How many books have you written?

I suppose this is the same as asking a teacher how many years they've taught.  And which grade.  Or asking a farmer what they grow in their fields.  Asking a lawyer their specialty.

But really?  It's not.  

I've published sixteen books and more than half a dozen short stories.  Before I published anything, I'd written the book of my heart (what authors call the first book they write), first book of a detective series, and a lesbian romance.  They burned up in a fire that also took everything we owned in 2006.  I still have the bones of the lesbian romance in my head.  I may rewrite.  Groovy.

I've written three books since I've retired and nearly finished a fourth.  Three books in eight months is nothing to sneeze at, but two aren't published yet.  One is LGBTQIA+ I'm querying.  The other is Fantasy-Magical Realism I'm querying.  The third was "Fascination", which I've already published and made available.

Actually, not even counting the poor kindling books, I'm at almost nineteen.  I dropped off the second Fantasy-Magical Realism book around 60,000 words to work on a piece that has a great premise and a few twists that made me evil grin.  The one that came to me whole in the length of three hours I was in bed one day.  It's going quite well.

Then you may have someone who wants to differentiate between traditional published and independently published.  Mine are published.  They're about half and half at this point, and I truly don't care to divide them for anyone's curiosity.

But let's get to the bare bones of it.  If I'm bloated to hell, looking like a can of busted biscuits, and you ask me when I'm due, I hope you have medical insurance.  

If you ask a writer how many books they've written, HAVE RESPECT.  

We don't sit at a sunlit desk all day while the butterflies circle, the tea is hot, and the ideas literally flow from our brains to our fingertips while the birds sing.

Sometimes I want to say we're like addicts looking for our next fix.  Hands roaming over a keyboard waiting for our fingers to slip into that familiar rhythm which means the story has hooked us, thank God.

When you meet a writer, be kind.  Please keep in mind that out of our head is a really weird place for us to be.  And if you ask how many books we've written, no matter the number, be enthusiastic whether it's one or twenty-one.  If you can't do that, then please don't ask.

Always writing*