Don’t Call It a Comeback

It’s been brought to my attention that I haven’t blogged in a year.

Whoops.

I’ve actually had a few people inform me that they’ve read THE FOURTH CHANNEL more than once, and a surprising number say they read it on a regular basis. They’re blowing my mind a little bit. To all of you who have stuck with me, checking back periodically to see what the status is on the next Kari Hunter book, thank you. I’m stunned. Flabbergasted. Flummoxed. I honestly thought you would have forgotten about me by now. But you’re still here. Emailing me. Messaging me on Twitter. Facebook. Asking me when I show up at the beauty salon. Even the Real Kari Hunter is standing by, patiently waiting for an update on her fictional doppelgänger.

A lot’s happened in the last four years, and I’m not going to bore you with details. How about the CliffsNotes version instead? Here goes:

There once was a girl who had a day job. She worked too much. One day, she realized her day job had become her life’s priority. That was really dumb. She decided to change it. The end.

Now that I have my priorities in order and my head on straight, I’m left with the even harder part of figuring out the magic formula to my life. Balancing a demanding day job with my writing isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible either — obviously, because others have done it. I’m getting there, and I’m making better decisions every day. For starters, I’ve finally decided that I cannot work on the book at home. It’s too distracting there. For years, I fought the good fight, trying a thousand different ways to make that work. It doesn’t. I’m done fighting with it.

So, I now write at WeWork, a coworking space near my house and day job. This place is awesome. It’s basically a gigantic office space where people go to be productive — and they have cold brew coffee on tap. I’ve been spending most evenings and weekends there, finishing up the second Kari Hunter book. It’s been amazing. Basically, I go into one of the “phone booths,” close the door, slap my plot sticky notes on the walls, and go to town.

So, I hear you saying, great, where’s the next Kari Hunter book? Well, a couple of months ago I hired a professional editor and sent her the first half of the book. Or, maybe a little more than the first half. I had languished with this book for so long that I could no longer see the forest for the trees. Was it good? Was it funny? Was it filled with problems? Honestly, I didn’t even know exactly how the damned book ended.

The editor emailed me back within a week. She said she read the book twice — I hadn’t even paid her for work yet, and she read it twice. She said she has a hard time getting hooked on stories but I hooked her with this. And then she said, in the politest terms, that I needed to get off my ass and finish.

So that’s what I’ve been doing. Working like a maniac to finish this thing. And it’s going well.

I’m four chapters from the end.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean the book will be out in a month. I have to finish it still, and I’ve learned that I’m not someone who can just rip it out without being thoughtful about the whole thing. I’m learning to embrace my thoughtful and planning nature because I really want this book to be good. Still, I’m super excited by where this book is going and I can’t wait to be done.

Thanks for sticking with me and the fictional Kari Hunter. (Although if you felt like sticking with the real one, I’m sure she’d totally appreciate it too.)