writing progress

What I’m Working on July 13, 2022

I can’t believe that it’s the middle of July. We’re settled into our new place and make frequent visits to Lake Superior. It’s so beautiful. I think that’s something I repeat to my husband nearly every time we drive somewhere.

The biggest surprise about living here is that it’s much cooler by the lake. There were a few days when the temps reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit at our house. When we went down to the lake, it was 50. The best part about the temperature difference is that tourists don’t stay long at the beach because they’re wearing summer clothes. That means we get the beach to ourselves, albeit a cold one.

Reestablishing a routine after a big move takes time and I’m finally getting my groove. I’m continuing to write my romance story. I expect the draft to be done by the end of the month.

My third novel in the Rockton Treasure Hunting series, Abandoned City, is almost up for sale everywhere. There were a few tech problems yesterday that caused the upload to fail. I’m optimistic that today the tech gremlins are busy elsewhere so that I can release it.

Watch for my announcement on my blog when it’s ready to buy. You can also subscribe to my newsletter.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer by taking advantage of the sunny days when they arrive.

What I’m Working on May 27

My husband and I moved to the Northshore of Minnesota. Most of the boxes are emptied, but I still have to hang artwork and find homes for items. I’m not a fan of cluttered areas, so the piles are bothering me. We’ve been here a week and still don’t have Internet. Thank goodness for the data on my phone.

We live in a quiet neighborhood where white-tailed deer wander down the middle of the streets in the evening. I’m glad the speed limit is 25mph for the sake of drivers and the deer. I find them funny, but I’m sure the people who love to garden aren’t huge fans of them. When we walk our dogs, there’s always deer watching us go by, often standing near someone’s flower bed or garden.

The songbirds chatter almost non-stop. I love hearing them, and it was something that I didn’t hear often enough in Idaho. The other unusual sight is watching the seagulls hop along the sidewalks, calling out to their friends.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the northshore of Minnesota, we’re near Lake Superior. This section of the lake has cliffs and rocky shores. The lake reminds me of the ocean with its vastness; it’s not as blue as the Pacific and not as blue-gray as the Atlantic. Our first week here it rained everyday, and the weather is much cooler than in central Idaho. I’m definitely going to miss the mild winters.

The other thing the Northshore is known for, besides the rocky shores of Lake Superior, are all the waterfalls. Gooseberry Falls in Gooseberry Falls State Park and High Falls in Tettegouche State Park are among the most popular. There are many other waterfalls and hiking trails abound. And, if you’re a lighthouse lover, Split Rock Lighthouse is a beautiful historical lighthouse to tour.

Now for my writing update.

I started a romance story in Idaho while I packed up our previous house. Writing is a nice break from the joys of filling boxes. I didn’t bother to work on it during our trek across the country, but resumed working on it today. I’m a little distracted by the newness and sounds of my neighborhood, so it’s taking me a little longer to find my groove.

My most recent novel, Artful Magic, is with my copyeditor. I’m expecting it back mid-June.

The third novel in my Rockton Treasure Hunting series will be published at the end of the May. I have some final tweaks to do for the cover.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

My Christmas Collection is Here!

I’m super excited to announce the arrival of my short story collection, Count on Christmas.

Originally, I planned to release it with five stories, but had so much fun I wrote six. The collection contains contemporary stories, some with new friendships, a couple of love stories, and one magical story. All of them are set around Christmas time.

To learn more about the collection, you can visit my book page for more details.

I hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

You can purchase my book where ever you purchase your e-books. If you prefer print, you can order a copy through Amazon.

Merry (Early) Christmas!

What I’m Working On: October 31

Happy Halloween! The adorable little kids in costumes made me smile this evening.

Also, happy day before NanoWriMo. November is the month when writers challenge themselves to write a novel in one month. I don’t plan to take part this year, but have done so in the past. The best thing I learned from NanoWriMo was that when I made a writing project important to me, I could make the time needed to get the draft finished despite the holidays. If you’re a writer struggling to carve out time to write, this could be helpful. There is one that runs during June (CampNanoWriMo) if November isn’t possible.

Last week, I created the book cover for my Christmas collection. I love how it turned out. My stories are almost edited and I’m on target for the release of the collection next week. The stories are a mixture of friendships, romance, and nostalgia.

I also continued to write my third Rockton Treasure novel. It took a few surprising twists. I’m having fun with it.

My ghost short story collection hit a slight delay and will go out this week.

My second Rockton Treasure novel just returned from my copyeditor. Once I make the suggested adjustments and create the cover, it will be published. If you’d like to be notified of when it’s ready, please sign-up for my newsletter.

Thank you for your support. I hope you have a great week.

What I’m Working On: Oct. 19

Last week, I finished my last Christmas story for my holiday collection. I wrote five heart-warming short stories for the collection. I’m super excited to share them with you. Currently, all the stories are in my copyeditor’s hands. Hooray!

I had a blast writing the Christmas stories. It took me back to my tradition of writing daily Christmas short stories for my kids for about ten years. It ended when my daughter moved out. Those two were fun to write and I’m thinking about reviving the tradition to be a weekly story instead of daily. Writing daily short stories gets intense when juggling work and Christmas task.

My newest romance novel, Imperfect Love, is waiting review on all the booksellers’ websites.

This week, I’m writing my third novel in my Rockton Treasure series. I also plan to assemble my quirky ghost stories into a collection for Halloween.

I hope you have a great week.

What I’m Working On

It’s the first week of October and Christmas tunes are playing in my studio. What I love most about the music (besides it putting me in a festive mood) is it makes me feel like I’ve won a battle with my husband. For over twenty years we’ve argued (good-naturedly) about when it’s okay to play Christmas music and when it isn’t. He says December (maybe after Thanksgiving). I say when the mood strikes.

For the first five years of our marriage, my husband actually hid my Christmas CDs until the day after Thanksgiving. He lost ground when I ripped all the CDs to my computer and had a song ready to play as soon as it snowed, which in Wisconsin often happened late October or early November.

So why am I playing Christmas music on a sixty-degree day in Idaho at the beginning of October? I needed to set the mood for my Christmas Short Story Collection. Technically, Christmas music has played since September because it’s when I started writing my Christmas stories.

My Christmas collection will be five Christmas short stories. The first three are written. I will finish the fourth one this week.

I’m having fun writing Christmas stories. My brain is already playing with other ideas on future collections. I will release this collection during the first week of November.

Stay tuned!