The holidays are upon us, dear readers, and this year, just for the novelty of it, I think I’d like to enjoy them. You know, do some shopping…bake ninjabread men…decorate a tree…visit friends and be visited by family. And actually DO these things for a change, instead of be in the vicinity of these things while working on a book. I mean, I’ve got a brother flying in that I haven’t seen in ten years, and in our latest conversation, he laughingly said he wouldn’t recognize me if I wasn’t behind a laptop. Sure, it was a joke…but it was kind of hard to laugh at it.
I know I’ve missed some updates in recent months as I’ve been struggling with this stubborn case of the flu and I feel guilty taking more time off, but to be honest with you all, although I love the books I write and I love the world-building and the story-telling, I don’t have a lot of fond memories of me typing. I DO have fond memories of my family enjoying various holidays. So in the Great Book of Guilt, I have to imagine that missing out on spending time with my family is going to leave a blacker stain than missing a few updates. So with your permission, or if not that, your forgiveness, and if not that, at least your acknowledgement, I would like to suspend updates to Everything Is All Right. Yeah, I know, I left it at kind of a cliff-hanger, but most of the chapters are cliff-hangers from this point on. There’s a lot going on in this book. Five Nights At Springtrap’s is going to be a breeze by comparison.
Did you feel that? It felt like famous last words…
Anyway, no update tonight, nor will there be next week or any week of December, but updates WILL resume before midnight of the first Saturday in January and hopefully be a bit more regular. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement, and I hope you all enjoy your holiday season.
rleesmith 
No need to explain! Enjoy the holidays and the time with your family!
Have a great time with family & friends. Enjoy!
Good for you! Take some time off. Watch Dobby play with Christmas ornaments, maybe even break one or two. Have a huge slice of fruitcake. Eat too much and laugh until your sides hurt. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Merry Christmas!
Be kind to yourself and have a peaceful Christmas
Have a lovely holiday, and we’ll see you when you get back!
Happy Christmas RLee and enjoy every moment. Not to you and yours!
Dang spellcheck!! I said JOY to you and yours!!
LOL! I was just wondering what was up with that backhanded well-wishing! Autocorrect strikes again!
Not sure if here is the place to get a reply from a busy author during the holiday season. 😉 But I wanted to ask a few questions about your writing process. Is this your preferred form of contact for such things? IS there a preferred form of contact for such things?
This is as good a place as any. As you can see, I don’t check every day, but I try to at least check weekly, which for me and social media is pretty often. What’s up?
It’s kinda a random question, but I’d like to know if you’re in the habit of using beta readers and critique partners with your novels?
I have a direction I’m going with this, I swear. 😝 But there’s no point in asking more questions if your answer to the above is no.
Yes, I am. I belong to a small circle of writers and we all beta-read each others work. (Sorry I’m so late getting back to this question. Things have been a little hectic around here)
Oh no worries. Life has a way of keeping us busy. 😄 I really appreciate the time you take to reply.
Okay, so my reason for asking is this: Your writing is real, raw, brutal and beautiful. You don’t pull punches and allow your characters (regardless of gender) to tell their stories without apology or glamor. I love that. I think you’re one of the most amazing writers I’ve ever read BECAUSE of that. But how in the world did you find an audience (betas and CP’s) who allow you that freedom?
I write also. And any time my characters go through anything less than perfect, my “audience” wants a rewrite. I’d love any suggestions you could give on how to find a circle of readers/writers who have tastes that suit your style?