What I did on my extended vacation

I don’t even know where to start with this. I kind of fell off the map there for a while. It wasn’t intentional. Short version: right after we moved, I had bad flares of multiple chronic illnesses. I got diagnosed with ADHD due to extremely low serotonin, and was also diagnosed with autism. Short version: I was exhausted all the time, sleeping up to 14 hours a day, and I couldn’t concentrate or remember anything. Reading became a chore. I couldn’t focus on a book for more than a page, and for about a year I wasn’t even listening to audiobooks because my concentration was so bad I needed dead silence to complete the smallest task.

Three years on, I’m doing a lot better. I have new and adjusted meds, some different coping skills, and a good care team looking out for me. I am finally back to the point where I can not just read, but remember what I read and enjoy it again.

In that interim period, I’ve decided that I need to change my focus a little so that I’m working more intensively on fewer things. Reading is one of the things I want to hone in on, because it feels like a part of me is missing.

I also took time off from writing, but I’m back at it now in a much more relaxed way. I’m trying not to give myself hard deadlines or put too much pressure on myself. I’m working on a rewrite of a cozy mystery I started a few years ago, trying to get that into shape so I can query it.

The past three years I’ve had to really look at my priorities, and sadly cut things out of my life. Things that I missed, goals I wanted to reach, things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go. But my body is no longer capable of Doing All The Things, at least not right now, and until it is, this is what I have to work with.

Update

Ug. I feel so bad for ignoring this blog for so long. I swear, it is not intentional.

The fact of the matter is, I don’t have time to manage 2 blogs and my Patreon since I started my new job. Two of the three drive sales for my books and add to my income; I have to focus on them out of survival.

I’ve also been in a reading slump since January. I’m starting to get over it, and have finished a couple of audiobooks recently, but I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to write the reviews.

I haven’t forgotten about the Library, and I do want to get back to it. But it’s going to be on a much more sporadic schedule than I’d like.

In the mean time, let me leave you with the books on my TBR I’m most looking forward to reading this year. Yes, I am behind:

A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister

The Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

A Tyranny of Petticoats by Jessica Spotswood

The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman

What are you looking forward to? Have you already gotten your hands on your most anticipated book of the year?

 

Taking a break

Hey, guys. If you’re followers of my regular blog then you know that I’m prepping for a cross country move. I haven’t had the time or energy for a lot of reading the last couple of weeks, so I’m going to take a little time away from blogging and reviewing, just until I get my feet under me again. I had hoped to keep things going here in the mean time, but I need to accept that isn’t going to happen. At the very least, this will give me time to create a backlog of posts to prepare for my return.

While I’m away, could you do me a favor? Leave me a comment below with things you like, what you want to see more of, and what you think should change around here.

What are your most anticipated books? Anything I should look up?

Also, if you’ve been to Seattle, what’s your favorite indie book store?