Someplace for Molly

 

And just like that it's winter again in Southern California.  After a few days around 80, the high hovered in the low 60s.  It was back to wearing a sweater and a vest.  The sky is a leaden color, but I don't think it's going to rain.

I just sent off the manuscript to Classy Yarns and I can sit back for a minute.  Though not for too long.  I had pushed everything aside as I pushed to finish the manuscript and now all of that is waiting.  The first order of business is to update my website.  It is a matter of deciding what changes I want to make and writing some copy and gathering up the cover photo, an excerpt and a photo of the project..  I will get it done over the weekend.

The trip to Ojai last Saturday and the information I read about the small town and the surrounding area made me want to send Molly there in the next book.  I already am putting together a plot in my head and then I'll come up with arcs for each of the characters.

We had gone to Ojai on a weekday before and it was relatively quiet.  The weekend was much different.  There were lots of tourists like us.  The playground Jakey loves is in a park that had a new age type music concert going on.  There were lots of people sitting on blanket enjoying the relaxing sounds.  I could just see the couple who were making the music from my spot in the playground.

It turns out there is a whole lot more to the park than I had realized and next time I plan to do more exploring.  I was surprised to read that the population of Ojai is just under 8,000.  It is nestled between mountain ranges and is known as an energy vortex. There are no chain stores.  The stores all seemed to be small businesses with an artsy feel.

I missed it, but hope to see it next time, but near sunset there is something called pink time when the Topatopa mountain turns pink.

We took a detour on the way home and checked out Lake Casitas.  The ride there was through lots of open spaces with mysterious gated roads hidden by trees and greenery.  That's another thing, thanks to all our winter rain, all the open spaces are a bright spring green. I love looking out the window and never get bored.  Jakey on the other hand has his nose buried in a video system and has no interest in looking at what we are passing. 

We only looked at the lake from outside the fence.  It's a dammed up river and surrounded by hills and open spaces.  The reason for us checking it out was to see the water park.  It was closed now, but would be great in the summer.  I don't think Molly will be making a stop there, but Jakey will when it gets warm.

That is if  it ever happens.

Retrospective And Looking Forward

             Oh, yes, I had a fun time at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last Sunday. I saw friends and met strangers who write and read at the Sisters in Crime LA and the Mystery Writers LA booths. And the panel I mentioned last week, Turf Wars: When Cities Rewild, was wonderful! I enjoyed all the speakers and will most likely get around to buying books that most of them talked about, although I had to leave before they did their signings.   

            I also visited the Huntington Botanical Gardens on Saturday with friends. I think I’d seen the library before but not all the wonderful gardens, with the plants divided by themes and locations, including California, Japan, Australia and the desert. I’m not a plant expert at all, but it was delightful to see what was there. 

            And big surprise—I’ve been plotting some more! Not sure which I’ll settle down and write next, mystery or romantic suspense, but my ideas are plentiful and fun. It feels strange to be doing more plotting than writing right now, but I’m looking forward to more soon!

 

 I finished going through the proof pages for KNOT DEAD AGAIN and sent them in by my deadline.  It's all wrapped up now and will be up for pre-sale probably today.  I love the cover.

I immediately went back to working on CLASSY YARNS as it is due next week.  I am working on the ending right now and then will spend next week reading it over.  

And then there's the next Molly book.  I needed to push up the deadline for it and as I was discussing it with my editor and told him about the hot water leak and buckled floors, I realized it might turn out to be research for the next Molly book.  

I am still trying to clear stuff out and move things around so important things don't get lost when they actually start the work on the floors.  It's overwhelming and at the same time interesting.  I keep finding cool things I didn't know I had.  

There's a post that has been circulating on Facebook about gratitude and the difference between saying I have to....as opposed to I get to... Just a slight change of words but a whole different perspective.  Just saying I get to and filling in the blanks in your mind feels different than  mentally saying I have to....

It really is how I want to live.

More Plotting

           Yes, I’m still plotting some new ideas.  I’m also looking forward to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend. I’m only going to be there on Sunday, but I’ll be signing at the Sisters in Crime LA and the Mystery Writers LA booths as well as visiting a lot of other booths. I’ve also signed up to attend a panel: Turf Wars: When Cities Rewild. It’s about wildlife returning to urban areas and some people who write about it. For one thing, I’m fascinated that cougars are found in LA, and the freeway overpass for them and other wildlife is really progressing, including some overnight freeway closures in the coming weeks while it’s being worked on. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the panel. 

            I also finished some details about my fifth Shelter of Secrets story for Harlequin Romantic Suspense and got into their updated website to enter the information. There, they now show how many individual books I’ve sold in total with Harlequin. I hadn’t really kept track, but I’ve written quite a few novels for them. I’m not going to mention the number of sales here—but it’s delightfully high! And it of course doesn’t include books in the many mystery series I’ve written, but even though I tend not to be a bestseller, I now feel even better about my sales. Of course, it helps that I’ve had 61 books published so far. 

            And more to come!