Same Song, Second Verse
When I had children, I remember thinking that so much of parenting was a matter of trial and error. No real “rights” and lots of “wrongs,” self-perceived ones, anyway. The same is true of giving birth to a book, as I’ve discovered the hard way.
That’s why I’ve been off the radar for a while. I’ve been busy immersing myself in the craft: attending conferences, joining critique groups, reading books, and writing, rewriting, rewriting again. I’m learning everything I can about the genre in which I’ve chosen to write (cozy mystery), as well as structure, plot, characterization, etc. I realize now that, even if I write a hundred books, I’ll never master it. In that respect, I am oh-so grateful I discovered the Sisters in Crime, both the national and the local chapter, of which I am now serving as secretary. They’ve provided practical advice, critiquing, and wisdom. If mystery writing is something you’ve always wanted to do, I urge you to start there.
One of the main things I learned is that when I thought I was done, I wasn’t. I hail from a journalism background, and in that realm, when you’ve written your story, when you’ve proofed it and fact-checked it and tweaked it a bit, you turn it in and move on to the next thing. The process moves from start to finish in a matter of days—sometimes hours. I suppose that’s how I expected it to be with fiction. Not so. This book has been years in the making, and it’s still not anywhere close to perfect. I suspect it never will be.
But as my friend author Nicki Huntsman Smith tells me, sometimes you have to let the baby fly from the nest. And so it is with Suitable for Framing. This baby is as close to grown up as she can be, so I’m letting her go. As the agent search commences, I’m on to the second book in the series, Double Exposure. Hopefully, the wisdom I’ve gained will make this birth a little quicker and less painful, but we’ll see.
I am thankful for the support of family and friends. Wish me luck, send good vibes, create positive mojo for me—whatever you put into the universe for me, know that I appreciate it. And keep coming back. I promise to be more constant in my posts.
