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Good morning all

It’s been a couple of Tuesdays since last I wrote. Being a history person, I’ve been totally consumed with history in the making. In fact, I’ve got some seeds germinating for my next series which I’ll get to someday. I still have a couple more in my Everyday Goddesses series to finish up and still have a couple of Greenliners stories to get to.

Now that things have quieted down, I’m back to routine, which is nice.

The one thing I’m really happy about is the fact that I now have time to read. During my sabbatical, I haven’t stopped searching Amazon and I’ve been ordering book after book, some for research, some for pure pleasure. Looking for a possible first edition my librarian Breet could afford to buy at a out-of-the-way unique bookstore, I came across a book by Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence. It takes place in the Renaissance era, and it includes some magic, Machiavelli, and the word enchantress is in the title. How could I not not be tempted? Kristin Hannah has a new book out which I can’t wait to get to, and there’s some YA books I’ve got stacked which Breet will be facilitating during a reading group. If I’m going to write about them, they’re a must read. Breet’s writing stories about Phoebe the fairy, so I’ll be reading books on the magical beings….. So many good books, with a little more time now…

A couple of days ago I picked up The Midnight Library and dove in. I’m in my happy place when I’m visiting different lands, perspectives, dimensions, and meeting new characters.

I love to read, always have. My Goodreads stats prove it. This year I’m actually behind in my goal which I intend to fix asap. Once I’m finished my current read, I’ll be jumping to a book on Whitey Bulger, and the Irish mob. Another for research that will help me write Gabe’s background story. In my car I’m listening to The Queen’s Gambit instead of listening to CNN or MSNBC.

It might be raining here, but it’s the perfect kind of weather for curling up with a good book and I have more than enough to keep me intrigued.

As the saying goes Life is good.

I was watching an episode of Finding Your Roots the other night, and Glenn Close was one of the people searching for her past. She made a comment about creativity that I took to heart. In her case it was fueled by anger and it made me ask myself what fueled my writing. It was usually some emotion that spurred me to construct a story, at times to purge a demon, express a belief or burn away some resentment.

I discussed the theory with a friend yesterday and this morning I got a excerpt from the “To My Readers,” section of a book she’d picked up to read. The author mentioned the mudslides in California, and how it caused the kind of death and destruction that touched her heart. The book she’d just written was based on what the aftermath might be like for a lone survivor. It answered a “what if” question that is key for most writers. In her case, it was more of what might happen if you lost your whole family to a natural disaster.

I believe that emotion is what moves our intentions. It’s E-motion, energy in motion, which propels all things to a conclusion.

My Fire and Ice series was born and nurtured by vexation, fear and a dose of frustration.

My Everyday Goddesses series was brought to life by a deep abiding belief that women needed to take back their power, and become valued, respected and an integral part of human consciousness. For thousands of years the world has been heavily partriarchal, something that needs to change so we might restore balance and renew our sense of community. It’s not only about women gaining ground by using their voice. Men hold this most sacred of feminine energies within, and its time for them to tap into it, and in the process regain their humanity. The series expresses this creative element through both the female and male characters. The women have taken on roles in society that have consequences. The men respect who their women are, love them without reservation, and celebrate their power and their voice. Just how it should be.

I’m angry again. It seems it’s time to channel that into a new series, one which I’ll be working on as I finish up my last two scheduled books for Everyday Goddesses. It’ll be interesting to see how it manifests, which characters I’ll develop to channel my emotion through. I’ll be asking what happens if… and see where it leads me.

Alchemy is the miraculous process of transformation, and writing is the method through which I create change, bring about clearing, and find my way back to love and acceptance.

Marketing is key when trying to gain a following. It’s been an uphill climb for me and in searching for the different avenues I can take, I enrolled my book in a service that asks readers for volunteers. So far, I’ve received dozens of emails of interested parties, yet only two have responded to my outreach.

Reviews are an important tool in an author’s toolbox. They drive traffic, especially on Amazon, and can be used in social media posts to spark more interest. The longer you can keep a buzz about your book going, the better chance you have in increasing sales.

I’m beginning to rethink my brand as well, and feedback would be helpful in my final decision. I don’t follow the usual template for romance. Sure, there’s a hook, woman meets man, there’s a refusal to get together, an acknowledgement of attraction, a fall, and a happily ever after ending. There’s also an investment of research, a lesson of some kind, and a lengthier manuscript. Symbiotic connection is more important than sex scenes, growth is more important than a superficial coupling. I delve deeply into each character and construct a living breathing person who comes alive on the page. The content is not sweet, sizzling or erotica, categories that most seem to fall into. Or so it seems.

I think mine are more consistent with contemporary women’s lit than romance and yet love is always part and parcel of the plot and storyline. But then love does make the world go round.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Feel free to voice them.

As I sit overlooking the parking lot of KJ’s Cafe, the sky gray and clouds hovering, the asphalt still caked with the snow that has iced over, falling snow flakes almost invisible to the eye, I’m letting my imagination go where it will. I’ve begun the first chapter of my next book in my Everyday Goddesses series even as I’m still fleshing out my characters. Breet has occupied many pages of the series so far and readers may think they know her. Waif-like, somewhat timid, a storyteller, a librarian, a woman with the heart of a child, at times innocent, who is finally growing comfortable in her skin. There’s still much to be revealed, and I’m always anxious to get to the meat of the story. I’ve found that in the writing, even when I don’t know the exact direction I’m going in, things unfold in spontaneous ways, sort of like life.

It’s the male lead of the story who no one has met yet. Well, no one but Breet. He arrives in Eden as bold and as reckless as ever, with his confidence and intelligence intact. Nothing much about has changed since she was eighteen, except maybe the crow’s feet that come from age or hard living, and the cynicism in his eyes. When adventure had called he’d answered, leaving Eden behind, and he’d been following it since, across continents and into war zones, chasing after the truth. She was one of the few who knew the reason behind it. He’d been running, as far away as he could, but now he was back, biting humor and all.

The quiet life she’d built for herself is about to become upended. I can’t wait to see how it all shakes out.

Yesterday I wrote the last line of Gardens of Eden. It felt good because I’d been struggling with the epilogue. After a couple of days letting it simmer in my mind, it bubbled up and flowed onto the page with ease. This is the first draft, which I’ll let sit for a week before going back to re-read and adapt. It’ll be going to my editor in February so I have time to get it just the way I want it.

So what’s’ next?

I’ve started developing my characters for The Girl from Nowhere. Brigid Frazier’s been part of every story in the series, so anyone who’s been reading the books knows she’s the storyteller of the tribe, who ‘s a child at heart, loves fairies, and cheers on the elementals who live in her garden, playful and mischievous in spite of her upbringing. She’s been working on her fairy tales for years, since she was a kid trying to escape her situation in life. Once upon a time leads her to all kinds of what if’s, some good, some more real than she wants.

I’ve yet to introduce the man who’ll be arriving in Eden very soon, one whom she knows, has a history with but hasn’t seen in ten years. Gabriel Bresnahan comes in like a typhoon, and creates a whirlwind of emotion Breet’s not sure she’ll survive.

As I fill out my character chart, I’m finding that they are exact opposites: Brigid is cautious, tentative, imaginative, inhibited, gentle, and believes in make believe, where Gabe is reckless, inflexible, bold, uninhibited, analytical, and doggedly pursues the truth. The only things they have in common other than their past, is their curiosity and intelligence.

I can’t wait to get started on their story but I have a few books to read first, about foster care and investigative reporting. Then I’ll be better able to answer the dozens of questions I still have about the past, their relationships, attitudes, beliefs, accomplishments, goals and dreams.