I can. I should. I must.

My son has been unwell on and off since November.  My life has been a series of sleepless nights which more often leaves me almost incapacitated by persistent headaches.  Not to mention the crippling worry it all comes with which is a massive hindrance to anyone's creativity and imagination. I guess I’m lucky in a way because he -unbelievably- gets better when my energy begins to dry out and my body feels like giving up.

When do I get to do my writing in between visits to hospitals, school appointments and emergencies?  I don’t know.  You might have noticed the lack of posts from December to January on my old blog, Conversations with Self.  Sometimes it feels like I’m going nowhere.  That I am never going to finish anything.  Nothing will ever get done. 

This happens very often.  My life is like a roller coaster, a series of ups and downs with my writing.  There are days when I lose hope…tell myself to just forget it. 

And something happens.

An inspiration comes unexpectedly so that I am writing for hours while my son is fast asleep – with no seizures.  That doesn’t happen very often but when it does, it gives me just a tiny sparkle of hope.

My current work-in-progress is nearly 20k words.  I’m working on my second middle grade novel which requires 40-45k words, so I need to write approximately 20 to 25K more.  I’m halfway.  Almost there.  And I can see a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s still very faint but it’s there.

I can do this.

Do you feel like you are not going to finish your manuscript sometimes?

And when you finally do....ahhhhhh! Must be heaven.

Setting Goals

I’m never a fan of new year’s resolutions.  I do have short and long-term goals but I don’t do it every year.  This is why I’ve never had a set goal when it comes to the number of books to read in a year.

But the truth is that with a goal, we know where we're heading or what we want to attain.  So this year, I’ve set myself to read 50 books.  If I read more than that, fantastic!  If I don’t, I’ve made myself a promise not to beat myself up for it.

Last year, I’ve read 61.  Not bad?  I think it’s not much compared to my amazing writer friends who really devoured books with an astounding 100! Or more!  My friend, Theresa, read an impressive 128! Holy cow!  I can’t beat that and I won’t even try.  I am happy to say that I’ve read 61 and here’s my awesome list (It's either Goodreads did not count them correctly or I cheated! LOL!)

1.     Lost in the Snow by Holly Webb

2.     The Girl with Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts

3.     Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

4.     Comfort and Joy by India Knight

5.     The Ugly Sister by Jane Fallon

6.     Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton

7.     Hooked by Les Edgerton

8.     When I found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

9.     Don’t Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde

10. Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones

11. Everything and Nothing by Araminta Hall

12. Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson

13. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

14. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

15. In the Mirror by Ann Best

16. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony Diterlizzi

17. The Midwife’s Confession by Diane Chamberlain

18. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

19. Starseeker by Tim Bowler

20. String Bridge by Jessica Bell

21. Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie

22. The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

23. Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau

24. Starring in the Movie of my Life by Laurel Osterkamp

25. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

26. Witch Song by Amber Argyle

27. The Passage by Justin Cronin

28. Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

29. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

30. When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

31. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

32. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

33. Before I die by Jenny Downham

34. There are no Words by Mary Calhoun Brown

35. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

36. Grace William Says It Loud by Emma Henderson

37. 100 Stories for Queensland, an Anthology

38. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

39. The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews

40. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

41. The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little

42. Breakthrough by Stephen Tremp

43. Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain

44. My Bestfriend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson

45. Ordinary Angels by India Drummond

46. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

47. Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

48. Radiance by Alyson Noel

49. The Compass by Tammy Kling

50. Ugly by Constance Briscoe

51. Misery by Stephen King

52. Sister by Rosamund Lupton

53. Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

54. Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

55. Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

56. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

57. Welcome to my World by Miranda Dickinson

58. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

59. Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson

60. Room by Emma Donoghue

61. Death by a Dark Horse by Susan Schreyer

Do you count the books you read?  Do you set a goal as to the nubmer of books to read each year?

How many have you read last year?

Oracle Cover Reveal Mystery Tour

J.C. Martin's upcoming novel Oracle will be released middle of this year.  Today is the day she's releasing the book cover to the public and there's a mystery to be solved.  Below is the blurb of the book....to find out more, please click on the link down below to go to J.C.'s blog.  Enjoy!!!


*******

As the countdown begins, the body count rises.

With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn’t need a serial killer stalking the streets. They’ve got one anyway.

Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police are no closer to finding their latest murderer than Detective Inspector Kirk Lyncher is in finding a solution for his daughter’s disability.

Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential next victims.

One of whom could be his own daughter.

Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lyncher’s only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene.

FIND OUT MORE! VISIT THE ORACLE MYSTERY TOUR HEADQUARTERS - - - click HERE.  

I've got a new blog! Yay!

Quite recently, the lovely Laura Barnes has critiqued my blog.  Before the critique, I was already contemplating on creating a separate blog for my writing.  If you have been a follower of my blog, Conversations with Self, you probably know that it started as a personal blog in 2007 which slowly evolved into a writing blog.

I got serious in my writing in 2010 when I left my job to be a full-time mother to my son who has special needs.  I began writing in my spare time. So, after reading Laura's suggestions, it got me thinking!  It's about time for a writer's blog!  So here I am!

It would make me truly happy if you follow this blog, too!

What about you?  

If you are an aspiring author, have you created a separate blog specifically as a writer?  


If you are a published author and already have an author blog, when did you feel it was time to do so?