What Have I Done? (My 2024 Recap)
While I can’t claim enough accomplishments to complete a Top Ten List, 2024 was still a good year for me in publishing. It’s good to look back on the past twelve months, the highs and yep, even the lows (because we learn from those). I think we should all take at least a few minutes to remember that time before we wave goodbye to it. So herewith is my Top Five:
💓In January I published Lies and Love, a novella about Drea, who reluctantly returns home to manage her family’s souvenir shop when her dad is too ill to work. A newcomer takes over the abandoned newspaper office next door, and Drea falls head over heels for him. Unfortunately.
💓Then in March, I took my less than stellar second novel, published way back in 2018, and revised it into a novella, now titled Whispers in the Dark. I felt it was bad luck to retain its original title, plus while I kept the original concept, I managed to turn it into a much better story. Whispers in the Dark features “Sam”, not her real name for reasons that soon become clear, toiling as a late-night disc jockey in a small, out of the way town. Someone she barely knew drove her to run away, right after she killed him in self-defense. But now she’s not so sure he’s dead.
💓June saw the debut of Inn Dreams, another novella, this one being my lengthiest to date. In Inn Dreams, Karen fulfills her lifelong dream of buying an old motel to renovate, except she soon awakens to the reality of just how much work the dilapidated business requires and how much it’ll cost her. While her new town seems friendly enough, there is one person who’s not thrilled she’s taken up residence there, and that person does all they can to force her out.
💓I’ve learned. (This doesn’t have a specific month attached, because it’s an ongoing process.) When I wrote my first novel in 2016, I assumed that both writing and publishing were easy. You write it, give it a once-over to check for any mistakes, then you publish. Guess what? That doesn’t work. This year I’ve become much more invested, by researching genres, book cover design, craft, which includes the art of good openings, as well as the five basic types of endings. I’m still dabbling in becoming a better editor by watching videos and grabbing advice wherever I can find it. I’ve even learned about titles as they relate to my genre ~ what constitutes an intriguing title versus one that is too easily skippable. I also attempted to learn a bit more about the ins and outs of marketing. While I research a lot for my stories (you wouldn’t believe the completely useless things I’ve learned far too much about, such as pylon signs), this education is for my overall improvement as a novelist. The knowledge I’ve gained has fortified me. In 2025, you can bet I’ll be doing more.
💓Around early fall, I started my most ambitious project, another full-length novel, which I haven’t attempted to do since 2021. Its first draft is finished! Still, a lot of work remains. I’m now starting the editing process, and then I’ll need to not only come up with a title, but a cover, among some lesser incidentals involved in the publishing biz. I have to say, I love this story! My protagonist is Leah Branch, who toils for years as a singer in a local band, until she quits and leaves her old life behind. She stumbles upon a town called Chance, and that’s where the story really begins. Come hell or high water, this novel will be published in the coming year.
I’m feeling pumped about the coming year. My still untitled novel is my best ever, and I can’t wait to share it with the world. But 2024 was no slouch, either.
Cover Reveal!
The cover for Running From Herself is here! Publication date is getting closer, and I can't wait!
Why a Novel About the Music Business?
Even though music was my first creative pursuit, I’ve never written a novel in which the main character is a singer. Maybe that’s because I enjoy exploring unfamiliar worlds and learning about them as I go, but somewhere along the way I hit upon the idea of focusing on the music business ~ not the glamour that everyone imagines, but the hard slog of, first, a local band singer’s life, and later the tribulations of trying to make it in the big time. Nope, I never was “big time”, but I’ve been immersed in music my entire life and I’ve absorbed a lot of the realities of that lifestyle (and of course, since I’m writing fiction, I’m throwing in a bunch of imaginary scenarios, too ~ some kind of fun scenes, at least fun for me to write, in which things don’t go exactly as planned). Especially because Leah is new to that world and completely on her own, she’s treading a lot of precarious waters. And unlike 99% of singers who’d give their right arm for a break, she only landed her recording contract through a fluke. In fact, she’s not even sure she wants it.
What I can bring to this novel from my own experience is songwriting and recording. I wrote my first song in 2001, and that was only because my husband (who is an accomplished songwriter himself) kept nagging me to do it. When I learned that my best friend from childhood had died after a sudden illness, I picked up my guitar one night and a song came rushing out. It was by no means a great song, but it showed me I could do it. Since then I’ve written too many songs to keep track of, again, not all of them great, but there have been a couple! My husband and I are a recording band, not a performing one. We release our songs to the world (he’s the producer) and let them take wing or not. A few of them have! But singing is not my strong suit. Yes, I can generally sing on key, though it may require a few takes to eliminate the clinker notes, and I’ve been told I have a pleasing, smoky voice. What I do know is, which I’ve incorporated into this novel, recording is not like it’s portrayed in movies or on TV. It’s painstaking and not a barrel of fun. A take can go completely right, but if one tiny thing goes wrong, then it’s time for take two or twenty-two. Don’t worry; this novel isn’t getting into the nitty gritty of studio work, but it does incorporate elements that I’m familiar with, and hopefully this gives the novel its authenticity. Writing it has been a fun ride.
P.S. You can hear our music on Spotify.
I Wrote a Song for My Novel
I had to. The novel is all about music and the music business, and I knew that at some point that a song or two would need to show its face. While Leah, the main character is trying to make her mark as a singer, she also dabbles in songwriting, and her superstar mentor, Paula Barnes, is a fan. When Paula is getting ready to go into the studio to record a new album, she asks Leah to write some songs for it. One song in particular is quite personal and specific to Paula’s life, maybe too specific and personal, Leah worries. She convinces herself that the song has offended the star, which is why she’s gotten no callback regarding any of the songs she sent.
Eventually, the subject of that song arises, and while I’ve referenced its title a few times in the novel, it seemed unnatural not to at least provide a hint of it. Thus, I wrote a song. I’m fairly certain that no one has invented singing book pages yet, so it would be more correct to say that I wrote lyrics. (I did have a melody in my head, though, as I was writing them.) It’s literally been years since I’ve written a song, but I found that it came right back to me!
For a couple of reasons, an author is reluctant to use song lyrics in their novel. Number one, you can’t just grab some famous lyrics to use for your own purposes unless you either want to pay a hefty fee or be threatened with a lawsuit. So, actual songs are out. Just as important, though less financially fraught, even including the author’s own lyrics would fast become boring to a reader. That’s why the closest I’ve come before this scene to referencing a song was to make up a title or two. I only wrote a half-song this time because portraying it was important to the scene.
So, win-win for me, I guess! I got to dust off an old talent and put it to use!
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My Writing Process
None of my stories are planned. While I suppose the majority of authors outline their stories, I don't even start out with a plot! I have a character and a setting; that's it. Then I approach the story with, "What if?" What if the protagonist finds her dream job, only to learn that the job she applied for and the one she landed were two completely different positions? That's exactly what happened in Shadow Song. A lakeside resort was hiring for a lot of summer positions, and having an art degree, Ashley was a perfect fit for the sidewalk portrait artist job. It was only on her first day of work that she found out she'd been hired as a carnival ride operator. How this beginning ultimately led to Ashley finding a dead body in the woods is beyond me. It unfolded organically. One thing simply led to another.
I like surprises, and that includes surprising myself. If I already knew the beginning, middle and end of my story, I would have no reason to write it. My "discovery writing" has led to some wild places I could have never planned for. What did I know about the world of professional poker, for instance? Nothing. But once I led myself there, again in Shadow Song, I had to learn. (Carnival rides, too, for that matter.) The legal process? I knew only what I'd seen on TV procedurals, and who even knows if those scenes are realistic? Sometimes I kick myself for going down a particular road, but my stories are so much better for having done so.
So, if you read one of my books and you think, "I never saw that coming", you're not alone. I never saw it coming, either.
Inn Dreams is Now Available!
Writing my latest novella, Inn Dreams, turned out to be a
marathon! Authors maybe shouldn't reveal their behind-the-scenes struggles, but
there's a reason this book took so long to finish. Initially, I thought it was
done, but when I re-read it, I realized that it was too sparse and it didn't allow readers to immerse
themselves in the story. There was a side character who was only alluded to,
but never made an appearance, and I began thinking how much better the book
would be by including her. Well, this led to countless opportunities to expand
the story, and by the time I was finished I'd doubled my original word count.
Inn Dreams is by far the longest novella I've written; still too short to be considered a proper novel, but it's weighty by novella standards. I'm so proud of it and I can't wait to share it with you. (Click on the image to explore.)
Why Are My Stories Set in Small Towns?
I admit my writing is sort of a niche (is that good or bad?), in that I write mostly about small towns and the characters who inhabit them. While I live in a suburb of a big city, I grew up in farm country. That's what I know. After so many years I still find it odd that one can traverse a city (or a suburb) and never once run into anyone she knows. I used to joke to myself, in my former life, that I couldn't once go to the mall and not run into a person I either worked with or went to school with, or simply knew from years ago. Sometimes it was irritating having to stop, mid-errand, and exchange pleasantries, when all I wanted to do was pick up my Ibuprofen or my new CD and scoot home. But there was also comfort in knowing that if I ever needed assistance, lots of people had my back. So, I set my tales in small towns and I am thrilled to get to know the people in them. Yes, they're often quirky, they don't speak the King's English, but they're generally upright citizens, with a couple of scofflaws thrown in for spice. You know, the ones everybody gossips about, at least they do in a small town.
I also like to throw a newcomer into the mix and let her discover who she can and can't trust. Often the people she's initially wary of turn out to be friends for life. That's sort of how it goes in a small town-- certain people just take some getting used to.
No, small-town existence isn't perfect. The citizens are often cloistered, suspicious of newcomers. It might take a while to fit in, but once you do, they'll hug you and never let you go.
So I'm never going to write about a woman living in the big city. First of all, that bores me, and secondly, the tale would be devoid of the flavor I crave.
If you simply like the idea of a small town, or perhaps you grew up in one, stay tuned. I have much more to write.