More writing news

Last night I turned in the manuscript to my publisher. Can You Picture This? is well on its way to publication. However, I fear there's a little work to do. We'll see, after she reads it today or tomorrow.

It's funny to not have that book to work on. I'm going to grade some papers for my other job, and then read a little, but I really need to get to work on #4. I'll tell you the name of it as soon as I know it. :)

Keep reading!

Merry Christmas Eve

Today is a wonderful and exciting day for me. Of course the first reason is because it's Christmas Eve and my huge family gathers together to share food, gifts, and merriment. I love Christmas Eve.

Also, what makes this time extra special for me is that my second book is finally out. It was published a few days ago and I announced it yesterday. It's such a thrill to have it on amazon.com. The name is Any Meat in That Soup? and I'm trying to get the word out.

From December 25 through December 29, the first book in the series is FREE. Yep, to celebrate the publication of #2, #1 (Who Killed My Boss?) will be free.

And the third reason I'm so darn giddy is that I lost weight. Down a total of 21 pounds since September 10.

Yeah, today is going to be a good day.

Perhaps a Christmas gift

My second book, Any Meat in That Soup, should be out in a matter of days. I'm excited certainly, but also a little nervous. So to help with the nervousness I'm going to be writing today--working on a Sci-Fi in cooperation with Patrice Fitzgerald and also working on the third in the Sam Darling series (Can You Picture This?).

If AMITS? comes out by Christmas, it will be a wonderful present for me--and maybe for someone on your Christmas list.

Writing news

I'm pleased to announce that my next book, Any Meat in That Soup?, will be coming out later this month. Hopefully it will be in time for Christmas. I'm going to have a special sale on the first book in the series--Who Killed My Boss? That way, if  you haven't read the first one you'll have a chance to get both of them.

Having a hard time uploading a picture from my iPad, but when I get home I'll be able to publish the cover art.

I received some edits from my publisher and am busy going through those. At the same time I'm grading papers from the university course I teach, and also working on two other books. One is the third in the Samantha Darling series, and the second is a Silo story from Hugh Howey's world of Wool.

My publisher is awaiting Any Meat in That Soup? so she can get it to the formatters for uploading to Amazon. Additionally I've given her Reality Is Murder to look at. It's a stand-alone mystery that I absolutely love. It's not written in my first-person, cozy voice. It's third person, and I hope is a little scary.

Lots going on in my writing life. And I love it. The only bad thing about it is that it's a solitary occupation. For an extrovert like me, it's difficult to take. Part of the reason I write at Panera, I guess.

Any Meat in That Soup?

I'm about 60% finished with the second book in the Sam Darling Mystery series. Right now I'm sitting on the Panera patio, one of my two favorite places to write, the other being my sister Jan's gazebo.

Crafting the ending of a mystery isn't an easy task. you want the hero to solve the mystery but you don't want to make it too easy nor too difficult. It's hard striking the right balance. Oh, and it has to be believable. You can't take a normal human being and have them suddenly become a superhero at the last minute.

And you don't want to have the hero always being rescued by someone else. That's okay every now and then, but you want the hero to actually be a hero.

So this is one of the struggles of writing a book. I find short stories easier sometimes. You go in, do something, and go out.

In a full-length manuscript there has to be excitement throughout, but you can't have things get too exciting or the reader will expect an ending sooner than you have planned.

Actually writing a book is a bit like life. You do the best you can and hope for a good result.

Enjoying this writing stuff

Another day at my sister's gazebo and pool. She is so kind to let me write here. Plus she supplies the iced tea. I've been here writing three out of the last four days, so am feeling quite productive.

Hard at work on my third book which is the second in the Sam Darling series. This series is going to be family friendly, with the "s" word as the worst thing that happens. Well, except the death, but as with all good cozies, the death happens off screen. Guess that's not true for AMITS. The guy falls over in the first line. No gore or blood however. 

The Clarice Wilkins series is a bit more out there. There's more language in it, plus I really let my mind go, and have expanded my universe to include things that may or may not ever happen. It's a lot of fun when I can cast off the reins and just RUN...

Happy Reading! Jer

I finished it

I finished the first draft of Reality Is Murder. Hooray. Today I'll glance at it and clean up anything that needs cleaning up. Then it will go to my first readers and also my publisher. Two of my first readers are just that--readers. They are so important because they'll tell me if the story makes sense, if it's consistent, if the characters are lively and interesting, and if they would buy the book. The other first reader is a writer herself. She'll tell me the unvarnished truth, and when I'm finished crying, I'll take her advice.

To me, it's extremely important to get the readers' point of view because they're the ones who make a book a success or failure. It's not if I have every comma in place, it's whether the story carries the reader into the characters' universe.

I'm thrilled that Draft #1 is done.

YES!

I figured out the  ending!!!

Writing furiously.

Lovely writing time

This weekend has been full of family activities. I love that. But I crave time to write. So I'm sitting in the gazebo by my sister's pool and I'm going to carve out some time for fiction.

I'm struggling withe the ending of Reality Is Murder, and I want to finish it before I get back into Any Meat in That Soup? It's a good problem to have.

Who Killed My Boss? is doing better than expected. My publisher said since it's my first book and I'm unknown that I should expect to be around 200,000 on the best seller list. A few days ago I was 12,000 and was elated. I've settled around 54,000 now and my publisher and I are coming up with different marketing plans. Exciting for me.

Family time was and is fun. But it's nice when I can sneak away to write. (Wish I didn't have sweet tea. The ants are crazy about it.)

A good day

I was off work today, and it's been a great day. First I was able to announce the publication of my first book, I had a good Physical Therapy session, and then Gus and I volunteered at Blessing Hospital (Bay General in my book). We spent an hour on the Child and Adolescent Psych Unit and then 45 minutes on the Rehab Unit. As usual it was wonderful, and Gus did what he always does. He's a good therapy dog!

Who Killed My Boss?

Buy my book, please! :)

Ahhh! It's finally time. My book is officially published and ready for the public. I hope you check it out and are interested enough to buy it. If you like it, I'd appreciate a review on Amazon, and also please tell your friends about it. The book is available at Who Killed My Boss?

Thanks so much. 

The result will be worth it

The day looks perfect, but before I can enjoy it, there are "chores" to do. First I have to do at least one load of laundry so I have clothes to wear. I haven't done laundry since last Thursday, and was at the Avon Breast Cancer Walk last weekend. When I got home Monday I was exhausted, and remained so all week.

But today, today is different. Gus and I will go to the office for a while so I can catch up on paperwork. Then, with those two chores completed, you can find us sitting outside--maybe Panera, maybe Starbucks. They both are close to my home. Depends on whether I want to be in the sun or not. And I'll write and write and write and write.

My goal is to complete Reality Is Murder before my knee replacement on July 10. Then I'll use the six/seven week recuperation period to work on the second Sam Darling mystery. Although I don't look forward to the surgery and the rehab, I look forward to having uninterrupted writing time.

And no knee pain.

6/5/13 One week away

My book is being formatted and uploaded soon. In one week we'll be able to  order it. It seems unreal that Who Killed My Boss? is finally a reality. I hope people like it for what it is--a humorous, light mystery.

I'm hard at work on a stand-alone book called Reality Is Murder. I'm about 90% done with the first draft, so this is the book that will be published next. The second in the Sam Darling Mysteries is called Any Meat in That Soup? It will be published in 2914. I plan to work on this manuscript when I'm recuperating from knee surgery. It will seem like a luxury to have  six weeks to write without having to go to my other job.

Writing is a joy most of the time. Other times it's almost painful--wringing out words that hopefully make sense and entertain those who read them.

Lost in thought

I should be grading papers because QU grades are due today. But I find I'm lost in thought. 

First of all, I love diversity, and am a champion of people being allowed to be different. But today I'm sad. Certainly I remain sad about the tragedy in CT, but also sad at the response to it.

People are dead. Children are dead. The tortured soul who did this is dead. His mom was a legal gun owner. Friends of hers were interviewed this morning and said she kept her guns locked up, just as she should. Still she's dead. She took her sons to the shooting range and taught them a healthy respect for weapons and how to use them safely. Still she's dead.

And people I know, respect, and love say we should arm teachers. Madness. Sadness.

Combination of things

Yesterday was a mash-up of emotions. Went to QMG Christmas dinner as my sister's date. It was fun being with both my sisters. However after the horrible school massacre in CT, it was hard to get that off our minds. Also got some disturbing health news about a b-i-l. Today I took Gus to the office and worked a few hours, then home for a nice long nap. I have so much work to do for QU, and will need to spend more hours on that.

Cover art for book

Here's something I didn't know--cover art for e-books needs to be more simple and uncluttered than print books. For Who Killed My Boss? I wanted a carriage house on the cover. I have a particular carriage house in mind. It's in Quincy, where the story takes place. The protagonist lives in the carriage house behind the owner's mansion. Those of you from Quincy can picture many such set-ups. Our town has a wonderful abundance of beautiful old homes, many of them with carriage houses. My publisher said when (if) we go to print after the e-version, we can discuss a more detailed cover. For now, she had me look at all the online best sellers with female sleuths. I did and really noticed the difference. Many of them have a few abstract curlicues behind the title and that's it. Others do have less abstract art, but almost all of them are simple. More later about my writing adventure. I'm excited. (And need to get more done on the second in the series--Any Meat in That Soup?)

Writing About Writing AGAIN...

I found out last night that an ePublisher has accepted Who Killed My Boss? for online publication. I'm beyond thrilled. I didn't want to self-publish because there's still a stigma against it--even though many self-published books are awesome. In a few days I'll publish a blurb about the book, and hope that when it's on Amazon that friends and relatives will purchase it. Now, as the publisher and I are finalizing our agreement, I'm starting again on the sequel called Any Meat in That Soup? I need to get some momentum built up so I can get it ready as soon as possible. At the same time I'm going to continue with Reality Is Murder, because I love the plot. Excited? You betcha.

10/28/11 Writing about writing

I miss writing. Technically I'm still the National Mental Health Examiner for examiner.com, but it doesn't move me. In the late 80s and early 90s I wrote a monthly column for the children's agency where I was VP. And at CPI I wrote a lot and was published in several magazines/journals. Those things were fun. But the best writing "fun" I had was right after I joined an online writing community when I was working on my first novel. I'd sit in hotel rooms all over the US and Canada and had nothing to do but write. What a joy that was! When I traveled overseas I wrote my travelogs which turned into my first blog when I lived in the UK. My second blog has dwindled away, usurped by FB.

Back to the unpublished novel--Who Killed My Boss? There were/are some really good parts to it, but the plot seems contrived and the ending wrapped up in a nice little bow, much too easily. The second one (unfinished) is: Is There Any Meat in That Soup? I love the first two lines--"He fell at my feet. Nice place for a man." And that's about all I love about that manuscript. Those two books, in my fantasy world, were the first two in a long series with a beloved protagonist. :) (Hey, I told you it was a fantasy.)

Then several years ago I started a novel about a reality game show set in the wilderness. I still like the idea of it, even though some of the characters were kind of flat. Maybe that one is salvageable--I don't know. Remember NANIWRIMO? I worked on this one during a NANIWRIMO frenzy one November.

Felt like writing about writing today. Thanks for indulging me in my narcissistic musings.

2/3/11 Pictures of the blizzard

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