What better time to look backward than on the eve of the release of the Blue Notes Series bundle from Dreamspinner Press. The Blue Notes bundle has 7 books in it! Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe I wrote or co-wrote (as in the case of Prelude, which was written with my good friend Venona Keyes) all of them. I published The Dream of a Thousand Nights, my first book with Dreamspinner, back in September of 2011. When my next Dreamspinner Press release, Take Two, is published this summer, I’ll have published a total of 19 books and I’m hard at work at the 20^th.

When Dream was published nearly five years ago, I was just thrilled that someone wanted to publish my work. I wasn’t thinking of the next book or at what else I was hoping to write. But now I write to regular deadlines and that little hobby of mine has become a second career. I’ve been publishing at least three books a year since. Sometimes four.

So when life came at me like a tsunami and kicked me in the behind this year, I wasn’t prepared for it. Hell, I was damn well going to write those 3-4 books in 2016. And handle my other job as a public sector attorney. And get our house ready to sell so my husband and I could move to an apartment downtown. And….

Well, you get the picture.

It’s not as though I haven’t been here before. As an opera singer, I traveled all over the world auditioning and performing. With 2 little kids. Then I gave up singing and went to law school. National moot court competitions with a 4 year old and 1 year old at home? Sure, why not? Law review articles? Full time (60+ hours a week) job at a private law firm? No problem.

“You can have it all.”

That’s what I used to believe. Back then, I set my sights on doing everything. And while the focus recently has been on the “superwoman,” it’s not just women who have been convincing themselves they need to be perfect and “have it all.” We all do this. Our motivations may be different, but we’ve most of us been there, done that.

So with book 20 on the horizon, I found myself with 4 books on my writing schedule this year and a ton of distractions. But they aren’t truly distractions, the heavy workload, the work to get ready to move, and the rest.

This is life. Busy. Hectic. Overwhelming. Happy. Sad. Insane. You name it.

I had a wonderful time last weekend at the Dreamspinner Press Author Workshop in Orlando. I took time out of the insanity of my life to fly to Florida because I was looking to reconnect and remember why I write. And to let go of expectations. Like those 3-4 books I said I’d write this year. And to let go of the guilt of knowing I wouldn’t meet the goal. My self-imposed goal.

I went to the conference in part to remind myself of why I write. Because I love to write.

So here’s the looking forward part of the equation. Looking back may give you a sense of satisfaction, but it’s a stagnant place you can’t spend too much time in or you get stuck there. By looking forward, I was able to grasp a few very important things:

• I was the one who set the expectations for my writing and I am the one who can change them.
• Trying to force a creative endeavor like writing almost always backfires and you end up writing less rather than more.
• Writing is joy. Writing is for my heart and soul. A balm. A place I escape to.
• Writing is for my readers, who keep me grounded and honest.

So 2016 will see only two new books from me. And that’s perfectly fine. That’s my 2016 “happy place.” There are many more books waiting to be written and I will write them. In due time. When I have the time and strength to do them justice.

And that’s perfectly fine.

So how about a little fun, just because it’s a beautiful spring day and life is good? Tell me what you are looking forward to this year and I’ll choose one comment for winner’s choice of one of my audiobooks (you can find them all here). I’ll close the contest at midnight this coming Sunday, March 13th.– Shira

Shira Anthony was a professional opera singer in her last incarnation, performing roles in such operas as Tosca, Pagliacci, and La Traviata, among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle.

Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs, and when she’s not writing, she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard Land’s Zen, a 35’ catamaran at the Carolina coast, with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel.

Shira can be found on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shira.anthony
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4641776.Shira_Anthony
Twitter: @WriterShira
Website: http://www.shiraanthony.com
E-mail: shiraanthony@hotmail.com