a new month and the last of the old

Western Oregon had a particularly beautiful May this year as is obvious from photos I posted earlier. It is a good thing too as so many things were upsetting in May that I ended up having a bout of depression, which I am trying to ward off with thinking of all the good things that also happened. Although I am not big on hashing over things that upset me, I try to come up with why I might be feeling dark inside. I ask myself questions like-- 

What has gone wrong? 

Was it real?

Is it something I can fix? 

Am I letting little things get to me that I should not?

If they are big things, and I can't fix them, what can I do to make my life better anyway? Sometimes what's gone wrong is within my zone to fix, but I am not doing it. Sometimes I have to release it, as it's not something I can change-- anxiety attack time. May's depressing events were/are real. They aren't however health issues in my life or my husband's-- so that's a positive. They are mostly impacting those I care about. That is upsetting but also out of my arena of control. To beat off the depression, I need to think positive.

What particularly frustrates me is when a day's upset is followed up by nightmares. Come on-- that's not fair. Instead of dreaming of beautiful blue oceans, I am dreaming of car troubles or one dream was about investigating a murder scene and then going back to watch it happen. Ugh! I woke up before the murders, but knowing they couldn't be prevented. It left me, at 2:45 am, with a very upset feeling about violence-- gotta quit reading the newspapers!

This is the beginning of a new month. Summer is here. The days are incredibly long. My son and husband both have June birthdays. I have gotten a start on my next book and so far so good.

One of the beta readers sent me back her take on Book 1 in the Hemstreet Witch series. It was a relief to read because you really never know, and beta readers aren't guaranteed to like what they are given. I was so happy she liked it. 

"Sometimes we have the opportunity to read a book like none other than you have ever read. This is that book. It has mystery, heroism, strength of character and written with heart. I can say without a doubt that the subject matter reached right into my mind and would not let go until I finished the book. It is paranormal with witches, a little mystical and focus on what is, what may be and what could be. Denali Hemstreet, her sisters, mother and grandmothers work to solve crimes that appear to be out of the norm with strengths that cannot be understood by the Police. At the heart of the investigation is a former SEAL, Nick, who is confused about what is happening in his life as an artist and angry that he can’t seem to control the outcome. Without a doubt, this book will long remain in my mind and I loved it. I was given this book as a beta reader and am happy to leave this positive review."

She and my other beta reader were very helpful with the mistakes and typos that they found. Both were reading outside their normal realm and doing it because they had liked others of my other books. 

Where it comes to these books finding those who read fantasy, I have to come up with the right tags. Originally, I thought the five would be urban fantasy, but after reading a few, I don't think it will fit. Mine will have too much romance-- although it has the mysterious also. I am not quite sure how I will tag it, which has been why I'd delayed releasing it. 

Time though to delay no more, as I get my promo pieces together. The Enchantress' Secret will be out June 4th (also the new moon for June) on Amazon. and I hope the other sites-- not sure when it'll get to paperback. If you want to know about new releases, sign up for my mailing list in the upper corner of this blog. There will be no spam. It's only for new releases-- or a sale if I ever have a sale. I don't do that often.

As a tease for the new book:

  

Below are photos from the last part of our Eastern Oregon vacation. We were camping-- if you can call being in a 26' travel trailer (with big windows and a slide-out) camping-- on the Williamson River. We enjoyed more nights there than we originally planned, which required twice moving the trailer as reservations from others made staying in the same sites impossible. I remember when in Oregon, first come first served but these days reservations have changed that many places. Plan ahead-- what happened to serendipity???

I still don't have the trailer well set up for writing. I've got several ideas. One would be a small portable desk where I could sit on the sofa and type. Another would be to replace the table with a desk which both Ranch Boss and I could use. No firm plans for now. It would matter most if we were to be out a month. This was under two weeks, and some of it with friends, where writing (a solitary activity) doesn't work for me.

It's called high desert, but it isn't what many expect with the word desert as Oregon's High Desert varies depending on elevation and how much rain.

   
This beautiful pine tree is a good example of how we can have these hollow places, which do hurt, feel sad, are damaged, but don't have to stop us.
  

One more post next Wednesday about what we discovered on the last part of our trip.