I have returned to land after my last submarine deployment for three years! It feels amazing and I was so excited to see my wife and two children. They were both a little shy when they saw me, but warmed right up to my unfamiliar visage after I was around them for an hour or so. Sophia is talking a lot more, saying more words clearly and starting to speak complete sentences. Declan has grown so much, acquiring numerous teeth and is almost walking around on his own now.
After the kids had been put to sleep for the night, I checked up on my work. “One Last Delivery” had received another 5 star review on Barnes and Noble, but that was the extent to it. It’s hard to be excited about your passion when nobody is reading it, sadly. Nothing, no new downloads, no new reviews, or anything for “SPIAR”, which I was hoping would have a couple random paragraphs written about it somewhere. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, but I am still carrying on, “SPIAR 2” is in the works, and is currently at 17,000 words. I didn’t write as much as I thought I would while I was out to sea, but I plan on catching up with where I want to be very soon.
I am intending on joining “Self Publisher’s Showcase” today in order to increase my visibility and to garner some new writing and reading friends. I’m hoping to get some good feedback on my writing this way. I seem to be getting a nice and steady download count for “One Last Delivery” on Barnes and Noble, which I find strange in some way. It’s only a short story, but I guess people are liking it very much. I have a couple more ideas for a few more short stories that will be titled “One Last…” I think that I am going to keep a series of them starting with that in the title, I think it has a nice attachment to it. My main focus right now, though, is my first novel’s sequel, and it’s hard enough to find the time to continue on with that.
The kids don’t nap anymore, which means that my only real opportunity to write is during the night time hours. After playing with the kids all day, and feeding them and changing diapers, my motivation is down in the gutter once the day is through. I need to regain my focus and charge on with my career, or else I won’t have anyone else to blame but myself for my work’s publicity.
Being back and about to transfer to a different command has me a little worried, I must admit. After serving on the USS Rhode Island for five years, I think that adjusting to a new CO, XO, and CMC will be hard. I know how things are run on the boat, who to talk to, and give advice to. I’m about to enter a whole new world in a couple months, but I guess I am somewhat excited as well.
That’s all for now, Sophia wants “Pizza! Pizza!”
Easy days and blissful nights,
V. E. Bystry
V. E. Bystry 