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Coffee & Chat, Life, Pets, The Uninvited Corpse

Coffee & Chat #18

The heat is on here in Connecticut. Though, it’s significantly more comfortable than last week. That heat wave was brutal. But when temps hover in the upper 80s with humidity, I’m definitely not a happy camper. Luckily I’m hunkered down at my computer working with coffee and water – need to stay balanced. 🙂

I have ventured out for walks with the pups, usually early in the morning or evening because of the heat. A few times I’ve taken Susie out to the pen we have set up for the pups because the pavement was just too hot. Though, Susie prefers to walk. Walking these days have been challenging because of Billy’s blindness. He’s become more skiddish, more uncertain and seemed stressed when I took him out. While he may be content staying inside, where he feels safer, I think it’s important he gets out for some fresh air, feel the sun and summer breezes on his little body. And I found a solution. A stroller.

He absolutely loves it. He settles right into the stroller and off the three of us go. Susie has had a chance to ride it in but since she’s capable of walking, walk she does. Though, I saw how easily she could get used to riding in the stroller. I think it’s their breed that has resulted in both of them pretty much being easy going about things.

The stroller even has cup holders (yay!) and a little cargo basket beneath the seat. It’s perfect. And I’m so happy we all can walk together again.

Staying on the topic of animals, our turkeys are back! I’ve been seeing three turkeys by our bird feeder over the past few weeks. I think they’re cool and it’s really funny seeing them next to the itty-bitty birds that also visit the feeder. I wonder what those little birds think when they see the BIG turkeys. Also at the feeder I’ve spied mama raccoon with her five babies. Yeah, they’ve been at the feeder and the trash container. Busy, busy. I’ve also seen our wild rabbit make an appearance a few times, more than usual. She was across the stream the other morning, hopping about then I lost sight of her. Depending on the day and the activity outside, having this view from my study can be distraction. 🙂

Luckily, I haven’t had too many distractions. I’m coming close to the end of the first draft of book 2 in the Resale Boutique mystery series. WooHoo!!! I expect to be finished by Friday and then I’ll indulge in a week of no writing. One whole week and I’m looking forward to it. I have a book I want to finish reading and a new one to start. When my little vacay is over, I’ll begin working on the third draft of book 3 in the Food Blogger mystery series. Speaking of which, book 1, THE UNINVITED CORPSE, is available in audio format if that’s how you prefer to read your books. I absolutely love the cover of the CD set the publisher created.

Wednesday’s question: Do you listen to audio books? If so, when do you listen to them? Commuting, exercising, cleaning, etc?

I’m going to wrap up this post. It’s been great catching up with you!

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Coffee & Chat, Life, Writing Updates

Coffee & Chat #16

Time flies, doesn’t it? The fourth of July is just days away and then summer will be in full swing. Wasn’t it just Memorial Day weekend? LOL. I’ve been so focused on writing I guess the days just got away. I’m so glad you’re here now so we can catch up. Go ahead and grab your cup of coffee (I’ll get mine) and I’ll fill you in on what’s been happening.

I’ve been spending a lot of my time at my desk working on two manuscripts. I’ve finished the third book in the Food Blogger Mystery series and sent it to my critique partner. So far, I’ve gotten half of the manuscript back and it’s parked safely in my inbox while I finish writing the first draft of book two in the Resale Boutique Mystery series. I’m having a lot of fun writing the  book, tentatively titled Silenced in Sequins but I admit I’m having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. The book is set around Christmas and I need to find my inner HoHoHo as I brace for a stretch of 90+ degree days coming up. I saw a commercial for the Hallmark channel and I think they’re doing a Christmas movie marathon. I’m confident a week of watching Christmas movies will get me in the holiday spirit. What do you think?

I started thinking I needed to get out more. It’s so easy to stay inside at my desk and only venture out to run necessary errands. I remembered that last year, my first year as a full-time writer, I missed out on a lot of beautiful days because I was all work-work-work or write-write-write. 🙂 This year I wanted to make a change. Now, I’m pretty good at working out on my own. I have boundless resources for a variety of workouts, but I wanted to get outdoors – fresh air, sunshine, and some pretty sights. So I teamed up with my neighbor, Ginger, and twice a week we go for an hour walk. Some mornings we catch a glimpse of the sheep on the farm across from our road. One morning we saw a bobcat. Yeah, that was interesting. Mostly though, we spy chipmunks and rabbits. Best of all, spending time outdoors is a wonderful way to fuel the creative process. It’s not just with Ginger I walk outdoors, my pups Susie & Billy make sure I get a walk (though shorter) in practically every day. Yay, walking!

If you haven’t had the chance to read THE UNINVITED CORPSE it’s available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in print, e-book and audio book format. Because of my amazing readers I was able to hit 50 reviews on Amazon. Thank you!

A couple of weeks ago I received my author copies of my audio book and I donated one to my town’s library. While I was there I took a few moments to enjoy the serene courtyard. Isn’t a beautiful spot to sit and read?

This past weekend I attended a full-day event in Stamford, CT hosted by the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. There were panel discussions from research to self-publishing to forsenics anthropology. It was also a great day to catch up with a few of my writer friends and dinner out.

If you’ve joined the Cozy Mystery Crew you’re eligible to join our Summer Reading Program. Book your summer with a great list of reads from 12 cozy authors. For more info click here and you’ll be directed to the About section.

I’m going to wrap up this post. It’s been great catching up with you and I hope you’ll take a moment and let me know what you’re doing this week? Any vacay plans? What are you reading?

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Life, Make Wednesday

Make Wednesday

For the first part of yesterday I was convinced it was today. Don’t you hate when that happens? You get all excited because you’re closer to Friday, well you think you are and then the rug is pulled out from under you and you’re a day behind, which you’re really not. Confusing, I know. That’s how I felt. Confused. Until my fellow Cozy Mystery Crew member, Tina, reminded me it was Tuesday. Once I got a grip on the day of the week I went on with my day, no harm, no foul, except maybe fellow Cozy Mystery Crew member, Libby’s brief moment of panic when she thought she’d messed up her schedule. Yeah, one of those mornings. Three cups of coffee morning. For sure.

Since the winter I’ve gravitated away from needlework. It happened slowly. My schedule kept getting filled with work and my evenings were spent reading so needlework just slipped away. Last week while on You Tube I came across a knitting vlog and then I decided to check out some FlossTube videos (I know, time suck but the break was needed) and I realized I missed knitting and stitching. I decided I needed to carve out a little time each day to do some needlework. Cross Stitch or knitting. I thought a perfect way to keep me honest and accountable was to post about my projects on a regular basis. Since I don’t work on multiple projects and it takes me forever to finish a project I’m thinking I’ll write Make Wednesday posts a couple times a month. For the first post, I thought I’d share some of my projects with you. And share a little bit about them. Ready?

Let’s start with a success! My first ever baby blanket I knitted in 2016 for our niece’s first born, Jackson. I came across the pattern while I was in a yarn shop in Massachusetts with my friend, fellow author Megan Ryder. She’s an advanced knitter, really advanced. I can hold my own with a knit or purl stitch, that’s about it. There was a baby blanket on display and it was soooo soft and pretty. Megan and the shop owner convinced me that I could knit the blanket, it was easy. I’d knit two yarns together on a circular needle. Easy, peasey, right? Not completely easy despite being a beginner project but I was able to finish it. Then I had to block it. Yeah, that was interesting but the blanket survived. Yay! And I was able to gift it to our niece. Looking back, I’m glad I tackled the project.

Next up is another knitting project – a hat. But this one was a failure. I loved the color of the yarn and the project was labeled at beginner. Unlike the blanket (I was spurred on by the success of the blanket to tackle the hat), it was a kit. All the yarn I needed, the correct sized needles and the pom-pom maker (I never got to make the pom-pom). Sounds like it should have been a homerun. Not even close. I finished the hat, sewed the seam and then tried it on. Ugh. It was too stretchy, unflattering and not cute like the picture on the website. That’s when I stashed my knitting needles away. It’s been months and I’m seriously thinking of pulling my knitting supplies out to try again. Maybe I’ll knit another blanket.

 

Now onto my counted cross stitch projects on linen. I don’t have many of them because it takes soooo long to stitch them and I’m not a binge stitcher. I grab ten minutes here and ten minutes there and at some point the sampler is finished. I haven’t framed these yet and I need to do that. I also need to press them. 🙂

This was the first counted cross stitch sampler I ever did. Up until then I’d stitched on Aida. I’d gone into a needlework shop and the owner talked me into trying linen and I’ve never looked back.  This project was very challenging because of it’s size but I was determined. I have no idea where the pattern is for this sampler so I don’t know the name of it or who designed the chart. I just love it. I stitched the sides of the fabric to help keep it from unraveling.

 

This sampler, also on linen, was was one I purchased online from a small needlework shop in Connecticut. Sadly,the shop has closed. The customer service was wonderful. While I don’t know where the chart for this project is now, I do have the other charts I purchased on my little shopping spree tucked away ready for me to stitch them someday.

This is my current project. I snapped this photo a few months ago. I’ve made some more progress since then. This is a four season row from Bent Creek. I’d like to have it finished by the end of summer.

There’s also a quilt top I made years ago. One day I’ll pull it out and take a photo and maybe one day I’ll finish it. 🙂 I think I like the relaxation and stress relief that comes with doing crafts and needleworks rather than the actual completion of  a project. Curled up on the sofa with some yarn or a piece of linen and stitching focuses my brain to stop thinking, to stop racing with ideas and snippets of dialogue. Hopefully in a couple weeks I’ll have an updated photo of my current cross stitch project.

Do you craft? Do you knit or stitch? What project are you currently working on?

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Coffee & Chat, Life, Writing Updates

Coffee & Chat #13 – Catching Up

Happy Monday,

Today is number thirteen for our Coffee &  Chats. This seems like a good time to catch up because it’s been awhile. I’ve been busy writing and preparing for the launch of THE UNINVITED CORPSE I just didn’t have any words left to write blog posts. It happens sometimes.

I have my coffee so let’s start catching up. First up, is my debut novel’s release. It’s coming real soon. March 27th!!! I remember when I got the offer and 2018 seemed soooo far away. Lately it’s been feeling like Boom! There it is! Like…tomorrow! I’m doing my best to to hyperventilate every day when I think about the release or how much work needs to be done. I’m trying to remain calm and carry on. So far, it’s working. But it’s really hard not to freak out over something you’ve dreamed about for so long. Seriously, getting published is sooo hard to do. But I did it. And I have to remind myself that if I expend all my energy freaking out about the release and everything that’s involved I’ll miss out on the enjoyment of the event.

A part of the release will be a blog tour. The blog tour involves reviews, interviews and guest posts. So over the next week or so I’ll be completing those interviews and wrapping up writing the guest posts. I’ll be posting on social media where you can find me during the blog tour. I’m looking forward to visiting with as many people as possible on the tour. Advanced Reader Copies of the book have been sent out and reviews are now starting to be posted online. Reading reviews is hard to do and as much as I’m beyond thrilled with the reviews so far, I know that somewhere along the way to release day there will be one or two (I pray no more) negative reviews. Maybe I should start planning how I’ll handle those reviews. Many authors I know rely heavily on chocolate.

Meanwhile, I’ve been writing the first draft of book three in the Food Blogger Mystery series. The draft is complete and I’ve set it aside to work on the outline of another book.

There’s one more thing I’d like to share before I wrap this post up. I’m not sure if you heard that I sold a new series to my publisher. MURDER WEARS A LITTLE BLACK DRESS, book one in the Resale Boutique Mystery Series releases in January 2019. Out-of-work fashionista Kelly Quinn inherits her granny’s old and tired consignment shop. An attempt to turn the shop around is foiled when a dress in the shop on consignment is connected to a murder. I had so much fun writing the book and I can’t wait to begin book two, which is the book I’m currently outlining.

It’s so fun catching up with you. Thanks for dropping by today!

 

Life, Writing

Welcome 2018!

Happy New Year! 2018 is finally here! Can you tell I’m excited?

Too be honest, I didn’t ring in the new year instead I woke to it bright and early this morning. Considering what 2018 is bringing me, getting a good night’s sleep seemed to be the responsible and smart thing to do. It’s been a busy time here coming off of the holidays and preparing for 2018. I’ve had to take a good, hard look at my organization process I’ve been using because 2018 is going to be a year full of new demands on my time and energy. What has worked well for me in the past isn’t going to cut it this year because I’m no longer just writing.

No, it seems once you’re published writing competes with dozens of other tasks and it’s so easy to not write. While everything else that needs to be done is important, writing is the most important thing because writing is the reason why I have to do all these other things. I think the word of the year will be FOCUS.

I will be promoting the release of The Uninvited Corpse with a blog tour and some in-person events while writing the third book in the Food Blogger Mystery series. Come the middle of the year I’ll be promoting the release of Murder Wears a Little Black Dress, A Resale Boutique mystery, and writing the second book in that series. In addition to the writing and promoting for both releases this year I’ll be joining the group blog, Writers Who Kill where I’ll be writing a post a month. Early in 2017 I joined with a fabulous group of 2018 debut authors and together we work to support each other through social media. I’ve also just joined the International Thriller Writers Debut Author Program and I’m looking forward to all the program has to offer this author.

There’s a lot on my plate this years and it can feel overwhelming (I just need to remember to breathe) but the truth is I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. Besides, what’s a little hyperventilation? 🙂

I’m confident (or blissfully ignorant) that I can tackle whatever 2018 throws at mebecause of my revamped organization/time-management processes. I’ve taken what has worked for me in the past and added a few new tools that I think should meet the new demands on my time. I’ll be sharing all the details on those upgrades to my organization process with you in my next post and maybe there’s something that can help you and maybe you have a tip or two you could share with me.

I hope you have a great New Year’s day!

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