Published!

It’s finally here! My Voice: A Flash Fiction Compilation, Volume 2 is published (click the link to download for free). Completing the last three pieces wasn’t difficult. It doesn’t matter that I decided to leave out the last piece because it doesn’t detract from the whole. I’ve refrained (mostly) from telling myself, “It should have been done months ago,” so I can enjoy the feeling of achievement. I’m pretty excited that I’ve completed and published my 48th title!

As it happens when I finish a project, I look at my list, at my stack of file folders and spiral notebooks, at the digital files on my desktop and ask, “What’s next?” Besides finishing MV2, I also completed a rewrite of a short story that will be in my illustrated collection. So, two projects off my plate. While shifting through files and organizing (I think I do this to remind myself what I have), I chose a story starter for the next holiday novella. That wasn’t on my project list, but since my muse thumbs her nose at my project list, I’m not surprised this ended up on the top of the pile.

This morning, while waiting for a friend so I could take them on their errand, I finished reading the only book I hadn’t read by Hope Anika. She sets up an incredible world in Evolution: Awakening. I’ve had that title on my ereader for a year. Because I love her writing so much, I spread out her stories because she has just a handful. Now that I’ve read everything, I wonder when she’ll publish her next book. That made me think of my own series and how I’ve left readers hanging for way too long. I suspect I may know soon what that feels like.

I mentioned recently that my schedule changes throughout the calendar year, sometimes with the seasons, sometimes with clients. This month will be a time of transition. Instead of working in the mornings and having the evenings free, it will flip. At the end of the month, I won’t be either at the barn or in the office at home, but in a college classroom a couple of days a week. I can already see pockets of time open for writing. I’m looking forward to those hours and making progress on projects that have be stalled while my attention and energy has been with clients. Good thing I’ve had lots of practice at flexibility.

How do you celebrate an achievement? How long before you move on to the next project?