I haven't written a blog post in a while, as really, I haven't been inspired to write much of anything. This week, however, I'm making progress. Turns out that writing a daily schedule helps me get the important stuff done, like writing and exercising. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we've been in quarantine for three weeks with four more weeks to go. At times, it's been like watching a slow-motion car crash. I keep staring at the growing numbers on the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map, somehow not expecting them to be as bad as they are each day. I have a ninety-year-old mother with multiple comorbidities, and so far, she's healthy. I locked her down a week before the government did, and fortunately, she likes quarantine.
I've been working on Evergreen Valley Parade, my fourteenth book overall, and the fourth in the Damian Green series. Ariana has her own problems with one of her start-ups, Hermione gets a summer job at Damian's company and finds trouble there, and Damian is trying to solve a cold case of a parade float volunteer's death from over a decade ago. I got the idea for this story while volunteering for my town's Independence Day Parade. As I was trying to keep the floats moving and the spectators safe, I decided to have a float volunteer die in a future book. I even pulled out my phone to take notes on my thoughts. People would have been terrified at that moment if they had known what was going on in my imagination, lol.
I've written in the past about being a pantser (writing by the seat of my pants), but it's not working at this time. I think there is so much change in everyone's life due to Covid-19 that my imagination has dried up. I tried doing writer sprints with other writers, but the bottom line was I didn't know where the story was going. So (gasp!), I've outlined four chapters ahead of what I'm writing, and that's getting me back on track.
One of the things I miss most is my gym. Just before the outbreak, I was doing seven hours a week of TRX, Bootcamp, and HIT. I've tried Zoom workouts, which is slightly better than doing a workout on my own as the pace is faster. Today I downloaded the Nike Training Club app (free at the moment) as a long time ago before Fit-bit and Apple watches, I used the Nike Running Club to track my runs. I've also posted a schedule of when I'm supposed to write and workout each day, so hopefully, that will keep me on track.
Now on to free books. If you haven't already downloaded Time's Up, a Jill Quint short story, follow this link to get your free download at Book Funnel. Also, this month on April 8-11, Vials ebook will be free, and on April 22-25, Chocolate Diamonds ebook will be free. Both books are exclusively on Amazon. Perhaps you have been trying to talk a friend into reading my series, and now they can do so for free.
One of the reasons I write is to entertain people, and there's no time like the present for the need for entertainment. Stay home, stay safe, and best wishes for the other side of this pandemic.