This is a notice to let y'all know I'm going on vacation.

Kinda. Sorta maybe halfway.

I've determined that I need to budget the time I spend online through the 2nd. Not because I need a break from y'all - but because I need to force myself to focus.

As most of you know, I'm in the death throes of finishing a complete draft of my novel "Peter's Angel." My current goal is to finish part 1 by the end of the year. That means writing between 20k-30k more words and giving the finished part a light proofread by next Saturday.

Therefore, I need to buckle down and crunch it out. It's going to take several hours of work a day to get that goal in, so I need to focus and resist taking on extra projects.

Why am I telling y'all this? Well, two reasons. First, so that if I vanish from the internet, you know what happened. I'll probably still be on the forums a bit, especially in the morning, but I may be sporadic. I may also be slow to reply to emails. Therefore, I gotta ask that y'all not give me any new projects until January. No more podcast interviews, Skype meetings, that kind of thing. I need to be on my own schedule for awhile. If I promised to get something done for you by the first, it will still happen, but I need to focus internally for the remainder of the year.

Second, and perhaps more important, I want to ask for your prayer. Peter's Angel is not a normal book for me. It is my masterpiece, my monster. God used this book to change my life, no exaggeration, but that didn't come without pain. Emotionally this book is a heavy battle, and right now the writing is also technically difficult. The characters are being abnormal, I'm fighting between info dump and not getting all my guns hung on the wall, and overall the writing is going fairly slow. Add that to the fact that I need to write around 4,000 words or more a day...

That's why I need to discipline myself and give the book the time it needs. That's why I need your prayer. God has pulled me and the book through so far. I know He can get me to the end of the year, to His glory. But I'd deeply appreciate your prayer - and your understanding while I try to tell myself to intentionally ignore y'all.

Thank you all - and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Del. *sniffs a little bit and manages to smile* We'll pray for you.

Thank you, my Ellyness. *tosses some cupcakes around*

You know I'm praying, most beloved LL. I will miss you, but I support you in this. God bless! Expect email SOON. *hugs and cookies*

*hugs*

I wish you the best, Phili! God bless you, I'm praying for ya, and Merry Christmas. ^.^ Finishing Peter's Angel sounds both exiting and intimidating at the same time. You can do it!

I'll miss you.

Yes, I will pray for you and the book.

I'm praying for you, Aubrey.

Thanks dozens and bunches, everyone!

Ooh, email from Gracie! I must be special.

I'll be praying, Philie dear, and awaiting when you can come back.

Will be praying. Have a lovely Christmas. xx

I'll be praying Phili!

~ZA

I will pray for you, Aubrey. I know this is hard. *hugs *

And the forums are fine.

I hope you are able to finish it, Aubrey. God bless.

You guys make me so happy. You're encouraging and fun. God bless you!

Nah, I don't worry about the forums, Airianna. I just worry about the people who make dramatics over my absence, possibly just for the fun of it.

We make dramatics because we will miss you, you silly! A perfectly good reason.

Exactly!

Well, it's flattering, at any rate.

Yup.

Behold, I have returned!

By the grace and strength of God, I met my goal and finished part 1 of Peter's Angel by the end of the year. The finished part is approximately 60,000 words, with the total draft at just over 120,000 words so far. While proofreading the part before sending it out to test-readers, I was very encouraged to discover that certain parts did not sound as forced as they felt while writing them. *grins* Thanks so much to all of you who rooted me on and were excited for my progress. It really cheered me, especially since I tend to be harsh on myself and not be excited for my own accomplishments. (Which means I don't take necessary breaks... *cough*)

So, with that done, I'm back! Well, mostly. I'm still in "drafting mode," but at this rate I think I'll be in that mode all year... did I mention I'd like to release three to four books this year? Anyway, I want to write part 2 this month, but the pace is much lighter so I can work on some other things simultaneously. (As well as not write myself dry...) So I hope to be on the forums more.

That also means I can be more flexible about where time is spent, especially in regards to the internet, so if you've been waiting for my input on something, poke me! I should also be better about emails, and can chat more often... so just holler if you're wanting to chat.

Thanks so much, everyone!

Aubrey, I am so pleased you achieved your goal! Well done. And awesome work with finishing part one of Peter's Angel!

Welcome back!

*hugs Elanor* Thank you so much!

It's wonderful to see you back, both in and of itself and because it means you met your goal.

I am thrilled you achieved your goal, Philli. It is so refreshing.

Welcome back.
God bless,
Joel ><>.

*huge grin* You guys are so encouraging... You're a big part of what makes this whole writing-thing worth it.

Ah! So you have finished part one! This must be a monster of a book if part one is that long.

*nods fearfully*

Yay for finishing part one! It is such a relief to finish...anything!

Absolutely. God is good!

Yes, He is.

Philie's back! And did some awesome writing that I have just started to read while she was gone! Yay!

*has received some feedback from Mae already* *hugs feedback*

Congrats, Philli! *hugs* I knew you could do it.

Thank you so much, Abby!

Wow, Philli, that is a big accomplishment! Good for you!
*Is excited at the prospect of so many books being published by awesome Philli.*

~ZA

*grins and huggles Za*