11 Days Until Deadline

Will I make it? AHHHHHHHH! Only if I learn to get by on less sleep and lock myself in a room. (padded, please)

Realizing how close I am to my "drop dead date" of April 11th, today my noggin (what's left of it) came up with some important questions:

1. Why don't writers have cheerleaders? Football players do, so do basketball, why not us? Think how much more I'd get accomplished, and how much better I'd feel about my career, if I had people cheering from the sidelines?

2. Why does a manuscript have to be turned in so stinkin' early? My deadline is FIVE months before it hits bookstores. Heavens to Betsy, in five months I could hire monks to handwrite the thing one-by-one on scrolls!

3. How did anyone ever write a book before computers and spell check? When I think of writing Recovering Charles on an old-fashioned typewriter and loading 400 sheets of paper, I get hives. (and not the good honey-producing kind)

All this begs the question, why aren't I writing right now?

Off I go! (shhh, don't tell my Editor or Agent you saw me here...)

Forgive me?

No, I haven't been hidden in a bunker under the White House. I've been traveling, writing, traveling, and traveling. Fortunately the traveling is now on hold for almost six weeks. Yahoo!

I'm crashing on a deadline for the new novel. I finally feel like I've rounded a corner and it's coming into picture. The last week or so has seen me writing 6-8 hours a day and tomorrow I'm headed off to a friend's cabin in WV to write non-stop for a couple days. Let's hope I don't get eaten by the bear I saw up there last fall...

And now for the best news of the last couple weeks. We have a cover for the new book! My agent, editor and I all love it. Most importantly, my wife approves :)

If you're interested in catching a future event, click here for my updated schedule.

And I'd love to hear what YOU think of the cover. Comment below!