reader Archives

Yesterday I posted Chapter 26 of 1 Flew Over the Raven’s Nest.

This is proving to be an interesting experiment. To give something back to readers during the isolation of the pandemic, I began posting chapters (as I write them) of the first book in my new Cursed Chicks series. It’s fun…but it’s also frightening. It’s strange to try know I won’t have the opportunity to go back and fix things and that’s led to me working fairly slowly on it. (That and the fact I’m trying to fix the next book in my Hitwoman series.)

But it’s been cool to get all the positive feedback from readers as I write.

And for those that aren’t reading along, YES, it will be released in book form when it’s done. (But no, I don’t know when that will be yet.)

If you haven’t started it yet, here’s what the story is about:

You may think your mother-in-law is a witch, but RV’s really was.

And now there’s a very real chance she’ll be haunted by Mildred Bloodworth for eternity.

The only way to free herself from the curse that binds them, is for RV to make amends for Millie’s misdeeds.

Accompanied by a possessed Siamese cat, RV embarks, in her mother-in-law’s pink camper van, on a journey to right wrongs. But plans, like spells, can backfire.

RV drives right into a crime scene and quickly becomes the chief suspect in a mysterious murder.

Determined to prove her innocence, RV investigates with the help of a lucky penny, a wise owl, a reclusive turtle, and a magician whose agenda is unknown.

A reader recently asked how I manage to write so many books, so I’m going to try to write a series of posts explaining my process.

My answer to her was, “I started dictating”…which is true, but it’s not the whole answer. Sure, dictating has streamlined my process. Staying in “flow” instead of fixing spelling and punctuation errors definitely makes it easier to maintain my creativity. And yes, I have a great team working with me, and that alleviates a lot of pressure. But honestly, one of the reasons I write so many books is that I’ve got so many rattling around in my head….ALL THE TIME.

This week I started a book, a spinoff of the Neurotic Hitwoman series, that I first conceived of more than three and a half years ago. I wrote a blurb. I worked on character sheets. I did some plotting.

But the timing wasn’t right. So for years I let it roll around in the back of my head like a rabid dust bunny picking up bits and pieces, here and there. Then, while writing THE HITWOMAN GOES TO PRISON, the time for this new series suddenly felt right. So I dug a hole and planted a seed.

And in Hitwoman 23, I did the necessary watering and weeding. Now it’s a seedling of a story…with a complete plot sketched out and the first chapter done.

I’m doing this while working on the Psychic Consignment Mysteries.

If you’re keeping count…that means I’m actively working on three series at the moment: Hitwoman, Consignment and the Hitwoman spinoff. (We won’t even talk about the passion project I’m working on…which will probably never see the light of day.)

Each one is at a different level of development. I’m writing the spinoff, preparing Hitwoman for my story editor and working on the story edits I’ve gotten back for Consignment 3. Each takes a different kind of thinking.

And don’t even ask about the stories still inside my head!!!

The Cursed Chicks experiment

So many books, so little time