Do Not Pass Go and Do Not Collect $200

 

You know you're going through something when you wake up in the morning worrying about whether the pine tree outside your window has too many pine cones on it.

So April was one of those months not particularly conducive to writing. Easter, graduation party, birthday party, allergies, TAXES (UGH), sick doggie, on and on and on with the interruptions and distractions. All of them inevitable and normal and reasonable. Well, maybe not the sick doggie. That's been a saga and poor Mr. Marlowe is at the emergency room right now because I had a panic attack last night listening to him struggle to breathe. Nobody seems to think this is an emergency except me. 

NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE PROPERLY IS AN EMERGENCY.

IMHO.

Anyway. Hopefully, I'm overreacting and he would have been fine going another FIVE FLIPPING DAYS without seeing a vet (which is the soonest we could have got him in if we hadn't gone the emergency route). But that would have been a total of TWENTY FREAKING DAYS OF HIS BEING SICK AND NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE NORMALLY. There is literally ONE animal emergency center out here. ONE. 

There's a serious shortage of vets. It's so worrying. I never ran into this until these last few years, and it's hard to get used to. Some things you can do yourself. But when it comes to trying to diagnose my dog while he's having what looks like an asthma attack... Not so much.

(The SO just texted me that there is one vet and three dogs with rattlesnake bites!!)

However, sharing my freakout over my poor little dog and our local vet shortage wasn't my intention for this post. Basically, I wanted to give an official update. Not that it will stop all the emails, but maybe it will forestall a few. 

I can't honestly say that this year isn't what I expected, because I've learned that now days none of the years are what I expect. The good news is I've stopped being optimistic about what I can accomplish in any given amount of time. This year I've got to juggle gigs and guests and conferences and books. 

Which I feel calm about until I see my preorders listed on Amazon.

Which is why YOU only see one preorder for me listed on Amazon.

That's correct. I've canceled everything except Corpse at Captain's Seat, which I'm planning to have out at the end of this month (May).

That said, although the preorders are gone, I'm still planning on doing The 12.2 Per-Cent Solution in
August and Hex in the City in December. And I'll be finishing up Puzzle for Two for Patreon probably in June.  

Preorders are great. They give me a big chunk of change all at once and they allow me to offer you discounted preorder prices, but they've become incredibly stressful and I'm just not going to do them anymore--well, unless the book is basically finished. I think that makes life easier for everyone. 

It's not just that I'm more creative when I'm not stressed. I'm also happier. And healthier. 

That will also allow me to focus on more audio projects and more translation projects. And think about what I want to be when I grow up. Ha. But seriously, think about what I want these next five years to look like as far as writing and publishing. 

With Corpse at Captain's Seat, we'll be at number 8 in the Secrets and Scrabble series. I'm not ending the series, but I'm probably going to take a bit of a break from it and do a couple of standalone projects. I do love standalones. Next year will likely be the final Art of Murder book: The Medicine Man Murders. That's going to be a big, complicated book, so I need to give myself plenty of breathing room. And I'll likely try to get in the fifth Bedknobs and Broomsticks installment Impractical Magic.  

And that's it. I have nothing else planned. Well, no other projects planned. I want to give myself creative space. Every year for the past decade has had a built-in schedule of projects, which is not a bad thing, but I'm longing for blank canvas. Metaphorically speaking. And so I'm giving myself the gift of an empty publishing calendar. 

Obviously, books will be written--that's how I pay for $600. (and counting, gulp!!) vet bills--but I'm not sure of all the whats and I'm definitely not sure of the whens. Just that books will happen. Writing will happen. Creativity will happen. And hopefully a lot of other cool stuff will happen!

All good things. That's the plan. ;-)

You Are HERE

 

Just a quick update!

I'm currently back to working on Lament at Loon Landing. I'm not exactly sure what the hold-up has been, because as I'm working on it, it's pretty much like every other book in the series: cute, charming, fun. Your basic cozy mystery. I guess part of the problem is with all the delays (and all the bitching about the delays) it has turned the book into A Thing in my mind, which inevitably slows everything down even further. Coz that's how that works.

But we're closing in on finishing up. I'm not going to guestimate the actual release because the book is clearly cursed and if I dare to name the release date, doom and disaster will follow. So we'll leave it at that. It's coming. 

As soon as Lament at Loon Landing is safely launched, I'll fully dive into Corpse at Captain's Seat, which I anticipate going as quickly as Death at the Deep Dive did. I love, love, love country house murder mysteries and that's kind of what we have going on with that one: snow, secret passages, sinister strangers. The usual stuff that happens while staying with friends.

THEN I'll start work on the final Holmes & Moriarity. 

And THEN I'm taking a break from writing. Maybe for just a month. Maybe two. Maybe I'll see you when I see you. But I need a chunk of time to focus on some translation stuff, some audio projects, some other things I'm toying with, as well as long term strategizing. Basically, the business side of things. Which inevitably get shoved to the back of the line, even though it's kind of crucial to know where the ship is ultimately headed. 

In the meantime, on Monday I'm headed off on vacation with my sisters for the first time in three years. Yikes! THREE YEARS. In fact, it's been a year and a half since I went away on vacay with anyone at all. 

I. CAN'T. WAIT. 

I'll try to post photos, but I'm guessing they won't actually appear until after I return on the 7th. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week. We're supposed to have major winter storms this weekend, but they keep being pushed back a day, which hopefully doesn't mean I end up stranded in a ferry terminal for my vacation. ;-D  

I Hear That Train A Comin'

 

What is it about the start of the new year? 

It's like you're in that Christmas Coccoon, and then you reluctantly tear (or is it eat? NOT THAT I'M PROJECTING) out of the coccoon and you're a BUTTERFLY at last!!!! Well, no. YOU'RE THREE MONTHS BEHIND! EVEN THOUGH YOU ONLY TOOK ONE MONTH OFF. 

Anyway, it's disconcerting, to say the least.

So let's start with the obvious. I didn't manage to get Lament at Loon Landing out last year, which means it falls into this year. I'm just hitting the halfway mark (I KNOW), so we're looking at end of the month--more realistically the beginning of February because I've got the fabulous Kale Williams lined up to do the audio on 44.1644° North, WHICH MEANS North will be out first. Then Lament at Loon Landing THEN straight into Corpse and Captain's Seat. 

Meanwhile, I'll still be writing Puzzle for Two for Patreon, followed by (I think) a new novel, tentatively titled Ghosted. ;-D 

Then we've got the final Holmes & Moriarity book (not including any potential, possible Christmas novella somewhere down the line) The 12.2 Per-Cent Solution. Ideally, that should come out around June because it's the wedding book. But we'll see. 

After that, we're midway through the year and there is nothing else planned beyond Hex in the City (Beknob and Broomsticks 4) which was bounced from summertime to Christmastime (which makes sense as it's set at Christmas). 

There was a bit of concern when I yanked it from Amazon, but the book is absolutely happening. In fact, here's the cover reveal:

Isn't that beautiful? Thank you to Reese Dante for the (always) gorgeous artwork.

Anyway, that's going to be MORE than enough for 2023, assuming I can even pull off all of that. I'm not committing to actual dates on anything because we know how that goes. I mean, the truth is, I'm just writing at a pace that feels comfortable and creative. I'm in the (very) fortunate position of (so far) being able to live off my backlist (supplemented by my very dear Patrons), which allows me to write the books I'm genuinely excited about to the very best of my ability without partaking in hamster wheel exercises.  I earned about 6K less on Amazon last year (that would have been Loon Landing's release week, right there) but I more than made up for it with translation rights and other stuff. So while no freelancer can claim to have stable finances, mine are reasonably reliable in the short term. 

And the way the world is going, I'm not thinking far beyond the short term. 

(Okay, perhaps a bit bleak for the New Year.) 

But you may have noticed I'm a lot cheerier and calmer than I was even at this time last year (and last year was WAY better than the previous two years). This is a change for the better. Even if it means fewer books or books getting delayed. 

Anyway, I bunch of other stuff is going on too. I'm in the process of re-covering (as in changing out the old covers) of a large portion of my backlist. I'm exploring new translation possibilities. I'm even looking at the potential of AI and other technologies*. There's a lot happening in publishing right now and I don't ever want to be someone afraid of change. 

OH. We have a new title for the fifth and final Art of Murder book. I had tentatively called it The Painted Rocks Murders, but given reader response, it really was WAY too late to break the name convention. :-D So, its new title is The Medicine Man Murders. We're looking most likely at 2024 for that one. 

And that's about it for now. 

I hope the New Year is treating you right. Get your boosters and your flu shots! 

*Let me just clarify in case anyone is confused or concerned. 

I'm not interested in replacing real live narrators with AI. At least, not for projects that I would ordinarily pay to have narrated. I like the sound of a human taking a breath or hearing a smile in a narrator's voice. I connect to human emotion. And I believe artists should be able to earn a living making art.

Would I use AI for certain foreign translations? Yes. In fact, I'm already experimenting with that. But this isn't taking a job away from a real live narrator because no way am I going to invest in audiobooks for those works. 

Nor am I thinking of having AI write my books (though holy moly the potential for comedy with that idea!!). Writing isn't just how I earn my living. It's how I define who I am and my place in the universe. I write therefore I am. Or something like that. 

I've seen some beautiful AI art, and I know there are other creative possibilities, But any art I would currently pay a human for, I will continue to pay humans for.  

At the same time, I'm open to discovering tools and short cuts that might help me be more creative and more productive. There are some amazing and even beautiful things happening in technology. The world is changing whether we like it or not, and I want to negotiate those changes rationally and, yes, ethically. 

What I Did on My Summer Vacation - 2022

 

Other than nearly slicing my thumb off Tuesday night (ugh, don't ask) all is well in the land of Lanyon.

Unlike last year, this summer has been both creative and productive and, better still, pretty much drama-free. I completed The Movie-Town Murders, Death at the Deep Dive, and Hide and Seek. 

The sibs and I are rehearsing and performing again--and batting around the idea of producing an eighth album. 

I've got lots of audio coming, new translations, etc.

Currently, I'm working on Puzzle for Two (for Patreon) and Lament at Loon Landing (Secrets and Scrabble 6) with no hard ETA on either. 

That's pretty much the update. I KNOW. THRILLING STUFF. :-D

My social media presence is pretty minimal right now. I guess I'm choosing to be present in real life as opposed to the virtual space where I spent the last twenty years? These last precious days of summer are being spent on swimming, gardening, experimenting with cocktails (hey, someone's gotta do it) playing with the pups, reading a little, writing a lot, and watching a fair bit of TV (I'm probably consuming more news than I should, but the midterms are coming and I want to brace myself). I got my first hair cut in three years and my first facial in six months. 

We've had houseguests and family get-togethers. Life is returning to normal. This weekend we're getting our next booster shot.

The new normal. 

You really can't ask for more than that. Yes, everything is different now. The pandemic years changed... everything. Changed me. But I'm happy and I'm more creative (and more productive) than I've been in years, so it's all good.

And what did you do on your summer vacation? 

What Can I Say?

 

I'm struggling with coming up with blog posts because I know basically everyone just wants to know when the (***&&^^%$##@@!ing books will be out, and I can't answer definitively except to say not as soon as anyone (including me) wants.

ARGH.

But I mean, it is what it is. I'm writing as fast as I can. Granted, at the moment that doesn't seem to be more than about 500 words a day per project. 

Do you ever go through one of those cycles where, no matter what you do or how careful you are in the doing of it, WITHOUT FAIL it comes bouncing back with a bunch of problems? That's me right now. Everything I start either ends with me falling down a rabbit hole or, worse, boomeranging back to hit me between the eyes. 

But on we go...

Anyway, all is not lost. The Office Elf is slowly excavating my office from beneath years-worth of using it as a giant file cabinet. I might, in theory, soon be able to work in there again. I learned to make the perfect margarita. I discovered the series What We Do in the Shadows and rediscovered Aimee Mann. My miniature Japanese maples seem to have survived their first winter and so far the three roses I moved to larger pots are hanging on by their tendrils (I do not have luck transplanting roses, so I'm cautiously hopeful). We had a short cold spell, but it's warming up again, so I should be swimming tomorrow. AND I'll be celebrating Easter with my family for the first time in two years.

So...lots to be glad about. 

I'm strenuously avoiding the news as much as is feasible and I've cut way back on both True Crime and social media. All of which has left me calmer and more optimistic and, believe it or not, more productive. ;-)

So what's up with you?