In these, the last few days before Christmas, I’m struggling. Not to finish the shopping, baking, wrapping and decorating. Those things will get done as they do every year. I hope.

I typically start panicking two weeks before Christmas. How will I get it all done? What gifts do I still need buy? I don’t know what to get anyone in my family except maybe my granddaughter and two-year-old grandson. (One gives me a list, and the other one is just fun to buy for!) When will I have time to wrap the gifts, bake cookies, and make the candy my kids like? I’m normally making lists like Santa on speed.

I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because I’ve been so busy with book stuff, but this year I haven’t had time to worry about Christmas. I’ve been on autopilot when it comes to Christmas. But Christmas is getting done anyway. Interesting.

In the last six weeks I’ve published two books, had a book signing at a bookstore and I’ve taken my books to three Christmas bazaars. Yesterday I met with a book club whose members had read my three Thrillers and wanted me to sign them. I’ve also spent many hours on social media trying to get word out about my books.

So, here is my struggle. While I’m busy trying to market my books and get ready for Christmas, I’ve had a terrible time getting any writing done. Not because I have no time to write, because even with all the craziness I have had time. Not as much as I normally do, but I can grab an hour here and there.

My writing schedule is normally to get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and write for two hours before I do anything else. There are days when that schedule doesn’t work. Like on Mondays when I have the two-year-old, or I have an early appointment, but I try to save those hours to write.

For some reason, it hasn’t been working for me in the last few weeks. And when I have made myself sit down and write it isn’t going well. I’ve started the fourth book in my series six times.  Every time I think I have it nailed down, I read it back and it isn’t working.

I can’t get my mind back in the game. Is this because my mind is revolving around all of the things that I need to do like a hamster on a wheel? Will I be able to calm down and write when the holidays are over? I sure hope so because now I’m way behind schedule.

And then, as if I didn’t have enough to think about, the universe dropped an idea for a Christmas mystery in my lap. I’ve always wanted to write a Christmas mystery. It’s all there: the main characters, the villain, the detective and even the ending. I want to stop writing the next book in the series and write this one instead! I’ve jotted down notes and hope to find time to write this book in 2026 also.

I’d love to hear what you all do when life is crazy, and your muse is trifling with you. Do you whip it into shape or go with the flow? Any advice you’d like to send my way would be greatly appreciated.

Meantime, I’m over here baking, buying gifts and wrapping and longing for the day after Christmas when things will go back to my kind of normal routine and I’ll hopefully be able to figure out the opening of my new book.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and may we all be productive in the new year!

Since this is Thanksgiving season, I decided to ask myself what is it about my writing career that I’m most thankful for. There are so many things to be thankful for, and I feel I need to remind myself once in a while just what they are.

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the narrator asked the author what part of the writing process she would outsource if she could.

This writer is a quite successful independent author. She said that when she started out, she did everything. But she’d become quite successful and was able to hire a personal assistant to help her. One of the things her PA does is format her books.

Since that is one of the hardest parts of the job for me, I laughed and told a friend, “When I get rich and famous, I’m going to outsource formatting my books!”

I’ve already hired two editors and a cover designer. But I felt like I wasn’t making enough money to source anything else out. Then I noticed on the email I got from the woman who designed the cover for my Christmas Romance she had added, please talk to me about formatting.

I took a chance and asked her. Her prices were so reasonable I didn’t have to wait until I became rich and famous. I told her what a nightmare it was for me. She said she’d be happy to do it because she’d done so many it wasn’t a nightmare for her. I was thrilled by how fast she got it done. And when I tried to upload my files to Amazon and Ingram they went through without a glitch. I am so thankful to Paty Jager who told me about Covers by Karen. Paty has always patiently answered my questions.

On the podcast they suggested doing the parts of the writing business that you love and hiring the rest out. I like marketing my books. I know I’m not that successful at it, but it’s a part of the business that I enjoy. So, for now, I’ll continue to try and market them. If I could afford to have a marketing person, you can be sure I would.

My books are so much better since I hired my editors. They go through my books and give me feedback, and correct grammar and spelling. They are incredible.

I’m so thankful for my cover designers. I used 99 Designs for the first four books and Covers by Karen for the last one. They all did such a great job. I know writers who design their own covers, and they are beautiful. I think that’s great, but I’m not a designer. I have no idea how to even begin to do that, so I’m thankful for artists who are good at what they do and design the covers for me.

I love having the freedom to pick the titles and the cover design. And I love to write, of course, or I wouldn’t be doing this.

I love my readers and I’m so thankful for them. Even though my tribe isn’t that big yet, they are wonderful. They share my social media posts and tell their friends to read my books. A couple of my readers have asked their libraries to carry my books. They are amazing!

 It makes my day when one writes to say they enjoyed my book and couldn’t put it down. Or they stayed up all night reading. One reader told me this about the Christmas Romance I just published: “I loved every page!”

I’ve been so lucky along my journey to meet so many wonderful people. From the writing instructors to other writers who have gone out of their way to offer help when I’ve needed it. I’ve also reached out to industry professionals who’ve been more than kind and answered questions about law enforcement.

I’m thankful for my family who have encouraged me and helped in any way they can, from designing and maintaining my website, to taking my author picture to reading early drafts and giving input and editing.

I love this job. As I read back over this blogpost, I realize how lucky I am to have so many people who have helped me along the way. I hope to write for many more years, and I hope that I’ll look back often and think about all that I’m grateful for.  It’s easy to get caught up in the grumbling, and I do from time to time. But when I stop to think about it, there is a lot more to be grateful for than to grumble about.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are counting your blessings too.

This has been a busy month for me. I launched Her Last Breath, my third book in the Hood River Valley Mystery/Thriller series a couple of weeks ago. It took longer than I thought it would, but it’s now out on Amazon. I think it will be available to bookstores and libraries on October 19^th.

I’ll be selling my books at our local Fall Craft Show on the 18^th and 19^th. And I have an upcoming book signing in Pendelton, Oregon at Brett’s Books New and Used on November 1st.

I’ve been getting ready for those events and trying to finish the edits on another book. This one is a Christmas Romance. Several years ago, I wrote about 80% of this book and never finished it. It had always been on my bucket list to write a Christmas Romance. For some reason, I just didn’t know how to end this one. Maybe it’s because I’m normally a mystery writer and the ending is typically the solving of the crime.

There were no crimes in my Christmas Romance. There’s a little intrigue, but crime doesn’t take a leading role. So, I talked to my friend and fellow author, Cassie Moore, and we brainstormed until I had the idea for the ending, and I was able to finish it.

The premise of this book is: What do you do when the man you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with dies, and you’re certain you’ll never love anyone else again? And then a stranger comes along and turns your world upside down?

While Brynn Cummins fights her attraction to mystery author Jack Andrews, she finds herself embroiled in two family problems that seem insurmountable. Her son’s ex-wife is trying to take their two-year-old son away from him while he’s being deployed. and after she has given up all parental rights. And Jack’s ex-wife is needing his help because she’s going through cancer. Then her crazy brother gets involved and complicates Jack’s life even more.

As love blooms between Brynn and Jack, can they navigate their way through their problems and find their way to each other? Or will the problems be more than their fledgling relationship will bare?

I’ve been editing two books, trying to get one formatted and into production, while setting up book signings. Then one of our dear friends died unexpectedly. He had been having cognitive issues for the last few years, but I thought he was strong physically. He wasn’t, and dealing with his death has been so hard. He was such a good man, and he will be missed.

His Memorial Service is next weekend. Last weekend I was supposed to go to my cousin’s funeral. Instead, I ended up in the hospital. I’ve been here two days, and they are planning to do surgery today. When you think you are already too busy, and life drops something like this on you, it’s like, how am I supposed to get everything done when I was already overwhelmed, and now I have a hospital stay?

I’ll be glad when today is over and I can get well and move on. I had warning signs. For the last few weeks, I kept having chest pains that moved into my abdomen and back. But they didn’t last long, and I was in denial. I didn’t want to take time out for health reasons.

Then last Saturday the pain came and wouldn’t go away. I tried lying down and getting up and walking around, all things I’d done in the past to alleviate the pain. It just got worse and worse, so I called my husband and said, “I think you need to take me to the hospital.” It’s probably a good thing I came. I will be fine, I just have a few days of recovery, and I’ll be up and around again.

I’m determined to make it to the Memorial Service for our friend this weekend, and to the Craft Show. Someone will have to carry my books in, but hopefully I can arrange that.

Fast forward a couple of days, and I’m home. Surgery went well and I should heal nicely. I’ve learned that no matter what plans I have that I feel can’t be changed or shelved, life has a way of changing those plans sometimes.

I still plan to make my friend’s memorial. But I may have to bow out of the Craft Show as much as I hate that. Amazon doesn’t plan to get my new book to me until the day after the show closes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll come early, but I just checked tracking, and it doesn’t look good.

I could scream, but I know that won’t do any good. The books will come when they get here. There will be other opportunities to sell my books. I just need to chill and let life do what it’s going to do.

It wasn’t hard for me to pick the setting for my mystery/thriller series. I’d always wanted to write one set in the valley where I grew up and still live. I love this valley with its green trees, lush vegetation, beautiful orchards, majestic mountains and gorgeous rivers.  And it’s fun to write about murder and mayhem in a place that is so serene and beautiful.

However, there are things about setting my stories here that I never considered before I actually started publishing my books.

Like the woman who said she and a friend had been talking and wondered which people in the valley I was writing about. I told her that I have never used a real person in my books. Rather I use a culmination of people I’ve known or read about.

This wasn’t the first time someone has asked me if I use real people when I write. I say the same thing every time. No, no and NO! These are fictional characters and are not based on any real person, dead or alive.

On the other hand, a lot of my readers who live here or have lived here, or visited here in the past, love it when I mention the name of a road or a building or an orchard because they know exactly where it is. Although, I must admit, I’ve taken some creative liberties and added a few places that aren’t really here. Or moved things where I needed them for the story.

My Three Bears Story:

When I wrote my first book, a standalone mystery/suspense titled, The Truth Will Set You Free, I had wanted to set it in Hood River. But after writing a few chapters, I realized my town was too big for the story I wanted to tell. So, I moved it to a small town east of Hood River called Moiser. After I’d written a few chapters, I realized it wasn’t working. Moiser was just too small. So, then I headed west of Hood River to the small town of Cascade Locks, and it was just right!

After that book came out, I was selling my books at a Christmas Bazaar in Cascade Locks and a lady picked up one and read the description on the back. As she read, she said, “Oh, oh, oh.” Her voice rose and lowered with each utterance. Then she turned to the lady with her and said, “I’ve got to buy this. I know exactly who it’s written about.”

Since I don’t know many people who live in Cascade Locks, three in total, I knew she really didn’t know who it was about. But she bought the book and hopefully she enjoyed it.

Right now, I’m working on a standalone that I’m setting in The Dalles, a town thirty miles east of us. Why did I pick The Dalles? I spent a couple of days there last spring selling books, and I met some wonderful people. They shared stories of their town that I was fascinated by. While I’ve been to The Dalles many times over the years, I’ve never spent a lot of time there.

I love it that The Dalles has the oldest bookstore in Oregon, Klindts Books. There’s a lady in The Dalles who used to do graveyard tours. I still need to talk to her. The old buildings downtown are reputed to be haunted. Like a lot of towns in eastern Oregon, the businesses in town have gone away or moved to the west end of town. They are trying to bring in new businesses, and there are some exciting things happening. I had no idea it was such a fascinating place.

I love JA Jance’s Sheriff Joanna Brady books. The way she writes about Bisbee, Arizonia made me long to go there. When I finally did, it was nothing like what I’d imagined while reading her books. I wrote to her, and she wrote back saying writers can make any setting interesting. She certainly did.

How important is setting to a story? I’ve read books that were set in big cities and thought it could’ve been any big city in the states. And I’ve read books set in small towns that could’ve been any small town. And then there are the books where the setting is like another character. That is what I’m striving for.

When my first book came out a lady bought it and told me later that she and her husband drove to Cascade Locks to see the town where the book was set. I loved it that she thought about the book after she finished reading it and enjoyed it enough that she wanted to see the small town it was set in.

I know of a lot of authors who spend a great deal of time researching their settings. Whether they do it by actually traveling to the place or reading everything they can get their hands on about it.

Even though my books are set in such a familiar place, I find myself having to look at a map to get the name of roads and sometimes drive around to make sure that what I’m writing about is actually where I think it is.

Maybe someday I’ll go further afield. I’d love to set a book in some places I’ve been, like Venice or Vienna or the Swiss Alps. And I’d be happy to travel to different places for research. Of course, I’d have to stay a while!

The third book in my Hood River Valley Mystery/Thriller Series is coming out soon. Her Last Breath is about a serial killer who has targeted my detective’s ex-husband, the sheriff. Here is the blurb:

Game on, Sheriff!

Detective Liz Ellisen is ready to walk away. After closing the most grueling case of her career, her resignation letter to Sheriff Mitchell Ellisen—her husband of twenty-five years and soon-to-be-ex—sits unfinished on her desk.

Then the call comes.

A young woman’s body is discovered in an abandoned barn. Staged to look like suicide, but Liz knows better. This is murder—calculated, methodical, and just the beginning.

In the barn’s dusty loft, an old Army trunk holds grim secrets; women’s pelvic bones, yellowed with age. As more young women vanish, taunting messages directed at the Sheriff begin to surface.

While racing to find the missing women, Liz battles demons on all sides—her failed marriage, her birth mother’s sudden reappearance, and the mounting evidence that points to an unthinkable suspect.

The clock is ticking, the body count rising and the killer’s game escalating.

Liz can only wonder why the Sheriff is being targeted by a killer…or is he the killer?

I’m excited to get the reaction to this book from my readers. Will they like the direction I’m taking the series? Will they continue to want more stories about these characters?

With this third book, I’m finding joy in writing a series character. I’ve found that with every book I learn more about my characters. I’ve become more engaged in their lives. I want to know what will happen next. And I hope my readers feel the same way.

My first published book was a standalone. Lots of people asked if I planned to write more books about the characters. Although I was happy that they wanted more, I felt it was one and done. I told the story, and it was finished. In my mind I didn’t need to write another book about these characters.

Then I decided to write a series. I’m finding that along with all of the fun things in doing a series, there are also issues. Keeping true to each character. Keeping them interesting and the story fresh. Remembering names and dates is a challenge and I’ve found myself messing up sometimes.

I took an online class from Deborah Crombie who writes the amazing Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. She said that one of the most important things you should do when writing a series is to keep a series bible. List everything about the characters that you can think of because you will need that information at some point.

I don’t know how many times I’ve had to go back to that bible and look for the name of a character who had a small part in the story. Or the name of a street where something happened. I tripped myself up by changing my detective’s parent’s names. Her father started out as Joel Scott, which I changed to George Scott, then discovered while writing the third book that I’d changed his name back to Joel! Needless to say, I had to do ‘search and find’ and change his name to George because that’s what I used in the published books. And I had changed her mother’s name from Melanie to Missy and had to change it back. It’s a very good thing that I caught both name changes and that I had written the correct names in my bible.

While the characters with small parts don’t seem that important, you never know when they will take on a larger role in a story somewhere down the road. So, it’s very important to get their names right. I’ve also had my first readers find eye color changes, and my characters being in a room and a scene or two later coming out of a different room. I’m so thankful for first readers!

I’ve been busy editing the new book, and now that it’s in the hands of my editors, I’m beginning a new standalone. I’m excited to write this book, which is something very different than what I’ve done so far. But I also find that I’m anxious to get back to my series and see what my characters are up to next. I touched on human trafficking in My Sister’s Keeper, the first book in this series, but book four will go deeper into the topic. I’m so excited to start writing it and I hope I do it justice.