Unexpected delays. Other than writing blurbs, editing, and actual writing, nothing is more daunting that delays. This past December, I had to admit defeat and accept that thanks to a catastrophic manuscript failure (again) where I LOST my entire manuscript to the final book of my A Girl Gone Crazy series, I was forced to delay its release because honestly, there was no way I could juggle my other projects and rewrite A Girl Says Goodbye's manuscript in the three weeks before its release date. I might think I'm Wonder Woman, but I had to accept my limitations. That's why most of you can't find it on Amazon for pre-order because the Zon takes away our ability to set-up pre-orders for a year if we have to (horrified gasp!) cancel a pre-order, which I had to do. Does it suck? Totally. Do I understand? Well, no, but I get it. We know the TOS when we sign up and that's just the way that shitty cookie crumbles.
So, where does that leave me? It leaves me with a chance to start again.
I see it as a chance to give my readers the best possible manuscript I can deliver. Just before my files were eradicated like the Death Star taking out Alderaan, I had read over what I'd written and well, there were more than a few parts I was considering rewriting. So, instead of seeing this as the ultimate disaster (which I did for a bit. I cried), I saw this as a chance to start over and that this happened for a reason. That didn't mean I wasn't sad, depressed, and frankly, downright angry.
I wrote about my feelings and what happened, as well as my -cough- hacker/tech friend's valiant attempts to recover the files on my Facebook page. While cathartic and thanks to all the love I received on my personal page, I knew I had to pull up my big girl drawers and do a Winston Churchill: Keep Calm and Carry On. Maybe we can say the "Keep Calm" wasn't as successful as the "Carry On" part.
With that said, I sat down in front of my keyboard and have been clacking out words, crafting the final story line of my girl Haley and her main man (and might I say 'hunk') Joel. My plan is to have the manuscript finished by the end of April. That gives me all of May and all of June to go over the rewrites, get my beta readers' eyes on it, have it edited, go back and finish any last minute edits, and then drown myself in a pint or two of Ben and Jerry's to celebrate not only getting it finished, but releasing it on my birthday, July 1st. With that said, I hope you all aren't too terribly pissed off at me for things that were beyond my control. As an avid reader myself, I understand when a book you want to read gets delayed and you have to wait. No one likes to wait. This is something I completely 'stan. But until then, I have a lot of other books just waiting for you to get your hands on and, if you sign up for my newsletter on the Home Page, I sometimes have book suggestions based on what I'm currently reading or what I think you all would enjoy.
Until then, I wish you all light, love, and an abundance of happiness. Oh, and books. I wish you neverending TBR piles and pages filled with headstrong heroines, sexy, irresistible leading men, and all the smut (or lack of) your little hearts desire.
Much love to you all!
-Becca
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