Time Again for An Update!

 

So let's see. My last update was in July. 

At the end of July, my dad died. I'm not going to go into it all here as I'm barely past the crying-every-time-I-think-of-him point. He had been ill, but none of us realized he was about to die. Including the doctors. So it was a shock. 

Anyway. Then I went to New England to stay with LB Gregg for a week before--the plan was--flying to Florida to take part in the Rainbow Cruise. But on our way to the airport we got caught in one of those "storm of the centuries" we now seem to have every month or so, and our flight was canceled. ALL the flights were canceled. (New experiences comimg my way fast and hard.) We were unable to get another flight that would have connected us with our cruise, so we had our own mini writing retreat for a week in rural Connecticut. (And that actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.)

When I got home, I started trying to catch up all the stuff that had fallen to the wayside during the months we were taking care of my dad. 

Somewhere in all that my mom had a stroke. Which was fortunately mild, but still. Not a great sign of things to come.

Objectively, I'd have to say this was pretty much the worst year of my life.

And yet, not entirely unproductive. In fact, I started out strong with The Lemon Drop Kid, Hearts and Hazards: Writing the Cozy Mystery, Corpse at Captain's Seat, Sea Change, Rough Water, and now Ghosted. 

Which leads us to current events. 

I have been writing, but it's mostly been for Patreon. I'm in the process of rewriting the Secrets and Scrabble series from Jack's POV--just for fun novellas: Sea Change and Rough Water. We're just starting Mystery at the Masquerade (AKA What Lies Beneath). And I also finished up the novel Ghosted, which will probably drop next week.  

Now for the update on the previous update:

Obviously, everything got significantly delayed. But here's a list of what should be coming next.

The 12.2 Per-Cent Solution (the final Holmes & Moriarity) - I'll be starting next week. We're about to hit the holidays, so it's HIGHLY unlikely I'll finish before the end of the year. But the book will happen. We're absolutely going to have the final installment.

Hex in the City (Bedknobs and Broomsticks 4) - This now falls into next year. The book will still happen (I bought the next three covers from Reese Dante, so these books are happening), but I wanted it to come out during the holidays (because Krampus) so I may decide to push it to the end of 2025.

The Medicine Man Murders (The Art of Murder 6 is the presumably final AOM book) - late next year if I don't push Hex. Earlier in the year if I do. Either way, the book will happen, whether it's the final installment or not. I mean, I intend it to be the final installment. However, letting go of Sam and Jason is going to be nearly as difficult as letting go of Adrien and Jake. But, yes, this book is definitely happening. 

But beyond those three books, I haven't really decided on any other projects for 2025. Life feels a little bit precarious right now, so I'm hesitant to commit to anything.

(There will be a novel for Patreon, of course, but I haven't figured what it will be yet.)

So that was 2024 and a peek at 2025. 

But on a more cheerful note, I'm planning to do at least some version of the Advent Calendar this year. The goal, as always, is to give readers something pleasant and holiday-ish to start their morning. Just a little Thank You from me to you.  

If you're unfamiliar with my version of an Advent Calendar, you can look at last year's (wow, it feels like a million years ago) kick off .

Contributions are of course welcome! 

And that's it. That's what I've been up to. 

Stay safe! See you December 1st.

J-J-JULY??!!!

 

Obviously, we're a bit overdue on an update.

The problem is, so much has happened over the past few months that I'm not exactly sure where to start. I think maybe I won't try to fill in the blanks. It's enough to just explain what's happening now and what I'm planning (very loosely--I've given up all idea of preorders or predictions) for the foreseeable future.

The immediate news is Corpse at Captain's Seat (Book 8 in the Secrets and Scrabble series) is currently available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Smashwords. It should be out in print next week--although there's a holiday, so there could be a delay, yes. Matt Haynes and I have discussed the audio, but I can't remember the final timeline. It's coming, that I can tell you. Matt also just finished the audio for Sea Change, the first of the Jack POV novellas (that's a Patreon exclusive, however).

Also in the DONE column: Hearts & Hazards: Writing the Gay Cozy Mystery. If you're interested in writing an M/M or gay cozy mystery, you might find this helpful. It's in print, yes, and digital. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords and Google.

As a side note, I decided my website needed an update, so I made the TERRIBLE decision to purchase a Nerdly website (formerly Author Cats). To make a long story short, my old website is disastrously out of date and the new website was a complete waste of money. 😯😦😧 So I honestly don't know what to do. The SO gave up. Now my nephews are going to try and sort it all out. And because my newsletter was connected to the old website... ANYWAY. So it's not you. It's me. I'm not sending newsletters until we get this catastrophe sorted out. 

But as catastrophes go, it's low on the list.

Okay, let me answer the questions that keep popping into my inbox.

1 - Yes. The final Kit Holmes book is still going to happen. The 12.2 Per-Cent Solution is now looking like a late Autumn release. I can't give you a firm date, but it is coming.

2 - Yes. Hex in the City is still going to happen. Since the book is set during the Winter holidays, I'd like it to come out before the end of the year. But it is a helluva year, and I can't make any promises, beyond the assurance that this book IS going to happen.

3 - Yes. The final Art of Murder book is still going to happen. HOW COULD I POSSBIBLY LEAVE SAM AND JASON THERE?!?! 😂🤣 The Medicine Man Murders will not come out before 2025. I do not know when. But I do know that book, also, is definitely going to happen. But it's not happening this year. That's for sure.

4 - No. Ghosted will not go wide for the foreseeable future. HOWEVER, it will eventually be available in audio, which means it's probably going to go into print. But that might be a very brief appearance; just long enough to get it listed on Amazon so I can get it up on ACX. I have to think that one through. The book should be finished by the end of July, but the audio is going to take a while because of the narrator's schedule.

5 - Probably not. I don't think Corpse at Captain's Seat is the last Secrets and Scrabble book. But I don't have the next books planned out. I haven't done more than think that we probably want to see Ellery and Jack get married? And there are a lot of comic possibilities for that Happy Halloween! You're Dead remake. But I've already got a list of promised titles to deliver before I start making new commitments. 

Also the entire Art of Murder series should make it into German translation. And the entire--well, the series up until now--Secrets and Scrabble series will go into Italian. 

I think that's all the most urgent stuff. I'll try to remember to check in more regularly, but it's harder than it ought to be. I'm just not online much right now. There's just too much going on in real life. I hope to high heaven that changes within the next few months, but I just don't know. I had one firm-as-concrete plan for this year and that was to go to Finland. AND THAT IS THE ONE THING THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. LOL So, clearly, I'm batting a thousand.

Time for an Update

 It probably says everything in that I'm staring blankly at my blog title and literally nothing comes to mind. 

I mean, I can just cut to the chase: I'm not writing much at the moment. I'm not blocked or burnt out or ill or retired. But I'M JUST BUSY doesn't really explain it. 

But, for example, this is my upcoming week.  We currently have no running water--this is heading into week three--due to a burst pipe somewhere in the slab beneath our (probably) kitchen floor. Maybe--hopefully--the new contractors will get permission from our house insurance company to start work this week. Meanwhile, I'm trying to pack for a gig in Ventura this coming weekend--vocal exercises, a rehearsal, laundry--oh, wait, no running water--set lists, etc. I'm also trying to pack for GRL, because when we get back from the gig, I literally have one day to get ready for the flight to Virginia. So I'm packing books, digging out swag--in between emptying out my office and the kitchen cupboards--because when the contractors finally get the go ahead, they'll be rerouting the plumbing through the walls, which means cutting into the walls of a bunch of unrelated rooms. 

Much of yesterday was spent trying to get a COVID booster. Because...long plane flight, conference, and the fact I have low immunity due to working in a bubble, worries me. I didn't react well to Covid. I wasn't one of the lucky people--like the SO--who was down for a two days and then back to normal. I was sick for a month and then suffered all kinds of ridiculous after-effects. IT'S WHAT I DO. Apparently. Anyway,  Kaiser has NO appointments available locally, and even if they did, they don't have the Moderna vax. I'm considering paying the $240. to get the shot out of network, but now my window for recovering from the after-effects (because, yes, of course, I can't even get the damned booster without being laid low) has closed. I did get my flu shot yesterday, though, so yay.

This is a snapshot of how my year--particularly the summer--has gone. It's actually the third time we've been without running water for a prolonged period. It has been a year of sick dogs, sick house, sick parents... 

The sick parents thing. My mother can not remember conversations or events that happened even half an hour earlier.

This all sounds so dark and gloomy, but actually, it has also been a great summer in a lot of ways. I've spent a lot of wonderful, precious time with family and friends--I've reconnected with friends I hadn't spoken to in decades: my best friend when I was five-years-old, my college roommates. I'm working on a huge Storyworth project with/for my dad. I've started an Etsy store (LOL I know). 

And I am writing a bit. On Patreon I'm "rewriting" the Secrets and Scrabble series from Jack's POV. Which is to say, I'm doing codas from Jack's POV covering all the encounters between Jack and Ellery in the books. Despite what that might sound like, it's actually a useful creative exercise because it's refreshing my memory of the series and the characters before I attempt to finish Corpse at Captain's Seat. 

I can't make any guarantees, but I would like to be able to finish that eighth book before the end of the year. It's a challenge because not long after I get back from GRL, my dear chum (I love that word) is coming for a week-ish and then we'll be into the holidays and then more holidays and birthdays and then it all starts again. 

Which is why when I try to think of what to say in an update, I'm not sure where to begin. 

Well, I could talk about translations--so many translations this year, which has been fantastic and a large part of what's kept us afloat financially--but, despite the strong start in the spring, the latter part of the year has not seen any fresh fiction from me. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to finally having a stretch of time to simply write. In theory that time begins when I get home from GRL. In practice? 

Time will tell.

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. ;-)

Life as We Know It

 I'm trying to figure out what the heck I've been doing for the last couple of months that's taking up so much time...

OH YEAH, WRITING.

And yet, I seem to have so little to show for it. 

Of course, writing is not all I've been doing. We had our very dear friends from Finland staying with us for a few days. We had the preparation and celebration of our annual 4th of July party. I had rehearsals for our gig in Pleasanton this September (for those who don't know, in my other life, I'm in a Celtic band and we've started accepting gigs again WHY????????? But anyway...)

One thing that slowed me down was finishing up Hide and Seek. It turned out to be way longer than I'd anticipated AND the edits were more extensive. So I started Lament at Loon Landing late (try saying that fast three times) but quickly--though not quickly enough--realized I wasn't going to finish in time to  be able to start Death at the Deep Dive so as not to also miss that deadline (and lose all my preorders).

So now I'm working on Death at the Deep Dive (which I'm LOVING) but that means that Book 7 in the series will come out before Book 6. 

I know.

But here's the thing, I could pretty much change the book numbers and it wouldn't make much difference except that the way I'm doing the series is each book is set in a particular month based on what's going on on the island (the real island, Block Island, I mean). AND I wanted a book in between Body at Bucanneer's Bay and the plot point resolutions of Death at the Deep Dive. It's not crucial, but as far as the pacing of the series overall, I feel like that's important. So yes, the first few thousand readers won't have the benefit of that elongated pacing, but the first few thousand readers probably feel I'm overthinking it. ;-)

As far as overall story arcs, nothing that happens in Book 7 affects the mystery stuff in Book 6. 

There are some other developments that will be slightly out of order, but in the long run, nothing major. Or at least, I don't think it's anything major. HOW SHOULD I KNOW?

Oh, and as for when Book 6 Lament at Loon Landing will actually come out? 

Here's the thing. After I finish Death at the Deep Dive, I need to promote and catch up everything else for a day or two (because it's like weeks since I've responded to email or messages) and then rehearsals and then I have to get my booster shot so that I've got as much immunity as possible before we do this Labor Day gig. Having had Covid once, I'm really, really, REALLY eager not to contract the BA.5E = mc^2 variant. But I do seem to get knocked on my ass by the boosters, so I'll lose some writing time there. Then there is the gig itself (which is roughly five days including travel and prep).

I'm trying to be realistic, and realistically, it's probably going to be mid-September. 

And honestly, that might be optimistic, because sometimes I get tired.

Sometimes, every month or so, I need a rest. 

But anyway, I know the updates have been few and far between, so I figured I better explain myself before the confusion about release dates reaches critical mass.

OH! Next week, I've got something special planned for the blog! A "conversation" with the wonderful Aki Fuyuto, who does the Japanese translations for my books with Shinshokan, and Yooichi Kadono, the brilliant artist who does so many of the illustrations.  I found it so interesting, and I think you will too. ;-) 

In Our Last Episode...

 

Holy moly.

Where the hell was I? Is it really Spring?

(According to the calendar, no. According to my garden, yes.)

So there's no denying starting the year out sick has slowed me down a bit. That said, it's still been a really productive start to 2022. 

It's disappointing that Fatal Shadows: The Collector's Edition is technically available, but nothing seems to have shipped yet. So I keep forgetting that I finally got that done. But I did, so cross that off the list.

As you know, I've been working on strategies to keep my creativity high and my burnout level low. One thing I came up with is every morning, before I check email or do anything but have coffee, I write 500 (minimum) words on Hide and Seek. (The serialized novel I'm doing for Patreon.) This has turned out to be genius. Because it's only five hundred words, I know I can do it, regardless of how I feel or potential interruptions, and it gets me past that wobbly BUT I DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH!!! phase of writing my "real" rough drafts. 

Basically, I'm tricking myself into writing before I have time to think about it. For anyone suffering from writer's block or burn out, this could be the way to get past it. It's definitely working for me. I start out the day hitting goals and being creative, which is inspiring in itself. And I'm able to deliver a chapter of Hide and Seek to Patreon just about every single week. Which is so fun because then I get the feedback in real time.

And it gives me extra product because I'll put the audio of the book up for sale eventually. We're all always trying to find more ways to be productive, so this is my recommendation. Write a little bit every single day on an "extra" project. Something completely different. Something just for fun.

Meanwhile, I just spent FOUR full days in tax hell doing two years-worth of taxes. (PRO TIP: DON'T SKIP DOING YOUR TAXES EVERY YEAR, NO MATTER WHAT.) Three days to pull all the paperwork together and one day at our accountant's office. YES. From 8:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. It took so ((**&&^^%$##@#@@!@ing long that she ended up having to pause us to take other clients and then bring us back. Oh, and let's not forget the two-hour drive to get there and back. It was exhausting. I find tax time really stressful anyway, and that's because I don't have a good accounting system. I have a rough idea of what I'm earning--and weirdly enough, last year was one of my highest ever income years?!?--but I'm not clear on what my expenses are. And when the writing is not going well, I tend to compensate by enrolling in online courses or investing in software  or buying lots of cover art for projects yet to be written ALL OF WHICH I RARELY IF EVER USE. 

It's not a great way to run a business (which is what writing is). 

I'm an emotional spender. Which was demonstrated clearly in my taxes. And, frankly, last year was a more "emotional" year than some.

Lesson learned? I hope so. I'm trying very hard to make this the year I get my, er, ducks in a row. But

the number of ducks I have is kind of daunting. Like, for example, I was unaware that where I live it's technically illegal to rent my second house to family unless I have a business license, a safety inspection, etc. So... Okay. I'm now trying to bring all of that up to date because I've been "renting" to family for years. 

What I'm trying to say here is life keeps getting in the way of my plans, particularly my writing plans.

Which brings us to The Movie-Town Murders. I'm currently one third of the way through the book (despite a couple of huge glitches regarding research and rewriting) which would be right on schedule, however a couple of real life things have cropped up. Like an unscheduled weeklong visit from my bestie. I'm going to grab as much writing time as I can during that week, but obviously it's not going to be my usual work day. And that's okay, life happens, and I love my friend and literally can't wait to see her. 

It may or may not mean a week's delay on the book release. Hopefully not, but I'm trying to be realistic and communicate clearly to you what's going on. 

The book is coming and it's good. I love it and I love this phase of Jason and Sam's relationship. As usual, they're largely working apart, but it's interesting to explore how they navigate the distance now that their relationship has been tested so severely. And of course everything is building toward the sixth and final book. 

I guess what I'm saying is, everything is coming along, though perhaps more slowly than I (and you) would like. I feel relaxed and confident about the work and, even about life in general, though the earth continues to hurtle toward the sun.

I'M KIDDING.

Well, no, I'm not. But I've come to terms with our new normal, and I'm reasonably calm and surprisingly creative, and I will take the wins where I find them. ;-) 

Hey, don't forget Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. I. CAN'T. WAIT. But seriously, I do like DSL. I vote we keep it. What about you? 

Kind of a Cool Thing :-)

Fatal Shadows as a mobile game?

Wellllll, I've signed a contract with the company that does the Moments: Choose Your Story games.

We'll see what happens next. I'll keep you posted.

Proceed to the Route

The problem with not listing books for pre-sale is if I don't have an actual official deadline, it's easy to lose a couple of months chasing the delightful fantasy of Being Caught Up.

At this point, I honestly don't even know what Being Caught Up would look like. Presumably I could open a file drawer in my office and find what I'm looking for. Presumably I would have answered all the email sitting in my second inbox (some of it dating back to 10/18). Presumably I would be able to spend most of my days writing.

Who knows?

Anyway, as I always tell everyone else, you can't just hang out on the diving board all day. Eventually, you have to jump.

So bombs away!

(Wait. Hopefully not! :-D)

Anyway, here's what I've settled on for this year's reasonably solid deadlines. I have yet to update my website, so this is pretty much the only place you can find this info for now.


April 29th - Slay Ride

May 1st - My story "Stranger in the House" in the Footsteps in the Dark: An M/M Mystery-Romance Anthology (by the way, Tantor has contracted the audio rights on this one--AND it looks like we're going to put into print after all.)

June 15th - The Monuments Men
(Kale Williams is saving space at the end of the month to work on the audio) :-)

July 26th - Mainly by Moonlight (Bedknobs and Broomsticks 1) 
The project I'm probably most excited about. I plan on their being TWO books in the trilogy out this year--do-able only because I'll be writing them for my Patreon group.

Then we have a little bit of space where I try again to catch up on stuff and see where I'm realistically at with the rest of the year's schedule.

If all goes well we'll then have:

October 15th - I Buried a Witch (Bedknobs and Broomsticks 2)

October 31st - Haunted Heart: Spring

And last but not least, sometime in December...Blind Side .


So that's the line up. It's pretty action-packed, so although it all seems doable at the moment, there's always a possibility that life is going to get in the way. Still I did manage to complete all of last year's (revised) schedule, so it could happen!

We interrupt this broadcast...

...for a quick word about prizes. :-)

Here's what we have so far in the way of winners.

The Yule Log

Our winners were Sam Spayde, PI and Ariel. It turns out WS will not ship to Alaska so Ariel generously requested that her log be gifted to someone else. So our second winner is now Binkabunny with that glorious coconut cake recipe.

If you do want to collect this prize, I've got to have your address ASAP because these yule logs go very quickly!

Audio Book Download Codes

My three winners are:

Tina
Booksandmore
 El gato sobre el tejado

If Only in My Dreams (print Christmas collection)

Debby

Zoey Brouthers

Ariel

And because it's the holidays and I'm feeling generous:

fangirl1981


Hannah


Almathea

Happy, happy holidays to all of you! 

(And don't you worry! Lots of prizes and giveaways still to come!)

Winners, you can contact me through Facebook, Goodreads or the contact page on my website.

Kissing the Old Year Out...

This will most likely be the last general info update of the year because tomorrow begins the annual Advent Calendar! :-)

It has been quite a year! And although writing is always a precarious business--and it feels especially precarious at the moment, given the very latest changes on Amazon--I'm feeling mostly satisfied with what I managed to accomplish in 2018 and very much looking forward to 2019.


Patreon has been a big factor in my restored equilibrium. While I can't survive solely on those monthly donations, they've more than once made up the necessary difference in my book earnings--this month is a case in point. Patreon has allowed me to produce new product (the audio for In Other Words...Murder and Green Glass Beads for example(s)) when I really didn't have the funds. And, crucially, my Patreon income allows me to advertise, which is no longer an optional strategy. It's definitely been a learning curve though, and moving forward I will most likely structure my Patreon like a high end subscription service so that (depending on tier) members receive everything I produce during the year as well as the extras and bonus items. I think that will be simpler (and more rewarding) for everybody.


Print. Well, it turns out that pulling all my print books out of Createspace and off Amazon was not necessary. WHOOPS! All that was really required was to take everything out of expanded distribution and then do expanded distribution through IngramSpark. So my old print backlist has been restored to Amazon. We're currently going through one title at a time and reformatting, changing covers, updating back material for IngramSpark and expanded distribution channels (so the Amazon titles will also be updated). The goal is to have this completed by the end of March.

Our first print title is Seance on a Summer's Night (the novel I did for Patreon) and you can order it right now right here.

Audio. I produced a number of audio books this year. The first experiment with going wide was In Other Words...Murder which can be purchased at Nook and Google Play and Scribd and Audiobooks.com as well as the usual places. You can purchase "The Boy Next Door" through PayHip and "Halloween is Murder" through Payhip.  Green Glass Beads will be going up hopefully before Christmas! I have to be honest, so far the results of going wide have not been encouraging. For example, if you search In Other Words...Murder on B&N, the audio book does not come up. It's only available on the Nook. I'm not ready to throw in the towel, but my audio needs to earn out, and going wide so far seriously reduces the chances of that. Yikes.





Ebooks. This year saw the release of The Magician Murders, Murder Takes the High Road, In Other Words...Murder, and Seance on a Summer's Night. The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out comes out December 18th. All in all, more than double what I managed to produce last year!

The first projects scheduled for 2019 will be The Monuments Men Murders, my novella for the Footsteps in the Dark anthology, Blind Side, (Dangerous Ground 6)  and the first book in the new Bedknobs and Broomsticks trilogy I'm writing for Patreon, Mainly by Moonlight.

I haven't talked much about this last project yet, but it's going to combine mystery and paranormal and romance. A bit more romance (and sex) than usual, in fact. I describe it as Adrien English meets McMillan and Wife meets Bewitched. (Okay, I need to clarify that because Cosmo Saville is NOT Adrien English and John Joseph Galbraith is NOT Jake Riordan -- I'm referring more to the intimacy of the characters and their relationship than the actual characters, if that makes sense).

Here's the initial blurb:

Though they’ve only known each other a couple of weeks, San Francisco's first openly gay Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith is all set to marry antiques dealer and (little does John know) witch Cosmo Saville in a big, society wedding—until Cosmo is arrested for murder after being discovered standing over the body of longtime rival dealer (and witch) Seamus Reitherman.

I start writing that next month and hope to have the entire trilogy finished by the end of 2019. Fingers crossed because there's already a LOT planned for next year.



Anyway, a good year. Not every plan came to fruition but a very productive year overall. And still some good stuff to come!

See you tomorrow for the beginning of the annual Advent Calendar! :-)

Lessons from 2017

Yes, a crazy burst of inspiration led to this story

Isn't it crazy how long ago 2017 sounds? :-D

I'm really excited about this brand new shiny New Year. My goal is a healthier and more productive year, and I think that's a reasonably realistic goal.

By the standards of when I began writing (back in year one), last year was a reasonably productive year. I wrote two novels (The Monet Murders and Murder Takes the High Road) and three short stories ("Plenty of Fish," "Halloween is Murder," "The Boy Next Door").  I put together a couple of print collections (If Only in My Dreams and the two Boy Meets Body collections) a couple of audio books (The Monet Murders, the Point Blank box set) and a slew of translations and box sets. I experimented with Kindle Unlimited (which I will blog on, but let's cut to the chase--HELL NO). I hosted a fan/writer retreat on Catalina Island, I attended Bouchercon mystery conference, visited the SO's homeland (Canada, but really Montreal), got a puppy. And that's just the stuff I remember off the top of my head. Once upon a time, yes, that would have been considered a busy and productive year!

Oh. And I started a number of projects I didn't complete by the end of the year: Blind Side (ARGH), The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out, Seance on a Summer's Night.  Ouch.

Ouch. Ouch. OUCH.

There was ill health and depression (my own and the SO's) and other adventures.

It was not the year I planned on. But that's life, right?

And it's possible that this will not be the year I'm planning either. GULP.

The thing is, I can't really apologize for life (and my brain) being what it is. I won't deny that the angry emails and comments did affect me (not in an encouraging or productive way) with the end result that I've come to the conclusion that I'm not a machine--or a data entry clerk--and the nature of creativity is such that sometimes inspiration and creative impulse--or lack therein--supersede schedules and best laid plans. I'm sorry I didn't produce the stories I'd hoped to produce on schedule, but unfortunately that is not how creativity works. Ill health and depression and stress take a toll. For those who don't get that, there is really nothing more to say.

But it took me a while to get to the place where I could say that with confidence. For a lot of my life I was a people-pleaser. Someone who worked very hard to make everything okay for everyone else, even when that wasn't realistic or healthy for me. And, if I'm honest, I'm still prone to people-pleasing. :-)  Which is fine, so long as it isn't coming at the price of my own creativity and mental health.

I've been a writer--or at least a storyteller--since before I could read. Seriously. As a little kid coloring in my coloring books I regaled the other little kids with stories about what we were coloring. I never viewed writing as a get-rich scheme, and while I understand that it has indeed become that for some, it has never been that for me. Do I earn a living at this? Yes. Is it a comfortable living? Some years it is more comfortable than others--it is always precarious and there is no retirement plan. (If you think that doesn't matter, your spouse is the breadwinner in your family unit.)

I did not become a writer so that I could end up more stressed out and harassed than when I was a corporate overlord--except without the steady paycheck. :-D That's one of the conclusions I came to this year.  I do believe in discipline and commitment and staying on schedule, but the creative life has to allow for deviations, for inspiration, for lack of inspiration. That's another conclusion I came to this year. I'm not driven by market or what's selling or where there's an opening or blah-blah-blah. I write what I am moved to write. It's an awkward thing. I can't just crank out the words like there's no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow and I will still be writing and living with the consequences of that tomorrow. I've been a professional writer since I was sixteen. I'm in it for the long haul, as I've already proved. A lot of what I knew is gone forever. But a lot of what I believe in remains true--and will always remain true--craft matters and heart trumps algorithm. You show respect to the reader by delivering the best book that is in you--and that respect is repaid in reader loyalty.

Yes, there will probably be surprises

My plan for 2018 is still to deliver the stories I was unable to deliver in 2017. Blind Side, The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out, In Other Words Murder-- and the non-fiction Mr and Mrs Murder. To that end I've accepted ZERO contracts with any publisher. The Magician Murders will proceed as planned. The only other scheduled stories are The Haunted Heart: Spring and Slay Ride (and those are not due until the fall of 2018) . That's the plan and while there may be delays or the occasional surprise story, I intend to stick to it to the best of my ability. I read some, frankly, idiotic comments last year about my willful discarding of deadlines. The reality is those long-anticipated books will bring in the most cash for me, so of course I want to do them. I like money as much as the next person--and I need it as much as the next person. But I'm not going to half-ass those stories--or any stories--and I'm not going to force them at the expense of my mental or physical health.

Speaking of which, that's another of the big lessons from 2017. I plan to focus on health in 2018. Writers tend to be...unhealthy. We sit on our asses in our own little world and that creates fat butts and fat brains. I want to maintain the fitness I gained the hard way in 2017.  Both the physical fitness and the mental fitness.

Other plans for 2018? There will be a new website. Mine has become...cumbersome. If I can possibly get in, I'm thinking of going to GRL this year.  And finally, I will never again schedule any projects to be written during the holidays. REMIND ME OF THAT ONE. I HAVE A TENDENCY TO FORGET THAT RULE.

Stuff will happen. That's what I love about every new year.

What did you learn from 2017? What new strategies will you implement in 2018?