Tag: When Love Grows

Everyone connected with writing has heard of National Novel Writing Month, which takes place in November each year. It is commonly referred to as NaNoWriMo. The goal is to write a 50,000 word count manuscript between November 1st and November 30th. It’s to be a rough draft. There are even places that you can sign in so that you have encouragement to keep going from others typing their fingers to the bones.

I do think about this each year. But November is a really difficult time for me to write. The holiday season is upon us, and we have several birthdays, mine included in the month of November. Not to mention that turkey day is a pretty big celebration towards the end of the month. But…if you aren’t well on your way by Thursday, the 28th this year, you’re probably not going to get that 50,000 word count accomplished.

Since I left my job as the activity director at our local nursing home this past August, I have been writing. I had my third book in a series started before I began the job on January 15, 2018. I had about 20,000 words written. I had also designed the cover and had it ready to go. Well of course, the best laid plans always have a hitch in them. During that year and a half, the publishing program I used went over to Amazon. So many changes there. Yes, I was already a part of KDP, but now it was all-encompassing. The new publishing format changed the way covers are created. So will probably have to start from scratch with my cover.

The good news…since I left my job on August 9th I wrote 48,000 words in about a month! This also included me doing some of my own editing along the way. So, in my own little world I’m going to count that as my NaNoWriMo. It’s a huge feeling of satisfaction to know that manuscript is finished and now ready for my editor to take over. Two proofs were ordered yesterday, and now I need to learn all I can on how to get that cover I designed into the new formatting.

I know I’ve had many readers asking about the third book in this latest series. I’ve had many readers encouraging me to write and keep it up. A huge “thank you!” goes out to all of you. Without that, it would have made it very difficult to continue thinking about writing over the past year and a half. It would have been very easy to give up and concentrate on another career. I absolutely love to write and could do it 24/7, but life has to happen along the way. This includes having a home, fixing meals, laundry, and paying bills. We all know that those basics of living can get in the way of our dreams. The key it to juggle them while you still pursue your dreams. Encouragement from others along the way is huge!

I’m shooting for an early November release of When Faith Begins. Our community has an event held in early November called Candle Light Charm. I usually have a table set up for this event. Our community has been extremely supportive with my writing. Many have purchased my books at this event and others. The local library has been phenomenal with their support, and they are SO appreciated. My daughter just shared a photo this past week of When Love Grows being displayed with a review from one of the librarians. We also have a store in our town that has my books for purchase. All these go a long way in supporting an author, and keeping that drive to get another book out there.

So, I’ll be updating about the release of When Faith Begins. In the mean time, please read When Hope Blooms, and When Love Grows, or read them again to refresh your memory!

If you would like to visit my author page on Amazon, here it is: https://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Ann-Dykeman/e/B01B2BYPK6?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1568484768&sr=1-1

As always, I would love to hear from you, and if you are taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge, the best of writing wishes for you!