I'm working on so many different things at the moment.  My muses won't let me take a few seconds to rest and relax.  I'm unbelievably behind on my online reading, for example, simply because I've been writing so much.  I know that my readers are probably rejoicing as they anticipate the next installments of The Oracle Series, The Oracle's Hatchling and The Oracle's Golem, being ready for publication.  They're salivating over Road to Home, the sequel to Road to Revenge, or even over one of my stand alone stories, Ge-Me or Magnified.  The truth is, I've been working on every single one of them simultaneously.  For example, I'll write a thousand words in Road to Home, and then be compelled to switch over to Magnified for the rest of the afternoon instead of resting my brain and writing fingers like I had originally planned.  Toss in the fairy tale I'm working on and I'm bogged down in plot heavy stories that need careful characterization and attention to detail.  I was starting to get worried that I'd burn out and none of those stories would ever get published. 

So I forced myself to take a break.  To step back from writing and see what else I could spend my time doing.  I eventually ended up on Dreamspinner Press' website, looking for something new to read.  Then my muses kicked me again and I couldn't help looking through their submission page to see if they had any interesting calls open.  The very first entry in their anthology submissions page was perfect.  They were asking for a short story with a minimum word count of only 3,500, and for just the "Juicy Bits" of said story.  They weren't looking for plot, just good writing and lots of sex.  I hoped it would be just a bit of mindless fun to relax me and let me get back to my larger stories at a less manic pace.  Then I looked at the due date, January 1st. 

I wanted to write my Juicy Bit.  In fact, I already had an idea percolating.  But could I write and edit it in just two weeks?  It seemed my manic pace had returned through necessity, but I promised myself that while I was writing my Juicy Bit I would put aside all of my other stories.  Somewhere in the writing process I would find a way to relax and reboot and therefore be able to return to my heavier stories with a better frame of mind.  Two days later, and I've finished writing.  The story is called Third Time's the Charm.  It's short and there's a lot of sex, yet at the same time I couldn't allow the story to just be a snapshot of one day in my characters' lives.  There's a promise for more, for that eventual happily ever after, that I couldn't help including at the end.  After all, this is just a Juicy Bit, not the entire romance! 

So now I'm going to edit Third Time's the Charm and submit it.  I've never worked with Dreamspinner Press before, so I really hope it goes well and they like my story.  Should they accept it, the release date is April 2014.  I'll definitely keep you up to date on the progress of this new story and hopefully I'll be able to return to my larger works and get something ready to submit early next year.