If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know

Several weeks back, after I turned in the final product of the screenplay I had turned into a novel, after the author had read it and paid for it, he must have liked my work because he asked if I would be interested in another. Sigh. I told him that I was working on a big project and wouldn’t be available for at least a couple of weeks, and probably more. He was undeterred. He said there was no rush, and to let him know when I was available.

Well, it was during a lull in my book promotion project that I started feeling the yearning. So I sent an email and told him that the project I’m working on is quite technical and that a little creative writing might be a nice break now and then to the technical and business aspects of the other project. He reiterated that there’s no rush, so I said that I should be able to finish it by the end of March, giving me a little over two and a half months. He was fine with that, and said that his timeline was completely flexible if I needed even more time.

While Linda and I were having lunch that day, I told her about the yearning I had been feeling, and that I had broken down and agreed to do the second novelization. She agreed that it was decent money for the work required, and it could help to offset all the money I’ve been paying out, particularly for the book promotion project. And if it satisfied, even a little, my need to write, it might prove to be worth it.

While we were talking, though, I recalled a story that I had started years ago. It’s only about five chapters so far, but I have the whole story outlined. Whenever I’ve been between books, if I didn’t already have an idea for the next one, I’d open that one up and read through it, thinking that I might get back to work on it.

Alas, I could never get into it, and it would continue languishing on my computer.

But while we were talking about it over lunch, an idea began to form in my head, a way to make it more appealing (to me, at least). For the first time in quite a while, I started getting excited about it.

After lunch, I started roughing out the additional storyline and characters that this new idea necessitated. I couldn’t wait to get started on it!

Also, since then, I’ve had an idea for another SpiritSense novel, one that, I think, will be a lot of fun. (Book four in the SpiritSense Trilogy?)

That afternoon, I received a response from the screenplay guy. He had started the contract and sent me the screenplay.

So now, besides the novel that I was well into but had put aside months ago because of COVID (I need to travel to Washington D.C. to do some research), I also had two new writing projects that I was excited to work on but couldn’t, one that I was now obligated to work on but wasn’t really excited about, numerous things I had to do relating to Fiery Muse Publishing and my book marketing.

I never said I was smart.

Well, the PO Box was a simple enough thing. I got that done quickly. The domain and website stuff, not so much, but I slogged through it in a week or so, with the help of the host tech support. After that, I went back through the long technical lesson again relating to my book promotion, to be sure I got everything done up to the point where I had to stop. I can’t say for certain that it’s all good, but I think it is.

Time will tell.