My get-up-and-go has went

I planned all along for a quiet day at home today. I talked to the Lord about it and asked his forgiveness for not going to church. I needed a day without challenges, a day when I could sit and my desk and work, not feeding people, not having to meet deadlines or the end of the school day or be somewhere at a certain time. A day when I could be me.

But even with that comforting plan in mind I was surprised at my lack of energy this morning. I told myself I’d water the plants later—it’s 9 p.m. and I haven’t done it yet. I did go out and get the Sunday paper—which no longer takes a satisfying hour to read. After the paper, Facebook and email, I planned to dig into the novel I have halfway written. I suddenly can see the overall arc of the story and some stunning (well, I think they are!) scenes to add.

Bt my day didn’t quite work out that way. Morning household chores took longer than I thought—though now I can’t even recall what they were except watering house plants and folding the cleaning rags I’d washed. Back at my desk, I finished uploading the formatted manuscript for Murder at Peacock Mansion to Amazon’s CreateSpace—the print division. That was a major accomplishment. Yesterday I’d spent too many hours on it, only to find out that CreateSpace doesn’t like Explorer and I had to do it in Google Chrome.

Then a friend asked if she could send me her manuscript to read for tense changes. I at first put her off because I couldn’t meet her deadline—this Friday. She stretched it a bit, and I said sure. She sent it immediately, and there went my day. I was absolutely hooked. I should say this is a writer with a major reputation for both cozy mysteries and historical fiction—I can’t tell you the project, because it is too far yet from publication, but I will when appropriate because I am absolutely engaged. I am also learning from her about the process of self-publishing like the big guys. I fear I have a long way to go, but in my defense I will say she has an agent and she doesn’t upload her own manuscripts—the agent does that for her.

Took time out during the day—in bits and spurts—to make potato salad for ten for tomorrow night’s potluck cookout with my neighbors. It will be here, of course, so I’m doubly grateful that Jordan is back from Alaska and will help me. I did get out plastic plates and flatware and napkins but other than the potato salad (which was a big chore) I have done nothing to prepare. Not sure what else I need to do.

A word about the potato salad—it’s the County Line recipe (all over the internet). I first tasted it at a relative’s wedding celebration and truthfully, I made a pig of myself I ate so many helpings. It has a ton of dill pickle relish in it, which I would tell you I don’t like, but it is so addictive. Look it up online. For an expected ten people, I made half a batch.

So that was my day—a pleasant one, my energy and enthusiasm returned, and I expect to be, as a good friend says, “back at myself” tomorrow. But it sure was a nice day—with good leftovers in the fridge for my lunch and supper.

Cover reveal

If you're on Facebook you probably saw this yesterday but I want to make sure everyone sees the cover for my October release, The Perfect Coed. This will be my first self-published novel, and I'm both excited and nervous. This is not in the Kelly O'Connell or Blue Plate series but a new stand-alone. Who knows? The editor who worked on it said to me, "Oh, I hope there will be more about these people." So there may be. But for now, here it is:

You'll notice the perfect coed has a bit of an edge to her, and that fits the story perfectly. A little bit of history--this is the first mystery I ever wrote. It's based on stories I heard not about coeds but about doctor's wives, when I was one of the latter. Believe me, I never was part of such shenanigans and, as far as I know, neither were any of the wives I knew. But the story stuck in my mind and grew.
When I first wrote it, an agent tried to market it to no avail. She wanted me to write romance, so I'm not sure how diligent her efforts were. But believe me, though there is a relationship in this, it's no romance.
Since then I've rewritten, revised, rewritten again. And now I'm ready, with trembling heart, to offer it to the world--next October. It will be published simultaneously in trade paperback and e-book, and I'm hoping enough of you who have read my other mystery series will want to try it. It's a bit darker and edgier than my other mysteries.
I'm also marketing way ahead of time soliciting advance reviews, hoping to get some attention amidst the great pond of new mysteries that are published every month.
Many thanks to those who helped me with this one: Mary Dulle and Lourdes Venard, who edited; Lynn Stanzione who did the smashing cover; and Jenn Zacek, who formatted it. After that I'm on my own, with a wing and a prayer.
Meantime, don't miss the fifth Kelly O'Connell Mystery, Deception in Strange Places, due as an e-book July 31, with print to follow. As soon as I have the cover, I'll post it. And I'm hard at work at the sixth in the series.

My Writing Process

I've been tagged by Rebecca Allard, Reckless: A Memoir, to participate in a blog tour about writing processes. Reckless is the absorbing story of Rebecca’s addiction to danger. She is currently working on her second memoir. (http://rebeccaallard.net/)

Ask an author about his or her current project and answers will vary from “I can only work on one at a time” to “I have several works under way.” I currently have two projects: I’m editing the first draft of the as-yet untitled sixth Kelly O’Connell Mystery (how does A Jigsaw Puzzle of Revenge strike you?). Some Kelly novels seem to write themselves, with ideas flowing; this one was like pulling teeth—two steps forward and one back. But when I finished the draft and reread it, I thought it all hung together pretty well. As usual I gave it to my mentor to read, and he pronounced it a lot better than the train wreck I’d led him to expect. So, now I’m editing with renewed enthusiasm, especially since he pointed out some big holes in it.

But I’m also beginning to do advance marketing on a stand-alone (for now) mystery I will publish mid-October: The Perfect Coed. I’m sending out ARCs (advanced review copies), targeting blogs and figuring out a very limited marketing budget. This will be a simultaneous trade paperback/e-book publication. Self-publishing is new territory for me, and I’m taking baby steps. But I’m enthusiastic about this book. It’s a tad darker than my others.

How my work differs from others is a tricky thing to figure out. I’m not sure it does. The conventions

of the cozy mystery are pretty well set and in my first ventures into mystery—the Kelly O’Connell and Blue Plate series—I stuck pretty close to them. Granted, Kelly is not a craft person, she’s a realtor and renovator of Craftsman houses. And the Blue Plate books are as close as I’ll come to culinary mystery—Kate is the owner of a down-home café in a small East Texas town. The Perfect Coed differs in that it fits into the sub-genre of the academic mystery—but there’s a lot more mayhem (and a murder) than academics, so I wouldn’t want people to think it’s ivory-tower stuffy.

I write what I do because I’m basically a storyteller, and I want to interest people—maybe I have a message, but I don’t think I’m out to push a theme, solve social problems, etc. I do bring some themes up in my novels—single parenting, neighborhood revitalization, protecting historic neighborhoods, academic infighting, etc.—but that’s not my main thrust. I want to create believable worlds in habited by people that readers will like and want to revisit.

My writing process is haphazard—life gets in the way. I’m fairly involved in one grandson’s life, I’ll drop everything for a chance to be with others of my family, and I have a network of friends to keep up with. So I write when I can, often in the evenings. I wish I were the kind who sits down every morning to write for three hours but it doesn’t work. For one thing, I can’t write for three hours straight; for another, there’s often a niggling errand on my mind. But it seems to work because others say I’m so productive. I’m waiting for inspiration to strike on a new and next project after the two I’m in the middle of.

 

Next week watch for writing process blogs from these exciting authors:

Joan Leotta has been writing and performing since childhood. Her “motto” is "encouraging words through pen and performance.” Her award-winning poetry, short stories, books and articles have been published in many journals, magazines, and newspapers. She performs folklore shows and one-woman shows on historic figures at venues up and down the east coast. She lives in Calabash, NC with husband Joe. You can learn more about her at www.joanleotta.wordpress.com

Ally Thomas loves writing fantasy and paranormal books for that showcase vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, and any furry monsters who go bump in the night. She enjoys imagining new origins for these traditional creatures and seeing where it'll take her. Ally's paranormal series, The Vampire from Hell, has been on the Top 100 Amazon bestsellers list in Fantasy since its release in 2011.Her links can be found at http://thevampirefromhell.weebly.com/

 

 

That last chapter

This seems kind of a BSP post (blatant self promotion) but I don’t mean it that way. I just finished proofing (again, for the umpteenth time!) a novel I plan to self-publish in October. As I proofed I dreaded getting to the last chapter. There is, I hope, sufficient tension all the way through the novel, but I know in advance that the last scene is scary, the main character nearly meets her maker, and it makes my teeth on edge. Even though I wrote it, and even though I know the ending. I wonder if other writers feel that way.

I have a short story, “The Art of Dipping Candles,” that has been reprinted many times, and I’ve been called on to read it publicly several times. Same thing: when I get to the end, it makes me cry. I can’t help it—it’s just so damn sad.

Beyond that I’ve had lessons in computer difficulty today. I could not download a mobi file from an email and save it, no matter what I did. Then it turned out I’d been downloading it all the time. I even dug out my generation one Kindle, found the cords, charged it and prepared to try to connect Kindle to  computer—though I had no idea what to do next. Fortunately that little dilemma was solved.

Then I thought I’d begin reading about how to download files to Create Space—not actually doing it, mind you, but just reading about the process. I soon found I’d already listed the book and found myself loading text, trying to load ISBN (International Standard Book Number) which Create Space rejected. I had purchased it from R. R. Bowker, so will have to call one or the other about what to do. Then I tried to upload the cover—I only had a jpeg and they wanted a pdf. A friend converted it for me. I knew this was going to be a long, slow process, so I feel good about even having a start. I want to have ARCs by June.

And I wrote 1150 words on the new Kelly novel tonight. So watch my dust—I’m on a roll! And come October, watch for The Perfect Coed from Alter Ego Publishing (no snickers, please—that was once on my rural mailbox). It’s both an adventure and an experiment for me. Come along for the ride.

A dreary day--but not all is lost

It’s been one of those dreary February days that make you long for a fire and a good book—but I had neither today. May light a fire later in the evening, after I go to neighbors’ night for supper at the local Grill. A hot bowl of soup at lunch, at the deli, warmed both my insides and my soul. Maybe meatloaf will do the same tonight—and a glass of wine.

I let myself get in a rush today. I usually time things pretty closely, so before meeting a friend for lunch I roared off to the grocery store. The man second in front of me bought four or five jugs of liquid detergent—and one of them leaked, left a trail. So all business came to a halt, while the checker “skated” on paper towels to soak it up. The older woman in front of me (who am I, calling someone “older”?) watched this clean-up process in fascination, then watched the checker ring up her unusual purchases—three stacks of paper plates and a small piece of cake—and only when she heard the total did she begin to look in her purse for her credit card. One of the things that most frustrates me! Plan ahead, people.

By then I was late for lunch, and I hate to keep people waiting. There’s a “prompt” gene in me, which only Jordan of my children seems to have inherited. But it makes me anxious to be late, and I don’t know about you but I’m not as “together” when I’m anxious. Nothing bad happened, but I noticed my hands were less than steady when I reached to take my soup bowl. The soup soothed, and so did a visit with Fred, my former professor, longtime advisor, and good friend.

The day wasn’t a total loss to dreariness. I’m moving ahead on plans for my first self-published mystery. This is an experiment I really want to try. I’ve asked friends and fellow writers for advice, acquired quite a portfolio of marketing ideas, and today I contacted someone to format it for Kindle and print. I have done that before and could but I have other books to write. Besides, I want this to be perfect, and I suspect someone more tecchie than I will do a better job. The illustrator I am using sent me samples, and I think I like one. So watch for The Perfect Coed in late March or early April. Fred told me at lunch that it fits perfectly into the genre of the academic mystery—but it’s not academic in tone. If anything, it’s a little darker than my other mysteries. The woman who proofread/edited it for me said she liked it so much she hoped I’d make it into a series. Hadn’t thought of that, but I immediately knew who would get killed in the next book!

I’m still having fun, and life is good.