2020 started slow for me, writing wise. Moving across the world, making a home in a new city in Sweden where I’ve never lived before, finding new routines, took longer than I expected. I had a lovely office, but somehow it wasn’t right. And then the pandemic hit and gave us all anxiety and heartache, and that sure didn’t help. Because of the pandemic, I also had to move a second time; we had no choice because my landlady decided to sell the house. So after living only for six months in the house we moved to a small-ish apartment instead.
And here I found my stride. I don’t have an office; we have an open floor plan and my desk is sitting between the kitchen and the living room area, and I love it here. And at the end of June, I fount my morning writing crew and started getting up to write at 6am every day. As a result, the second half of 2020 has been very productive for me and I already have 4 books on JMS Books release schedule for 2021. But the slow start made this into a slow-ish year for me, book release wise. At least compared to 2019.
Let’s take a look:
I’ve released four new stories this year, five if you count the super-short freebie continuation to 9 Willow Street. I’ve released one box set containing previously released Cinnamon Eyes and Promise Me We’ll Be Okay. And two of my stories are featured in two anthologies released by JMS Books this year: Unexpected Christmas in A Decade of Gay Romance and Always You in 2020 Top Ten Gay Romance.
It hasn’t been a bad year, especially not when you take everything that’s happened into consideration. But when I compare myself to 2019 me, I’m a bit disappointed. Even if I wrote in my 2019 wrap-up that “And maybe, we can all agree that this many releases in one year is a bit…excessive?” It felt excessive then, but now…not so much. 😁
That being said, I’m happy that I’ve found a routine that works for me, especially after this weird and difficult year. I even managed to write a book about cheating (the big no-no topic of romance stories) that was mostly well received, so I’m giving myself a pat on the back for that 🙂
Nell Iris 