I often forget, when a book is written and sitting on my shelf, all of the heartache and frustration that went into writing it. Take Sex Love Repeat. I was a writer possessed, churning out a stack of pages each day until BAM. I had backed myself into a corner, hopelessly in love with two different heroes with no idea what to do. I struggled for three weeks, writing, then deleting scenes. I tried to force the book to move on, to move in ANY direction and it refused. Tight was another book that just killed me in its execution. Did you know I wrote that book three different times? With three completely different plots? Like... completely different. Do Not Disturb was a third. In that book's original manuscript, Ralph's son came after Deanna. I wrote the entire book, then nixed it and started fresh.
Yesterday ended my struggle with Moonshot. I've had weeks of non-production, my cursor blinking at me, my heart not in the words, my head with no clear idea where the story was going to go. But then, inspiration struck. It actually struck while I was in the shower. I cracked open the door and hollered for my husband. No response. Looked wildly around the bathroom for something to write with. Nothing. Ended up running into the kitchen, shampoo still in my hair, and scribbling a scene down on the back of a receipt.
And now, the words won't stop coming. They are running over themselves in their excitement to get out. Today we typically spend the day decorating the house for Christmas. Then we watch Florida State and the Gators. I don't know that I'll be able to do either. I think I'll be hunched over this laptop, my fingers pecking away at the keys, creating a world that I can't wait for you all to discover.
Moonshot. It's coming Summer 2016. And I have no doubt, with the way that it is finally unfolding, that you will love it.