Boy, this has been a weird winter.  Enjoyable, so far, to be sure.  But the scattered schedule that I’ve had since the beginning of January has taken its toll on my writing schedule. 

I’ve traveled several times since the beginning of January.  Sometimes it was just a few days, other times like these last two mystery conferences, it was nearly two weeks of traveling.  But each trip has left me having to return and get back into my writing routine.

Some interruptions have been writing-related, but not with the book I’m presently working on.  I’ve had galleys arrive mid-January for the next Kelly Flynn mystery that will be out this June.  So, all other work ceases until I’ve gone over those thoroughly and sent them back in.  Next, it was editor revisions for the holiday Kelly Flynn mystery that will be out next November.  Once again. work on the novel-in-progress ceases to take care of the revisions.  Then, back to work again.

Then it was travel.  Great fun—except for the flu part which I complained about loudly last week.  But—just like with the editorial stuff—the novel-in-progress goes dead in the water until you’ve returned.  Of course, I thought I’d actually get some work done on the road, but the illness knocked that idea on its butt right away.  Deb Baker and I were in our beds with lights out by 9:00pm every night.  Sleep was like medicine.

Now, I’ve been home for eight days and actually gotten back into a semblance of a regular writing routine again which will last until tomorrow.  I’ll write until early afternoon when I go to Denver and meet oldest daughter and family at the airport where we’ll all load into a humongous vehicle and head up into the High Country to a favorite ski resort for three days.  Then back to Fort Collins.  They leave again on Saturday, so it’ll be an enjoyable if short trip.

Then it’ll be back to work again until next weekend when another daughter arrives for 3 days for a quick visit.  Then back to work for a week or ten days and another daughter comes from Germany for about five days to “rest, renew, and restore” in her Colorado home once again.  She’s my military daughter and she really enjoys these breaks.

Let’s see—-that gets us up to mid-April, so I’ll have a week back on the regular schedule until April 20 when I fly Back East to visit old friends before Malice Domestic then stay for another week and half at older daughter and family’s after the conference.  Of course, I DO get to work during the day while they’re all at school and in offices.  I’ll do my part by grocery shopping and fixing dinner in afternoon and driving kids around. 

Then, it’s back home mid-May and back to regular routine and so on . . .well, you get the picture.  Until I travel again.  <g>

I’m certainly used to traveling, but for some reason this winter has felt especially scattered.  I am doing my best to stay focused and targeted when I’m writing the current mystery.  I sure would hate to misplace the body. 

How about you folks?  Has this winter seemed weird or normal to you?