When Worlds Collide

No, it's not a sci-fi reference but, in fact, life.

As you read this, I will no doubt be pulling my hair out trying to respond to unreasonable demands from people with unrealistic expectations trying to butter me up to help them meet their deadlines ahead of all the other people vying for the same goal. It's the last deadline of the season at the day job, but the corporate office isn't done with us. In a strange twist of irony, we go directly from client imposed deadlines to performance management. "So how'd you all do?" And they want that done one week from the final deadline. Some people shoot out of the pressure cooker like a bullet out of a gun, some people are struggling through the detritus left behind and some people basically give corporate the finger. As a result, performance management suffers.

But I digress.

For months, the work/life balance has been tilted precariously to one side (the work side), leaving me little time to exercise my creative side. In anticipation of the shift in balance, the characters in my newest novel (the third in the Kundigerin trilogy) have been talking to me, telling me things, demanding time. They can see that their turn is coming and they're impatient, but I am still teeter-tottering, frustrated that I don't have the uninterrupted time to spend with them. Deadlines demand additional hours--nights and weekends that might otherwise be spent writing. However, in those windows of time that are available, I have been filling pages like a madwoman.

Teeter-totter.

There is no smooth transition, worlds are colliding.

Me? I'm shooting out of the pressure cooker, but only for a quick escape. I have to do performance management for my peeps because if I don't, no one else will, but at least I will be back to a normal work schedule, which allows for writing time. The good news is you shouldn't have a long time to wait for that third book in the trilogy. I have two major plot point to work through, but Max is telling his version of what's happening, and he has a lot to say!

Next week I hope to be back to my usual cheery self. Thanks for taking time out to check in and in case you haven't done so, Booklover's Bench is running a contest where you can win Gathering Mist. Stop by and check it out!