old job. Marathon Girl likes the fact I usually come home in a good mood.
     
  • I’ve been running more than I have in a long time. If I keep to my schedule I should pass the 1,000 mile mark on Saturday. If I keep up the pace, I should hit around 1,300 miles by year’s end. And, no, I’m not running or training for any races. I’m simply running that much because I love it and it’s good for my mental health.
     
  • And though I don’t have time to blog on a regular basis right now, you can always follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Until I get back to blogging, it’s the easiest way to get a quick snippet of what’s going on.

That’s all for now. More later.