Time Off Request

Above: Sunrise at the house. The wispy clouds are pastel shades of pink and orange, and the sky is dusty blue and purple. The leafless trees and snow-covered ground add unique contrasting aspects to the image.

March 10, 2025

Ah, March. The month of three seasons here in New England: winter, spring, and mud. Welcome!

Updates

Convergence of Connection: I received feedback from my editor, and (as usual) I had nothing to worry about. Her edits were mostly for consistency (now across three books—woman’s got her work cut out for her!) and sentence clarity. She also leaves comments as she’s reading, which are always delightful.

The next step with this book is to do a full read through, which I’ll do over the next few weeks. Cover art starts in late-April, and I’m really excited to see how this one comes out. Stay tuned!

The Way of the Wielder, Book Four: This project sits at about 25k words. I finished chapter 9 last week, and things will only get better from here. I look forward to getting back to it in a couple of weeks (more on that below).

The Heartbeat and the Submarine gets a new name! I sat back and asked myself, “Is this title compelling enough to pull a ten-year-old’s attention?” Unfortunately, I knew the answer. But I’m pleased to announce the new title is Mission Aboard the Longfin. I like this one a lot, and I’m sure my nephew will, too.

Professional editing and cover art for this middle grade story will start next week. Honestly, I’m not sure which I’m looking forward to the most. The editor is also a writing coach, which is awesome, while the cover artist is incredibly talented (even winning the Illustrators of the Future Golden Brush Award in 2004). It’ll be exciting to see this story come alive with both.

Taking a Break

When I left my public relations job in the summer of 2022, I basically jumped right into being a full-time writer (health things aside). It’s been almost three years since then, and in that time I have:

—Self-published The Way of the Wielder

—Wrote and self-published Mysteries of the Material

—Wrote three more books (two of which are publishing this summer)

—Started writing my sixth

—Summarized the next seven (no, not the seventh book—the next seven books)

That’s a lot. Then I add things like trying to get an agent for The Way of the Wielder (and being rejected 40 times), getting this website up and running, marketing, and building a social media presence, and I realize just how much I’ve done. And I’ll tell you what, my friends. I’m tired.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I still love writing stories, perhaps now more than I ever have. I have a better grasp of my process, and I’ve settled into a style that works for me. I have a writing routine (more or less). I miss writing when I’m doing something else, and if I don’t write on a day when I’m supposed to, I get grumpy (my husband can confirm this).

But I need a break.

Off to the Emerald Isle

I said to my husband last week, “I haven’t been away on a vacation since November 2019.” Granted, I’ve taken a few writing retreats, but I haven’t actually traveled anywhere in over five years.

I’m happy to report that the travel drought ends this week. We’re taking a 10-day trip to Ireland. We’ll start the trip sightseeing and exploring around Dublin (visiting some iconic places, including a few libraries and museums), then head south to Kilkenny for a relaxing end to the trip.

My husband has put together a whole itinerary, but I refuse to look at it. I don’t want to know what we’re doing in advance. I want to enjoy the adventure, see the countryside, listen to the folklore, and let my mind wander, all without expectation. Besides, he’s always been the planner. I like having just enough detail to not feel lost, while letting my inner wanderer roam. The similarity to my writing process is not lost on me.

I’m leaving my laptop at home. I’ll also be taking a social media break, except for posting an occasional photo on IG (@sarahjhoodlet). I’ll bring a journal so I can take notes, and a few good books to relax with. But that’s it. If I really need to work on something, I’ll begin my read through of Convergence of Connection.

A right, proper vacation.

Rest Now, Work Later

This vacation is timed rather perfectly, because when I get back, things are going to get very busy, very fast. In fact, they’ll get started before I even get back.

As I said above, I have two novels publishing this summer: Mission Aboard the Longfin and Convergence of Connection. Over the next few months, I have to complete editing, cover art, formatting, proofing, and pre-publishing marketing for both books. I also have to create pages for both on my website. And on top of it all, I’ll have to find time to continue drafting book four, because according to my long-term planning schedule, that should be complete by the end of August.

Like I said, very busy.

——

The next two weeks of rest will be wonderful, but I look forward to getting back into the author’s groove when I return. Mission Aboard the Longfin releases on July 7, while Convergence of Connection releases on July 21. Both will be here before you know it. I personally can’t wait, and I know many of you can’t, either.

Until next time, be well, and stay creative!

~Sarah