Are you all ready for Christmas? I am, finally, and feel accomplished with all my gifts wrapped and under the tree. We traveled to our home town for the holiday weekend and are enjoying visiting with family and friends. Christmas Eve brings a few gift deliveries and tonight we will make my sister’s famous Lemon Shortbread Christmas cookies.

Looking back on the last few months, I realize though that I’ve been so immersed in holiday prep, I’ve missed out on actually visiting with friends and family.

Each year at the crack of dawn on the day after Thanksgiving, I’m up replacing my fall decorations with Santas and all things Christmas. This year, our oldest son, Norman, and his lovely wife, Kendra, along with our two adorable grandkids, Sloan and Carter, came for Thanksgiving. One of the things the grandkids have always enjoyed was decorating my tree. It was fun watching them sort through decades of ornaments, carefully putting them on my nine foot tree.

We always exchange gifts at Christmas, but it dawned on me the best part of this Thanksgiving was being present to experience them adorning our tree with memories from Norman’s childhood. We played games, watched the Ducks and Beavers play their last civil war game, and visited this and that.

It could be because I’m in my sixties now, or maybe because my mom passed several years ago, and along with her a lot of my holiday traditions. But I now think the best gift of all is being in the presence of family and friends.

I know Santa hasn’t delivered our gifts yet, but I’m already looking toward the New Year and thinking about how I can be more in the moment with my loved ones. The age old adage, “Your Presence is the best Present” should be the mantra we all follow.

So, as challenging as it might be, I’m going to focus on not being on my phone when I’m with others. Listening to my husband, Randy, when he wants to share a funny story or even his latest political opinion. (Insert eyeroll) I want to participate in the retelling of beloved family stories when I’m with my siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, since so many of us have lost the elders in our lives.

My husband, Randy, isn’t much of a holiday prep guy and doesn’t quite understand all the Christmas hype. Of course, I’d love for him to join in my fun. But he enjoys meeting friends for holiday toddies and watching football. The camaraderie of yelling at the refs and cheering on your favorite team is his favorite gift. A gift that’s hard to wrap for sure but something Randy loves and … will remember forever.

Within my circle of friends, we no longer exchange gifts, despite the fact that I always find the best presents. However, there is nothing like laughing over memories of our adventures throughout the year. Sharing fun stories about our families. Plotting and planning where we might vacation together. Or working out the details for our annual girls’ beach week on the Oregon coast. Again, I’m reminded that the best part of these gifts is the presence of all these wonderful people in my life.

Of course, one of my favorite places to be is in my writing zone. I love being down the rabbit hole with my current WIP, “Willow’s Woods”, enjoying the characters of Stoneybrook. And I can’t wait to start my stay in Cabo where “Chaos in Cabo” takes place. I do know though that when I’m writing I am very not present. I tend to ignore everyone and everything, wanting to stay in my zone and focus on my process. The anticipation of what my characters might do next or where the story will take us keeps me enthralled.

But in the coming year, I do plan to take a break and pop out of myself and be in the moment. I can’t wait to enjoy all the presents in my future I’ll be blessed with by my presence.

Merry Christmas, Ladies of Mystery. I hope each of you, and your families, have a lovely Christmas and a blessed New Year!

The holiday season is upon us! My tree is up, and we had a wonderful time visiting with my grandkids and their parents. Next will be decorating the house with all my favorite things and wrapping presents I’ve bought throughout the year. And with three newly published books, I can’t wait to gift them to all the people who supported my writing efforts this year.

As much as I love the festivities of the holiday season, I have to admit, I love writing more.

When I found myself faced with a few obstacles this past summer while trying to finish my novel “Vanished in Vallarta”, my normal writing routine became a frantic, almost 24/7 push to complete the editing phase of the novel.

Part of the frenzy was due to also trying to wrap up “Redneck Ranch” and polish a rewrite of “Five Golden Rings.” I wanted to have all three of these books available for the Portland Holiday Market which occurs the third week of November. All of a sudden, I found myself scrambling at the end of October to publish and order the books for an arrival date in time for the market.

Thankfully, I was blessed with some heroic efforts from friends who believe in me, and all three books were ready in time for the Portland Holiday Market. These ladies are definitely on Santa’s “Nice List”!

Prior to the book publishing craziness, I had developed a balanced schedule of work (Unfortunately, I still have a day job), write, house work, write, yard work, write, meal prep, write. You get the idea. But the pressure of wanting these books completed by a self-imposed deadline, caused me to fall down a Writing Rabbit Hole! And I liked being there!

When I would venture out of my abyss, I’d find unfinished house work, empty cupboards and a husband losing his ability to support my passion. But after a half-hearted effort to catch up on these things and spend time with Randy, back down the writing rabbit hole I would go.

Now, though, I’m anxious to find my balance again. Maybe, despite my sleepless nights and endless fretting, I liked the stress of meeting a deadline. Enjoyed being immersed in México with my fabulous characters. Adored walking the streets of Stoneybrook with Wyatt, Harley, and the rest of the townsfolk.

But equity in all areas of my life needed to be addressed. With this goal in mind, I dredged up a tried and true work technique I learned many, many years ago. Power Blocks! When I was first building my investment business, I was taught to designate two hours of each day to certain work related projects. This method helped me accomplish more during an eight hour work day, so surely it would come in handy now.

I’m close to retiring, so some days my job only takes about two hours. First block assigned. Next I knew I should do a household task or project and made a list to work from. Two down, two to go. Since I’m up early, two hours writing in the morning seemed prudent. If I was successful with the other daily power blocks, I could eek out two more hours in the afternoon before Randy arrived home from work to focus on expanding my marketing efforts. Paty Jager will be proud this task made the power block task list.

December will be a good trial month to implement my power block approach. Of course, I may have to substitute chores and projects with decorating and baking, but it is the holidays after all!

One thing I know for sure, I’m passionate about my writing! I know too that I can survive deadline related stress, self-imposed or otherwise. I also believe applying an idea generated by the 1930’s quote of Allen F Morgenstern, “Work smarter, not harder!”, will help me stay focused.

I’m excited about the three books I have planned for this year: “Chaos in Cabo”, “Whispering Willows, a Novella” and “Willow’s Woods”. Plus, I’m planning to write two short stories for anthologies in 2024.

So, if you’ll excuse me … I’m heading back down the Writing Rabbit Hole!!!

Now for my shameless promotion. “Vanished in Vallarta” is now available on Amazon:

I love the holiday season. Cooler weather and the arrival of fall colors seems to bring people together. Cheering at high school football games. Evenings gathered around a fire pit with a hot toddy. Sharing popcorn in a theatre for the latest fall blockbuster.

And my personal favorite, curled up on the couch in front of a fire with a festive drink and a fabulous book.

I no longer celebrate Halloween, my son Derrick’s favorite holiday. But while doing research for my novel, “Malice in Mazatlán”, I learned about Día de Muertos, a Mexican festival celebrating the dead. This Mexican memorial was a perfect addition to my story. Sarita García’s hotel, Fiesta de Fuego, treated guests to a Día de Muertos celebration every Wednesday night to honor the alleged ghosts from a love triangle rumored to haunt the hotel. Oh, and Sarita might have an affinity for skulls. And I love the idea that maybe a future Stoneybrook Mysteries novel features a haunted house in the Redneck Ranch’s old barn.

Thanksgiving is the holiday that seems to get lost between the ghoulish fun of Halloween and merriment of Christmas. I, however, have an impressive pumpkin collection. Each year, I drag out the orange orbs and decorated my house with fall colors. I love the sentiment of Thanksgiving encouraging us to be thankful for all that we have and blessings still to come. I haven’t found an occasion to put a Thanksgiving celebration in a novel yet but hope to do so soon. It would be fun to see Harley and Wyatt, along with their family and friends gathered around a large table waiting for the turkey to be carved. I’ve spent a couple of Thanksgivings in México, so maybe a scene with my México Mayhem characters planning their version of a Thanksgiving celebration will appear in future books.

And then there’s the Grand Dame of Holidays—Christmas! This is still a hard holiday for me, but I’ve found ways to make Christmas new again. I’ve started collecting ornaments that remind me of my characters, human, animal or insect, for my tree. I have countless dragonfly decoration and beautiful ornaments from México I’ve collected over the years. Last Christmas I added a Día de Muertos collection. This year the tree will showcase Maverick the donkey and a couple of crocodile ornaments. Luckily, last year, I was invited to write a short story for Windtree Press’s “Crime Never Takes a Holiday” anthology. My story, “Five Golden Rings has morphed into the second book in my Stoneybrook Mysteries. Despite my dark and twisty side, Five Golden Rings has a happy ending with a feast being planned at the Redneck Ranch for Christmas Day.

I love all the other holidays we celebrate, too. There’s a Memorial Day dance in “Whispering Willows”, my latest story in Windtree Press’s current anthology, “Whispers”. But as I race the clock to finish editing of the third book in my México Mayhem series, “Vanished in Vallarta” for the holiday buying season, my writer’s brain occasionally wanders.

How fun would it be to see one of my female character’s proposed to on Valentine’s Day? In “Redneck Ranch”, Pastor Jamey hosts Cowboy Church on a beautiful June day, and I can see a future scene with Cowboy Church celebrating Easter. I’m currently working on my next novel, “Willow’s Woods” and am hoping to write my way to a Fourth of July celebration in the town of Stoneybrook.

Probably one of the best gifts my writing has given me are characters I love, places perfect for visiting or putting down roots. And stories to be enjoyed curled up on a couch, with a hot spiced wine, in front of a fire!

Now for my shameless promotion. “Redneck Ranch”, “Five Golden Rings”, and “Whispers” are available on Amazon:

I have been obsessed with finishing my two novels this year. Every spare minute I have is dedicated to my writing. And, God willing, both Vanished in Vallarta and Redneck Ranch will be published by the first of November.

As you all know, writing is a singular endeavor, until you have pages, chapters, a novel for someone to read, critique, edit. With these two novels, I’ve struggled with finding editors and Beta Readers.

After losing my first editor, my friend Sharon North, stepped in and took on both books. At first, I was disappointed that she didn’t like my villain in Vanished in Vallarta. After listening to her concerns and weighing them against how I’d hoped to show my villain in the story, I realized I’d been the one to let this character down. As I rewrote him, I not only showed his story better, but was also able to strengthen another character, both changes making the story stronger.

Sharon blessed me with a fabulous opinion of Redneck Ranch, which encouraged me to hand off the manuscript to my three Beta readers. These lovely women worked reading Redneck Ranch into their busy lives, while I improved Vanished in Vallarta. One of the things I find interesting is all three readers have found some of the same issues, but also problems separate from each other. Both Mary Eastman and Stacy Robinson loved Redneck Ranch, and as you’ve already guessed, their input and kudos helped me make the novel even better.

My final Beta reader, Cindy Schmid, a Montana girl through and through, made me aware of some specific story issues with regard to my descriptions of the Redneck Ranch. For instance, I decided the ranch could be five acres, but if I want to have horses and other animals, I need to picture a bigger spread. She also explained to me that Stone County, where my story unfolds, needed more history and fleshing out to make the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Oregon seem like a real place. I love creating characters and stories, but this is the first time I’ve actually created a county and town.

One of the reasons I wrote the novel, Redneck Ranch was to honor my Autistic son, Derrick, who passed away six years ago. Derrick always wanted to be a policeman or a sheriff, so I’ve created a fictional Deputy Sheriff named Derrick Austin Stone who always solves the crime in my novels and novellas. Obviously, losing Derrick was difficult and my journey to a place of zen was aided by the support of all the women I’ve named above and two friends who may not participate in the editing or reading phases of writing a novel, but their encouragement is priceless. Both Toni Hilton and Debbie Boutinen listen to my ideas about characters or my lamenting over whether the story is good, believable, or worth reading.

Cindy and Stacy are taking on the rewritten Vanished in Vallarta next and, with any luck, they will love the story as much as they did Redneck Ranch.

As I write this blog, I’m ensconced in my friend Cindy’s beautiful home in Montana on Whitefish Lake with Debbie, Sharon, and Toni. We’ve had a wonderful visit remembering how our friendships began, reminiscing about our younger days, and laughing about what old age has brough us so far.

The one thing growing old has taught me is the appreciation for the inspiration these friendships have brought me. Without their love, support, and shared interest in my writing I probably would have thrown in the towel years ago.

So out of something old, has come something new and I can’t wait to see what these few days with great friends will inspire in my next novel.

The title, Shut Up and Love! is a quote that belongs to my beloved Aunt Cindy, who died unexpectedly in her sleep three weeks ago. And though I’m writing a blog about this unimaginable loss, there truly are no words.

Cindy was only two years older then me, so not only did I lose one of my favorite aunts, but I’m also now looking over my sixty-six year old shoulder for the grim reaper.

Like me, my aunt had a strong faith, so it comforts me to know she’s traveled over the rainbow and beyond to be with family and friends who have gone before her. And though I believe what awaits me is better than my life here, I’m having a hard time accepting that the end draws near.

Do I only have two more years? I seriously hope not, because I’m not going to be ready. It’s taken me a year to write my next two books, and while I’ve loved every minute, I find myself worried about what I should write next. Do I only focus on one book, or should I try to write four?

My faith tells me it’s not my place to worry about my time on earth, nor plan for when I’m no longer here, but as a consummate planner, this logic goes against my nature. Hence, why my planning gene is on full throttle, making lists and checking them twice.

Am I in good health? Should I lose weight? Is it possible to live forever?

I know the last question might seem ridiculous, but even as a little girl, I wanted to live forever. I remember telling my mom I planned to live until my 100^th birthday, complete with an elaborate description of my party. Yes, I know living forever is a lofty goal, but I know I’m not going to be ready to leave planet earth. Leave my kids, grandkids, friends, and family.

One of my favorite quotes is:

Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty, well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming … WOW! What a ride! 

And I would add: Fifteen minutes late, with a margarita in hand, still asking for more time!

Since I don’t have a crystal ball, the answer is simple. Live for today. Write my books, short stories, blogs, birthday cards. Spend as much time with my kids, grandkids, friends, and family.

Take the love my Aunt Cindy and I shared and find a way to weave the beauty of our feelings into the characters that spring from my imagination. Maybe there’s a favorite aunt in my

Stoneybrook heroine, Harley Harper’s future. Or does the hero, Wyatt Stone, have a meddlesome aunt who needles him about his relationship with Harley.

And if you’ve been kind enough to read my previous blogs, then you know I love Mexico. What if my Aunt Cindy appears as a character in Chaos in Cabo. Or maybe she must save her nephew in Lost in Loreto from a shotgun wedding.

I know I haven’t met most of you in person, but you’re fellow writers, so I wish you good health. Long lives. And a river of words to fill the pages.

And please, Just Shut Up and Love!