JK Rowling once gave out a sterling piece of writing advice. She said that sometimes, you just have to put your project down for a little while and spend some time living your life.

I think that’s why I always have so many books going at once. I get burned out just hammering away at one incessantly, so I bounce around and work on several. The problem with that strategy is, of course, that frequently I have a half-dozen half-finished novels and no completed product for my efforts.

That burnout was hitting me hard with Somewhere In Dublin, because it goes so much deeper and closer to my own heart than anything I’ve written yet, and I am so completely in love with both Amy and Michael. I’ve been reworking a very climactic scene (and no, not that kind of climactic scene – those are actually a breeze to write for me) but a pivotal moment in the book and I was second-guessing the hell out of myself instead of just letting my characters be their authentic selves and write it for me.

So I stepped away and wrote Captured By The Hunter, because it was rattling around in there and needed to come out, and I also spent two entire days not writing a damn thing (and if you knew me, you’d know how fantastical a thing that is). I just re-read a couple of favorite books and peaced out for awhile.

Then last night on the way back from a movie, I switched on the radio and heard a great U2 song, and suddenly, that pivotal scene fell right into place in my head on a winding back road, and when I got home it spilled out all over my keyboard and I’m back on track again.

Whew. It was like finally scratching that itchy spot on your back that you couldn’t reach. Soooo satisfying.

I’m back to work, and Someday In Dublin will be out before the end of the month. In the meantime, enjoy Captured By The Hunter!