If hindsight is 2020....

 ....then I can't wait to put 2020 into our hindsight.

What a year.

As the finish line nears, I look back and can see how fortunate I have been in so many ways. I have managed to avoid getting COVID (or if those allergies were actually COVID, I escaped with a mild experience with it), loved ones who came down with it have survived (thus far) and for the most part I was able to keep busy with freelance work.

I even managed to fine-tune a couple of novels and nearly finish the sequel to FALLEN TREES.

The muse has much more it wants to do as well.

If nothing else, 2020 has reminded us to take absolutely nothing for granted. It's reminded us what really matters. I hope those two lessons stick with us as we move into 2021, realizing that we're not out of the woods yet and once we reach that clearing, the world will be forever a different place.

You never know when inspiration might strike

The other night as I was getting ready for bed, I found myself listening to rain drops slapping a gutter.

It was a distinct sound that cut through the urban noise clutter...and before I knew it this wonderful tale started spooling out in my imagination. Such moments are magical and I hope to turn it into a short story or novella soon.

I share this because it's a reminder that you never know when inspiration might strike: in the shower, on your daily commute, while walking the dog or watching your children sleep.

Whatever it might be - a string of musical notes, some song lyrics, a poem or a scene from a future book - find a way to remember it and respond. It's your creative side at work and the more you nurture it the more it will give you.

And, speaking from experience, there's something intangibly enriching about listening to those prompts.

So give those surprises room to blossom. You'll be amazed at what can happen.

Looking for a memorable Christmas present or a good winter read? FALLEN TREES is both!

I had just arrived at the state library convention in downtown Wichita and was still setting up my display for FALLEN TREES when a woman walked into the room, turned the corner and blurted, "Oh, my God!"

Mind you, I don't get that reaction every day.

"May I help you?" I asked hopefully.

"I can't believe it," she said. "I asked my daddy what he wanted for Christmas - he's awfully hard to buy for - and he said, 'The only thing I want is a book I've been hearing a lot about. It's called FALLEN TREES.' I've been determined to find it for him - and here it is."

She doesn't live in Wichita, but was in town for the conference. She sounded like someone who had discovered a snowflake in the Sahara.

Several months later, I received a message from a reader who told me he didn't read much, but he received a copy of FALLEN TREES for Christmas -- and loved it. It may well have been the father of the librarian I crossed paths with at the conference. I was so pleased he enjoyed the read - and was deeply touched by the daughter's devotion to her father.

I have heard so many stories from readers about how this book touched them and changed their lives. I always viewed the book as a pleasant summer beach read, but it's become much more than that for countless people who have read it. The reaction has been both humbling and inspiring.

Here are just a few excerpts from reviewers on Goodreads:

"Fallen Trees is a story that I could read over and over and find something new and enjoyable each time. It's a story worth adding to your collection." - Kathryn

 "If you're looking for a good cuddle book, I would suggest grabbing a glass of wine, favorite throw blanket and have at it. You won’t be disappointed." - Charletta Barksdale

"There's plenty of great authors who deal with the need or exigency (Raymond Carver) to cut, shorten, sharpen. Some rewrite their works infinitely bringing them to their very bones (Graciliano Ramos, the Brazilian master). Some go straight to the point (Cormac McCarthy). Mr. Finger deserves a place among them." - Len Berg

"A wonderful tale brought to life with great skill, of love and finding purpose." - Hilario

It has been gratifying to see how FALLEN TREES has resonated with readers around the world, not just those in a particular location. It tells me the story is universal.

If you'd like to get a copy for yourself, a friend or a loved one, click here.

If you prefer to purchase it from an independent bookstore, you have a number of options.

Watermark Books, which is in Wichita, has it in stock. So does Eighth Day Books, a religious bookstore in Wichita that also features local authors. Other Wichita options include the Doo-Dah Market downtown and The Workroom, which is in the Douglas Design District east of Old Town. They're both fun places to visit in person, too!

My book is also on the shelves at Bluebird Books & Cafe in Hutchinson and Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore in Emporia.

Fans have been begging me to write a sequel and I have good news: I have started work on it! I hope they love it as much as FALLEN TREES.

I'm blessed to have been given the ability to write...and people who love to read my words. I hope to have both for a long time.

I want to wish all of you a holiday season filled with love and laughter and cherished memories, whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or both (or something else entirely).

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.

At long last, I return

As I was returning from the Kansas City Writing Workshop this weekend, it dawned on me that I hadn't posted on this blog for quite a while - two years, in fact.

There are a number of reasons for that, but the primary one was that I had been moved to a shift working nights and weekends at the Wichita Eagle and what time and energy I had outside of those hours were spent on other priorities: writing, marketing/promoting and simply striving to maintain some sense of balance in my life.

But my time as a staff writer for the Eagle has drawn to a close. I was laid off last August as part of a continuing reduction in force across the McClatchy chain. Since then, I have been charting a new course, figuring out what's next for me. I've finished a murder mystery and started a sequel and am doing some freelance writing.

FALLEN TREES continues to garner strong reviews and there has been some renewed interest. Many readers have requested a sequel, but it's been slow to emerge. We'll see what happens.

The muse never sleeps

I was reminded of this a few days ago when, out of nowhere, I thought of a slight tweak to a chapter that strengthens the plot of the novel I'm working on right now.

Mind you, it wasn't even something I was consciously pondering - yet I recognized right away it made the story better.

It's a reminder that, if you're working on a book --- or simply thinking about writing one --- to let the muse have plenty of space to roam.

Keep a notebook nearby - or a digital voice recorder if that is more your style. Then log those tidbits so they're readily at hand.

You'll be thankful for that later.

40,000

I've reached 40,000 words in my next novel, tentatively titled SHATTERED RHYMES.

I like where the story is going and how we've arrived there. Pecking away at the keys as part of NaNoWriMo, it's like getting to know old friends again.

No, not all 40,000 words have been written in four days. I pretty much shelved the book for the last 7 months or so, after we learned of my mother's cancer diagnosis and her eventual passing in early June.

The muse shut down, just as it did 14 years ago after learning of my youngest sister's diagnosis of breast cancer. Fortunately, she was able to beat it and is doing very well now.

And, fortunately, the muse was merely on hiatus, as SHATTERED RHYMES has shown. It's a very different book than FALLEN TREES, but like FT it's a story that wouldn't let me alone. Once the idea sprouted, the muse kept tugging at me with more and more details until I realized I had to do something with it. I have no word count goal or timetable for completion, but I've got to keep going until it's done.

And then the hard work begins, as any writer will tell you: honing the drafts until it's tight and gleaming. If the reaction to FALLEN TREES has taught me anything, it's to trust my instincts.

Where did FALLEN TREES come from?

It's natural for some readers of FALLEN TREES to believe the novel is semi-autobiographical, since I was born and raised on a farm in central Kansas and the main character in the book was as well.

But I'm not kidding when I tell people that assumption simply isn't accurate. Any time I tried to inject myself or someone I knew into the story, the muse would simply shut down. I had to 'back away' and stop trying to direct the story or it wouldn't resume.

I've wanted to write novels ever since I was a child and became entranced by the Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden and Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew. I loved how readers could get to know the characters in these stories and then get to learn more in new installments in the series.

I even created my own 'series' --- short mysteries featuring Billy and Joann, siblings in a small town who couldn't resist trying to solve mysteries that they stumbled upon. Mom saved a couple of them and I read one a few months ago. I was impressed with the organization and plotting in stories written when I was maybe 10 years old.

But several attempts to start a novel when I reached adulthood simply went nowhere. I had to resign myself to the reality that the muse would let me know when the time was right...when I would be ready.

That time came when I was driving back to Wichita following some time at the farm, and I saw a grove of trees that had been cut down next to the highway. This grove was so substantial it served as something of an area landmark ---- you knew where you were when you saw them. It struck me how much the landscape changed when those trees were cut down.

And then the muse began to work: What if you had a character coming home to this abrupt change? A story began to unspool before me. By the time I got home I had a couple of chapters already written in my mind. For a while, I tried to figure out the rest of the book before I began writing, but it never seemed smooth in my mind.

Instead, those two chapters ---- eventually a third came into focus ---- nagged at me so much that I simply wrote them to get them onto paper, so to speak. As I wrote, another chapter emerged, then another. I never knew more than a chapter or two ahead what was going to happen in the book. It drove me crazy for a while, but I eventually learned to trust the process.

I've told friends and family that I felt like a stenographer for this book ---- the muse was writing it and I was simply typing it. There were times when I'd be writing and I'd be so tired I would close my eyes and lean my head against the wall in my cozy dining area ---- and my fingers would still be typing away on the story.

There were times when I would think, "What does this have to do with anything?" Then, several chapters later, its value was made clear. "How the heck did that happen?" I asked myself. But it was part of the journey toward trusting the muse.

I have said many times that even if FALLEN TREES never saw the light of day as a published book it was still valuable because when the opportunity came to write INTO THE DEEP with Robert Rogers in 2005 about the tragic death of his family in a flash flood on the Kansas Turnpike, I didn't flinch. The idea of writing a book didn't intimidate me because I'd already done that.

Writing nonfiction is entirely different than writing fiction, but I still knew how to execute the project. Now that FALLEN TREES has been published and has been getting such strong responses, I am gratified that so many people are enjoying it.

I have some unusual and powerful experiences to share from the writing of FALLEN TREES, but I'll save those for the future.

The muse is a fickle mistress

I have several writing projects in various stages, above and beyond the work I do for the paper.

One of them is a children's book based on the stray who wandered onto our family farm last October. He had clearly been on his own for months, and based on his timidity toward humans must have been badly abused by his previous owner(s).

The heartwarming story of Curly's journey toward trust and acceptance as Mom coaxed him back to health and happiness touched many folks on Facebook - some of whom urged me to write a book about it. It seems best-suited for children, so I'm trying that approach. Mind you, I've never written a children's book, so this has been something of an adventure for me.

I'm learning the best place to work on the story is anywhere but home ---- the laundromat, a bar, a restaurant booth.....each of these locations has seen things flow like they never have here in my apartment.

It's become such an evident pattern I'll simply have to honor the muse's preference while I finish and then hone the project. That's part of the mystery and majesty of writing, though, so I'm hardly upset.

These small discoveries are always part of the ride.

the bottom of a mountain

Spotted a post on the challenges of writing on a friend's blog, and just had to share it:



Read that, and then return for my reflection:







Jones is exactly right: every story, every writing, is unique; and while more experience may seem to help (and it does help, in often indirect ways), the best writers realize that a blank page is like a field of untouched snow: awaiting new markings for a path never trod before.

Words on the tips of our fingers

I just finished watching the movie "Starting Out in the Evening," a thought-provoking film about a master's student striving to write a thesis about an aging writer whose books are out of print.

The movie resonated for the writer in me, recognizing so many facets of the writer's experience in the story line: how devotion to the craft can create distance and alienation from those you love; how the challenge to continue to write well never fades, no matter what you've done in the past; how the source of the words can baffle others...sometimes even the writer as well.

For some, the keyboard is a canvas. For others, a blank page a word painting waiting to take shape.

The keyboard can be your mistress, your taskmaster, your paintbrush --- sometimes all in the same day.

For me, the keyboard is a conduit between my mind and spirit and the computer screen. Once upon a time, the recipient was a sheet of typing paper, though I found most typewriter carriages couldn't keep up with me when the words were flowing.

Regardless of the technology, however, there's something timeless about the writing craft. Indeed, I know I'm in a rich writing rhythm when time seems to stand still. It feels like you've been writing for 10 minutes, and you look up and the sun has set, even though you could have sworn you just had breakfast.

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of novels in this new era of technology. People are reading more now than ever, though it is happening in a dizzying array of formats. But humans have used storytelling to convey wisdom, history, culture and knowledge throughout their existence, and that's not going to end.