Breaking up is hard to do....by Cathy Ace

LIFE: Do you think a regular writing hiatus would be good for you? (no writing/reading/reviewing/marketing etc) How long would you like to take and what would you do during it?

In three words - yes and no. 

Let me try again - I'll break down the different functions listed, so I can give a fuller answer. 

I do already take a sort-of hiatus from writing during March-May, because I attend Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic and CrimeFest UK during those months (adding in a couple of weeks with Mum in Wales when I go to the UK) and therefore find it impossible to get a lot of writing done, so I’d rather do none at all. 

Interviewing Guests of Honor William Kent Kreuger, Naomi Hirahara and Todd Borg at Left Coast Crime 2018

I also fit in a vacation during those months (by which I mean lolling about in the sun on the deck of a cruise ship) so these are my months when I take “down time” from writing. However, I’m still plotting like a fiend, making notes and plans, and even carrying out research all that time. 

One of my favorite spots on a cruise ship - the library!

Reading? I only stop reading when I’m writing – not because I’m afraid I’ll pick up another author’s “voice” in my own work, but purely because I am so immersed in my own make-believe world that I don’t have room for anyone else’s…so I read most during the three months I’m not actively writing. I read on paper, Kindle and Kobo…yes, all three!

My rather splendid new Kindle cover!

I don’t do much reviewing – I have discovered I’m pretty poor at it, and few people ask me for blurbs simply because I’m not well-enough known for my opinion to count for much. Those requests I do get seem to mostly come from publishers/authors who have clearly never read what I write, because there’s little/no connection between my readers and theirs, so I (politely, I hope) decline.

Marketing’s a different thing – I NEVER take a break from it. Never. Ever. Even when I’m on vacation. Why? Because I've invested six years into building a presence, and I think it’s best to not stop now! 

So...here it comes...please, consider reading one of my books? Thanks! 

Cathy Ace writes the Cait Morgan Mysteries and the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries. Find out more about Cathy and her work here: http://www.cathyace.com/