Self publishing three novels over the past eight months has been quite a ride!  Consequently, it's been some time since I've blogged.  I love reading blogs, so this week I've resolved to get back in the swing of things, share thoughts and ideas, and hope to hear back from all of you.  Trust me when I tell you I have not been sitting around doing nothing.  Since I last blogged I finished my third novel and self-published all of my novels as ebooks at The Kindle Store.  The past few weeks have been totally consumed while working with CreateSpace to develop all three books into trade paperbacks. (Please don't make me tell you again I have not been sitting around doing nothing.)

While waiting for the proof copies to arrive Fred suggested I take time off or, perhaps, we could even go away for a few days.  What?  And who will race to the door every time the FedEx or UPS truck roars up our road?  Who will check to see if the driver finally stops and walks to our door with boxes from CreateSpace?  What is he thinking?

So, incurable workaholic that I am, this week I attacked old files to stir up some things I've developed in the past that have taken a back seat to my three books -- COCAINE CAMPUS, THE TOY ROOM, and CORPORATE PRINCE.

My brain is shifting gears from suspense and intrigue to my little Church Mouse, who teaches children how to pray, and our dog Jenny, who seizes the opportunity to be a peacemaker among animals in our backyard.  And what about that file labeled "Essays?"

My gardening instincts have taken over as I find myself searching for a trowel to stir things up a bit or grabbing the clippers for needed "dead heading" and clipping here and there to improve the health of these long-neglected ideas.  My flowers on the deck have been either under-watered or over-watered this summer and work to survive extreme ups and down on the thermometer.  But with my patience and loving touch, they are flourishing and surviving Mother Nature's hard knocks.  All my writing projects have been treated much the same way, either flourishing with attention or gathering dust by neglect.  But the same patience and loving touch used on my weather-battered deck flowers has emerged as I read through my stories hidden in abandoned computer files and dusty piles pushed aside on the desk.

That's the life of a writer, right?  There's the project that is polished and looking great, while others languish and suffer from neglect.  Let me hear from some of you writers out there with ideas how to keep your projects in better balance.  And I promise I will continue to share thoughts and ideas with you all while I blow the dust off my old projects and see how they develop with my tender, loving care.

Terri Clamons, author
COCAINE CAMPUS, THE TOY ROOM, CORPORATE PRINCE
All available as ebooks at The Kindle Store and Amazon
All soon to be available as paperbacks at Amazon and CreateSpace
Please visit me at my website: http://www.terriclamons.com