Mental Health Hiatus

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Good afternoon Arrowheads,

My mental health is not in a good place after releasing The Crush, so I will be taking a blog hiatus until January. Publishing and writing are draining me and I feel as if I’ve been faking joy and positivity in these areas the past several months. The truth is that I’ve done all I could do and it still is not enough to earn back what I’ve put into bringing these books to life.

After much consideration and prayer, I believe that God is calling me to take a much needed break from writing and publishing books. Publishing success has been an idol for me for the past few years, and even though I’ve written Christian books, I’ve grown distant from God. I don’t pray or read the Bible like I did prior to publishing. I have a lot of pent up anger and resentment, mostly towards myself, for losing joy over the past few years. Writing has been very difficult over the past several months and when I look at my books on the bookshelf, I don’t feel happy, just disappointed, because the books have not been as successful as I’ve hoped.

I realize this news may be disappointing to hear for some of you, but I feel nothing but peace over this decision. I also realize that I just released the first book in a trilogy and that I have a responsibility to get the remaining books out. I wasn’t planning on publishing book two until after the wedding next year, and now it may be much further off than that. I’m not putting a date on those releases. They’ll come whenever God assures me that He is ready for me to release them.

But I need to get better first. This isn’t a rash decision, but one that has been bubbling up since Speak Your Mind released two years ago. Being an author has been my dream since I was seven years old, and being miserable 95% of the time is not the way to bring that dream to life.

Please respect this decision and don’t try to talk me out of it. This decision is between God and myself. The books will still be available for purchase. I will continue to post on my blog and social media, but with a renewed focus. If I’m writing for God, I need to write for God, and not sales.

Thank you.

-Allyson

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As an author and blogger, my goal is to teach writers that there is a way to write realistic, thought-provoking, redemptive Christian fiction that honors God while not sugarcoating the realities of the world. 

18 thoughts on “Mental Health Hiatus”

  3. Yes, you likely need a hiatus, which is what I did after publishing the second book (The Prophesied Band) in my trilogy–for about 18 years! In between time: 9-11 happened (a “reset” of sorts, as with Covid, but in a more positive sense since I am now working on a “manual” to help Christian authors “preach” to the “non-choir” so to speak), had to finish home schooling my kids, then had to get a part time office manager job so I could actually get some social security about 200 a month (which would of course all be spent on medical! At least now I have some discretionary income), retired in 2015 and began the final novel The Prodigal Band in 2016, finished in 2018-2019. And yes, I read the Bible mostly at night, Genesis to Revelation at least 3 or 4 times. And yes, read the Bible, and “listen” so to speak as to what the Holy Spirit puts into you heart and mind (renewal of your mind…Romans 12 I think). When God is ready to inspire your next book is when you should go about it. And don’t worry about book sales. I have broken even and so will you. Blessings!

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      1. Hopefully it will be ready in a couple of months. I might make it free download to put it on Amazon for a bit, then free. Cost will be very low, $.99 or something, if I put it on Amazon. So it’ll either be free on my site https://omegabooksnet.com, or on Amazon. Thanks for the reply! I want to help Christian authors of all genres reach out to non-believers, so then they can decide. God gives you a choice. Blessings!

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  4. I totally respect your decision to take a break! Writing and editing can definitely be stressful, and I hope God will use this time to draw you nearer to Him and to reveal His purpose for your writing! This post is encouraging me to read my Bible more: thank you!

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  5. Wow, this is such a strong and very wise decision, Allyson.
    God is going to do such good things and give you so much peace and rest in your hiatus.
    Thank you for letting us know!
    *hugs
    -kaelyn 😛

    Liked by 2 people

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