Project, project...always a project

I grew up with a Dad who always had to have a project of some sort to work on. He didn't work on it every day, particularly during planting and harvest, but he always had something or two to work on. I have siblings who are like that - especially my twin brother - and I've come to realize I'm like that with my writing. Even as I'm busy with freelance work (thankfully), my brain is chewing on plot points for multiple books and the muse is itching to get busy on one or more of them. NaNoWriMo is upon us (National Novel Writing Month), and while I won't "officially" participate, I look forward to fussing around and letting the muse start working on these projects.

Writing, writing, writing

It's been an interesting year since I left full-time employment with a newspaper. I've been adjusting to the life of a freelance writer and working on books as well.

I've completed a murder mystery as well as its sequel, which wasn't planned until the muse started laying out the plot as I finished the first book. I'm hoping to find an agent for this one.

I self-published "Fallen Trees" because my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I knew she'd never see the cover or dedication page otherwise. She was able to see both the day before she died. That meant a lot to me - and folks even love the cover.

But sales for "Trees" have been modest, despite strong reviews, so I'm hopeful the exposure and promotion that a publishing house can offer will bode well for my murder mystery. It's a different kind of book, but I like it a lot.

Readers of "Trees" have been pleading for a sequel (interestingly, men as well as women have been demanding one) and the muse has finally delivered a plot for one. Hopefully, I can get to that as I juggle freelance assignments, too.

I've built up my Twitter following to 5,000 people and connected with an active writing community online. I've met a number of best-selling authors recently as they've come through town courtesy of Watermark Books and it's been a real treat to discuss the writing craft with them.

This is all a journey and I'm just trying to learn and enjoy the view along the way.