Good evening, everybody!
Since the warm and sunny days seem to be sticking around here on my end (and since PhD classes will soon be done for the semester, too), it feels like things are, if not looking up, certainly brighter than they seemed even a month ago. There's still plenty on my plate for the summer, in terms of regular work, classwork (thanks, prelims :P), and writing, but it's all manageable, keeping the grousing to a minimum. In this modestly optimistic frame of mind, I share with you as this week's song That Lucky Old Sun, as sung by Louis Armstrong (Usual copyrights apply; I own nothing!)
Although I'm not a serious jazz fan, I heard this tune so often as a kid that it rapidly became a favorite, to the point where it now has a permanent listing on my Random Mix playlist. Whether I'm writing, on the job, or just reflecting on life in general, it's never failed to give me just the right boost (sometimes sincere, other times sardonic) to get through whatever block or dilemma I'm facing, and face the next one(s) with a better, more relaxed perspective. With my emphasis on taking it slower these days (especially writing-wise), anything (non-drug :D) that can bring on this type of peace is much appreciated.
So far, it doesn't look like there'll be too many such dilemmas to face. The workshop edits and critiques of A Cloud Over Munich came down today; most were helpful, with a few that weren't (can't please everybody, advice every aspiring or established writer has to learn fast). Given last-minute classwork demands, I've unfortunately decided to postpone the edits for Sic Semper Tyrannis; no idea yet when this hold will expire, but it'll open up more time in the short term to finish the long-overdue work on Bloody Relations by the end of this coming month--and possibly start the publication process for it soon after!
Have also decided, after chatting with other authors in the Unbound forum, to once again suspend the agent hunt, at least for now; from what we've discussed, it seems agents don't often go near crowdfunding drafts, so I'm likely wasting time and emails trying to draw one out for Discarded. The promo work will continue, however, just in different ways; once classes end after the 7th, there'll be even more time to pursue it. I'll have more details for you in next week's update; until those are posted, keep up the comments, reviews and shares!