I was talking/texting with my sister the other day about our upcoming family vacation. Suddenly, the conversation turned back toward my favorite topic: me.

So, what have you been up to?

Such an innocently conversational question.

Of course, it generated a 4″ text response from me.

The gist was that my stupid PT job had been keeping me busy enough with 35-55 hour weeks for two months straight that everything else in my life was suffering. This is probably as good a time as any to add that my mother had pointed out to me that this was largely my own fault at lunch a few days earlier.

You do this to yourself, you could say no.

Oh, mom…of course I could. But that’s not how you and dad or retail raised me!

Anyway, my main frustration wasn’t the lack of time or energy I’d had for bike rides or hikes this far in the summer. Zero, at that point…if you’re keeping track. It was more that there were two writing projects I’d wanted to make some significant progress on this summer. My second book in the No One Of Consequence series and a slightly supernatural mystery I’d begun that I’m calling GhosTed at the moment.

My hope was to complete the first draft of NOOC in June and work on finishing GhosTed in July. Then after the break, dive into editing mode on NOOC in August so I could meet/beat my November publishing goal.

I told my sis that I felt I had barely finished my first draft of NOOC by the end of July and hadn’t touched GhosTed at all. I was a good month behind my self-imposed deadlines.

Not to mention my blog output had completely dried up.

Then this happened.

What the hell got into me?!?

A few words of support and questions about characters from the first book and suddenly I’m suggesting that I can have Book Two ready to roll in less than eight weeks?!?

Truth be told, I probably could. I’m going to move toward that goal, certainly. However, I’d been kicking around some feedback I got on Book One from another writer whose opinion I really value and how I could incorporate his suggestions into a version two – one of the perks of self-publishing, the drawing board is never closed! – of Book One to release in tandem with Book Two.

A less-than-eight-week timeline for both seems possible, just not likely.

Oh, conundrums.

But, while I sit in my local cafe not working on either project

…and texting with Diezel as well as my mom and sister I’m registering the relief I feel at allowing myself to drift out of focus.

Don’t worry, though, I gave Book Two a good 40 minutes of focus before letting my laptop go to sleep. At this rate, it will be ready by November.

Well, some November…