My writing has been on hiatus due to two deaths in my family. However, I have still been actively adding ideas to my notebook, and I am once again at my writing desk daily. I am finishing a short story for submission to spring contests while I am also revising my novel manuscript. This manuscript is undergoing some serious changes with the addition of several colorful characters (both to help and hinder my protagonist) as well as additional subplots. At the same time I am tightening the text to increase the tension.