11.07.2011

Learning to Focus

Do you ever have those days when you feel all out of focus and then something brings you back in? Life is busy, busy, busy - but for some reason I can't put my finger on, some days I feel like I'm just going through the motions. It's a very strange feeling to be out of touch with myself. I like having something to focus on because it helps me feel grounded. In touch. Having a purpose. Like working on the to-do list, which is getting out of hand again. Or reading a really good book. I did that this week. It reminded me why I do this writing thing.

Remember the Bookshelf Inventory Project? I've started at the top of the list and am working my way through the 150+ books I haven't read yet. Finally. One down, 149 to go.
First up was A Kiss Gone Bad by Jeff Abbott, an author I met several years ago at my favorite mystery fan conference in Birmingham. It's the first in his Whit Mosley series, and it starts the series off with a bang. Great stuff. I read Black Jack Point (Whit Mosley #2) shortly after (or was it shortly before?) I met Jeff and came by this copy of AKGB recently. Normally I like to start at the beginning of a series. When I don't have that opportunity, I like to go back and catch up when I can. In this case I'm glad I did.

I used to swear I'd never read more than one book at a time, and yet here I am years later doing just that. On my nightstand at the moment are several books with bookmarks in various places. I'm still plugging through The Chronicles of Narnia although it's been a while since I picked it up so I can't remember which of the 7 books I'm currently in the middle of. I'm finally getting to finish my pal River Jordan's Praying for Strangers. Shakespeare's Othello is my latest hunting ground for a title for the current WIP. And from the monstrous and never-ending TBR pile, I've just picked up Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. (Yes, shame on me, I haven't read it yet. Better late than never.)

In the midst of all this I'm working on the WIP, querying agents with the first two manuscripts, and prepping the study for a major decorative overhaul. (Today, I spackled. Spackled!)

I updated my Twitter profile yesterday to include a bit more about me than just "Author of romantic suspense." Because there is more to me than that, really. I think that may have been what started this state of focus I'm finding myself in. Today I actually (re)joined Publishers Marketplace (here's my page). Watched an industry video from an agent I queried. Wrote this blog post. And did I mention I spackled?

I suppose that by doing all these things I'm learning how to stay in that focused state. ("Things that make you go, hmmm ...") Maybe I should do stuff like this more often.

What's your focus on today?

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