“Burning the candle at both ends—and running out of candle!”

Well, that’s how I have  felt these past five months. I finished my latest novel AMAZON MOON in December and a good friend, international best-selling author Nicholas Guild read the work and provided excellent recommendations. All I have to do is find enough hours in the day to make the modifications he suggested then the novel will be ready to move into publication.

The problem is that as Nick was receiving AMAZON MOON, I was asked to be the Security Director for a major industrial port. The previous Security Director had left for another job and they needed someone to handle operations and their large number of federal grant projects. Having retired as a Security Manager of a global oil corporation, this wasn’t my first rodeo.  I refused the position full-time and said I would work for six months until they found a replacement. I also continue (it’s in my contract to allow me so) to volunteer working with school children each Tuesday to assist them with their reading skills. And (of course there’s more), along with my writings, I am the Secretary of my Masonic Lodge (a full-time position which I do in my “spare” time.)

I had a perfect storm of events collide.  Suddenly, my book was ready to finalize, and I was up to my ears in a super tight schedule. Working with federal grant projects is about as enjoyable as performing a “Do-It-Yourself Root Canal,” plus the remainder of the security operations cannot be ignored. I have two Monday’s every week because I work Monday, am off Tuesday to work with the school kids, then return to work Wednesday (which feels like my second Monday because I’m trying to catch up from what I missed Tuesday.) I’m not totally off work on Tuesdays either because I still receive cellphone calls and have to jump on my laptop throughout the day to keep my workload flowing. And somewhere between all of that, my lodge duties come into play, plus I must write a monthly newsletter…more paperwork headaches.

As every author knows, maintaining a social media presence demands allotting time per day to various sites (particularly your own website.) If you don’t keep your published works out before the public, you are quickly forgotten. Fortunately, my author friends help keep me alive in those arenas by giving me an occasional plug. The indie community is truly wonderful! People on the opposite side of the world that you’ve never met become great friends.

But as all storms do, this one in my life shall pass too. At the end of May, my contract as Security Director will be complete. The school year will come to a close as well. And the lodge work, well, that  will remain. Most importantly, I will return full force to my writings, finalize AMAZON MOON  then begin the novels still patiently waiting within me to be written.

Now, if I can just find enough candle to burn until the storm passes…

GLENN