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Friday, March 25, 2011

It's All Good

Hello, lovely readers! I've been a little incog lately. Life has snowballed on me in the last few months. I wish I could blame it on something other than:
a) lack of organization
b) wasting too much time
c) overcommitment
d) laziness
e) being easily distracted
f) bad weather

It's actually a combination of all those things. I'm not a multi-tasker and yet it may be time to take some juggling lessons.

So, winter's behind us, the daffodils are blooming, and I'm back. Hopefully, you'll hear more from me.

Most immediate, I have a couple of things to share with you.

The WINNER of When All My Dreams Come True by Janelle Mowery is CARA PUTMAN!!!!

This is a terrific book with so many twists and turns you have to be careful not to get whiplash. And cute cowboys, too!! Enjoy the book, Cara.

AND NOW, another bit of fantastic news. I've signed a new two-book contract with FaithWords (Hachette Book Group). And that, basically, is why I've been snowed under. While I was enjoying the thrill of being a debut author last year with book signings, interviews, and generally lapping up the attention, I let my writing slip a little. Yes, BROKEN WINGS is on schedule and will come out this June. It's available for pre-order now.

BUT, I didn't get nearly enough done on my next book so I've been in my writing closet for a couple of months, hammering away at the keyboard. If you are counting, that's three books that I'm either promoting, fixin' to promote (yay!), and writing. Plus brainstorming for new ideas in my spare time. This is the life I dreamed about, and I must say, it's both different and more wonderful than I ever imagined. You have all been so supportive, and that's been one of the cool things about being a writer - connecting with all of you.

Okay, off track a little there (see item "e" above). Now that I've signed the contract, I can share with you that the next book (Summer, 2012) is called STARDUST. Here's the short version of the story:
STARDUST is the story of an East Texas widow who sets her dreams on running the Stardust Tourist Court, but when her dead husband's mistress arrives with a child in tow and polio strikes, she finds her original dreams are crippled.

I've had so much fun researching for this book (THREE trips to East Texas) and trying to pull it all together. I'm still doing some fine tuning before I turn it into my editor ONE WEEK from today. Yikes! What a fun and glorious life I lead.

Tell me, how do you juggle the many facets of writing/marketing/home if you're a writer?
If you're not a writer, do you struggle with kids/hubby/work/home, and how do you give them all the proper attention they deserve?

Complete disclosure here: This is my breakfast table a couple of weeks ago. It's not much better today.


Hope to see more of you now!

3 comments:

Erica Vetsch said...

I'm so excited for you, Carla! Juggling everything is a task, but you're more than up to it! :D

Stardust sounds terrific, and I can't wait to read it.

Congratulations! Can't wait to see you in September!

Anne Mateer said...

Congrats again! And Stardust sounds awesome! Can't wait for Broken Wings, either. :)

Can't wait to see you in September!

carla stewart said...

Thanks, Erica! You inspire me with your ability to handle many things well and remain a prolific writer.

Anne, you're so sweet. I can't wait to read YOUR book! Isn't the wait for that first one torture? Hang on, you're going to find out what a wild ride this is.

I'm so glad to be on this journey with both of you.