A few weeks ago, I came across a link for James Altucher’s The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Reinventing Yourself. It’s a useful guide that I found rather motivating, esp. as I’ve had to reinvent myself a few times over the last eight years. I’ve come to refer to specific episodes as named chapters that hyperbolize the conflicts and events that transpired and, more importantly, have led me to the happy place I am now. Here’s a short list:
Mrs. A & the Near Death Experience of 2006
in which I spend three solid months battling Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), leave England and nearly die. Literally.
The Bangs Disaster of 2009
in which I learn that I can no longer teach in public schools, mourn the death of my beloved dog and suffer the consequences a terrifically unflattering haircut, all within a four-week period.
The Renaissance of 2010
in which I write two of the three books of Ministers of Grace and embrace vegetarianism. And in which my hair grew back quite nicely.
The Great Californian Misadventure of 2012
in which I cack-handedly attempt to escape a dead-end situation by moving and then unmoving to the Bay Area.
The Great Relocation Adventure of 2013
in which, among many incredible things, I move back home to NYC and subsequently move eight times over eight months to seven different apartments in a sanity-straining attempt to find an actual place to call home. And in which I discover what Home really is, and it’s more spectacularly amazing than I could have imagined.
So I’ve got some big shoes to fill with 2014. And what have I been doing? Mostly resting and nesting and arresting. But now it’s time to get back to it, and that it is the giant it that has been the primary creative occupation for the last four+ years of my life. I knocked out the first draft of the entire trilogy over the course of fifteen months, and while I’ve put the first book between covers, I still have (mal)lingering first drafts of Books 2 and 3 that are starting to bum me out due to lack of progress…
…and right now, I’m in dire need of motivation and craving an immense challenge…
THEREFORE
After much introductory fluff, I am announcing that I will be releasing Virtues & Occultations, Book 2 of the Ministers of Grace trilogy in single-chapter-long, weekly installments every Tuesday starting April 22nd, 2014, albeit with a two-week hiatus in the middle to rest my brain and fingers. If this works, I might do the same for Book 3. If it doesn’t, then we’ll figure something else out. I anticipate that this exercise will not only force me to finish the blasted redraft but, as I do thrive when I’m forced to write on command, I expect that the endeavor will produce a version of the novel that I wouldn’t have written had I not attempted to deliver it in that format.
Now—I know I’ve been flaky about starting things on my site and not finishing them. But I’d like to assure you that the things I’ve abandoned hadn’t yet seen a completed first draft, so know that while might seem ill-advised, I do already have the blueprint (with rickety prose) in place (that I haven’t touched with any deep and prolonged sincerity since October 30th, 2010).
So just as I’ve provided you with a chapter list of my life, I will commence with a chapter outline for Virtues & Occultations, which I will release next Tuesday, April 15th. It’ll give you a taste of what’s to come.
Join me while I don a Dickensian coat and reinvent the second installment of my trilogy, won’t you?
♥ EAB
P.S. If you haven’t already read it, Book 1, Cherubim & Seraphim, is available for 99¢ in various eformats and $9.99 between trade paperback covers. And if you have read it, I highly recommend leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads or Shelfari. All the details here.
UPDATE: You all should really check out the page for Book 2: Virtues & Occultations. It’s got a plot summary and a prettyish cover.