By PJ Hultstrand

I have a few best kept writing and publishing secrets. However, the one I can share now is, at the age of 63, I'm writing more than I've ever written before in my life! And my first published short story was in print at the age of 15.

Since the beginning of 2026, I have been actively writing four new books and writing new material for my non-fiction book. One of these book titles was done and printed for the Tucson Festival of Books in March. This was the book that had been holding me back for over 22 years.

Yes! 22 years!

I'm sure many of you have experienced this same problem at some point in your writing adventure. I had denied this problem even existed for years, saying that I didn’t believe in “writer’s block.” I thought you just needed to keep writing. But, I had kept writing, just in a different book series with new worlds.

Before now, I have basically been writing one book at a time and NEVER in my original time-travel romance series that I wrote in 2004. That 5th book was blocked to my creative process. UNTIL 2026!

So, here’s the history of this Time series?

I had published all four of the first books in print and eBook in 2009-2012. However, book five went nowhere for too many years. This would have been the end of this series and no resolution for the story– if I had not heard from my suddenly growing fan base for “Time Conquers All” and all the characters created for this epic love story set in India region in the late 1500s.

Back in 2016, I had combined books 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, into what I call my “69” collector’s editions of these books. In that “when you’re done reading book one, you just flip the book over and start reading book two.” I only sell these books right now, at events since there is no barcode on this edition. Some readers even buy them for their unusually intriguing print collection edition for these four books.

However, this is just half the story. If it had not been for the fans who came up to my tables at these live events specifically looking for “book 5” in this series, I would never have understood a fundamental business acumen that forced me to break that writer’s block.

Customer market awareness.

I had already made new customers for a brand I had not actively updated with new products.

So, when the fans continued to badger (or in a nicer term, consistently suggest) at these live events, I had to push through that writer’s block and “get it done!” This is easier said than done.

The question I had to consider was WHY had I been blocking the first book series I had started 22 years ago?

In other articles on this subject, the main issues that halt the author’s progress in their writing endeavors are the following:

Toxic Perfectionism:

• A trigger of self-doubt comes from attempting to write the perfect first draft. This becomes a cycle of constantly rewriting the story.

This had transpired in the first draft writing process. However, the rewrite became the entire meaning of this series. I do know many writers out there who tell me they are still writing their first book, even years after we first talked about the book.

As I always say, “You must eventually stick a fork in it." The story may never be perfect, but if you really want constructive feedback, then hire an editor and work on that book. “Get it done!”

Fear of Failure & Judgement:

• This is fear of how others will receive your writing.

Well, this problem of “fear” can become crippling and could lead to an avoidance of doing any writing at all. Believe someone who has been writing for decades, there will always be critics and those who just don’t want to see you succeed in this writing project. It is really the strong-willed and stubborn who push “fear” aside and finish that book, in spite of others!

Story Cornering:

• When the plot logic becomes broken and needs rewriting.

Honestly, this is the first time I read this term “story cornering” for problems with the plot in the story.

My writer’s block is not due to lack of knowing where the story was going. The vision haunting the protagonist at the beginning of this series, is the one we still must resolve. And when I say “we,” I mean me, as the author, and the characters who live in my mind. It’s perfectly clear to me what the story needs to fix or resolve in order for the characters and readers to get their well tied-up story.

Mental and Emotional Burnout:

• This could be from stress, physical issues, or external life issues that drains your creative endeavors.

My fundamental problem has always been, I psychologically did not want to do to the main characters what I had to do. (Spoiler alert) I had to send King Parker, the love of Princess Tamea’s life, back into the future, where I knew there would be a problem due to that pesky vision issue I wrote, beginning on page one!

This is quite a dilemma for someone who had already spent this many years on building a fanbase who was demanding the “rest of the story - what happens to Tamea and Parker?”

So, when the fans kept demanding the next installment of Tamea and Parker’s story, I finally forced myself to figure out that I was in denial of this full-blown crippling writer’s block and I had to do something about it!

This book 5 - “Spirited Away from Time” was published in print just in time for Tucson Festival of Books. Thank goodness, I had finally finished this book! The very first customer at my table this year was one of the customers who had asked me “where is book 5” last year at the Festival. And I was able to point at the book and say, “Here you go, and I wrote a dedication to all of you who have stayed on me to get this one done! You don’t know how much I appreciate your dedication to this series!”

I hope this information and my own story on how I had come to an important understanding to deal with my crippling writer’s block helps you in your creative endeavors.

Remember though, if you are vacillating on finishing your book due to any of the above reasons or others not mentioned here, that Time Conquers All always!

About the Author

PJ Hultstrand is the author of 18 books so far. She has also been a book publisher, managing editor for two newspapers, media personality, senior graphics designer and a publishing specialist.

PJ is an author of Time-Travel Romance, Paranormal Urban Fantasy, and an upcoming extreme sports suspense/thriller series. She also has an award-winning non-fiction, “The Jungle Survival Guide to Media Kits for Authors,” and a little duck book series for children.

Find “Time Conquers All” book 1:

On Shopify: the-wod-media-group.myshopify.com/collections/pj-hultstrand-books

Or Amazon Kindle version.

Facebook fan page: Facebook.com/timeconquersall/

Instagram: Instagram.com/author_pj_hultstrand/

Twitter: Chance2publish