I cannot claim to never be bored, but it certainly has not been an issue lately even with self-quarantine practices in place. I’m doing my part to stay home, and I’m fortunate to still be employed and able to work remotely. I’ve done remote work before, so I’m used to the routine around that process.

My biggest recommendation to people new to trying to adjust to remote work is to still wake at the same time as you would on a regular work day and get dressed. Don’t sleep in. Don’t work in your pajamas. This helps me mentally get in work mode on many different levels.

And I can’t get bored when I have plenty of book-ish things to do when I’m off work. Boredom is simply not an option. The third novel in the trilogy isn’t finished yet for a first draft. I also need to wrap up some research for that novel to enhance the world-building I’m creating for Dani and her crew for the final showdown with the Wardens.

For the first two novels, I have waded into areas of unfamiliarity that required research so I could make things more believable within the larger context of the fictional world I created. This third book has been the biggest challenge and the toughest to write from a research perspective. It’s worth it though.

World-building is a massive undertaking for any writer. Even after all the development is done for the story, the reader only gets about 10% of it. That’s not to say the reader is getting ripped off. Any more than that 10% would bog the story down. But it’s the writer’s job to make sure that 10% that the reader sees is rich, believable, and appropriate for the story. It. Is. Not. Easy.

So while I get back to my regular weekend routine of writing, enjoy the cover of the second book in the trilogy, Echoes of Darkness, and …

Be kind. Stay well. Stay home.

And just like that two months have flown by since my last post. It happens like that when you’re stupid busy. So now with a moment to breathe (briefly), here’s a quickie version of happenings.

Feb 8 was the talk and signing at the Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine. The icy weather the night before hindered travel a bit, but brave folks still turned out.

It was a load of fun, and everyone had a good time.

Work on the second book in the Echoes Trilogy is charging forward. My final draft was completed early-ish December. The editor took his magic red pen to it (late December). I finished my post-editor updates and re-read with my own red pen (January into February). And it goes next to the proofreader early March while I continue to chase down leads (started that process in January) to hire a cover artist.

In between the short lulls of activity on the second book, I’m back to chipping away at book three. If it sounds like madness, yes, it most definitely is. But this is where I thrive by having multiple balls being juggled at once. It’s fun in a rather twisted way–I do realize that fact, but I’ll take crazy busy over bored any day.

Alexis Marie Chute is a SparkPress sister that releases her third book in her series The 8th Island Trilogy in 2020. Below are a few questions and answers to get to know the author behind the books.

What was your greatest challenge in writing your books?

My greatest challenge in writing any book is getting my bum in the chair, overcoming that procrastination. Once I’ve gotten over the initial hump, and am in the flow, I’m good to go—until, that is, the end. Endings are just as challenging as beginnings. Then the next struggle is when to stop editing. I am a relentless, picky, and perfectionist kind of editor. There comes a point, however, when I need to hold back and declare a book, “FINISHED!!”

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

I learned that books are hard to make and yet tremendously rewarding and fulfilling. Creating books, for me, is akin to getting tattoos. I am terrified of needles, and thus do not have a tattoo of my own (one day!!), but my friends who get tattoos always tell me it’s addictive. You can never only get one! That’s how I feel about writing books. I’m addicted!

What inspired your stories?

My memoir, Expecting Sunshine, arose out of the anxiety and introspection of my own life. I wanted to survive my pregnancy after loss and not go crazy in the process. Coming out of it on the other side, sane and with a living baby gave me hope that perhaps I had done something right. I wanted to share that hope with others who struggle with loss and growing their family in the midst of the storm of grief.

My 8^th Island Trilogy was inspired by the belief that we go to extreme lengths to protect those we love. The three unlikely heroes learn that their past selves do not define their present bravery. They rally against insurmountable odds and discover that they possess strength they never imagined. In many ways, the trilogy is a fictionalized look at the resiliency of the human spirit. That is a topic I am obsessed with and optimistic about!

The order of the trilogy is:

Above the Star

Below the Moon

Inside the Sun

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story has characters that are simultaneously loveable and deplorable. The plot is unexpected and varied. There is a lot at stake, and the risks and rewards are always in flux. I can always tell a story is good when it keeps me up at night, lingers long after the last page, and I wish I had thought it up!

What is the one book no writer should be without?

A dictionary and thesaurus. Though I use these tools online now, I am constantly referring to them while writing my books.

Is there a message/theme in your novels that you want readers to grasp?

The resiliency of the human spirit is what percolates up in most of my work. It’s the dogged determinedness that I see in so many people, no matter the hardships they face. They inspire me, and because of them, I want my work to inspire others.

All images provided by and property of Alexis Marie Chute

I grew up in the Deep South where the chickens (yard birds) roamed (not where the deer and the antelope roam). Turkeys and geese always struck me as overgrown yard birds. My family never had turkeys or geese on the farm, and for that, I am thankful. They’re kinda creepy looking to me being the small dinosaurs that they are. When they tilt their heads to look at me, all I see is the freakin’ Jurassic Park Raptor tilting its head before it pounces on its prey.

When I was living in Orrington, Maine, there were, and still are, wild turkeys aplenty. It was common to be driving on the back road where I lived and have to stop while the turkey train proceeded across the road. One at a time. For all 20+ birds. One year they frequently blazed a path from the woods behind my house, across my side yard, and over my front yard, to cross the street to go to my neighbors’ home and feast on the droppings from their bird feeders. They were fun to watch after they finished grazing and re-formed their tiny dinosaur line to enter the woods behind the neighbors’ home.

So in the States today, many people will be doing the grazing on the giant yard bird. I will be hanging with some of my Maine family today, but I will skip the bird.

In January of this year, I spent a lot of time with friends that are frequent meat eaters. I was eating it with them, but after a while I noticed I felt like shit. I wasn’t sure if meat was the cause, but I figured an experiment wouldn’t hurt. I stopped eating all meat and within a week I felt some better. Maybe meat was the cause? Wasn’t sure so I kept it going. By two weeks I felt WAY better. Easy solution to continue forward – go vegetarian (mostly).

I can’t deny that I love salmon sushi. And I do mean LOVE. So I made a sushi clause that I would only eat it or other fish only once a month, if that often.

Now, I realize that claiming to be mostly vegetarian is silly. Kind of like being mostly pregnant. You either are or your aren’t, honey. I still declare myself as mostly vegetarian even if it’s a misnomer. And to be extra clear, no, I’m not pregnant and never will be. Just used that as an example.

A few months into me being 98% vegetarian with my sushi clause, I was showing signs of anemia by late Spring. My healthcare provider asked me about recent changes in my routines. Turns out the slashing of meat from the diet was having a bit of a negative impact on me. But I wasn’t ready to go back to a carnivorous lifestyle, so I made some other changes to beef up the iron intake without the beef. It helped.

I kept that routine for a while, and over the last two months have started trickling a little chicken back into the diet mostly to change up my protein sources. I really like tofu, but damn, even I need to take a wee break from it now and then. At the family reunion in October, for the first time since Jan, I had a few bites of beef from a slow-cooked pot roast my dad fixed for roast beef po boys. The taste was catastrophically good, but my gut had a giant WTF moment as a result. I have not had beef since, but I did create a family reunion clause to use once a year if needed, knowing there could be another gastrointestinal WTF event as a result. Pop’s roast beef po boys are worth the risk–they’re THAT good.

So today, if you eat yard bird, overgrown yard bird, pig, cow, or whatever you choose today or any day, knock yourself out. I culled meat from my routine as an experiment and noticed I felt better for it. I’d never try to convince someone to give up meat just because. But if you want to change things up, add or remove stuff from your diet. I mostly eat gluten free bread now. I tried it to see if it changed how I felt to go gf. It didn’t change a thing, but I still eat it because I got used to the texture and I don’t mind it as much anymore.

If you are carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore (or mostly herbivore like me), go for it. People can get crazy this time of year with shopping frenzies, family dynamics, and other weirdness. Don’t be a nut bar. Stay happy, healthy, and kind as the holiday season ramps up.

After a busy October that turned into a blur, the leaves have come and are just about gone in Maine. There are a few stragglers left here and there with most of the vibrant colors vamoosed until next year. Personally, I’m ready for some snow. I’m always ready for snow.

In the mean time though…

My sabbatical wrapped up at the end of September and I have been back at the IT job. I immensely enjoyed my break, but I was glad to get back into the technical realms of work. Yes, I’m a geek. Yes, I missed it. Yes, it’s further proof I’m not cut out to be a full time writer. I mean, I was already about 97% certain I wasn’t cut out for it, but now I’m 100% certain.

This isn’t a bad thing; I certainly don’t see it that way. My brain is wired so that I need to be actively juggling a few different balls at the same time for me to operate at peak performance. I haven’t been clinically diagnosed as ADHD, but there are a lot of indicators that support my self-diagnosis. It’s all about managing the juggling game and developing coping skills. Hell, I wasn’t clinically diagnosed with a reading disorder until I was in my last semester of grad school. K-12 plus 9.5 years of college to get a diagnosis? Sure. That works. Took a while, but that’s fine. I just finally had a “name” at that point for what I’d always had and worked around. So my attention span issues fall into the same bucket.

I’ve learned to cope.

I thrive when I’m doing multiple projects at once. And I’m not talking about multi-tasking. What I’m referring to is picking up on giant task/project (like a novel) and working on it for a while then changing gears. Since going on the road with IT, I learned to compartmentalize my days of the week. Monday through Thursday, I’m all IT. The technical brain gets its fill.

Friday becomes a split day with the morning being IT and the rest of the day busywork like errands and mindless stuff with an occasional sprinkling of creative pursuits.

Saturday and Sunday are my creative days.

I get the best of both worlds each week. So by being away from IT for three months, the geeky part of my brain was a bit deprived. It is now happily monkeying around in databases and picking data apart Monday through Thursday again. And my creative brain gets to mull over writing and other creative outlets until sometimes Friday but goes into overdrive on Saturdays and Sundays.

Can’t say my system would work for everyone with attention span issues, but it works for me. And since today is Monday, the geek is in and the creative brain gets a break after writing and editing over the weekend.

Photo by me, Abol Bridge, Maine, near Mt. Katahdin. I forget the year.