I probably should have written this during the morning when I was all pumped up and ecstatic. I’m starting to feel that this is a Sunday routine for me where I start the day all excited and by the time I sit down to write this, I’m depressed as can be. Yes, honest moment there.

And yes, I often have to pick myself back up to write this blog.

There’s a big fly in my office and I wish it would die. I want it to get trapped in a spiderweb and become dinner for another species I don’t particularly like. Yeah, it’s that kind of depression day.

Maybe it’s the episode of Star Trek: TNG that I had on a little while ago. Maybe it’s just a cycle that I go through. Maybe I feel that I’m not as productive on Sundays as I wish I were and I imagine myself being during the rest of the week. Maybe it’s the story I’m writing that now has me emotionally tapped. Maybe I intuitively feel that I’m not doing something right in my life and this is when it tries to surface. Maybe I need more time off to recharge. Maybe I see all that needs to get done that I haven’t gotten to. Maybe I feel like this is a record of what I got done while I let other things in my life go by the wayside knowing I should be tackling these tasks too.

Yeah, this is how I feel on Sunday evenings. 

It sucks.

Then I think of “my brand” as something being fun, adventurous, and upbeat and I have to turn myself back to write something positive.

I should have written this during the morning, when I was feeling upbeat and happy.

So what made this morning great? I was up early. I hit my Whisper Room and got another chapter recorded. I mastered and edited a track I’d done yesterday. I feel like I’m working so much faster with my new processes in place. For Sale, Call Loki is speeding along. Top of the world feeling I tell you.

Even last night, I was ahead on my word count. Heck, I was technically done for the week by Friday night. It’s only because I wanted to keep up my daily word goal that I have going that made me write this weekend. I was also pretty excited that I’d written over 30,000 words in August (more on that below).

I should have been writing earlier, because now it’s a struggle.

I did work on editing Tangled Magic today too. That was good. I am down to the last chapter of it. I do have some notes that I need to review and I want to read through all of Walk the Path too before I hand it off to my reader. I might want to move a scene or two earlier — if that’s possible.

I killed Keteria off in The Missing Thread (Sacred Knight #5) earlier this week. I wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead when I started the scene, but I heard Loki (what was he doing whispering in my ear when I was working on Sacred Knight?) cajoling me to do it. “What purpose does she even serve in the rest of the book?” he asked. So I pushed Keteria over the edge. The very next day, I recalled a couple scenes that I really need Keteria for. Loki laughed. I should have known the Trickster was playing with me.

Of course, he’s feeling a bit happy because 1-800-IceBaby was released this week. He’s been pressing me to get onto the next book now, saying that it’s high time I get back to it. He probably wanted me perfectly stuck with Sacred Knight just so I would get back to him. He does that, you know.

The audio for I’m with Cupid is uploaded to the distributors and is heading out to retailers. It will probably be out this week. That makes two books done and out during August, even if it didn’t make full distribution until September.

As I said earlier, For Sale, Call Loki is coming along swimmingly. If I can keep this pace, I might try to have the audio done for Tangled Magic about the time I release it too. I’d love to be current. That does mean some other projects like Manifest the Magic would be on hold for a bit longer. We’ll see what really happens there. I’m not completely certain I can have a pace with my current projects yet. It is my goal to get there.

For those of you who stop at my numbers count, I do encourage you to go further today – have a special note at the end.

Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?

Fiction words written last week:  7,165 words.

Blogs/Newsletter articles/non-fiction written:  1,178 words.

Daily word goal reached for 23 days. Weekly word goal reached for 6 weeks.

Writing month to date total:  30,903 words for August. It’s been awhile since I’ve accomplished over 30,000 words in a month – February to be exact. 2,540 words so far for September.

Writing year to date total: 219,780 words – still very much on track to hit my goal of 300,000 words this year.

Drawing/painting last week: No painting this week

Audio: I spent 8 hours recording and editing audio.

P.S. Having finished writing this blog again this week, I am feeling better. I really do think the weekly review helps me get out of the Sunday funk I get in. It’s hard because I believe all artists (heck, maybe most people) believe they should be doing more all the time. We can only do what we are capable of. Granted, we are capable of more than we often let ourselves believe we are. Which is why I like this weekly progress blog. It holds me accountable, not only to the people who read this ever week (you know who you are and thank you for your weekly support!) but to myself as well. I need to remind myself of how far I drag myself each week. Yes, I love writing and I would do it regardless. It’s trying to overcome obscurity on a daily basis, having to keep putting myself out there shouting into the wind, and wondering if anyone will hear that gets hard. But no one else will care about my stories, my dreams, my goals more than me. If I don’t do it, no one else will. My work is not done until someone reads my stories. I can’t reach more people if I’m not putting myself out there, risking rejection and ridicule every day. It is my duty and my responsibility to put my stories out there. So I tell you that I’m at it, hitting it hard each week, so that you will know. I hope you share, either via social media or word of mouth, about my stories. I appreciate those of you that do and those of you that show up with every blog to see what I’m up. Thank you. Now, I’m going to go get back to it.