Book Cancellation: THE HAUNTED HEART: SPRING

 Maybe I just waited too long to tackle this one. I don't think I can completely blame it on the pandemic, though clearly that didn't help. I've started and stopped at least a dozen times. It's completely outlined. I've got whole scenes playing out in my mind. I've got the covers. I even did a couple of trailers and teasers. I tried to do a playlist. I tried every inspire-creativity trick I know, but the story and the characters just seemed to drift farther and farther away.

I've read such stupid comments about books being delayed and cancelled. As though this was something a writer did simply to disappoint and anger readers. No writer wants to cancel a book. I wouldn't have dragged this out for years, if I'd actually wanted to cancel. 

In fact, disappointing readers is the last thing I want to do. I know how this feels and I hate doing it. I've had it happen to me, and when it does, I feel that exact same frustrated why can't they just write the damn thing?! 

Just from a practical standpoint... The first little novella earned over 30K. Spring had about 2000 preorders. I'd already sold the audio rights on the sequel (which now have to be repaid). So there was every practical incentive to complete this project. 

So no, I really, really, really did not want to have to cancel this one. I mean, it was just a novella!!! Thirty thousand words! Why the hell couldn't I come up with a measly thirty thousand words?!! 

I don't know why, but I couldn't. 

I don't feel the characters anymore. There's no...emotional connection. Also having waited so long, I ran into the problem of other people's expectations. It's the lesson of The Ghost Had an Early Check-out. I waited too long on that one too, and readers had too much time to decide the story they wanted--which turned out to not be the story I had in mind. And then there were the hostile comments and negative reviews because Spring had already been delayed. I'll be honest. That kind of thing is a disincentive for moving ahead with a project you're already struggling with. 

And I don't doubt that that's the goal of negative comments and hostile reviews of a book not yet written. This time it worked. This time I didn't have enough faith in the project to forge ahead anyway. I read over the outline, and it's like someone else wrote it.

Anyway, my creative energy still feels fragile, so I'm only doing what really interests me, what I'm eager to work on, what I know I can and will finish. 

If the time comes when I feel different about this project, when I can remember what made me want to write about Flynn and Kirk in the first place, I promise you I will. But for now, sadly, this one is shelved.