[[Welcome to my weekly writer’s diary where I’ll share my “Woot Woot!” moments and the not so “woot woot” moments of my writing world. And, yes, I might even share the occasional musing or two about reading and writing, two of my favorite things!]]

~~~~

Dear Diary,

            It’s Thursday ~ 11/15/12 ~ and…

Never say never!

You would think a woman my age – no, wait, make that a woman with my vast experience (never mind, forget my age 🙂 )– would know this by now.  Occasionally, though, I find myself recanting a vow I mistakenly uttered at one time or another that included the word never in it.

Case in point?  I remember once saying that I would never write a short story or a novella or anything under 50,000 words. Why? It wasn’t that I had any weird notions that smaller stories were beneath me or anything.  I could simply never – hmmm, there’s that word again – envision having the ability to write anything with a lesser wordcount.

After all, I’m a looooooooooong writer. It’s nothing for me to write 20 page chapters I then have to cut down to size or, more likely, separate into two chapters.  I think in terms of single title word counts above 85,000, at least with my romantic suspense.  I can’t even keep these diary entries down to a reasonable size, despite my best intentions.

Which brings us back to never say never.  I recently got a wild hair to try a Christmas story.

Yeah, I know I haven’t finished KILLING SECRETS but I felt a need for a pause to write something cute. Maybe it was because I’m not comfortable with what my villain is doing right now.  It’s tough to get into the holiday spirit when you’ve got a serial killer running through your head. Nothing like Santa Claus and a romantic comedy to slow a killer down!

It doesn’t help knowing I’m going to be really pushing to finish KILLING SECRETS by the end of the year. Remember that single title word count?  Throw a whole lot of medical things (more about that in a minute) on top and, well, something had to give.

I don’t regret my decision to write the story that popped into my head, made me smile. Giving myself a break this past week, starting CATCH THAT SANTA! was a marvelous idea.  I’m feeling mentally refreshed and creative, and it’s a heartwarming Christmas story I think you, my readers, will enjoy this holiday season.

I still have some work to do over the next few days, but CATCH THAT SANTA! will debut exclusively on Kindle on Thanksgiving Day.  That’s just one week from today.  Yippee!

Next Tuesday on my Novel Gems blog, I’ll share a teaser from this fun novelette, as well as the fabulous cover created by the same talented friend who created my new SATIN PLEASURES cover.  On Thursday’s Karen’s Diary Drop-In, I’m having a launch party. Stop by and find out how you can get your FREE copy of CATCH THAT SANTA! for your stocking.

Once I finish the novelette this weekend, I’ll return to KILLING…oh, that sounds wicked, doesn’t it?

I’m still going to do my best to release this book by the end of the year.  I will admit to some concern though about whether that’s realistic. As some of you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you already know I’ve been hit with an unexpected twist in my knee replacement saga. Went to see an orthopedic surgeon last week and he’s scheduled me for my first surgery on December 5^th, to be followed within six weeks (thereabouts) for the second knee.

I didn’t figure this distraction into my deadline. Nor did I expect several other procedures to crop up, and I don’t know how my recuperation will impact my day-to-day writing life once the surgery is done. Needless to say, I’m distracted and unfocused and out of the office a lot.  Still, I’m determined to keep plugging and do my very best to write every day. With luck, and a productive muse, I might still make it.

Cross your fingers.  If anyone wants to give me something for Christmas, make it a few extra hours in each day. You don’t even have to wrap them!

See you next Thursday for another rousing entry in Karen’s Diary Drop-In….