Wow, we're back with a blog post! Do I have a cohesive idea for a topic? No. Do I have a TON of progress on the next book to share? No. Did I want to just ramble for a bit? Yeah.
Much like this image, I'm just a lil guy who's excited for fall and trying to make some progress.
So, what's been going on in my life, you may ask? Not a great deal, but there's a bit that I can talk about. First and foremost, progress on the next book IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. Finally. I decided that I needed to stop being scared by the worry that the next thing won't be as good as the last. Each book is a learning experience, a practice at the craft, and another step toward the dreams I've had since I was young. If I spend too much energy worrying about the "business" side, or the "success" of the project, the fun of the writing experience gets somewhat stripped away. So, after taking about three months off to stew and contemplate, I'm back at the grindstone. It's a slow process as I try and uncover what this book will be about, but at least I have somewhat of a plan.
Just to give the people who read the blog a bit of insight into the ideas (very early stages so who knows how much of this will change): Autumn is creeping into South Louisiana. The heat and humidity of summer has finally broken, and the sugarcane fields are being burnt for next years crop. In Collins - the neighboring city to the Pointe - a body is found on refinery land, laying amongst the kudzu. Collins police don't have much experience with homicide, so they call Gary and Al for assistance.
I have plans to make this a bit of a sprawling case, leading in a few directions that might not be expected. I'm hoping for some twists and turns, some moments that make you smile, some moments that worry you, and some thrills along the way. Mostly though, I wanted to spend some more time with Al, Marcie, Gary, and Abby. I wanted to explore less bayous and other locations that bring south Louisiana to life. I'm excited to see where it takes me, and I hope anyone that enjoyed Bound To Parish will be excited as well.
In other news, life has finally calmed down a bit. A big stress over the summer was the air conditioning at my apartment, which was broken for nearly two months. The upside was that this apartment is well insulated, and with a bit of management on my end, I was able to keep it near mid-70's for most of the hot days. However, it was still stressful to come home to a warm apartment and spend all of my time in the bedroom where the portable AC unit was running non-stop. Last week, it was finally fully replaced, and I can comfortably say that the apartment is back to a lovely temperature once again. Along with this, work has been somewhat more tolerable as well. The day job finds plenty of ways to cause stress, but recently it's been more manageable, and as the year progresses it tends to calm down, so we're moving in the right direction. Also, someone from another office that I've been close with for years but have never met is finally making a trip up to visit! The excitement for that is helping stress levels a ton as well. All around, the past few weeks have been a major shift in my mood and enjoyment of life in general. I'm thankful for it all.
Harley is dong well also, which is lovely. We went through a phase of her being a bit amped up and giving me a fair amount of scratches on a few occasions, but as time went on, she's calmed and settled and now things are wonderful. It's crazy to think that I've not even had her a year and I adore her this much.
As far as updates go, I know this isn't much of one, but it felt like time to at least give you all something. The plan going forward is to dive headlong into this next book, get this draft done, and hopefully get it out to you all next year. While early year is the "best" time to release a book, this one may not come out until later next summer/fall, but I'll do my best to get it polished and ready as soon as I can.
As always, I appreciate everyone who reads this, follows along on the writing journey, and enjoys the stories. Without the positive feedback on the books, I wouldn't be here, so it's really all thanks to you.
Keep being amazing!
-Dave
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