2020 was going to be a big year for me. I was going to release Reborn, Experimental Heart #6, finishing off the whirlwind adventure that started several years ago. I was going to release the much awaited and never intended to be delayed Binding Their Elementalist, Looking For Group #4. I planned to release Prophecy of Unbroken Oaths, Oracle's Path #2, and had a secret project in the works. But none of that happened.
No author likes the idea of postponing a release. We'd rather stay up too late, get up too early the next day, not eat, and any other manner of unhealthy habits before we admit that a book won't release when we wanted. I'm no exception.
When I set Reborn's original release date it was intended to be for fun. I'd write the book in my normal time and then move the pre-order date up and it'd be a great little surprise for those who weren't aware of that plan. And then 2020 slapped everyone in the face and we found ourselves dealing with something most generations alive today haven't ever had to deal with: a global pandemic.
I know the topic of Covid-19 is a tension point for a lot of people. And I'm not going to get into all that, however, the existence of Covid-19 and pandemic responses has been the cause for my issues this year. Because of it, I found myself struggling to write for the last several months.
One factor has been because I didn't know how to handle things on a mental health level. And if there's anything I put high on my importance list, is keeping my mental health in check. I deal with my own mental health challenges and when you add an unknown such as a becoming a living science experiment into that mix, let's just say it's a miracle I've managed as well as I have. And on top of that, my family weighed heavy on my mind. We suffered a few losses this year, and with us unable to get together and be there physically for each other, it's been extra difficult. Summer time is also one of the few times during the year I get to see my family regularly. I don't live close to family, and it makes things difficult sometimes. So, when we weren't allowed to travel, it put me in a position I've never been in before. I've had to figure out how to cope in ways I'm not used to, and that meant, many days I couldn't focus on writing.
The other factor, which was the biggest one and affected the one above greatly as well, was my day job. While on a normal year, I write so much in a week it equates to a full time job, I do have a main job to keep a roof over my head until my books sell enough I can kick it to the curb. This job was severely impacted by the pandemic. Not in the sense of I lost it so I had to find a replacement, but it was so important, I was pulling more hours with it. Like an increase of 2-3 hours per day for all 5 days I worked. I work in food whole distribution, and with all kinds of shortages and government regulation changes, we had to be on top of things or our warehouses would close and people around the US wouldn't get their supplies. It was a nightmare at the start. Every time I turned around we were changing processes and jumping through new flaming hoops with no safety net. And when my day finished, I was exhausted. I'd try to write. I'd sit down in front of my computer with the desperate need to work on Reborn. But I was too exhausted to do more than write a few hundred words on a good day and just veg and stare at a blank screen on the frequent bad days.
As things calmed down and normalized in my life (but no where near back to normal to easy), I was finally able to dedicate more time to Reborn. Only I found myself in a new predicament: a race against time. I'd lost months of working time, and my joke pre-order time became the only safety net I had at that point.
I busted my butt writing pages of content, watching the book bloom bigger and bigger than my initial outline. This isn't something new for me, it happens with every book I write. But when you have a deadline breathing down your neck, that normal change can be the most stressful thing in the world.
And then my last hurdle came: engaging with post writing team. This includes my artist, cover designer, both my editors, and all my amazing beta readers. And naturally, I wasn't the only one feeling the squeeze from 2020's insanity. I've been working around their life craziness, understanding where they were coming from, and while we've all been doing so much to make it in time, I had to made the hard decision finally to postpone Reborn's release.
It was a hard choice to make. I never wanted it to happen, and I know how so many were looking forward to this book. I hate most knowing how disappointed you all will be. But I can promise you, this move will ensure you get the best out of this last installment of the Experimental Heart series. It's a bittersweet end at it is, as most series ends are, so I might as well ensure it will be worth it.
Reborn's new release date is December 3 (change currently pending with retailers). If you want to pre-order your ebook copy before the price goes up on release day, follow the link below: