Wait, that can’t be right. Has it really been six months already? Well, it hasn’t been quite six months since my last blog post—which ended abruptly, which we’ll touch on momentarily—but it’s close enough.

So, what has kept me so busy these past six months that I’ve completely fallen off the face of the earth? To be honest, most of my time is spent just trying to survive the pandemic that, yes, is still controlling many aspects of my life.

Other than the boring stuff that I’m sure you’re all also dealing with, I’ve also done some other notable and/or fun things over the past six months.

Here are some things that have kept me busy recently:

1. Thankfully have worked every day since the pandemic started
2. Participated in my first Murph Challenge– modified challenge time 0:56:46
3. Read 34 books, so far
4. Dyed my hair green, twice
5. Learned all the words to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
6. Re-released Lost Girls
7. Started writing Lost Girls 2. Check out the first unedited, working chapter here!
8. Finished the second draft of a side project novel
9. Started a third novel
10. Created several playlists to match my mood
11. Learned about 12 songs on the piano
12. Completed the 9/11 Tribute Hero Workout– modified challenge time 0:27:38

I have lots of stuff in the works too, like running my first [virtual] 5K in a few days, a week camping in the woods, and lots more reading and writing.

But, despite doing all these things over the past few months, a lot of my time has been spent reflecting.

Lots of things have happened in the world during this pandemic that have occupied my free time. Some things are uplifting things, like watching the Philadelphia Flyers go 4-0 in the Round Robin and then make it to Game 7 in the second round.

Other things are harder-to-swallow things, like educating myself and others on the Black Lives Matter movement. Just to be clear, this isn’t a hard-to-swallow topic because I don’t agree; it’s hard to swallow because there shouldn’t be this much backlash, question, or hesitation that Black Lives Matter.

In the past few months I’ve found myself stepping far away from social media because I’m distracted by other topics, but also because there’s a lot of toxicity online.

As someone whose struggled with mental health issues for as long as I can remember, the toxicity during these unsure times was doing terrible things to my mental health.

I won’t go into it all here because this isn’t the place, but I needed to step away for a while to keep myself healthy, hence why I disappeared shortly after publishing Part Two of my three-part vampire series, which I’ll have to rework some with the latest Stephanie Meyer book, Midnight Sun, published a month or so ago.

But, since I’ve officially declared Spooky Season in full swing, I had to come back for truly the most wonderful time of the year.

I’m happy to be back, but can’t promise as much as I’d like during this uncertain time. But I can say that I have lots up my sleeve. So, if you hang in there with me, the breaks will pay off for sure!

I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe and healthy!