Taking A Break

Breathe, Jocelynn.  Breathe.  It’s over.  You’re safe.  The book is over.

No, I wasn’t reading a scary book.  I was finishing up the second book in the Asylum Tales series.  The race to the end shifted to a break-neck, screaming run as if the hounds of Hell had been let loose from their chains and were foaming on my heels.  As I push through the last 100 pages of a book, it becomes harder and harder for me to step away from the computer to do things like eat, sleep, shower, laundry, and other basics of life.  My mind never drifts far from my main character as I desperately try to maneuver him through this wicked, tight maze of dangers that I’ve set before him.  As we near the end of the book, I’m cursing him, myself, and the lack of more hours in the day.  My husband and the animals have learned to keep their distance as if some feral wolf has somehow gotten trapped in the house with them.

On the last day of writing, I finished two chapters, wrote more than 10,000 words over 11 hours.  When I walked away from the computer late that night, I was shaking, laughing, and crying with joy and relief.  Writing books is a love unlike any other.  It’s frustrating, confusing, funny, surprising, and so all-consuming, but I love it.  I can’t imagine not doing it. 

But it’s done now.  The second book of my new series is finished at over 110,000 words and 349 pages.  I got to spend time with several characters that I’ve grown to love over the past year and got to meet many new ones that are trying very hard to creep into my heart as well.   The world is becoming so familiar to me now.  I feel like I can walk down the street and wave to the people as if I had been living among them for years.

I’m completing a quick revision now before turning it into my editor.  What’s next after that?  Will I be lounging by the pool, basking in the summer sun while I wait for my revision letter?  Ha.  Not likely.  No, my new main character Gage and I will be huddled around my desk, arguing about plans for another book.  He’s asking me to take it easy this time.  He’s still a little bruised and sore from his last adventure.  I wish I could, but it isn’t going to happen.  In another month, he’ll be fully recovered and ready for action.  Poor guy.

Looking forward, I’ve got several stories coming out, introducing you to a new world of warlocks, elves, trolls, and my own unique brand of chaos and madness.  The fun kicks off when my first novella, The Asylum Interviews: Bronx is released on July 3.  The story introduces you to my main character Gage and tells how he met his coworker Bronx.  The second novella, The Asylum Interviews: Trixie, will be released on September 4, telling the tale of how Gage met Trixie.  And finally, on October 16, readers will be able to get the first novel, Angel’s Ink.

Get ready.  It’s going to be a crazy year.