Happy Friday! It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I turned in HOW THE MURDER CRUMBLES to my editor. It felt so good to send out that manuscript. Yes, I did a happy dance. And then, boom! Proof pages for my December release, SLEUTHING IN STILETTOS, landed in my inbox. Out of all the parts of the book writing process, proof pages are my least favorite to do. But, I’m halfway done so the pain won’t be lasting for long. Yay!

Last week, I was down in New York City visiting with my parents for four days and I got home Sunday night, very late, which meant I had a slow start Monday morning.

But I did make a dent in my long to-do list. I even got outside to do some weeding. At least one garden bed looks decent now. Actually, I enjoyed tidying up the bed. I gave our dwarf Japanese Maple a trim, added a base from a water fountain that’s seen better days to the bed tucked behind the Japanese Maple and the Holly bush. There’s a small stone bowl that I purchased during a garden tour in Newport RI years ago that needed a home so I set it on top of that base for a little visual interest.

There were also errands done and a quick trip to TJ Maxx. I always love squeezing in a trip there. You never know what you’ll find! I had a return and of course, I browsed and picked up a new vanity mirror. Today I’m going to have a Zoom call with my critique partner and I’m so looking forward to catching up with her. I’m even more excited to hear about her progress on her current WIP. So far, the pages I’ve read are awesome! I definitely want more.

In the middle of the week, I listened to a podcast and I loved it. I found a new Instagram account to follow. I love when that happens. The episode was How The Farmhouse Style Is Changing and featured blogger Liz Quick. She and host, Lisa, discuss how the very white farmhouse style is changing and becoming more old world. I loved it.

Since it’s the end of the week, I’m starting to think about planning out next week. On the list of things to do, will be creating content for an upcoming Facebook event I’m participating in. I’m so excited about this book hop. The Spring Into Summer multi-author book hop is happening on June 21st. Visit the event page, let us know you’re going to attend and then on June 21st, visit each participating author’s Facebook page for lots of fun and prizes. There’s a grand prize for one lucky person and it’s the ‘first in series’ book from each author! That’s a lot of books. The book I’m including in the grand prize is a copy of The UNINVITED CORPSE.

Thanks for stopping by to visit. My weekend will consist of some house chores and weeding. Yeah, it’s going to be a wild weekend here. I’m going to try and pace myself. Leave a comment below and let me know what you’re up to this weekend.

Debra

How was your week? I felt like mine flew by because there was so much going on. Between work, work and work (I’m this-close to my deadline, so the focus has been on writing for months), and life (my mom has a doctor’s appointment this week and there’s always drama leading up to it), and the beautiful stretch of weather we had this week (after an unpleasant preview of summer this past weekend), I felt like there weren’t enough hours in each day. But I made sure to carve out time to write this post. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve blogged and I’ve missed it. Over the past two years, it felt like every time I committed to being more present here on DS.com, something sidetracked me and my beloved blog fell to the wayside. I’d love to change this pattern. Yeah, I know…it’s up to me. And I’m giving it another try. So, I thought today I’d kick off with a look at this past week. It was a good one considering all the challenges.

I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been up to this week and share a few links.

But, first let’s start with a writing update. On May 1st, I turned in SLEUTHING IN STILETTOS, a Resale Boutique Mystery series, to my publisher. Good news, it was accepted! I’m waiting on the cover. Can’t wait to see it. The book is available for pre-order at your favorite retailer and will be released on 12/6/22.

I’m participating in a virtual mystery conference this week, Maple Leaf Mystery Conference. Unfortuntealy I missed the sessions from the first two days but I caught last night’s two sessions. Luckily, there will be replays.

My favorite workout this week was this shoulder one from Caroline Girvan over on You Tube. It was short but it was definitely worked my shoulders.

Check out this colorful, book filled home of author and co-bookstore owner, Emma Straub. So much fun!

On June 21st, I’ll be joining with a group of authors for the Spring Into Summer Book Hop on Facebook. The grand prize will be a collection of first in series books form the participating authors plus prizes from each author you visit during the hop. For more details, visit the events page and then mark your calendar.

I wasn’t the only one who had a busy week. Connie had her grooming appointment and then a play date with her bestie Maura. I snapped this photo after leaving the grooming appointment.

With the week almost behind me (just a few hours to the end of my workday), I’m thinking about the weekend. It’s a three-day one. For me, the most important thing to do is to be thankful to the men and women of our military for keeping us safe. Then, I think my weekend will consist of a lot of weeding (I’m so far behind) and grilling. What are your plans?

Debra