And I still don’t believe it. The last three days of the month was a writing frenzy like I’ve never seen. Now it’s time to revise and finish off the projects I wanted done before the end of the year. I think I’ve found, however, that 500-1000 words a day is a much more achievable goal than the 2K I’ve been shooting for these past few years. I hope my American friends had an awesome Thanksgiving. It’s unique living in a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas…it makes it hard to get into the spirit of the season.

My family is doing well but we’re all a little sad over the separation…okay a LOT sad. We’ll see each other again soon. Skype video conferences are my friend and keep us sane.

I had a new release yesterday so will post some goodies about it. Remember…for every one of the Holiday Howlz you purchase, you’ll be entered to win free Changeling books for a year! That’s every single ebook release…so buy yours today!

For the past three months or so I’ve had chronic back pain, the kind that leaves you nauseated and shaking. Nothing alleviated it: sitting, standing, lying down, walking, anti-inflammatories, etc. Numbness and tingling in my feet and calves became the norm and the pain just increased. Finally I went to see the doc. He said it sounded like I had Sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve) which is a relatively common problem.We scheduled an MRI and some physical therapy.

Physical therapy didn’t go as we hoped…as a matter of fact it shot my pain over the top and sent me into uncontrollable muscle spasms down my legs. MRI got pushed up and I finally found out what was wrong…

Imagine that your spinal column is made of a stacked sandwich where the vertebrae (the bone) is the bread and the discs are the meat between each slice. Two of my discs have slid out. One straight out the other to the left. It’s the two lowest lumbar areas, L4-L5 and L5-S1. Which means it’s the last two discs before reaching the tailbone area. Lower back troubles.

So what now? Good question. It means I write when I can and walk when it gets to be too bad. I think it’s time to look into voice recording software for a Mac, though.

While NaNo was a bust so far, I have completed 30K plus on works in progress, so November wasn’t a total loss.

Keep writing. Keep reading. Never stop learning.

I am tired of 15 minute upload times for a manuscript and certain places I like to play (gmail, youtube, etc) being blocked. This is getting frustrating. I’m not writing this from work, but from my own computer…with internet I pay for. A friend has shown me how to move around the country-wide firewalls, and I’ll be trying it this weekend. The place is beautiful, but I still have work to do…

Small gripe session. Will have more wonderful things to post tomorrow.

I touch my hand to the shadowed glass and realize…the wall is my own reflection.

The wall is me.

Image generator courtesy of typo Generator. Thanks to Lynn Viehl for the link.

September 11, 2009 Patriot Day

In Remembrance, in sorrow and with bright eyes to the future…

Well, I made it. Finally. I am settling in to my new job and thankful for the miracle of the internet and skype which allow me to communicate instantly with my family. We are all taking the separation hard, but we’ve been told it gets easier. I’ll believe it when I see it.

My jet lag is minimal. A little dizziness, the occasional exhaustion, and a constant headache from the 80% and greater humidity. The local cuisine is amazing and delicious. Today I’ll be working my butt off to get some writing done (it’s Saturday morning here. I’ll be updating my time for the blog as soon as I can figure out how! LOL).

I hope you all are doing well.

Create your own sticky note at wipflips.com stickynote generator: SUPERSTICKIES. (Link courtesy of Lynn Viehl’s Paperback Writer’s blog)

It’s here. Wow. Some days I didn’t think this day would come, and yet other days made me long for more time. Monday begins the start of a two-part moving session.

My family and I will be moving to California.

Then I’ll be completing a contract job overseas for a little over a year.

So for the next couple of months I’ll be family-focused. Yes, I’ll still be writing and working on The Beast. I’ll also post when I get time, but the blog is being set aside for a bit.

For those going to conferences this summer, have a blast! For everyone else, just enjoy these next few months. I look forward to chatting with you all later.

I should be all settled in on the new job some time early September. The Beast is expected to be up for download the last weekend of August. I’ll miss you guys!

It is T minus 20 days in the Montgomery household for the “Big Move” also known as the SNAFU or CF. Let’s just say, my family and I will be very happy to get settled in and have this move be over.

While it’s not the move itself that is driving my normally calm husband over the edge, it is a huge contributing factor. What is it about a move that makes all the people in your-soon-to-be-previous-job suddenly remember a thousand things they wanted you to do before you leave?

Or who knew coordinating with a moving company would be this difficult? To be honest, the only smooth part of this move has been the airlines.

There are few things about a move that’s easy and heading off to a new job is exciting and terrifying at the same time.

On the writing front, I’m still working my tail off in deadlines (personal ones). I’ve got a new release in July and one in August or September. Internet will be intermittent for a bit. I’ve already gone no mail on all the yahoo groups I frequent. I’ll miss you all. So if you email me during the next few months, I’ll try and answer. If you want to know how everything’s going, check out my twitter.

*Note: Image came from The Luxury Travel Collection which is full of things I wish I could use on my trip. LOL. They have a gorgeous website and I think I’m going to have a character use their services in a future book.

To those who currently serve and for those who have ever served. Thank You.