Blog Post No. 484
The end is near for the fifth and final novella, Snow from a Distant Sky. As I mentioned last week, I’m waiting on a few edits to come in before getting started on the layout. The cover is currently being designed and drawn by the great Glen Hawkes, too. (I can’t wait to share it). As soon as I get those edits in, I have to go over them, do a final once over for myself, then the out-loud read before putting it all together and sending it off to the printers. The book may come out in the first or second week of April, depending on how the sample copies turn out.
I wish I had some edits to work on right now, since this week has been completely dominated by the day job. I am in the middle of ten shifts in seven days, which is good since it looks like I’m only going to have three shifts next week. I kind of don’t mind the busy work schedule, I just wish it wasn’t made up of so many short shifts.
The doubles I have this week (if you’ve done the math, you know there are three of them) are made up of especially short shifts with a long break in between, so there goes the majority of my day. By the end, I’m only going to end up with a few extra hours more than what I was used to getting a few years ago (before the lock-downs). Having the edits to work on for some of the longer shifts would be nice for time management (and a sense of accomplishment). I’m not going to lie, I’m a little worried about how much there still is left to do for the novella.
I’ve tried to mix in some reading when I’m at a location where I don’t have access to a computer and when I am sitting at a computer, I have picked away at some shorts and tried to solidify the idea for my second novel. I know I have to get the Invasion novel done before I worry about a new novel, but I’d like to get my brain working on things now so that I can slough off the bad ideas before I start writing.
Anyway, I’m working while you’re reading this. I’m probably trying to keep a positive attitude while dreaming of my next actual day off. It’s strange how a job like this, with a fair amount of down time some days, can still be so draining. It’s a little worse due to pandemic fears and behaviors, but other than crazy events (like the one happening this weekend that I’m really dreading) it’s not to bad.
That being said, there was a fair bit of heavy lifting in the mix this week, too. I hope my schedule can settle down a bit. I don’t mind working a lot, but a consistent schedule without last minute changes makes things a lot easier. Though, without knowing what kind of hours will be available in the next few months, I’m taking what I can, while I can. It’s not like I’m missing out on a bunch of cool events or hanging out with friends yet, anyway.
Ben Van Dongen 