A Pause in the Action

After all the publicity excitement of the past month, this last week felt like I'd let my breath out and my shoulders relax for the first time since Butterfly Kills hit the bookshelves in late January. I was also doing a few newspaper interviews and visited an adult literacy group in Moose Jaw for the Anna Sweet series with A Model Death last month, so working on the publicity from two angles and doubly busy. Luckily, the Grass Roots Press team does most of the heavy lifting for the Anna Sweet mysteries since they have a completely different target audience - adult learners - and publicity is aimed at the adult literacy market and literacy conferences.

I've got good news to share. I've been working on the fourth Stonechild and Rouleau mystery and am about half way through the first draft. I approached the acquisitions editor at Dundurn to find out about submitting a synopsis to hopefully secure a spot in the publishing cycle.Not only are they giving me a date, but they also want me to write a few more after that! Sales are going well and reviews are good so thank you everyone who bought the books and took the time to post a comment on Amazon, Goodreads or the other sites. This really matters if you want to keep a series going or an author writing. I am proof positive.

And I have managed to write this week, clearing the 40,000 word mark. The second half of the book goes more quickly I find, and I'll soon be at the keyboard every spare minute. Also on my horizon is the editing process to begin in May on Tumbled Graves, third in the Stonechild series due out in January. I'm anxiously awaiting first look at the cover design. You can find an advance synopsis and chunk of the book on Amazon about...or if you are like me, will want to wait until the book comes out! I rarely read the full cover blurb for a book if I'm into the author's work because then I wait for something to happen when I'm reading the novel. The same with movie trailers - I don't like watching them because then while I watch the movie, I'm waiting for scenes to happen. I usually read reviews after I read the book or see the movie for the same reason.

So next on my plate, I have a few local events in April and then will head to Malice Domestic at the end of April into May in Bethusda, Maryland. I'm looking forward to seeing Ann Cleeves again. She's the international guest of honour and was also at Left Coast Crime in Monterey. We were on the same panel with Louise Penny, Deborah Crombie and Kathy Bennett, all pictured below. All terrific crime writers that you should check out if you haven't already :-)

Time for my second cup of coffee and organizing myself for the day ahead. I have yet to complete gathering all my receipts for this year's tax return so am going to be late for the first time ever. I just can't get myself into gear, but am going to force myself today...or tomorrow.

Where did March go? And why didn't March take the snow with it when it went? Twenty below last night and a chilly morning. No wonder we Canadians begin every conversation with the state of the weather. But I have to say, for crime writers, this climate is a gold mine for creating gloomy settings and brutal backdrops. It could even be a reason to kill........fictionally speaking of course.

Good week, everyone.