"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."

Yes, alright, it's a Margaret Thatcher quote. It's a good quote though.

So! Happy Hump Day! In lieu of sexy men, I bring you this very significant otter and his kitten companion:

You're welcome.

So at the moment I'm waiting to hear back on two submissions. It's pretty unusual for me to have two pieces on submission at the same time, even back in the days when I wrote a hell of a lot more a hell of a lot faster, so this is causing me double the anxiety and impatience. Logically I know it's way too early to have heard anything; emotionally I want to fire a dozen emails off to each publisher demanding to know why they aren't biting my hands off to publish my genius works of super-awesomeness.

I should probably be channeling all this nervous energy into something productive, like more writing, but even though I know what my next WIP is going to be, I can't start it. I feel like I need at least one acceptance before I really consider myself "back in the game," so until I hear from one of these publishers I'm just struggling to commit myself to starting something new. Instead I'm buying lots of fragrance oils, brainstorming new perfumes, playing hour after hour of Shadow Era, and perfecting my Southern Gothic playlist on Spotify. (That last one is kind of research for the next WIP, honest, and it's a really good playlist).

I'm certain I always get nervous when I have work on submission, but I don't remember ever feeling so restless about it. Taking last year off really has left me in the mindset of being a newbie writer again - despite the books I have out there, I feel like I need to prove myself again - to myself, as well as to publishers and readers. It's not an entirely pleasant feeling, but I do have confidence in the works I have on submission right now, so I'm trying to stay hopeful. Fingers crossed I'll have some good news to share soon. And in the mean time, here's my current favourite song from the Southern Gothic playlist. Enjoy!