Thankful

It’s November the month when we have a small thing called Thanksgiving. Whether you sit down with family, friends, or just yourself it seems to be the day when we think about all we are thankful for.

Of course, Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that has been spun to make us be grateful for what we have. Which is wonderful, but we, well I know I wouldn’t be here, if it hadn’t been for the Native Americans who back in 1621 helped the pilgrims make it through that first winter in North America. According to my grandmother, I have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower. If they hadn’t lived, who knows who I would have turned out to be. Which makes me grateful that the people who lived here were willing to share with the ones who invaded their land.

I’m thankful to have been born in the decade where we have lived through so many good inventions. But lately a few too many that I’m not so excited about. I feel their need to “help us or make things easier” is making use dumber.

Being a kid in the 60’s & 70’s was like being a feral animal. LOL During the summer, I could do my chores, saddle up my horse and be gone all day riding on the mountainside. As long as I made it home to do my afternoon chores and have dinner ready when my parents got home from work, they didn’t care what I did all day. And they didn’t worry harm would come to me or my brothers as we rode cardboard boxes down a long, steep hill, fished in the stream in the cow pasture, swam in the river, and sat out at the county road trying to sell lemonade to the summer tourists.

What I’m the most thankful for is my husband who early in our marriage realized that I needed to write to not be grouchy. There were times he’d come into the house and say, “When was the last time you wrote something?” When I’d say, “A few days ago.” He’d tell me to go write. I’d drop whatever household chore I was doing and write. It is my happy place and my therapy.

I finished the 9th book in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series, Santa’s Beard, last week. It’s with my editor while I’m on a short vacation with hubby. I hadn’t planned on working on the next book in the Gabriel Hawke series until after the first of the year because I have a lot of “marketing” things I need to deal with. But not writing isn’t in me. While I was walking my dog the other day, the beginning of the next book came to me and I’ve written it down. I know it will change several times before I actually start the book, but that’s how my mind works.

Now that the starting point for the next book came to me, I’ll be running things over in my head to find the best beginning and figure out suspects. 😉 One of my favorite parts is putting together the cast of characters who might be the killer. I like to have 4 options for the killer and yet, many times it ends up being someone who I pluck out of the air and don’t realize they are the murderer until I get near the end of the book. I love it when I surprise myself! Especially, when I go back to add in the clues and realize I had added them already. That’s when I’m thankful for my subconscious!

One of the things I’m the most thankful for are the Ladies of Mystery. The authors who post on the blog monthly and share about our guest spots with other authors. Without all their wonderful posts about writing and life, this would be a boring place. Our guest bloggers are mystery and thriller writers from all over and different careers. I love learning about other writers and picking up some good reads.

What I am thankful for the most are the people who follow and read this blog and who purchase our books. Our fans are what keep us writing. Thank you to everyone out there who reads and purchases books whether they are print, ebook, or audio.

If you’d like to stay up to date with my writing or learn about how I became a write, you can subscribe to my Substack. I post all the blog posts from the Ladies of Mystery there, share author friends and their books, and of course, my newest books and sales. https://substack.com/@patyjag

Have a wonderful month and fabulous Thanksgiving!