BIG NEWS! Escape From Differe will be officially releasing in two weeks!!! Here’s a look into the journey of my life and The Waiz Chronicles over the last few months.

Let’s see where did I last leave off? Oh yeah, the end of November and receiving my first copies of Escape From Differe.

Here’s a quick recap of what’s happened since then:

December was a well-needed month of unplugging from all things book related (besides shipping and signing a few for Christmas presents). I had some fantastic quality time with my family and lots of time of doing nothing. Nothing looks a bit like this for me:

January got off to a very intentional start thanks to my former writing coach, Jerome Daley. Using some of his planning material helped me “refresh, reflect, refocus” for the year ahead. I was able to gain insight into goals and priorities for this bizarre job I never pictured myself having. I still sit back most days as I write or respond to readers and think, “Wow, this is my job!” Truly, the feedback from all of you lovely souls has been overwhelming, encouraging, and inspiring to me – from the simple “great job” wall post to the two-page, gut wrenching, handwritten letters.

Planning, well, for the “planning day” at the beginning of the year – a few days by myself – became pretty easy after I sent my husband off to ski in Lake Tahoe with a best buddy. (I put this in here specifically for the folks googling “Mikelyn Bolden’s Husband” – I do have one, and he’s my favorite human hands down)

This is where I spent most of January:

I’m WAY happy with how this next book is turning out – lots of action and lots of a new city. I’m particularly grateful to Barcelona and the Big Apple for inspiring several of the new places.

February is a blur, but here are a few pictures:

This is a group of middle school students I spoke to in my hometown. They were extremely interactive – asking both smart and hilarious questions. Loved it!

Yes, I went short and pink! With Book Two on the horizon, I decided a change was in order.

The Waiz Chronicles was privileged to be involved in two different auctions this month. Here I am pictured with the winner at the Heart and Soul Gala. Her family will be naming a character or place for Book Two. It was a wonderful experience!

As always, thanks for reading and spreading the word about the book!

M