Ebb and flow

It's been an interesting summer, writing-wise. Shortly after I finished the third Emily Locke novel, my publisher discontinued the series. I didn't see that one coming.

But the news isn't all bad. The hole that opened in my schedule offered time after work and on weekends for other pursuits, and it's been an otherwise fun summer with my kids and friends. I slowed down a little and found time for more moments like the one pictured here. Those feet belong to my daughters. We took our first camping trip.

And I haven't given up on that manuscript yet, although I'm not exactly sure at this point what I'll do with it.

Tim Hallinan is editing a new book, Making Story, that includes contributions from twenty-one writers about various approaches to plotting. I'm honored to be in such amazing company with authors Brett Battles, Cara Black, Lisa Brackman, Rebecca Cantrell, Jeffrey Cohen, Meredith Cole, Bill Crider, Jeremy Dunn, Leighton Gage, Gar Anothy Haywood, Wendy Hornsby, Debbi Mack, Mike Orenduff, Stephen Jay Schwartz, Zoe Sharp, Jeffrey Siger, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Kelli Stanley, Michael Stanley, and, of course, the tireless Timothy Hallinan.

The project is super neat, and the authors' perspectives are as unique and interesting as their novels. I hope that those of you interested in writing will check it out. I'll post updates on Making Story as we go forward. It's coming very soon!

My day job has me writing lately too--proposal efforts and peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts. I like the variety, and what's interesting is that I'm still writing these days, just different stuff. So my lesson this summer has been the one about what happens when one door closes...