Good morning!

Last week was a strange one. A lot of stress, emotionally charged, points in time.

As you know, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’ve had someone who I believed was stalking me. They were someone I knew for decades who would not give me space when I asked for it. They went as far as to send me a gift in the mail, followed with a comment on a blog post about their debts were paid, etc.

They owed me nothing except to leave me alone as I’d requested almost a year ago.

The gift scared me. Not that the item itself was horrific, but more that they’d spend that sort of money simply to tell me they were done with me. I guess they just had to have the last word or something. But the escalation from what they’d been doing up until then was enough to make me concerned for my safety.

I was hearing alarm bells which sounded like Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction”: I won’t be ignored, Dan!

After talking it over with friends and family, I took the step of filing for a restraining order. The second hearing was last week. While the other party didn’t show up for the session, the judge didn’t grant my request. It was based off the idea that no actual threats had been made, though she could see where I was concerned enough to ask for the order. Should a credible threat be issued, or gifts continue to arrive, I can refile.

I’m not one to blast people online. For me, I’ve kept their name out of it. I’ve even tried to remain gender neutral. They did not do the same for me, going to the point of putting the entire document they were served on a social media page of theirs, including my address and signature.

Gee, thanks.

Anyway, what’s done is done. I have hope they’ll back down, leave me alone. I’ve stood my ground, drew my line in the sand, showed that I’m stronger than they thought. The stress and fear have been handed over to Cerridwen. It’s on Her to decide if any sort of karmic justice is warranted, not me.

The next day, I woke up with a sense of clarity and purpose I haven’t had for weeks. Words I’d struggled to find were flowing, and I wasn’t worried about promoting books any more. I was rid of someone who’d been living rent-free in my head for far too long, and it felt wonderful.

Denise (my agent) has been working hard on finding a home for my books, and I finished the revisions to ‘Scales & Stingers’. They were definitely needed, and it reads so much better now! I had a publisher request I submit to them on Twitter, and she did so. Sadly, they rejected it. Not because the writing or story were bad! But they release audio versions at the same time as print & ebook and felt mine needed a cast of narrators over a single voice.

Seriously, that was the best rejection I’ve ever received.

I also found there’s a new genre out there – LitRPG – and it’s growing! It also fits the Heroes of Avoch series perfectly! Denise and I are back in the saddle, researching publishers who want this genre, and getting it out there.

In a few minutes, I’ll finish up my coffee and get the laundry in the dryer. After that, I’ll dive into ‘Shield & Scepter’. I’ve got momentum and drive again. I’m still facing surgery in July, and the appointment to set a date, etc., is coming faster than I thought it would. Which means I have to get the first draft done and with my betas so time off to recover doesn’t have me wanting to work the next day.

It was a long week, full of highs and lows, but I found my strength through it. I am who I am, I did no harm, and the consequences of their actions are not my responsibility.

BB/Chan Eil Eagal Orm