Two Excuses…

Bailey Baxter here.

Remember me? The author of The Mirror of Doom? You signed up for my email list, and I promised you I’d send you a post once a month.

And, then I totally dropped the ball.

Yeah, it’s been months since I posted anything on my website. MONTHS! And, I’m embarrassed, mortified, and really, really sorry.

But, I’m not too ashamed to put the blame on two different things…

1) My Clients Buried Me With Work

You see… I work full-time as a copywriter. But, let me make one thing clear… I don’t sit at a desk and draw circles around the letter “C.” (Yes, some people actually think I spend my time that way.) That’s a copyright. I write sales copy — also called junk mail by people who hate getting it. An example of my work is this piece right here ==>

So, I spend my days writing for a living and scrambling to meet deadlines (which aren’t always reasonable). I have to fit my book writing around my copywriting — which, lately, has been extremely demanding. I’d prefer to spend ALL my time writing books, but only about 20% of authors make a decent living. And, I need to eat and pay bills, so copywriting it is!

2) My Dog is High Maintenance

She is as cute as a button. And FUNNY! But, my Shih-tzu Lucy is one of the highest maintenance dogs you’ll ever meet!

She has to be combed and groomed regularly — or she develops dreadlocks. She constantly asks to go outside so she can chase squirrels. And, she never gets enough of playing with her ball.

But, here’s the worst part: When she was just six months old, Lucy was diagnosed with a bad liver. I followed everything the vet told me to do for about two years — and her liver numbers stayed about 10 times higher than they should be. So, I found a guy online who helps dogs with this kind of problem. Lucy was put on a special diet that I have to make from scratch. It takes me about an hour and a half every day to prepare her food and feed her.

Unfortunately (for me), Lucy’s a picky eater. Half the time she rejects the food I so lovingly prepare and goes hunting for bunny poop in the back garden. (I think she’s struck a deal with the neighborhood rabbits. They leave her a “deposit,” and she allows them total access to the goodies in the garden.)

So, there you have it…

I’ve been focusing on book number two in Tim Hunter’s adventures with what little time I have. It will be called, The Hooded Menace. I’m hoping to publish it later this year. Or early next year. It depends on my client workload and one very silly, finicky pup.

If you have any ideas how I can get more done during the day — or how I can get Lucy to actually eat what I put in front of her — please leave a comment below.