Have you ever noticed how quickly a good habit can disappear?
People debate whether it takes 21 days, 66 days, or even longer to build a habit, but no matter how long it takes, one thing is certain: consistency creates momentum.
Unfortunately, the opposite is just as true.
I am a bit over six weeks since my knee replacement surgery. Recovery has gone well overall, but it hasn’t been the smooth path I imagined. Pain, limited mobility, and simply trying to heal have kept me spending far more time on the couch than at my desk.
At first, I told myself I’d be back to writing in a few days.
Then a week.
Then another.
Before I realized it, I’d become what I jokingly call a sofa slug.
The daily writing sessions disappeared. My habit I spent time cultivating would be to spend a few hours in the morning with coffee at the table writing new words but because of the knee I could no longer sit like that and because it wasn’t in the right place or time, just didn’t write. Edits even slowed and has pushed out the releases for the new books in the Light Dies Series with Raventhorne Books.
The routine I’d spent years building quietly slipped away. What surprised me wasn’t just how quickly that happened—it was how one broken habit began affecting everything else.
Writing isn’t just something I love. It’s my business. When I’m not writing, editing, or releasing books, income slows. Then life reminds you in the most real way that it has absolutely no interest in your recovery schedule.
Bills still show up, and unexpected expenses still happen, like how my car decided this was the perfect moment to need repairs, creating an expense I simply am not prepared for.
Thankfully, there are bright days ahead.
I’m hoping to release Books Two and Three in the Fallen World Series within the Light Dies World next month, and I couldn’t be more excited to get those stories into your hands.
Then there’s The Age of Fire & Ash.
Some of you have followed bits and pieces of this project over the last couple of years while I was in school. What some may not know is that it all started as the novel I had to write for my Master of Fine Arts thesis. As I built that story, I realized there was far more history behind it than a single book could ever tell. One novel became five backstory books as I explored the world that existed before that first story.
Then something happened, and other authors wanted to tell stories there too, and rather than keeping the world to myself, I opened the gates.
For nearly two years now, The Age of Fire & Ash has been developing its history, expanding its cultures, creating its timeline, and inviting talented authors to tell their own stories within this shared universe. This fall, readers will finally begin seeing all of the The Age of Fire & Ash books finding their way into bookstores.
That sentence still feels surreal to write. What began as a graduate school thesis has become something so much bigger than I ever imagined. Readers won’t simply discover one series—they’ll discover an entire world filled with stories from authors who have taken up the torch and helped build something special. Watching this dream grow beyond my own books has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my writing career.
Now I just have to rebuild the habits that made all of this possible. The beautiful thing about habits is that they work both ways. If they can be broken, they can also be rebuilt.
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It starts with one chapter.
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One editing session.
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One morning spent writing instead of making excuses.
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One day (or step) at a time.
A thing so impactful I tattooed it on my foot!
If you’ve ever had to rebuild after an illness, surgery, burnout, or just life getting in the way, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. But I am ready to evict the sofa slug and get back to the desk. [I do want to note that a great friend and mentor Boyd Craven Jr. offered some advice for me to use a timer, because too long at the desk makes the leg ache and I end up elevating back on the sofa—Got me that timer and taking some very excellent advice]
One thing many readers don’t realize is how publishing income works. If someone buys one of my books today, I won’t actually receive those royalties for about two months. A book purchased at the end of July helps me at the end of September. Books purchased during August don’t arrive until the end of October. It’s one of the strange realities of being an author. The work happens today, but the income follows much later.
That means this has become one of those difficult seasons where exciting things are on the horizon, but the financial reality of recovery is happening right now. So, if you’ve been wondering how you can help while I work my way back, there are a few ways that make a tremendous difference.
Share one of my books with a friend.
Recommend one in a reader group or on social media.
Leave a review if you’ve read one of my books.
And if you’re able and would like to help bridge this gap and help fix the doggone car while I get back on my feet, you can always support me through my Buy Me a Coffee page (who knows, maybe the car will get fixed).
Every book shared, every review written, every recommendation made, and every cup of coffee helps keep this dream moving forward while I climb back into the rhythm that writing has always given me and I appreciate everyone that has followed me along this journey.
Thank you for sticking with me through this season.
Now it’s time to stop being a sofa slug. I’ve got stories to finish.
