Update #29

Hi everyone,

This is one of those updates every creator hates writing.

So…I’ve had some rough weeks lately. My stress levels are spiking and my anxiety is starting to manifest in lost sleep and other symptoms. I won’t bury my head in the sand about a fact that’s increasingly obvious.

I'm suffering from burn-out.

This isn't intended as some dire proclamation. Burn-out affects all of us at one point or another, and in my case it's probably right on time. I have been going full blast since I first started writing His Orc Charioteer Bride. My desire to write remains strong; I love telling these stories as much as I love the RFM community, but I'm reaching a point where I need to slow down before I really knock something loose in my head.

The truth is that a lot of us push nonstop to get our stuff noticed, only to slam right into this wall when we do. It’s an ironic, ugly choice: either ease up when we’re finally positioned to grow our audience, or keep up a breakneck pace and pray a total meltdown miraculously doesn’t happen.

I think we’ve all seen the miserable fate of creators desperately trying to produce content like nothing’s wrong, only to flameout in a spectacular fashion and vanish. I get why it happens.

But I have no intention of taking that route.

This week’s chapter of Sunglasses in the Rain will go out as normal (I’m excited because it contains a big reveal), and new SITR chapters will continue to be posted in the future. However, writing at a healthier pace means I will sometimes have to skip a week. For that reason, I’ll soon host a poll to choose a back-up story. Chapters from the back-up will go out when Sunglasses in the Rain isn’t ready. 

Regarding this second story, please know that this is not filler content. I have two complete works that I’m proud of and have always intended to share here. In fact, I’ve sort of “held them in reserve” for just this situation. 😁 Revising and uploading a preexisting chapter uses less resources, which will give me the space I need on SITR. Details on both stories will accompany the poll. Whether you vote for novella A or novel B, I think you’ll enjoy it!

With this new breathing room, I expect my mental outlook to improve. I won't make any grand proclamations like “Everything’s good now!” or “I'm fully recovered, thanks!” Because burn-out is tricky. But you’ll be able to tell how I'm doing by the simple metric of my output. If Sunglasses in the Rain gets back to consecutive weekly releases, you can assume I'm feeling better.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I want to thank you all for being here.

One of the reasons this was tough to write is because I don't want to let anyone down. No creator wants to disappoint their patrons, especially when it feels like we’ve earned each and every one of you the hard way! 😅 I hope you’ll consider lending me your patience on Sunglasses in the Rain (which I think is shaping up into something unique), and give the eventual back-up romance a shot.

I’m not dropping out of the race, I’m just walking for this next stretch. I would catch a ride, but Mel and Cal are somewhere in Nebraska, Charlotte’s motorcycle only seats two, and the velax pulling Liam and Eshka’s chariot are way too scary.

Stroll with me, if you’d like.