Update #41 - Stepping Back

It feels like I've been stacking up the sad updates, lately, but I guess that's life.

I had a major health scare this week.

I won't go into details, but like the name suggests it was scary and upsetting. It also could have been much worse. Suffice it to say, it’s looking like my body has been smacked around by both high blood pressure and stress, and I need to make lifestyle changes to reduce both as soon as possible.

My wife (who has been the glue holding me together through all this), immediately pointed out how much stress I inflict on myself over revising and updating the Patreon every week. She’s right. (She usually is.)

As much as it hurts to type this, I need to cease regular chapter updates for at least a month. I'll be honest: it could stretch longer while I get myself back on track. There will still be general updates in the meantime (when I have something to report).

Focusing on my well-being means making tough choices, but at least one decision was easy: I have no intention to quit writing.

Writing romance brings me joy. Simple as that. This week, even on the days when I was a ball of anxious uncertainty, I still wrote. I may not be able to add new chapters here for the time being, but making that sacrifice allows me to keep working on new stories.

To that end, I wanted this sad announcement to have a silver lining. So…I'm happy to relate that I'm deep into the first draft of To Love a Goddess: Summer. In fact, I'm well over the halfway mark. Once complete, this novella will take Gar to the decadent city of Caliah, where fresh mysteries threaten his quest to court the immortal Aristhre.

So, a bunch of bummer things to share, but one really great one (at least, the draft is feeing great to me). I know I say it often enough to be a cliche, but thanks to each and every one of you for reading my stories and caring enough to stop by. Please take care of yourselves, and keep reading the stuff that makes you smile.