The Old and the New

I don’t know if anyone else feels this way but I love the feeling I get when I take down my old calendar and put up the calendar for the New Year. A fresh start with so many possibilities in the days to come! No resolutions for me; just goals and plans.

This week's post is about looking back and looking forward - because this week we say good-bye to 2018 and we welcome 2019.

2018 has been a monumental year for me. I finished writing Secrets in Storyville and self-published the book. A first for me! And the book itself is the first in a new series.

With what I’d learned I went on to self-publish the second editions of all five of my Malone mysteries, editing and reformatting the manuscripts and creating new covers, covers I absolutely love because each one symbolizes the story.

So, what are my writing plans/goals for 2019?

Well, I’m already in the early plotting stages for Murder at Maple Ridge, the second book in my small town mystery series, and I’m starting to get excited about writing it. Since I'm a "book a year" writer, my goal is to release it in 2019.

What are your 2018/2019 accomplishments and plans?

 

Happy New Year!

Christmas Memories

We all have lots of Christmas memories. Some we remember more than others. And some, we writers will use in our books.

There’s a scene in my mystery novel, Unfinished Business, where Ann and her older sister, Marnie, are remembering a Christmas from their childhoods: the year they decided to search their parents’ house, looking for their presents. 

More than anything, Ann wanted a Cabbage Patch doll for Christmas and, in a hidden compartment in the closet of the master bedroom, she found it. At first, she was thrilled but, as you can imagine, finding the doll put quite a damper on her Christmas. She ruined her own surprise.

That scene was a fictionalized version of what happened to me when I was a little girl. I wanted a Patty Play Pal doll so badly and, like Ann, I searched our house and found the doll hidden in my parents’ closet. 

On Christmas Day, I had to pretend to be surprised when I unwrapped the doll but I’m pretty sure my mom and dad knew the truth. (I've never been that great of an actress.) Needless to say, that was the first and last time I ever went looking to see what Santa or my parents had gotten me for Christmas. (By the way, since my name is Patricia, I named the doll Cathy.)

My parents, brother, me (with Cathy) and my maternal grandfather.

I hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas and that you make some wonderful Christmas memories this year!