Plotting!

         As I mentioned before, I’ve been working on an idea for a potential new mystery series, reading some books among other things for research. Not sure it’ll go anywhere, but the research, and plotting in my mind, have continued to be enjoyable. Oh, yes, I’m plotting. I’ve several ideas of where to go with this series, but not sure if any of them will work out—or it’ll be something new! But that’s part of the fun of being a writer. We rely on our minds, and that usually works out well. Even if it doesn’t, it’s worth the effort of thinking and scheming and developing people and more on our computers and in our heads—and sometimes fictionally killing off those people!

            And I will soon put together the final draft of that first story in my new Harlequin Romantic Suspense series before sending it to my editor. 

            Happy Valentine’s Day in advance, everyone!

O-Live

 Already time seems like a whirlwind.  It feels like one of those movie scenes where there's music playing and the sheets of a calendar keep getting torn off and disappearing. The days are appreciably longer. It's a lot lighter inside because we had a trees trimmed last week.  I didn't even realize there was more than one tree outside the window of the room I write in.  It turns out there were three that had grown so dense , it seemed like one.  Suddenly I can see the evening sky and the roof of my neighbor's guest house.  The best part is that I don't have to turn on the light in there during the day now.

I sent in the copy edit of MURDER BY THE HOOK.  I had thought about not including a pattern or recipe.  They don't show up in the audio version.  But at the last minute I decided to put them in. I already knew the pattern was for a crocheted scarf similar to the one Elsbeth wears on the show.  The cake was a chocolate cake made with olive oil because a lot of the story involves parties at a ranch that has an olive grove.  The cake is a mainstay of the food offerings.

Writing the pattern is dizzying, so I did that first.  Someone is always in the kitchen at my house and I like to cook with nobody bothering me.  I had to find a time when I could be sure no one was going to interrupt. Some of my earlier books had old family recipes, but now they are all new ones.  I always test them and let my family be the tasters.  It's the only part of my writing they really are interested in.

The cake was actually easy to put together.  It's hand mixed  and it's pretty much put the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.  Then mix. The batter was pretty stiff so that was a challenge, but at the end you add boiling water and viola, the batter got thin.  It's baked in a loaf pan.  I cooled it and added shifted powdered sugar on the top as a garnish.  And then I left it for them to help themselves. I had taken a taste first and it was everything I hoped for.  Moist and chocolatey, but not too sweet.  

They devoured the cake and started pushing for me to make another one.  I took that it was a success. 

I had never appreciated olive oil or olives until I thought about writing a series about an olive farm.  My agent nixed it, but I had already done a lot of research.  I went to an olive farm and read about olive oil. I tasted different kinds of olives. Who knew they were related to cherries. They are both drupes.  Ever since then I have come to love olives and olive oil.  I love the grayish green slender leaves on olive trees. 

I was glad to finally find a way to use olives in a book.

Quiet Week

         Not too much new this week. I did attend a Sisters in Crime LA meeting last weekend, where Walter Mosley was the speaker. Enjoyable talk! And those meetings are currently held in Radford Studios, in Studio City, near where I live. Some people came from long distances, but it was easy for me!

            Still working on edits for the first in my new Harlequin Romantic Suspense series. I’m also reading a number of books as research for the mystery idea I’m working on—which might go nowhere, but it’s fun to read those books.

            My younger dog Roxie had her third birthday this week. But she didn’t care. She still acts like a puppy! And our older dog Cari just deals with it—and demands attention in her own, more quiet way.

            Hope you’re enjoying February! 

The Mystery of the LIttle White Dog

 What a difference a week makes.  The winds stopped and we finally had some rain.  The focus has changed from putting out fires to what comes next for the people who lost their homes.  

I will send back MURDER BY THE BOOK to my editor tomorrow.  I'm already thinking about the next Yarn Retreat Mystery.  

Yesterday, we all went for haircuts.  Jakey went first and while we were waiting for the next person to get theirs done, he was telling me that he was bored.  That's his cue for me to hand over my phone so he can watch stuff on Youtube.  I tried in vain to give him other options like looking out the window and thinking about what he saw.  Finally, I gave him the phone and I looked out the shop window.

Even though he wasn't really paying attention to what I said, I started giving a commentary on what I saw.  There was a whole mystery about a kid who walked past the shop window three times.  He looked about thirteen, had a back pack and was wearing pajama pants (a style that I don't get).  He had a small white dog with him on a leash.  He walked one way with the dog and then back with the dog.  The third time there was no dog.  What happened to the dog?

Jakey didn't even look up, but I was on the lookout when we left the salon parking lot, thinking the kid might have abandoned the little white dog and I was ready to do a rescue, just in case.  It's happened before.  There was a little poodle left on the busy street.  I was so sure he must belong to somebody in one of the shops on Ventura Boulevard and carried him into all of them, hoping to find his owner.  When no owner was found, I took him home.  At the time we already had three dogs and two cats, and couldn't keep him, so I found a home for him where he lived out his life.

We are dogless now and have one cat who thinks she's a person.  She is used to living with other cats and might be okay with a dog.  I was almost disappointed when the little white dog was nowhere to be seen.  Jakey missed the whole thing.  He barely looked up from the phone when we walked through the parking lot to the car.  He probably wouldn't have even noticed if I had found the dog and brought it in the car. 

There were some houses around the corner from the busy street and I'm hoping that the little white dog lived in one of them and the kid took it home and then left.