Back at the Keyboard

I haven't been able to get "out and about" like I normally do and was somehow still surprised when my pictures scheduled to social media ran out. That happens when you don't get out to take more! 

I finished my round of treatment Sunday and started feeling well enough to sit down with my characters again, who promptly informed me I was spending too much time on subplots and not enough time with the main story. Back to work. Digging into research and developing ideas. AND getting out and about to remember what fresh air feels like. 

I'm taking a blogcation for the rest of the year so I can concentrate on family, and the holidays, and getting this story written. 

Since there are so many different holidays in December, I'll wish you all 

Happy Holidays! 

(and if you see me, you can wish me a Merry Christmas 🎅🎄)

The odds are ever against you

If you don’t believe in vaccines, you can step away now. This isn’t a post you’ll want to read.

I’m of a certain age where doctors recommend more vaccines. The evidence of their effectiveness is demonstrated in the near eradication of polio and small pox. Yes, I’ve had my covid vaccines. And the flu vaccine. And shingles, because YIKES. For three years I’ve managed to avoid the plague, and right about the time I figure its safe to “go back in the water” (Jaws reference, in case you’re not aware), it found me. 

I’ve resumed traveling this year, and after flying to Spain with a young woman coughing nearby the whole way, I had confidence my immune system could combat whatever was out there. 

The odds are ever against you. 

We had company for Thanksgiving. Just two people. We went to Christkindlmarket and braved the crowds there. And last weekend, I went to a holiday breakfast. Monday, I woke up “not feeling right.” Just for grins, I took one of those tests. SURPRISE! Someone shared their germs with me. Not sure who, not sure where I picked it up.

I’m grateful to have had three years without contracting the disease, which means I’ve avoided the most deadly strains, but I tell you what… even though its more like the flu than it originally was, its never fun to be sick. I’m down for the count, so writing is backburnered until I can manage the fever long enough to form a cohesive thought.

What do you do when you’re sick? Hide in bed? Watch movies from the easy chair/recliner? 

The table's a little smaller now, but I'm still thankful

When I was little, we always traveled to visit family on Thanksgiving, until one year it snowed and we couldn't make the trip. Somehow, we stopped going after that. Might have had something to do with the fact us "kids" started getting older and it was harder to corral us all together at the same time.

After I got married, I made Thanksgiving dinner for my in-laws every year. Turkey. Stuffing. Potatoes. The whole nine yards. I love to cook, and it was the perfect opportunity to go nuts (figuratively speaking). One year, I think I even made a crown roast, just because. We had mountains of food and several desserts and a table full of people. Then we'd go to my parents' house and do it all over again with "my" family.

I traded in-laws a while back, and we stuck to just one Thanksgiving dinner. Kids get older. They move away. We have other in-laws to compete with (well, it's not really a competition, but you know what I mean). My kids and grandkids celebrate "Thanksmas" with us now, a compiled holiday where there isn't so much running around and who's house do I have to be at when. We switched to ham because nobody likes turkey, and in the past couple of years, the kids brought pizza. Easy peasy, right? But I do still try to cook on the holiday, even if it's just me and The Big Guy. 

This year, we're having company for Thanksgiving! I get to cook! As I started making my grocery list-- turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes--The Big Guy says he wants ham. Nobody likes turkey. (This after he'd just bought turkey lunch meat, but I digress...) So, we called his sister, our company, and consulted her and the great-nephew traveling with her. Ham it is. They're traveling to Chicago, and they want to go into the city. They're only going to be here a couple of days, which now creates the issue of which day do I cook? Realistically, either day is fine, and for the other day, they want Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza because they can't get that where they're from. Best of both worlds, right?

As I whip up dessert, their family tradition, I'm hanging loose on when I get to cook the meal. Ham's in the fridge, beans are ready, sweet potatoes are on the counter waiting to be peeled and cooked. We're planning a day in the Big City to see Christkindlmarket and the Macy's Christmas windows, and the tree in Millennium Park. The company? They want to see the museums. Museum of Science and Industry, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium--but those things take a full day. In fact, in my experience, you can't see all the exhibits at even one of them in a day. The Big Guy suggested they make another trip in the summer when it isn't a holiday to see the museum campus. As the "in-law," I'll let them sort it all out, who goes where on what day, but if you're traveling at the holiday, wouldn't you want to see the holiday displays that aren't there the rest of the year? I wish we had time to do it all... The museums in Chicago are pretty spectacular.

Me? I'm ready for whatever gets decided. I get to cook a holiday meal. The table's a little smaller these days, but I'm thankful for the extra seats at the table this year. 

Developing Characters

I recently had a conversation with my buddy Bobbi about where my characters come from. The answer? Everywhere.

They usually start as an inspiration from someone I knew or have met. I need to add another thought here - a fellow author recently lamented he needed to make sure his characters had their own thoughts and not reflections of his. To quote him during his editing process, "I'm struck today by noting the difference between MY voice vs. the CHARACTER'S voice." I hear ya, buddy.

I wrote a character once based on a "bad friend." Unfortunately, I'd written her as my heroine's best friend. People commented. They didn't like her. I'd given this friend too many of my bad friend's attributes and not enough good friend attributes. I did manage to tone her down in that book - LIVING CANVAS - and then decided I needed to give her her own book to address the unlikeability. Find out WHY she was so unlikeable. This is also where I point out she was "based on" and not a direct characterization of a person. Moving on, I made Cinda her own person, no longer "based on." In RETURN TO HOFFMAN GROVE, people got a different look at Cinda. She has a VERY strong personality, but her friends aren't afraid to call her out on it when she gets out of line. She needed a very strong hero, another characterization I borrowed from real life and added artistic license to. The resulting characters are much different from the original models.

In future books, I often got stumped on my characters - why they acted the way they did and the undeveloped parts of their personalities. To "round them out," I looked up enneagrams and used a method my editor recommended to me that provides personality traits, how they're developed, what makes someone respond the way they do, the good, the bad, the redeeming, the damning. The book and the process it offers have helped me multiple times.

The other thing to consider is that each character needs an arc. They have to evolve from one thing to something else. I'm writing my third Elspeth Barclay novel. She had to face her fears in Book 2, and in this one, I've had to give her a new challenge. However, she was whiny about some things in Book 1, which escalated in Book 2 (this woman is neurotic, I'm telling you!), and in this book, she's absolutely driving me crazy with all the whining. She doesn't like change, and she's being bombarded by it. I almost feel sorry for her, except I'm tired of listening to her complain. With that being said I'm hoping to tone her down a tad before she reaches you guys, but in the meantime, she's making me nuts! The goal here is to develop her arc. Among these changes is one that will settle her neuroses. She isn't alone in this anymore. This, too, is an example from real life. 

Once upon a time, I knew someone who was very insecure. (Elle isn't insecure, but some of her responses are similar.) That person was difficult and responded poorly in certain situations, but they reached a crossroads and made a life change that transformed them. I'm hoping to use that same sort of situation to calm Elle down. 

Have you read a book with a character that annoyed you? Were you able to stick around until the character found their way to being sympathetic?

Don't Try So Hard

Quite often when I start a new book, I get stuck with "what am I doing?" "What happens next?" Then, when I sit to write, I struggle with words. I generally know what's going to happen in the story, but the words just won't come. 

Writing a novel is NOT easy. 

I knew I was going to write a book around my trip to Bar Harbor before I left Maine. In fact, my buddy Jennifer was asking me what the story might be, and I told her what was taking shape inside my head. I also told her about my stumbling block (there's always a stumbling block when I first get going - how am I going to get around "this"?). She suggested a workaround, one that made a lot of sense, and I was ready to start writing when I got home.

Here's another pointer which I've covered before. As with anything you want to be good at, you have to practice. Every day. It had been a month since DEMON FROM THE CRYPT had gone live, and I'd been waiting to start the new one until after my trip. Which means the only writing I was doing was here at the blog. Which means I was developing rust. Not to be deterred, I dove into the new book (with the catchy, placeholder title of "Elle 3"). Creative juices are dammed up. Still, I started writing.

As I wrote, I found myself getting sidetracked with subplots. Words were making it to the page, but they didn't belong there. So the day after they were written, I'd go back at the chapters with a seam ripper and remind myself "this isn't the story." Then I'd press onward, trying to break the dam to get those juices flowing. Let me tell you, it has been a struggle. Some books are like that. 

Yesterday, I was brainstorming with my critique partner and she proposed some additional subplots to write toward to kickstart "the rest of the story." I'd reached the end of my writing day, so I made a note of them and saved them for today. Then, when I went to bed last night, I let my characters take over my subconscious and they showed me something fascinating. While I'd been struggling with getting them to do what I want, they've been playing out the story. One of the things my critique partner had suggested had already been foreshadowed. Well, something similar, anyway. Conflict has already been established. Possibilities have already been suggested. 

Despite my best intentions to sabotage myself, I was writing a cohesive story. Sometimes I think my brain is just wired that way. How many times when I've been writing a story have a struggled with "I don't know where this is going?" only to discover I'd already foreshadowed my path forward? My problems come when I think too hard. When I'm trying to force things one direction while my creative subconscious has already laid out a clear path the other direction--usually, the right direction.

The dam has broken. My creative juices are flowing again. I've been trying to write every day, too, which makes a big difference. I'm letting the characters tell me their story and not trying so hard to force them into places they don't belong. 

Gee. Maybe Elle's neurotic influence is rubbing off! LOL 

Have I mentioned the new audiobook is live? Shout out to Jude Erin who did a fantastic job with THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. Have you listened yet? I'd love to hear what you think.

All Saints Day

Yesterday was Halloween (in case you didn't know). Years ago, my oldest sister made me this house. The roof has an opening in the back for handing out candy. I have been using this house, even when it's just for decoration, for decades. 

This house has more meaning to me these days. Now it also serves as a remembrance of my oldest sister who is no longer with us. She was "my person."

She was creative and had such a positive outlook and touched the lives of everyone who knew her. As this is All Saints Day, I wanted to remember her on my blog. 

I was blessed with three older sisters, and as I think of how much they have all influenced me, I'm grateful to have them as part of my life. It helps me appreciate my own children in a different way.

Sometimes, when FOMO hits or I'm missing my kids, I'm grateful to know they spend time with each other, expanding on their sibling bond. No one knows you like your sisters/brothers. Not even your parents. The sibs know secrets your parents don't (or do, but don't let on to). They share a piece of your DNA, the one that says, "I get you and I know the things that shaped your life." Built in empathy.

Something the world needs a lot more of these days.

Taking a moment to remember those souls who are no longer walking with us, and extending peace to those doing the same.

Producing an audiobook

I have worked with a couple different narrators and have gone through the process myself, narrating my own work. 

My latest narrator has just completed work on the audiobook for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. When she did the first book, HORNED OWL HOLLOW, she checked in when she had questions about how something might be pronounced, but ultimately, she recorded and mastered the whole thing before I was able to listen to it. 

When I commissioned my first audiobook, the narrator sent me chapters as she finished them to review. I appreciated that, mostly because I was able to catch something that didn't work right away and save rerecording later on down the line. I did discover working with her that there were more pickups - corrections - as we went. She did a second book for me and I think the one big thing I had to have her fix was the way she read one of the characters. She read his part with a sharp twang instead of a drawl that gave him a completely different sound from the previous book where his dialect had been very understated (as it was meant to be).

I used someone else for a different series, and she, too, did an "all at once" approach. She was a "professional," a member of the Screen Actors Guild. With the "all at once" files, there weren't as many pickups because she'd already reviewed the files, mastered them, and worked with someone else to error check her. She did, however, have one major hiccup for me - "that's not what this says." Inflection is everything. But that's what pickups are for. The opportunity to make a correction before the book is finalized.

I've discovered I like doing the interim "listens," if only to spot check voices or pronunciations, but I suspect narrators aren't as happy doing that because it interrupts their flow. Knowing they have to stop to make a correction slows down the process. However, if I'd had the benefit of interim checks for Horned Owl Hollow, I might have corrected how she pronounced some of the last names, and also asked for a different take on two of the voices. At the end of the day, it wasn't critical to the performance. With the files coming to me as a finished product, I let those things slide. Maybe that's another reason the narrators prefer to send it all at once.

With "Demon," there was a significant mispronunciation when I got the files back. I had to request "re-dos" for 34 instances of that word throughout the performance. There were other minor corrections to be made, and I have to admit that when I got the "sample" from her, I passed on pointing out the pronunciation of one of the character's names, which I should have done. Not worth correcting. Overall, she did an excellent performance of the story, and after going through the pickups, the audiobook is now slogging its way through the final production process. A newsletter will be going out once it is live.

Do you listen to audiobooks? What are some of the things that jump out at your during the narrator's performance?

Getting to work

Being an author is far from glamorous. 

For years, I balanced my writing with a day job. In many ways, that made me more disciplined with the writing because of my limited availability to disappear into an alternate universe. Now that writing is my full-time gig (and no, it doesn't support me. I have the years at the day job to thank for that), my writing schedule is somewhat more haphazard. 

For starters, there's exercise to consider. Sitting at my computer 24/7 is not an option. Three days a week, I take myself out of the house to a gym to exercise. The other four days, I take myself outside for said exercise, or the treadmill in the basement, or other concentrated efforts. Generally, the big guy goes with me, so if we go to the gym first thing in the morning, that means I don't settle in to write until lunchtime. Ooops. Lunchtime. Okay, so I'll start AFTER lunch. I strive to spend 2-3 hours after lunch at my computer. On those "home" exercise days, I might start writing in the a.m., or at least that's the goal. The exercise on "home" days more often falls closer to lunchtime (right before or right after). 

Add in other distractions. Currently, I'm waiting for the audio files for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. The lovely Jude Erin has promised them to me by the beginning of November, but her regular updates make me optimistic that she might be early. That means a couple of days to listen to the files and make sure she hasn't missed something (she's very thorough, so that isn't likely, but always better to check). Then, there's that part of me that procrastinates because, you know, those files are coming any day now.

Did I mention marketing? With each book release (do you have your copy of THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT yet?), time has to be devoted to getting the new book into people's hands. Creatives to create. Taglines to tag. Markets to tap. This is EXHAUSTING for someone who has trouble tooting her own horn, much less actually getting herself out to meet people. Even the "not peopley" parts. 

Then there's the creative process, itself. Generally, getting "into the groove" is the most fun part of the job. I'm working on Elle 3, as much as all these other things are getting in my way and providing me reasons to procrastinate. I'm not in the groove yet. I know what the story is, but because I also like to write romance novels in addition to the spooky stuff, I keep getting side-tracked by Elle's burgeoning romance. These books are about the ghosts. I remind myself of that on a daily basis. The romance is the subplot, not the main plot. 

Last, there's the weather. What does the weather have to do with writing a book? Speaking in broad generalizations, authors are often introverts and also deal with some level of depression. This is not true of all authors (broad generalizations, remember?). These generalizations, however, do apply to me. We have had two weeks of rain. Rain tends to dampen the mood/spirit. Add in the "getting out there to promote," which requires a lot of energy and effort for an introvert. Recovery time required. Usually, this is the best time to lose myself in my writing and escape the real world for a little while. Usually.

When all is said and done, I'm working on the new book. The process maybe isn't going as fast as I'd like it to, but it is progressing. 

So this is where I tell you I'll be sending the next newsletter as soon as the audio for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT is finished and on sale. You'll want to make sure you're signed up. Also, the audio for FAMILY ALCHEMY is on special (narrated by yours truly), so if you've been waiting to listen to a copy, now's your chance. The special is running at GooglePlay, Apple Books, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, and Chirp. I hope you'll let me know what you think! Pats on the back are always good motivators. 😁

Little Miss Muffet

If you’re squeamish about bugs - spiders in particular - you might want to skip this post…

I’ll start out easy. While on my trip to Maine, my buddy Jennifer very casually mentioned the big black spider in the bag she’d packed with car snacks. Eek! (After she’d properly disposed of it, thank heaven.)

Fast forward to back home. I sent the Big Guy out for groceries, and broccoli that was on sale. I washed half a head to cook for dinner, and something caught my eye in the sink. A big black - black widow! - spider. I very calmly called the Big Guy into the kitchen and pointed at the beast. After dinner, I told a friend about the spider and posited that it might have come from the broccoli since I’ve NEVER seen a black widow in my house. She said she’d never heard of spiders in broccoli. Well, I have, but black widows? So, of course, I had to look it up, and yep, it happens. Yeesh.  Now I’m nervous about eating the rest of the heads he bought, but I will soldier on. (The second meal with broccoli was spider-free.)

These sorts of unexpected things have a tendency to find their ways into my books. In this case, I wrote black widows BEFORE I encountered one (have you read THE ARCHITECT?). Shout out to editor Kelly for educating me on the wee beasties.

Meanwhile, I'm working on Elspeth Barcley #3 and contemplating what unexpected horrors... um, surprises... she will run into this time.

Have you read the new series? How are you liking it? 

More trolls

I just love these guys, so I had to share all of them. You can read about them in the pictures with their names. I found them in Maine, at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens, but the artist, Thomas Dambo, has been creating them all across the country from sustainable materials.

Roskva

Birk

Gro

Soren

Lilja

Here a link to when they were in my neck of the woods
In case you want to see more!

---

Don't forget to get your copy of the NEW RELEASE! I can't wait to hear what you think!

Amazon | BN | Apple | Kobo | Others

I am inspired!

The new book is out! (in case you hadn't heard, you can buy THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT here!) But you know that... or at least I hope you do! So I won't bore you with the details, although I hope you'll get your copy!

Work has started on Elspeth's third book. I took a trip to unwind, reinvigorate, play with my friend, get inspired. Jennifer took me sightseeing in one of her favorite playgrounds and together we spotted many things that tugged on the imagination. From trolls at the botanical gardens (Thomas Dambo is really spectacular for those of you who don't have exhibits close enough to visit), to Bar Harbor, to Acadia National Park, to tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House, to Cadillac Mountain, there were so many beautiful sights and sounds. And some haunting sights, as well. Allow me to share some of my photos:

Playful trolls

Secret treehouse?

A pointing tree

Devilstone cottage

The Margaret Todd

Did I mention the book release? Oh, yeah. Don’t mind me. Let me know if you got your copy!

Empty Nest Syndrome?

I have to say it's a wonderful feeling when I get final edits back and I can address them in the span of two hours. Shocked and amazed, I moved on to the final proof of THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. Having Word's "Read" function read the text back to me for those typos that slip by my eyes but which can't escape the ears. The narrator for the Elspeth series will begin work for the audiobook version shortly.

I've sent the book out into the world, rather like a child moving away from home. I’m feeling somewhat melancholy as I wave goodbye and hope it thrives out there in the real world, but it will never be far away. 

And so I've begun writing Elspeth's third book. Interviewed a source, picked up a book from the library, and embarking on more "physical" research. The book has a plan, but I still need details. Taking a breather to gather my thoughts and assemble the research. 

If I don't see you next week, I'll be back on release day. In the meantime, here are the preorder links again, in case you're anxious to meet my newest fledgling.

Hair

I'll have final edits back on Friday, so as I twiddle my thumbs (I have a new story in queue, but with interruptions abounding, it consists mainly of notes), I've been doing research and taking field trips. 

Field trips are fun. The weather is not. As with most of the country, we are in a final (one would hope) heat wave as summer makes its last stand, along with high humidity. Earlier this summer, I got a short haircut to deal with the weather because I have curly hair. Thick, curly hair. Humidity has a tendency to like to run its fingers through my hair and leave it standing on end, or straight out from my head. When it's short, it just curls into tight little curls. Because we're at the end of the summer my hair is getting longer again. Which means the humidity is gleefully mussing up my hair again.

 Here's the thing. Nobody likes their own hair. At least most of the time. If I'm honest, I do like my hair. Most of the time. After years of not being able to tame the mane, I've finally learned how to control it. Most of the time. I have a family member who tells me she ties hers into a ponytail after she washes it to control it, and at the end of the day when she releases, it's fine (and still damp!). I use product on mine. She tells me using product on her hair is like making it dirty again right away - putting something on clean hair seems counterintuitive to her. She doesn't have my hair issues. If I did her ponytail thing, the minute I took out the ponytail, I'd have the lion's mane once again.

When I started getting of an age where high school reunions began, I had a message from an old classmate who used to live a couple of blocks away. He asked if I remembered him, and my first thought was "we had the same hair." (I remembered him for other reasons, but we traveled in different crowds in high school.) I asked how he managed his hair now that we're all grown up. He said he keeps it very short (shout out to Steve). 

When we went to Spain for my niece's wedding, I was concerned about my hair. I kept it long, figuring it would be easier to tie it back in an attempt to control frizzy hair. I was wrong. Fortunately, I found a stylist in Spain who tamed it so I was presentable for the wedding. Muchas gracias! 

Neatly styled (after)

Tied back, but still "crazy" (before)

I'm growing it out again for winter (winter wool, doncha know). Overall, I find it IS easier to maintain when it's longer. Is your hair the kind that expands in humidity, or does it go limp?

I'm not a patient person

I want to be done with the new book, but I still have to clear final editor comments. In this same vein, I want it off my plate. Because I'm not a patient person. Because I'd already reviewed it and edited it, and even though I knew that one section didn't really work, I was tired of looking at it. 

Deep breath.

A month later, I have fresh eyes and more patience. I took another look at everything and fixed that section that didn't work. Hopefully. And found some other spots that I'd thrown a band-aid on that didn't stick. In the end, they're easy fixes, but why can't I see all that on the first pass? Or the third pass? Often, those band-aids are on top of band-aids, so they stem the bleeding, but don't help the wounded part heal. To continue with that metaphor (cuz you all know how much I love an analogy), to prevent infection, you have to clean the wound, treat it and wrap it so it stops bleeding. Slapping that quick band-aid is just a quick fix.

Fresh eyes. Recovery time. Time away from the story. They are essential parts of editing. Generally, that time away is the time the editor is looking everything over, so when comments come back, everything I missed the first hundred times is crystal clear. 

And so I wait. It's in my editor's hands now (the "healed" version). Here's hoping I fixed all those rough spots and her comments are few. Fingers crossed.

We're Having a Heat Wave... 🎜🎝

Oppressive heat and humidity make good reasons to hide out inside and/or to think of "ideal" vacation spots.

My critique partner sent me a blog post to read yesterday about a boutique hotel/BnB in Maryland that boasts ghosts, among other things. So, of course, I want to go. I mentioned it to the Big Guy, pitching a visit to his family while we're there. His response? "I don't care about ghosts." Well, of course he doesn't, but Elspeth Barclay does! Inspiration is everywhere if you only look. 

Normally speaking, he indulges me when I say I want to visit something purported to be haunted. When we went to NOLA, we stayed in a haunted hotel (although every hotel in NOLA promises to be haunted). No, we didn't see any ghosts. And you know what else we didn't do? A ghost tour. (Which was TOTALLY on my agenda, but I forgot because... vacation...) He likes sightseeing as much as anyone else, so he overlooks my quirks in favor of everything else there is to do. (This is where I tell you he suggested another trip before I even mentioned the boutique hotel to do something I've always wanted to do... He's a good guy, doncha know.)

In the meantime, my critique partner suggested a writers' retreat to the boutique hotel. She isn't so much interested in the ghost aspects, but the setting should be conducive to the craft, and it's owned by "Nora." IYKYK. My crit partner is a big Nora (or, more accurately, her alter ego) fan. Me, not so much, although I respect the hell out of her. So there may yet be a trip to Maryland in my future! In the meantime, I have another trip coming up that I'm chomping at the bit over. 

I'm grateful for the opportunity to travel, especially after the past several years. It's no longer something I take for granted, and something I consider more carefully as I take into account my carbon footprint -- which contributes to the heat wave that started this ball rolling in the first place!

With the summer coming to a close, do you have any vacation plans? Are you planning ahead for next year?

The Business End

While I wait for my critique group to finish, and then my editor's comments on, THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT, I'm concentrating on the business end of things. There's so much more to writing a book than writing a book. 

I've been setting up trailers and ads and graphics, oh my. How do I get a reader's attention? I should also add to that question "in an ever-changing environment."

Welp, here's the trailer I put together. Picking the highlights from the book to add is a challenge, especially when my highlights as an author (i.e., those things that inspired me to write) might only have a minor place in the book as a whole. (For instance, the photo - in my cover reveal post - that kicked this whole process off.)

Then there's the process of condensing an entire novel into one or two sentences (also known as an elevator pitch). Sort of leaning toward: Elle would do anything for her sister, even face a demon.

I'm also booking personal appearances in case anyone wants to buy a book from me live and in person (see Karla in the Wild).

You know. The business end of things. 

Oh. And then there's the next book to write. Often, I'll have a start on the next one while I'm waiting for this one to go through the finalizing process. What do you think? Are you guys enjoying Elle Barclay?

Are Ghosts Real?

One of the most common questions I get about my ghost books is, "Do you believe in ghosts?"

That, right there, is a very complicated question. I normally reply with, "I don't NOT believe in ghosts." Have I had "extra" normal experiences? Yes. Do I believe in a psychic connection, even with living people? Yes. Not like you see on television or on those silly ghost hunter shows or even on the scary movies. Call it intuition, if you like (which is how my characters generally have "an overdeveloped sense of intuition"), but when you know someone really well, you often have a sense about them. 

I remember writing a Christmas letter to my godfather years ago when I stopped midsentence. I was overwhelmed with a sense of him, many states away, even after not talking to him in quite some time. I stopped dead in my tracks and called my mother to see if she'd heard from him recently--to see if he was all right. She hadn't heard from him. At the time, he was well, or at least he said he was. I say, "he said he was," because it was a short time later that he passed away. He was on medication that has since been pulled as treatment because the benefits no longer outweigh the risk. I credit that experience to "tuning in to him" while I was writing the letter, which allowed me to feel "something" I might have otherwise ignored. I was relieved to know I was wrong, but was I?

I've had friends that I haven't heard from that I get a sense about. Then, when my phone rings, I'm almost afraid to answer because I almost know what they're going to tell me. Some of it is intuition, or deductive reasoning based on what I already know, but it's still spooky. Sometimes you can anticipate news. That doesn't make it any less eerie when you're right. 

And then there are the ghosts. When I went to New Orleans, I remember going to sleep one night in a "haunted hotel," and telling the ghosts I was too tired and not to bother me if they were really there. There are times when I'm more receptive to a visitation than others, but I have yet to have an encounter with a spirit from beyond the veil. Maybe I should revise that - I've never seen a spirit. I have seen things that indicate there might be one nearby, or one who wants my attention for one reason or another. Seeing a ghost is a choice, both on the part of the spirit and the visited person. Do I want to see them? 

At the end of the day, I'm a coward. I don't WANT to see a spirit. At least, not most days. I choose not to acknowledge certain things, or not to search out certain things, as I'm also certain those things are out there if we look for them. As my Elspeth Barclay character says, I don't want to anchor anyone to this life for any reason. I prefer to think of them as moving on to their ultimate reward. Toward the ends of their lives, my parents frequently talked about their impending deaths. To add some levity to one of those conversations, I jokingly asked if they would come back to be my guardian angel, to which my father immediately responded -- emphatically, I might add -- "No." Alrighty then! But I get it. They've done their time in this realm and are ready to move on. I'm okay with that. I'm willing to let them go, even when it breaks my heart.

I have a friend who has told me she enjoys my books because they make her feel closer to her husband who left us too soon. She often sees signs of him, a way that he lets her know he's still with her, and my books reinforce that feeling. Likewise with another widowed friend. I have no doubt it's true in both cases. Some people might say they're looking for things as a source of comfort, to ease their grieving. While that may be true, to both of those friends I'd just like to say--

I do believe in ghosts.

Cover reveal and backstory

When I was touring around Seville, I did a paranormal tour for ideas. While several things tickled my imagination, including a little stray dog that followed us all around the city, I only had random notes to go by. I found myself enjoying the sights more than tuning into story ideas (as it should be!). Then, on one of our last nights there, we passed a window. We'd walked by this same window dozens of times while we were coming and going, but apparently the lights weren't on previously. This particular night, it stopped me in my tracks. Next to the tapas bar. Next to the Mexican restaurant. Next to the hair salon. Next to the souvenir shop. But what was it? A warehouse? A fix-it shop? It wasn't accessible from the courtyard, but with the lights on, everything in the window sparkled. The clicking of my camera is the sound of my imagination tuning in.

Chandeliers

How to fit it into the story? I SO wanted to make this my cover, but it doesn't scream supernatural in any way shape or form. This picture looks more like a regency romance than a haunted house/ ghost/ demon novel. But I wanted to share it, so I'm sharing it here.

INSTEAD of the glittering chandeliers, I chose another picture. One that more accurately displays the genre you're getting with THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. Something dark and mysterious, and yet still representative of Seville. Something like...

Amazon | BN | Apple | Kobo | Others

You like? This photo is from the Baths of Maria Padilla at the Real Alcazar (the royal palace). Oh yeah. The book is available for preorder, just in case you want to encourage me to keep writing 😉

Oh, and I should mention, personal appearances are being scheduled. First one will be at the Gail Borden Library in October. Check my "Karla in the Wild" page for updates.

 

Research - when not to use what you learn

As I'm editing, I'm circling back on the research I did to make sure I'm presenting things as they are (or at least close enough that artistic license doesn't make it unbelievable). I'm also weighing what needs to be on the page versus what doesn't. 

Today's example lies in one of my venues. There is a crypt. An underground vault. It is very singular, and a fascinating place that was used in Game of Thrones. The main vault has vaults on either side that are presently closed to the public. I confirmed that knowledge, although I didn't know why they were closed until I went back to double check my research. The main vault holds a cistern that captures rainwater that was once used as the water source inside the palace. The vaults on the sides are known as galleries because they were lined with paintings. Interesting! The sides are closed off to visitors largely because the paintings have been moved for restoration. In the environment they were kept, they were deteriorating rapidly. Can I incorporate that into the story? Should I?

No.

First, my character is unfamiliar with her surroundings as it is. The paintings aren't there, so she wouldn't know they were supposed to be. Secondly, she doesn't know the history behind the locale. The setting in my book is a meeting place, one she didn't know existed until she was told to go there. She can see the galleries--the passages alongside the main vault--but access is closed off. She doesn't know why and she doesn't know what's missing (the paintings) so this little bit of research, while interesting, has no place in the story. What DOES have a place in the story was the research I couldn't find. The cistern is the central focus inside the crypt. I was doing verification to find out how deep this cistern was, which at one time was rumored to be a bath for a king's mistress. Yeah, that story doesn't belong in my story, either, but that was something I learned. How deep was her bathtub? Swimming pool size? Or bathtub size? I couldn't find that information online, so I went to my local source for help. Someone who lives there, someone who knows (thank you, Stephanie!). A pivotal scene in my book takes place there, so I really kinda need to know that information, as does the reader. An additional bit of information Stephanie shared with me, she could see coins in the cistern (tossed in to make a wish? Or for luck?). Should I include that in the story? Hmmmm. Need to muddle that for a bit. My brain is racing to Three Coins in a Fountain, or other movies that include fountains with coins. Unless the story revolves around the coin(s), not sure they're worth mentioning.

Or are they?

That's the fun of researching. You learn interesting tidbits. What's interesting to the author, however, doesn't always move the story forward. 

One of my critique partners wrote a couple of western books set on ranches. She added dead cows in all the books because there are dead cows on ranches. True fact. But as a reader, I don't need to see those dead cows unless they have a reason to be there. Her rationale is that it shows the rancher doing his job. Agreed. But to me, it's like saying the main character has to pee. I don't need to know that/need to see that unless it creates conflict or tension. There are plenty of other things a rancher does rather than notice dead livestock. Keep in mind I read about her cows in the development process, first drafts. Some of those dead cows did relate to the plot, so they DID have a reason to be there.

And then there's Anne Rice. When I read The Witching Hour, there were chapters and chapters filled with backstory/research. Long, tedious chapters which, when I'd finished the novel, I reflected on as interesting. 🤷 What can I say?

I have included unnecessary research in some of my stories, sure. In the early drafts. Only later, while reviewing what I've written, have I looked at it and realized the information is superfluous. It doesn't need to be there. Or maybe only a sentence instead of two paragraphs. Yes, the information adds authenticity, but if it doesn't move the story along, it turns into "blah blah blah." 

Have you read a book that had fascinating research to share that had nothing to do with the story?

Street Teams

I have to tell you -- while writing books is what I love to do, there is SO MUCH MORE that goes into getting those book into peoples' hands. 

While I've been editing the next Elle Barclay book, I've also tried to juggle marketing the first one. And the production of the audiobook for Horned Owl Hollow. While the audiobook was a fairly seamless process overall, distribution ran into some snafus. It passed through the QA process pretty quickly, and started distributing. They tell you it can take up to 30 days, but the audiobook was available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon within two weeks. I was very excited things were going well. Until they weren't. At the 29-day mark, I was notified that the audio files were corrupted. Wait. Didn't they pass QA? So I reuploaded all my files and waited. Two more weeks and they told me, again, that the files were corrupted. After they passed QA AGAIN. I ran the files through a validator, and they were fine. So THEN I downloaded the files from the distributor and found some that were corrupt on the site. How does that happen? I replaced the corrupted files, downloaded them again after I'd uploaded them again and validated them. Again. This time all was good. I'm happy to say the audio is now available everywhere it's supposed to be. But all of this takes time away from writing. 

I'd planned more marketing, because people can't find your books unless you market them - I mean, there's only like a bazillion authors out there competing for your attention. But I was holding off on marketing until the audio was ready. Which it is now. So marketing restarted. 

And now I'm back to trying to get the next book ready for market (September release date, for those of you anticipating it!). The working title is The Demon from the Crypt. This is where I always consider if it wouldn't be easier to have a traditional publishing house do the heavy lifting for me, but then I remember. Traditional publishing houses expect their authors to do the heavy lifting, too. So what would I gain? And I'd have to share my royalties with them. Which brings me to the subject of this blog post.

The one BIG marketing option all authors DEPEND ON is word of mouth advertising. Did you like the book? Would you recommend it to a friend? There are a bunch of gimmicky ways to get folks interested, like building street teams, or fan pages, and the like. I'm an introvert by nature, so reaching out is a challenge for me. I try to do my part, to wear all the hats publishers expect me to wear, but I always wonder if it's enough. So this is my call to action today. 

Do you like my books? Tell your friends! I see authors like Jill Shalvis telling people to buy her books so she can keep writing and doesn't have to get a job at Taco Bell. I doubt she'll ever have to go to that extreme. So this is me. Asking you to share the love so that I can keep doing what I love. Mount up, people. Hit the streets. I would be ever so grateful!

Recharging - Field Trip

As I prepared for the next editing pass, I took a field trip to get out of the house and clear my head. The best way to go back to the work in process is to forget about it so I can come back to it "fresh." 

I met up with a long-time friend to walk around the arboretum, which is displaying new sustainable art. The weather was perfect, the company was great. We walked through the hedge maze, climbed the treehouse in the middle, and I found several of my favorite beech trees. I think this is the first time I've been back since I wrote The Garden, and I saw Bryan and Gwen everywhere I looked. 

We found four of the five sculptures on our scavenger hunt around the arboretum. 

Ear to the Ground

Strata 

Stillness in motion

Oculus

Ona (we didn't get to this one, but isn't she beautiful?)
(a reason to go back, eh Janet?)
Photo courtesy of mortonarb.org

A successful diversion! 

In other news, the audio for Horned Owl Hollow seems to be having issues at the distributor end, but I think we've ironed all that out. Now it's just a matter of finding its way to the proper channels again. For my newsletter subscribers, I expect to send your codes by the end of the month. Thank you for your patience. 

The truth is out there

I'm going to be honest. Every time I finish writing "the next book," I take a long hard look at whether I should continue. The market is down. Artificial intelligence is threatening the future of human creativity (Yes, I know, AI has no depth of emotion.) Angry people are writing nasty reviews for authors whose books haven't even been published yet based on subject matter alone. Let's face it, the world is coming to an end.

I'm in the editing phase with the next Elspeth Barclay book, which means I'm also thinking about what comes next. Do I want to go through all the writers' angst again? Do I have the fortitude to write another book? 

And then something taps me on the shoulder, a little something called imagination. Did you see that? Did you hear that? Remember that story so-and-so told you? Wouldn't that make a great start to your next story?

The news headlines no longer hold "topical ideas." They are filled with vitriol and people doing unthinkable things in a world where people believe empathy is a bad thing. Finding a human interest story that sparks the imagination is difficult among all the finger pointing and verifiable lies that people insist on perpetuating in hopes of making them truths. There are more storytellers out there than I'd ever imagined. The difference is I only hope to entertain you with my stories, not to convince you that my fiction is actually fact. 

I just read an interesting book. It's several years old, written in a different century, even. It's a fictional historical account of a city that I've visited and am familiar with, written by a lawyer. While it was slow getting out of the starting blocks, it grew more interesting as the story went on, and for most of the book, I was able to suspend disbelief, enough verifiable historical facts turning up that some of the not verifiable ones went right over my head. It wasn't until I was done that I realized the author had thrown in a president from before my time as a child in the story's city--a president who grew up in New York. He had no place in this book other than as a marker of the time period. I forgive the author, because the book is fiction. Some of the things happened, but because the characters came from his imagination, I'm willing to give him a pass on the historical hiccup. 

Which brings me back to "what next?" 

I had a thought to interview someone who had a ghostly encounter. Maybe incorporate that into the next book. And then I started thinking about fairy gardens and if there was a way to incorporate that into a ghostly story. I'm also planning a trip to New England with one of my first critique partners, a place where ghost stories abound. The possibilities are expanding. Will I write another book? Most likely. It's part of my original programming, after all. I see something, I see a story behind it. My imagination is going to make up that story whether I want it to or not. And it takes my mind off the next news cycle, which consists of people fighting reality. Me? I'd rather escape reality in a more constructive way. Even when I don't like the news cycle, "the truth is out there," and there comes a point when you have to see it as it is, and not through the lens of imagination.

What do you look for when editing?

I've done numerous blogs on editing, and every book it seems I approach it "just a little bit" differently.

I'm pleased to tell you I've finished the next book! Well, almost. Aside from editing. The difference in this book lies in the fact I haven't been doing "interim" editing. Generally speaking, there comes a point where I get stuck and have to refresh my memory, so in the writing process, I very often will go back to the beginning and read what I have to get a running start. And sometimes, my characters take an unexpected turn and lead me another direction, which means going back to the beginning to adjust for their poor sense of direction. In any event, by the time I finish my first draft, it isn't unusual that I've read the book a couple of times already in various iterations. That wasn't the case with this one.

I had a fairly clear plot line, and I'm working with characters I know. Yes, I had the occasional "I didn't see that coming," but nothing that required a do-over. I didn't have to go back and readjust the course of the novel. That's good, right? Well, maybe.

As I got to the end, I decided I'd better go back to the beginning and read for continuity and "holes." One of my standard editing passes. Because I haven't been backtracking along the way, I found a lot of sloppiness! I took my time, filling in holes and fixing the careless errors, and got pretty close to the end before I found "THE HOLE" that would require backtracking and foreshadowing. It was the one part of the story that as soon as I'd written, I sat back and did a "Whoa! Didn't see that coming!" Yes, even as the one making this stuff up, my characters still surprise me. Despite having a general idea where I'm going and what's going to happen, every now and then the words come out unexpectedly. Even after I'd written it, I didn't stop to consider readers would want some sort of heads-up. That's the point of an editing pass. Seeing those kinds of issues. It's a reference back to book 1 (Horned Owl Hollow) but I'm willing to bet a lot of readers wouldn't remember. It was a small point, after all. It became a much bigger point in this book, and for those readers who didn't read book 1, they aren't going to have any idea what I'm talking about. Not to mention returning readers will want a reminder. So the "memos for next time" (the next editing pass) include dropping in hints about the "Whoa!" moment. Foreshadowing. 

With that pass completed, it will be on to see how I did. Does the foreshadowing work? Or have I overdone it? Does the story flow? "Regular" editing will ensue, the proofreading end of things and "scrubbing" of unnecessary words. 

I'm looking at a September release date. In the meantime, Horned Owl Hollow is out in audio (in case you want to refresh your memory while you're waiting). 

Is Artificial Intelligence Intelligent?

On my soapbox today.

You see the stories everywhere. Is AI safe? Will it take over the world? Will computers finally replace humans on the planet?

There are very few applications for AI that I think are necessary. One person's opinion. Already, computers are doing things for us that diminish our ability to think and create and process information. I used to know the phone numbers of all my friends and family. Now, I hit a button. If you asked me for one of those numbers, I'd have to look it up. I do NOT think that is a step in the right direction. What if I don't have my phone with me and I'm in trouble? What if I need someone to call my family for help? I can't tell them the phone numbers, because I don't use them anymore. A computer does it for me. 

Yes, I believe computers can be helpful tools, but they have gone so far beyond helpful. Now they are intrusive to the point where we don't always know what the truth is (because AI is so convincing) and people don't have to think for themselves. We NEED to think for ourselves. 

Here's the link

With all that being said, I don't want to be left behind and ignore progress. I will NOT use AI to write my stories for me. It's my imagination, after all. But recently I was given the opportunity to have AI read one of my books into audio format. Why not? I mean, it was worth checking out, right? So I did. The narration of Heart for Rent, With an Option isn't horrible, although I'll admit I haven't listened to the whole darn thing. It's only available on Apple, but you're welcome to give it a listen. I'm not an audiobook kind of person, personally, and of the handful of audiobooks I've attempted, I've only actually enjoyed one of them--and that one was read by an actress who was VERY engaging. We're talking some of my favorite books, and I was only able to stay awake through the one. 

So where does that leave me? It was an experiment. I can't see myself using AI for the rest of my books. Where is the artistic control? I really should listen to the whole thing to see if they were able to pronounce some of the French in the story, or if they emphasized words in the right places. While the voice isn't "flat," it doesn't carry the same engagement. It's someone reading the story to me. I'd rather have someone acting it out. 

What do you think? Is AI going one step too far? Is it useful in some scenarios? Or are we moving into an Isaac Asimov story where AI takes over the world? 

Ghosts in the sidewalk

While I was "out and about" the other day, I came across handprints in the sidewalk. Not unusual, really, but it took me back to a time when I was very young, when I imagined all sorts of macabre things. 

There was a house on the corner, a big, old house with an apron under the porch that had a hatch for access. Heck, our house had a hatch, too, but I never imagined what my parents might keep under there, although it made for excellent storage (my parents didn't use it for anything other than access to the addition on the back of the house). I probably only saw the hatch on our house open once or twice in my entire life. But that house on the corner...

The family had two sons, both older than me and my sisters (or maybe as old as at least one of my sisters, although I don't remember for sure. I only remember they were much older than me). The one son, Doug, had long hair, and for whatever reason, I can remember watching him dry it in front of a fan. Keep in mind, this is back in the days of the song from Hair about "long-haired, freaky people," so he was a bit of an anomaly. Nice enough guy, as much as I remember. What does all this have to do with handprints in the sidewalk?

In the sidewalk that ran beside their house, their older son had carved his name in the wet cement. Because we're talking so many years ago, I can't recall if there was also a handprint, but I remember seeing the name and asking the people who lived there, as an inquisitive young child might do, whose name it was. Turns out Doug had an older brother, one who'd died, forever memorialized by his name in the cement of the sidewalk. Other than that small piece of information, no one ever told me anything more. I don't suppose there was more to the tragic story. I remember tracing the letters he'd left in the wet cement and trying to conjure him. In my vivid imagination, I imagined all sorts of things, starting with the hatch under the porch. Was he buried in there? This idea probably came from watching the old Peter Cushing / Christopher Lee Dracula movies. I can't imagine why else I would have dreamed up such a thing, and yet the idea stuck with me. For years. 

That family moved out, and another family moved in. I grew up and became the babysitter for the new owners' tribe of children. Few things made my uneasy growing up - I wasn't easily spooked - but once I'd decided the older son was buried under the porch, I never moved past wondering who was buried behind the hatch under the front porch. Even when I knew better. I'm quite sure I even saw that hatch opened a time or two, but guess who stayed far away from it? 

This author.

"Normal" people see handprints in the sidewalk, or other markings people leave in wet cement and see them for what they are. Vandalism. Hah. Well, maybe, but most people see them as remembrances. Or ways to mark their territory. Like taking chalk to create hopscotch, only more permanent. *Sigh* I suppose I was never normal. 

 

The long awaited excerpt

I know, I know. I've been promising you a teaser for weeks, but it's still under construction, doncha know. But a promise is a promise, and so here is a taste of the new book. What do you think?