I have this idea in my head that most writers love the months of January and February. It's the dead of winter, so the temptation of summer sun or spring walks doesn't exist. The days are spent inside, and the weather is perfect for writing. Stay inside, bundle up, and put your fingers on the keyboard...That is unless your name is Kristen Otte. For those who may not know, I do a few other things besides write pug books for kids and young adult novels. I teach reading on a part-time basis, and I am a high school basketball coach. During basketball season, my life schedule is a little crazy. I love coaching and teaching, but the schedule of both lines up so I'm not home until 8pm most nights. Naturally, my writing projects suffer a bit during this time.
Basketball season is winding down over the next two weeks, but my husband and I are house shopping right now. We hope to move sometime in March. In other words, the craziness will continue a bit longer. During these busy life moments, it's easy to set aside the writing projects, but I've learned I can't stop writing when life gets busy or crazy. So I press forward with the projects when I can–mornings, weekends, late nights to meet my self-imposed deadlines. To help me meet these deadlines, I'm sharing the projects so you can keep me accountable. And so you can get excited!!
Here's what's on tap for this Spring:
1. The Release of The Evolution of Lillie Gable - I'm slating this for March 2015. Edits are done, cover and formatting is almost done, so I will hit this target without a problem. I'll be sharing the cover and exact release date in the very near future.
2. Write the First Draft of the Fourth Zelda Book!!! - I have already started the fourth Zelda book and will return to writing now that the Lillie book is done with edits and formats. Writing Zelda books are still so much fun and this one will be special. I plan to share the first draft with my Wattpad fans as I write!
3. A New Website - After a few successful and fun years here, it's time to move away from wordpress.com. I need more freedom to sell books directly from my site for author days and do some other things to help my author business. This is a big step for me.
4. Five Author Days - I have five author day visits scheduled at local elementary schools for this spring. Author days are tons of fun and a great additional source of revenue for authors. I can't wait to speak with these students and share the love of writing with them.
Those are my plans for the next three months. Like I said, I share my goals to hold myself accountable.
What are you up to the next three months?