Kids, pizza, screen time and reading

Last week ONE WOMAN’S JUNK, the first of the Psychic Consignment Mysteries, was released. Here’s my favorite line from an Amazon reviewer:

“Let’s just say my kids were in Heaven because they had pizza and all the screen time so I could read this book straight through because putting it down was not an option.”

Isn’t that awesome?!?! Who doesn’t love getting lost in a book like that?

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Letty wanted her ashes scattered under a full moon at the beach, but she couldn’t have known about the lightning strike….or did she?

When their beloved godmother dies suddenly, the Concordia sisters converge on the beach town of Sarasota, Florida to mourn the passing of the woman who raised them. While there, they must scatter her ashes as instructed and decide what to do with her consignment shop, One Woman’s Junk.

Navigating her relationships with her older sisters is hard enough for Beatrice, but after they’re all struck by lightning, things get more complicated in the land of sun and sand. With the power of a newly inherited crystal ring, Bea is suddenly assailed by psychic visions when she touches certain objects.

When her godmother is posthumously accused of having stolen a designer purse (which Bea knows darn well is a knock-off – thank you very much), Bea becomes obsessed with proving her innocence.

Contending with a physical injury, challenging family dynamics, and business headaches, Bea struggles to harness and understand her visions.

With the help of an unusual new “friend” and the sexy carpenter next door, she’s determined to clear Letty’s good name.

But doing so may be a bad decision.

One that could cost her not only her relationship with her sisters…but her life.

Writing Anxiety

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I love my job…but…I hate starting to write.

Not because I hate writing, but because I am constantly trying to overcome my fear.

Most of the time I approach writing with a knot in my stomach, a distracted buzzing in my brain, and dread in my heart.

And yet, most days, I force myself to write. Most days I really enjoy it once I get into some kind of flow. Almost always, I end up feeling better for having done it.

My favorite Dorothy Parker quote is, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

It’s nice to know I’m not alone.

But you’d think, after all this time, the process would get easier. Instead it feels harder with the added pressure of trying to meet the expectations of readers.

Writing this post is a form of procrastination. It allows me to feel productive, when really I’m just avoiding writing new chapters. I guess that means I should go write now.

Or maybe I’ll take a nap…a nap might help.

Or maybe I’ll go for a walk…a walk could help.

Or maybe I’ll make some more coffee…coffee helps.

**I’m not JUST complaining today. I’m finishing up the copy edits for ONE WOMAN’S JUNK and later I’ll actually be adding words to Hitwoman 21…just no guarantees they’ll be “good” words. 😉

Waiting is a dream killer

I was commiserating with a writer friend earlier about how difficult it is to wait for developmental story edits.

We were discussing how our minds play tricks on us as we wait.

For example, I’m ALWAYS convinced my editor is going to tell me that what I’ve come up with is absolutely awful and I should quit this writing game immediately.

Every. Single Time.

Because of this, right now I’m thinking the ONE WOMAN’S JUNK will not be the first in my Psychic Consignment Mysteries series. Instead, it will be the last book I ever wrote.

Which makes it harder to write the current book I’m working on — the next book in the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN series.

It’s a nasty cycle.

But I’m plugging along on Hitwoman 21 and keeping my fingers crossed that One Woman’s Junk is SLIGHTLY better than I’m thinking.

Wish me sanity!

Deadline hangover

I have “deadline hangover” which basically means I’m creatively spent and having trouble stringing complete sentences together.

But I’m thrilled to report that I’ve sent my new book, One Woman’s Junk to my developmental story editor!

I’ll be explaining more about why these items were important to my creative process as we get closer to the release date.

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With any luck, this first book in my Psychic Consignment Mystery series, featuring the Concordia sisters, will be released in August.

The rest of the series is already sketched out, but the next book I write will be Hitwoman 21.

But first I’m taking a couple of days off. I’m going to indulge in the reward of watching the adaptation of GOOD OMENS. I love the book and I’ve only heard good things about the show.

Perfection? Pffffttt!!!!

I recently completed a month-long challenge to try to learn to draw.

I knew I wasn’t going to be good at it, but I figured I’d give it a try since I thought that thinking differently would be good for my brain.

I felt compelled to share my efforts daily on Instagram — like the universe was pretty much screaming, “Put it out there!” kind of compelled.

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I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to “put it out there” when I know I’m going to fail. It’s uncomfortable. It’s embarrassing.

But one of the things I dislike about social media is the way people only show the best sides of themselves, so I followed the calling and put 30 days worth of sketches out there.

I’d love to tell you that I became a great artist. That didn’t happen and I don’t know that any amount of practice could help me become one. My brain just doesn’t work that way.

What did happen though, was that I became a less judgmental of myself. I found it easier to focus on the process, rather than the end result.

I’ve really used that lesson as I developed my new Psychic Consignment Mystery series. I did what “felt fun” rather than worrying about what the “shoulds” were.

I can’t wait for you to read it! Make sure to sign up for my newsletter to find out when it comes out.

In the meantime, if you need a good laugh feel free to check out my sketches on Instagram.

New month, new book, new series

Last month I focused on telling you about my writing retreat. This month, I’m going to tell you about the new series I’m working on.

This new series has been in the works for a couple of years.

Yes, you read that right. YEARS.

I initially conceived of it in 2016, but it didn’t “feel right” at the time. It took me quite a while to figure out exactly what I wanted it to be about. Then it took a while to develop the characters. Finally I got to the point where I plotted out the arc of the three book series. (I’ve sketched out another three books, but there’s no guarantee I’ll ever write those.)

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So now I’m working on ONE WOMAN’S JUNK which is Book 1 in the Psychic Consignment Mystery series.

Stay tuned this month and I’ll tell you about the new method of writing I’m trying out as I write this book, how it’s coming along, and I may share a snippet or two of the manuscript.

And for those that are going to ask — Yes, I WILL continue to write more books in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series. 🙂