What Next?

May 16th, 2012 by csdaley

As the end of the school year approaches I am trying to take a step back and prioritize where I am going next with my writing, health, and work. My writing has been particularly impacted as of late. I had a rough school year. Between teaching a class full of students with emotional trouble and taking on more administrative responsibility then ever before. There just hasn’t been the time or energy to get the writing done that I wanted.

The good news is my Dark Land trilogy is complete and the last book will be coming out sometime in the next month. I have also finished a second novel which is waiting for me to edit. My plan is to have that one out in December which means I will still put out two novels in the year.

Next up is finishing my steampunk novel and writing a ghost story which has been nagging me for a year to write it. In order to accomplish this I have already informed my school that I will not be helping out with as much administration next year. We have a principal. She is going to have to do her job. I was also asked by my bargaining team to come back and help. Things are really nasty in my school district and I know this was meant as a compliment on my ability to cut through the bullshit. It took me 2 seconds to say no. I said I would give any advice they wanted but I wasn’t going down that road again.

One of the main reasons I won’t help in the nasty school stuff is my health seems to always suffer. I have gained weight every time I have become involved in negotiations (including the last time and I told myself to be careful and watch out for it). Right now I am doing really well health wise. I am getting fewer migraines than I have in years. My weight is almost all the way back to where I want it (I made my goal and now I have only 4 pounds to lose to be back to what I was before the weight gain). My blood pressure is excellent. If I am a little unhappy about my writing this year I am thrilled with what I have accomplished with my health.

I also want to write a lot more non-fiction/essays/blogs this next year. I plan on getting that rolling again in the summer. In the meantime, I will give my students everything I have left in the tank for the next 16 days. Will work my butt off the first few days of summer vacation. Then Sheri and I hit the road. We are going to Portland, Washington, Idaho, San Diego, and Alaska this summer. Plus, we will have to spoil our wonderful cats because they will be ticked about us neglecting them.

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