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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Slow Down Saturday



I got kind of stressed out by the stuff I have to do for my book launch (the 2nd book in my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series), which is coming up on February 17th. I have a To Do list with everything that needs to be done, but I get paranoid that I’ve forgotten something, and it makes me anxious.

I try to slow down my workload on weekends, especially Sundays, but I was reminded on Thursday that sometimes I need to slow down midweek because I’m only piling on stuff that adds to my stress levels. The cluttered and scattered state of my head was making it hard for me to get work done.

So I simplified my book launch process and adjusted my launch calendar for the 3rd book in my series, which will release in May. Just by eliminating things on my To Do list, and consolidating and adjusting due dates so I can get more done in advance, made me feel tons better.

So today for Slow Down Saturday, is there something you can simplify or eliminate to make your life easier? Never underestimate the value of less stress!
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