I did it, y’all! I finished the first draft of Bound Spirits on Friday and then gave myself the weekend to let my brain–and my sore wrists–recover.

Of course, the book still has a long way to go before it’s finished. I’m giving myself a week to let things settle before I read through it and see what needs fixing, story-wise, and then I’ll get busy cleaning it up enough to submit to my editor.

As for what I’ll write next after that’s done, that’s a good question. This is the first time in two years that my next novel project hasn’t been predetermined by a book contract. I’ve got two more books in mind for the Restless Spirits series, but I’m still debating whether to pitch them to my publisher or just publish them myself. I’m anxious to get the continuation of Dominion of the Damned written, too, and if I end up contracting for more RS books I probably wouldn’t have the time to work on Dominion until that series is finished. And that’s not even taking into consideration all the other ideas queuing up in my noggin vying for attention.

Getting to work with a traditional publishing company has been a great experience. It’s opened some doors, made some aspects of book production easier and has been extremely educational. But I miss the freedom and flexibility of not being beholden to a contract or externally-imposed publishing schedule, of being able to decide my next project and work at my own pace. There are pros and cons on both sides and I need to weigh them and come to a decision soon. But not today.

As for what’s next in the immediate future–apart from editing Bound Spirits–I’ll probably go light on blog posts for the rest of this month as I work to get some posts in the queue for January and beyond. I will be sending out my biweekly newsletter, though, and the next issue will feature a first look at an excerpt from Bound Spirits.

And I’m hoping that the second issue this month will include a Restless Spirits Christmas story that provides more background on Sarah’s and Joe’s origin stories. I started it last year, but didn’t have time to finish it in time for Christmas, so I put it away half-finished. If I can find the file, which I suspect is hiding on the desktop PC I rarely turn on, then I’ll get it finished in time for a special Christmas Eve issue of the newsletter. If you’re not signed up to get those, head here to subscribe!

Oh! And if you’re not already subscribed and you missed it, here’s the schedule of when my self-pubbed books will each be leaving Kindle Unlimited and the last day KU or Prime members will be able to borrow them for free (the last day to borrow Weather Witch is today!).

What do you guys think? Would you rather I kept on with the Restless Spirits series or would you rather I took a break from that to finally write the Dominion sequel? Leave a comment letting me know what you’d like to see next!