It’s Tuesday so you know that means we are joined by a guest poster and this week’s poster is the wonderful Jaye Marie who discusses being overwhelmed – a topic I can completely understand right now. Enjoy 🙂

Really Easy to be Overwhelmed

by Jaye Marie

I had made the decision to take a break from fiction this year, and already I know I will miss it.

The last few years have been pretty manic, almost destroying my passion for writing.

I am 73 years old and half of a writing partnership, which means I am also an editor, proof-reader, promoter, publisher and marketer of our nine books.

I am also a technophobe…anything technical leaves me feeling antiquated and frustrated, something that doesn’t exactly help me to do all the many things necessary to be published in this nightmare world of the written word.

I can still remember the enthusiasm and eagerness when we started nearly five years ago. It was an exciting concept, publishing a book yourself. And although neither of us knew anything about it, we were determined to learn.

We didn’t realise back then, just how much we would need to learn and there were days when we literally walked away from it all in despair.

I sometimes think my life would be easier if all our books were the same genre, but between us, we cover family drama, supernatural romance, horror, and crime thrillers. Organising the promotion for them all has turned out to be a job and a half, and I fear there will never be enough time to do them all justice.

Last year was bad. I spent the first part of the year fighting cancer as well as trying to do everything else. I soldiered on, determined to finish the last book in my crime thriller series. Everything else suffered, as I tried to forget what was happening to me.

There always seems to be a conspiracy going on, for every time I have been frustrated enough to give up or give in, some new thing that I try actually works and my optimism soars again!

I get the message that something doesn’t want me to stop. Hell, I don’t want to stop either, but there will have to be some changes before every ounce of joy runs screaming from the building.

So, back to my decision to work on non-fiction this year. I have an old project, something I have wanted to do for some 45 years. All the material/research is there, and I hope by doing this, it will allow the pressure to ease. I can take my time and actually enjoy what I am doing.

I will still try to organise all the other jobs regarding promoting our books and hope to have more time for some of my hobbies that have been gathering dust in my absence.

Basically, I think there is time enough to be driven and ambitious when you are younger. These days my life is slowing down, and there’s not much I can do about it. Maybe at a slower speed, I may actually be able to smell the roses!

The Broken Life

DI David Snow has a serial killer to catch, a killer as mysterious as the crimes he commits.

Snow is due to retire, but not before he discovers why someone killed his sergeant and is now coming after him.

The killer seems to have a personal vendetta against Snow, but he is determined that no one else should die because of him. His efforts are hampered by the arrival of a new sergeant, ‘ruthless’ Ruth Winton, for she is not what she seems. Alarm bells start to ring when Snow realises she is after more than just his job.

Buy Broken Life   |   Website   |   Twitter   |   Facebook

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Thank you so much to Jaye for sharing her experiences, she has certainly inspired me to keep going. I wish her luck on her new non-fiction project.

Do make sure you check out her links and feel free to leave a comment here for Jaye too.

I (may) be back on Friday. This is not definite because I’ve been hit with some news and I am still trying to figure out what to do. If I am able, I will have a post for you on Friday.

Happy writing

Ari