STEVE’S SPOTLIGHT #1

January is finally over, so let’s take a moment to reflect on how things went.

I had a plan. Starting on January 6th, I was going to write a chapter a day—Monday through Friday, with Saturday as a catch-up day if I needed it. You know the saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Well, let’s just say my plans didn’t exactly go as expected. I did get some good work done this month, but life threw me some curveballs, and I missed more than I’d like to admit.

Between kids with colds, family emergencies, and the unfortunate loss of my full-time job due to cutbacks, my writing schedule took a hit. There were definitely times I could have rearranged things to make time for writing, but I let myself fall into a bit of a funk over the job loss and started to believe my writing wasn’t as important. Instead, I found myself sinking into the couch and binge-watching TV shows to escape the reality of being let go.

Now, I could sit around and feel sorry for myself, or I can take advantage of this newly freed-up time and push myself to get more writing done. I’m choosing the latter. I’ll take a few days to reset and come February 3rd, I’ll get back into the groove and pick up where I left off. I’ll be honest, I kind of wish I had an accountability partner to keep me on track. I can’t ask my wife, though—her job is stressful enough, and I don’t want to add to her plate. So, I’ll have to find ways to keep myself accountable and keep moving forward.

I want to be clear, though—I’m not throwing a pity party for myself. The job loss was a gut punch, and I wasn’t prepared for it. It knocked me off course for a bit, but I know my book is important. Writing helps me focus and keeps me from falling deeper into a rut. It’s important to me, and I know it’s important to those of you who enjoy reading my work and want to escape into the stories I’m creating.

I did promise to be more transparent this year and keep you updated on my progress. Hopefully, next month I’ll have better news to share—like the name of my next book and a brief synopsis. I’ve got both ready, but I’m holding off on revealing them until I hit a certain milestone in my writing.

Thank you to everyone who follows and supports me in this journey. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.