5/18 Home from the hills

After five days and four nights on a writing retreat at Snowmass, Colorado, I've returned home. The retreat, at a Trappist Monastery, was successful in many ways. Certainly spiritually. However, it was even more successful writing-wise. The first draft of Book Six is finished and in the hands of my beta readers, and I wrote a short story for a mystery anthology coming out in the summer or fall. (I'll post more about that later.)

Who's the Rogue? (Book 6) is well on its way to being in your hands.

Also, Triple Trouble is very close to being published. I have the formatted version in my hands. Then it will be ready. I'm thrilled about this, since it has a special short story inside as a gift. So in Triple Trouble readers will get the first three Sam Darling mysteries as well as a short story about Sam and George's Prom fiasco in high school.

Writing in a gorgeous hermitage, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains is inspiring. It's also surprisingly easy since there's no WiFi and no cell phone reception. Amazing what I can accomplish when not tempted by the Internet, phone calls, and texts.

Still haven't unpacked, so more later...

(This is misplaced in my list of posts, because it sat here in draft. Guess I forgot to hit Publish. Also I guess I have more in common with Sam Darling than I thought.)

5/29/16 My daughter's birthday and an editing day

So my daughter's birthday is today, and I'm smiling about that. However, what doesn't make me smile is that she's thousands of miles away. I wish her much joy and happiness, as always.

As for the editing part. Well, Whose the Rogue? is due to my publisher by June 1, and I'm gathering comments from my beta readers and will incorporate some of them. Gosh, I love smart people. My beta readers are smart in different ways, but they sure know how to catch my inconsistencies. One of the many reasons I love them.

So there's that.

Also, I want to start thinking about/working on Book #7. I love the start of the process, with a blank canvas, as it were. I know what the book's about, but don't know who is killed and who did it. That's part of the fun for me, discovering the victim and the villain(s) as I write. So far, this process has worked well for me.

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5/8/16 Mothers' Day and Writing

I'm so excited because two more of my books are in print (as well as being e-books). Can You Picture This? and Will You Marry Me? are in print as of this weekend. Many of you have enjoyed the books electronically, but a lot of readers prefer to hold a book in their hands. That's why I'm so happy about this.

And my fifth book (Where Is Henderson?) will have a print version shortly.

On this Mothers' Day, I'm sitting here feeling incredibly grateful that I'm a Mom and also grateful that I got to fulfill other dreams (besides parenthood). My dreams included being a writer. I am living proof that dreams can come true, even in your 60s.

Go to http://www.amazon.com/Jerilyn-Dufresne/e/B00HK36AUO/ to see all my books, both electronic and print.

Thanks so much for reading. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing.