Spring Is In The Air

I just looked up and realized, whoops!, I haven't blogged in about two months.

Uh...sorry.

But, you remember that idea I said I was going to do no matter what? Well, I've been working on it. And, happily, my agent is now all for it. So, I've had a great reason to not be blogging.

And, okay, truth time. I, sort of, kind of, rather completely, lost track of time.

I wish I could say it's because of the novel. And in some ways, it is. I'm enjoying it, loving the characters, having fun with the twists and turns. It's a good mystery, filled with suspense and humor (at least, I think so, and at this stage, my opinion is the only one that counts). The research hasn't been too onerous, and, for the most part, the book is flowing.

But the weather's been beautiful and I've been cleaning the house (I know -- but why?) and taking walks with the dogs and, all in all, enjoying Spring. I can't even use this stuff as an excuse -- as in, "Well, it's for my novel." Because it isn't. The novel's set in January, no one's cleaning anything, at least, not on the pages, and no dogs are in evidence. At least, not yet. The book's still young. A dog could make an appearance. And even bark in the night. Or not.

Oh, come on. You had to figure that, somehow, some way, I'd sneak in a Sherlock Holmes/A. Conan Doyle reference, didn't you? And I'm sure that, somewhere along the way, Sir Conan took a breather from the Victorian version of blogging. I'm sure he did! And if he didn't, well, he probably wanted to.

Tell you what -- I'll try to remember to blog more frequently and you don't shatter my illusions. Fair trade?

Cheryl Walker

Waiting...the REAL Suspense

My latest novel's done, complete, finished. I've been through the line edits with my crit partner. It's been through the same with my agent. And now...now it's off to an editor with hopes that she'll love it and want to buy it.

There's nothing more I can do at this point but wait. I can't affect the outcome any longer -- the book's done and out there, a product to be sold, no longer my current beloved baby.

Oh, there's a period of mourning. A time to try to get it out of my system so I can move onto the next book. And then I have to force myself to forget. Not about the characters and their situations. But about the fact that I'm waiting for an answer. This is a slow business, and while the answer I want to hear may come soon, it also may not. And, as Tom Petty said, the waiting truly is the hardest part.

So, I'll do a little of this and a little of that. Re-read a few passages, just because I want to. And then, move on to the next. To write and love and nurture it to this very point, where I can send it out into the real world and see if it'll fly.

Mama birds have nothing on me.

Cheryl Walker

The Butler Made Me Do It

Well, really, it was my agent. Yes, you're right, it's the ever-challenging 'introduction post' of a new blog. What to say to entice blog readers to come on back?

(Look! Is that blood over there?)

I write mysteries and suspense, with thrills tossed in for good measure.

(Did you hear a shot in the dark?)

My agent is shopping my first series around -- and I've gotten some really complimentary rejections. You have to find that silver lining where you can, right?

(What about the mysterious behavior of the dog in the night?)

I'm hard at work on the first book of my next series. I may try my hand at short mysteries, but haven't felt the desperate need to do so just yet. I have another series begging for attention after I finish my current work in progress, and I find writing novels easier than writing shorts.

(Is that a bloody handprint under the throw rug?)

I like all kinds of mysteries, from what I consider the original master -- A. Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes -- through to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, and all points in between and beyond. Short and long, as long as there's something to solve, I want to read about it.

(Where'd the butler go, anyway? And who's hiding in the shadows with a candlestick?)

Hope to entertain you along my path to a succesful conclusion...and then entice you on to the next sequel.

(Wait...who's there? Is that --)

Cheryl Walker