Change of Plans

I am in Oxford, England right now, as my husband was offered a sabbatical at Oxford University, and my choices were to either accompany him or be apart from him for six months. I’ve been apart from him for extended lengths in the past and it’s never any fun, so I figured, “If I go, I can do research for my books, and escape from the heat of West Texas in the summer to boot.”
However, it’s actually quite warm here and contrary to my house in Texas, the short let after short let I have been forced to rent because our six month apartment doesn’t open until July 29th lack air conditioning. None of the rentals have it, I am told. I’m told that air conditioning is just not a big thing here.
Because of this, my allergies, which are normally filtered out for me through the tightly wound allergen filters of my air conditioning system at home, are at an all time high. To make matters worse, England is apparently experiencing the worst hay fever season they’ve had in decades.
I am not a normal person when it comes to allergies. I have seen scores of allergists at the same time, have tried every medicine on the market (inhaler, nasal spray, pill, etc.), had an intensive series of shots for three years, and have had surgeries to remove my turbinates, un-deviate my septum, and remove polyp after polyp. All of these things have failed to bring me any relief, and my histamine reactions are so off the scale that they photographed my back after one of my tests and entered it into a medical journal because I looked so bad.
To come to the point – I, with my very hot head, very itchy and jetlagged body, am so tired from fighting my health issues and the heat and allergies and the unpacking and repacking and moving from place to place and the rather alarming technical, governmental, and financial difficulties, that I have not been in the mood to write. Not at all. I just can’t do it.
So, figuring that if I could at least stop itching and swelling, I would be ten thousand times better, I asked my readers for help. Many of the empathetic angels immediately came to my aid.
THANK YOU to all of you who were kind enough to do a rain/fog/cooler weather dance for me so that I could begin writing again. But I’ll just admit that since I don’t think it’s going to work and I think the heat is here to stay for a while (I heard you Brits cheer), I am going to have to take a break from writing.
Beyond Neverland may not come out this year. That is my official statement on its release. I was hoping that coming here with my husband on his sabbatical would inspire me to write like the wind and I would be able to release it by September or so, but it’s just not happening.
Unfortunately, the same goes with Suddenly Sam, which it pains me to say, I may have to cancel this year and postpone until next year.
And since the next two Kings books are about the Fae, who in my world live in misty, mysterious, England-in-the Fall type of environs, they will most likely be put on hold as well.
Who knows? Perhaps this is the Fates telling me to take a break and not write for a while. I’ve churned out a lot of books.
Whatever the reason, this is the situation right now. I will pick up the pen for everyone when the seasons turn.
Love,
– Heather
XOXO

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23 Responses to Change of Plans

  1. laura b says:

    as a brit, I feel for you. yes the hayfever season over here sucks. have you tried sampling locally produced honey? its supposed to help

  2. Esmer says:

    I really hope you feel better and relax so your allergies won’t be so bad. I check your blog every once in a while hoping to know when the next book in the King series will come out, but I understand. And since I live in South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley to be exact I know exactly what you were hoping to leave behind. I look forward to you getting inspired and writing again.

  3. Tonya says:

    As an allergy sufferer myself, you have my heartfelt sympathies!! I hope you get some relief once you are in your 6 month apartment. Just concentrate on taking care of yourself ….. that is the important thing for now. The writing will come when you’re feeling better. Get well, relax and enjoy your time in England with your husband. We (your readers) look forward to your next books whenever they come out! Health to you!

  4. Jane Holmes says:

    Hi, I recently discovered your writing and have just read all the books I can get on my kindle. I found your blog while looking you up to see if anymore were coming out soon. I am sorry you are having a difficult time in England and I can sympathise with you and your allergies. I live not too far from Oxford and this is the hottest summer for many years. I am loving it but I know from long experience that having allergies, particularly in the heat can make life very difficult and I hope you get some relief soon. After a lifetime of eczema on my hands and many years of some unknown allergy making my face a nightmare of eczema, last year I finally saw a wonderful allergist, Dr Orton, at the Amersham clinic. Despite carrying out some serious testing without finding what was causing my severe facial eczema he prescribed Azathioprine as a last resort. This has changed my life and cleared up all my eczema including the patches on my hands I have had all my life. I have been able to stop taking three lots of antihistamines a day, have flowers in the house again, sit in the garden, eat what I like. If you have tried everything else then maybe this mild immune suppressant might be worth looking into.
    I do hope your move into a more settled rental property goes well and your allergies settle down enough for you to get some enjoyment out of your stay in England. Oxford is a lovely place and the countryside around it is beautiful as well as being a good base for many other wonderful places. All of which I am sure are very different from Texas, somewhere I have always wanted to visit. I hope you get some wonderful inspiration for your future books and look forward to reading them whenever they come out. You have a great talent and thank you for the books you have written.

  5. moondance4me says:

    I watch your site often for any news of new books coming. I thoroughly enjoy your writing. I’ve read the ones I have twice already. The King series is a true treasure in my collection!
    Being an allergy sufferer too I can relate to your problem. Yours sound much worse than mine tho’, so I won’t complain anymore. I don’t have any “magickal” cure for your allergies but I can at least light a candle for you on my next ritual. Hey, it could work!
    Best of rest to you and I’ll be watching closely for your next release.

  6. HRKW says:

    Aw, thank you so much Moondance! I really appreciate that. 🙂 I do. XOXO

  7. HRKW says:

    Thank you Jane, for the kind and healing thoughts. I am hopeful that with the changing of the seasons, all of this will settle down and I will truly be able to enjoy all that Oxford has to offer. 🙂

  8. HRKW says:

    Thank you so much Tonya! 🙂

  9. Jen Wallis says:

    Hi, I’m sorry to hear your suffering so badly with your allergies. Please don’t worry about writing when your feeling so awful. Your stories are worth the wait!
    I’m from Southern California originally and when I first moved to England over twenty years ago it was a bit of a culture shock to realise that nowhere was air conditioned!! The air conditioning situation in public places like restaurants and movie theatres (cinemas) has changed (thank goodness!), but most private residences are without the blessed air conditioning. When my husband and I bought our first home I purchased a mobile air conditioning unit that can be moved from room to room. That air con unit has been my constant companion through the last couple of Summers!
    I’ll keep my fingers crossed and send out positive thoughts to the universe that the pollen count reduces and hopefully you will get some relief from your allergy symptoms. When you feel better don’t worry about the writing just enjoy what the UK has to offer a writer such as yourself. I hope you feel better soon

  10. Welcome to the UK Heather!
    Don’t worry, the rain will come back every other day or so from now on 🙂 Good luck on your rental though. Oxford is only an hour from London and have a good rail link to other cities. If you have time for some exploring, check out English Heritage & National Trust websites – they manage historical properties throughout the UK. If you are interested in the Royal family, Buckingham Palace is open for visitors http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/plan-your-visit as well as other royal houses this summer. Check out http://www.hrp.org.uk for the other Historic Royal Palaces too! I do hope you are able to enjoy your stay here though.

    I love the Kings series as well as the Chosen Soul & Angels series.
    Warm regards from London!

  11. Melissa says:

    I feel for you, but if it’s any consolation, it’ll change completely. We get on average, I think about 14 days of sunshine within any Summer season (if we’re lucky, ;-)). In fact, we’ve already had storms where I am a little bit of flooding (it’s not a British Summer until we’ve had a flood). Hope you’re feeling better soon. 🙂

  12. Melissa says:

    That should say where I am, in the Midlands, we’ve had a bit of flooding. 🙂

  13. HRKW says:

    Thank you Jen. 🙂 I bought a mobile air conditioning unit too! LOL And since we’re currently moving from short let to short let, and sometimes there are days in between when we don’t have a place to stay, I’ve even placed the air conditioning unit in the windows of the hotels here, lol. Thank you for your understanding and well wishes. xoxo

  14. HRKW says:

    Thank you Ghene! I do love riding the train around the UK. We were in Edinburgh just recently, and I’ve traveled all over Scotland. As for London, my favorite thing is the museum. I didn’t know you could actually tour Buckingham Palace? That’s awesome. I’ll definitely have to see about that. Thank you! xoxo

  15. HRKW says:

    Hi Melissa, thank you for the well wishes. 🙂 I guess I brought the hot and dry weather with me, because we arrived on June 23rd, and we’ve only had two days of rain since. That’s 28 days straight already, and only in the course of a single month. My husband and I were musing about the changing climate of the planet and I have a feeling that Englanders are going to have to change the air conditioning situation in the upcoming years since things are only going to get hotter. Twenty years from now, we might look back on this English summer as a very, very, very cold one (comparatively speaking) even though it’s the hottest and driest that it’s been since 1976. 🙂 xoxo

  16. Which museum did you visit? We love the Science Museum, British Museum, Natural History Museum, Garden Museum, then the National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern and so on…

  17. marie beech says:

    hi heather
    as a fairly new fan to your books, who with being disabled can read book in a day when having a bad day and can’t do anything would love to say can’t wait for the next books lol as i am re-reading them all a lot lol, but as an english woman with allergies i so totally sympathise so with only 6 months in our beautiful country us readers demand you put down your pen relax get better and enjoy what our country has to offer as a midlander we have had some storms and floods lol so weather is changing slowly. so go out and see what you can while you are here our country has a lot of beautiful heritage and countryside. especially in derbyshire the countryside is amazing and there are some beautiful old houses that you can explore and get lots of ideas for your books when you are ready to write again. just 1 ask keep us posted on what you visit and what you think of it, would be lovely to hear your opinions on our country.
    get well soon and have fun.
    xxxxx

  18. Shannon says:

    Heather I have just recently started reading your books and I’m hooked to say the least! I have search everywhere for the release date of the Queen of Abaddon, I have seen the new cover but still no release date. do you have any ideas at all?

  19. HRKW says:

    Aw, thank you for understanding, Marie. I’m hoping that I’m not incorrect in thinking the worst of the hay fever season has just about passed. I seem to be needing less allergy medicine. So, fingers crossed on that one. Lately, there have been some better days temperature-wise as well. I love the rain and cold (not sub-freezing, as that can be miserable as well – but I do love nice and cool; about 4 degrees Celsius is wonderful), and lately we’ve had a few rainy days – finally! LOL My daughter and I put on our wellies and grabbed our umbrellas and enjoyed it. I admit I splashed in every puddle I could. On days like that, I love to be outside here in England. It’s an old place, full of old stories, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, all I have to do is look upon a place and I am transported to a certain time and told a certain tale. I love that. You’re right – it has definitely given me quite a few ideas of my own. Unfortunately, ideas to an author are so often random and have nothing to do with the book you’re writing at that point in time and far too often too much to do with a book or series you haven’t even begun yet, LOL. I need ten more hands and five more brains. Then, maybe, if I lived ten more life times, I would come close to penning all the stories I want to write. 🙂 xoxo

  20. HRKW says:

    Hi Shannon,
    Since I’ve put all of my writing on hold for the moment, I don’t yet have a release date for that one, I’m afraid. However, as soon as I do have one, I promise to post it to Facebook. I post all of my releases there first, as well as the teasers and tidbits and contests, etc. 🙂

  21. Karen M says:

    So, having met you by chance a year ago, I read the first two books of the October Trilogy and have been looking forward to this month for a year. Alas, it is not to be this year. The good news is, I can look forward to next year! Be well, Heather. At least there is no cotton and ginning in England!

  22. HRKW says:

    Hi Karen – not to fret! 🙂 Suddenly Sam is coming out this year, there was just a slight delay with it. It will be out later this month in time for Halloween. xoxo

  23. Karen M says:

    Sweet! I am so glad I checked back!