Mixed Emotions

A year ago, I set my goal of having "American Dawn" available by Christmas 2021. Of course, that meant having it done by Thanksgiving so people could get it in time and all that. My summer case of writer's block put me behind and then some technical issues put me further behind. In the end, I got it done and available on December 23. Technically it was out by Christmas, but...

Then I got a horrible cold (yes, they still exist) and spent Christmas sick on the couch. So here I am in the new year, contemplating life after my first book series. It's been a roller coaster of emotions. 

The good- holy cow, I have written three books! And they carry a coherent story throughout! I am pleased with them; they're not bad at all. Heck, they've even gotten very positive reviews online.

I'm also proud of myself for actually completing them. Until recently, I'd never imagined I could/would do such a thing. I believe I've learned more in the course of this project than I did in vast portions of my college career. 

Many thanks to those on "my team" who helped make it all happen. Encouragement, technical advice, reading and asking questions, and snacks all made it happen. THANK YOU!

The bad- I literally began work on the American Revolution series in late January of 2017 or just about five years ago. It's hard coming to grips with the fact that my relationship with those characters is ending. Maybe not ending, but changing? I have work to do to promote those books, but I won't be spending my spare time writing them and watching them grow. It may sound odd, but I've grown close to them. Maybe someday I'll look back at them wistfully and fondly, like any number of my exes. It's a strange feeling.

The ugly?- Well, now that I know I can write a book, the floodgates are open. I've begun development of what I suspect will be the series that keeps me writing for the rest of my natural life. Based on an idea from my brother, Greg, my new series will be about a couple who sails around the world running into mysteries/adventures based on historical events. I anticipate the first book in 2023 or 24 and the next sixteen over the 20-25 years. Yes, I said it...20 years. And while I have no idea how long I'll live, much less be able to type complete sentences, even my vivid imagination can't go much beyond that. There are dreams of retiring to a cozy retreat in New Foundland, but we'll see how that goes.

I can say that I'm approaching this series differently, simply because I know so much more. The characters have deeper personal stories and it's being built for a long life. For the first time in years, I've sat down and written brand new material and it felt good. Really good! I've spent time researching and developing writing skills, but writing is now, for me, the payoff. The reward for having done the work. I never imagined I'd feel that, but...

If you're curious, American Dawn can be found at American Dawn: Book Three of the American Revolution Series: Snyder, Fred: 9781735896052: Amazon.com: Books