Update...

"Realm 5" finally has a name (and a cover... but more on that another day)... it's Chaos.

I've started on the edits and I'm hoping to have got them done and back to Fiona (my editor) by the middle of February, ready for her to do a copyedit. It may well take me less time than that to finish them, but at the moment I'm trying to be kind to myself and accept that some days I just don't have the mental strength to tackle the book. There's no point pushing myself and ending up tired and upset (and not doing the best job with the edits, either). The publishing deadline is set by me!

I've talked of this before, but I must have a deeply ingrained work-ethic, as most days, the idea of choosing not to edit, but to read or knit or (gasp!) do nothing is just beyond me. Which is why I hit burn-out and almost had a breakdown before I left working at the uni. Let's not get to that state again! I left work to protect my mental health and to try to enjoy life. It would be madness to work myself into another crisis, especially given that it's entirely avoidable.

I don't really set New Year's Resolutions, though in the dead week between Christmas and New Year, I usually take stock and reflect on the past year. After that, I tend to have a few things I'd like to do differently in the coming year. In 2022, I really do want to try to be kinder to myself; take more days off; not feel that I have to work every day. It's a work in progress. I have decades of habit to break.

I guess the upshot is that Chaos might not be dropping quite as soon as I'd hoped, but I'll keep you all posted on progress.



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