Hi all,

So I know it has been a while since I last posted, but I have excuses…er… I mean reasons! I swear!.

First, for those of you who live on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA, you know what terrible storms we’ve been having. We lost power here for about 5 days, and just got it back on the 4th of July. I also just went through the whole house-buying process and am now the proud owner of my own home.

So yes, it’s been a busy week. But I’m looking towards the future now, and it excites me. Why? Many reasons.

First, Now that I’ve got a steady job and a place to call my own, I can focus on finishing up the other loose ends that I’m still dealing with. Namely, my education. I’m on track to graduate with a Masters in December. Of course, I have to make it till then! Second, I just finished up my first full month of being a published author, and it was awesome! I sold over fifty books this month. I know many people will probably think that’s lame or sad, but the way I see it, it is a small stepping stone to something bigger. I got a lot of reviews and they were all really good! So that’s something else to cheer about.

What do I have going on besides that? Why, Copper Centurion of course! Due to the power outages and such, I’ve been behind. I’m also going on vacation next week, so I’m behind there as well. Grr. But I’m sticking with my goal of completing Copper Centurion by the end of this month. Did I mention I also have to complete a huge chunk of Grad school work by then as well before I go on a long vacation again?! Yea… Looks like I’ll be living on the computer until then!

Goals: At least two thousand words for the book per day.

And at least one paper/assignment for school per day.

oh, AND one blog post per week.

Eek!

How will I achieve these goals?

1.) Patience and Perseverance – I’m going to literally make myself sit and type away every day.

2.) I know what distracts me. So I’m turning off the internet – as possible. I’m actually in an online masters program, so that’s not always a possibility. However, I’ve learned a cool trick where you get rid of all your bookmarks by using a different browser than the one you normally use. I used to spend hours of time reading the Washington Post online, but after I removed the bookmark from my toolbar, I’ve stopped!

3.) Accountability – First off, I’m academically accountable, but secondly, I’m also accountable to my beta readers, who I’ve already lined up for early August. If I have to move it, then it makes me look bad (and lazy!).

Now, I hope to keep you updated on the progress of these goals, but first I must give you the starting points.

Right now, I’ve completed 17000/80000 words (that’s the end goal amount for book two)

School wise, I’ve finished 4/20 assignments.

Now, time to get to work! If you’ve got any tips or tricks to finishing up the work quicker, or eliminating distractions, let me know! Also, if you’re interested in being a beta reader for Copper Centurion, send me an email through the contact page above.