publishing – Mystery Deb

Those Pesky AI Rules, Yikes!

June has been a lovely month so far, and a busy one for our family with two birthday celebrations, Father’s Day, and a local writers’ festival coming up. Surgery recovery is almost complete, and my arm mobility is pretty much back to normal. The weather’s been great lately and, as you can see, more flowers have been blooming in our garden.

Writing Info

Those who’ve been following me know that I’ve been writing about the impact of AI on our lives. Much of my research is to prepare for a workshop I’m giving in a few days. It seems I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole of information, which is almost impossible to keep up with, but if I can help others learn at least one useful thing, then it’ll be worthwhile.

Elise Abram on Substack, wrote a piece about the terms and conditions of AI platforms. She doesn’t cover all the platforms, but what she did learn is quite insightful. For instance, the friendlist terms and conditions are from Chat GPT (Open AI). They state that they cannot claim your work as its own or any work you’ve created with their help. You can also opt out of allowing them to use your work as a training model. Yay!

You might be wondering why an author would give AI their content in the first place. Well, it appears that some writers are using AI as their editors, not just for chapters, but for their entire manuscripts. Others might seek help with character development. After brainstorming with ‘super helpful’ AI, it’s possible to come up some amazing characters. Although Chat GPT won’t lay claim to your work, things become more sketchy with Google’s Gemini.

Elise’s research showed that you do retain ownership of your work, until it goes public. Wait! What? Apparently, this platform states that they reserve the right to modify and/or translate your content, or even create derivative works based on said content. Happily, you can opt out of allowing Gemini to use your content. Whether that is enough to protect your work, in my view, is questionable.

Finally, how many of you have used Microsoft Copilot for basic editing? Again, while they won’t claim ownership of your content, they do claim that they can copy, transmit, edit, translate and reformat it. They don’t have to ask your permission, pay you, or even tell you that your material’s been used. Yikes!

I did some research of my own, first with Perplexity. Needless to say, their terms and conditions go on for pages, but here’s an excerpt you might find interesting:

“By using the Service and uploading Your Content, you grant us a license to access, use, host, cache, store, reproduce, transmit, display, publish, distribute, and modify Your Content to operate, improve, promote and provide the Services, including to reproduce, transmit, display, publish and distribute Output based on your Input. You agree that these rights and licenses are royalty free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide and irrevocable (for so long as Your Content is stored with us.”

Going back to the question of creating characters, does this mean that Perplexity has the right to use your characters for its own purpose? You can read the whole thing HERE

Here’s an excerpt from Claude’s (Anthropic’s) terms and conditions. Oddly, AI helped me simplify all this without my asking.

“Free and Pro consumer tier users have the “Help improve Claude” feature enabled by default, meaning de-identified interactions may be stored for up to 5 years. You can opt out in your privacy settings, though this doesn’t apply to “Incognito” chats. Commercial users (Team, Enterprise, and API) are strictly exempt from model training. You generally own the output generated by Claude, provided you follow the usage rules. However, because AI outputs are not human-created, they cannot be copyrighted in the same manner. ‘Generally own’? Hmm. I was also given a link to a more complete list of the privacy rules HERE.

The big takeaway from all this is that it is crucial to read the terms and conditions before sending and/or creating content using any AI, even if it’s just ad copy. Also, keep in mind that it’s highly possible that terms and conditions could easily change over time, and be even more unfavourable for authors. So, please be vigilant!

Promotional Stuff

This month, I’m offering a $.99 sale for my third Casey Holland mystery, Beneath the Bleak New Moon. This book was inspired by true-life events several years ago in Vancouver, where street racers wound up killing a pedestrian. Since that time, others have died from illegal street-racing, and I explore the issue in this novel. Here’s a short blurb:

The unthinkable happens when transit security officer Casey Holland watches a racing vehicle strike a woman in an intersection. Casey tries to save the woman’s life but fails. A second hit-and-run soon afterward causes public outrage. Witnesses insist that the victims were deliberately run down. Young journalist, Danielle Carpenter, is determined to identify the racers and asks for Casey’s help. But Danielle is reckless and on a personal vendetta. When she goes missing and a suspected racer is murdered, Casey is compelled to find answers.

Available on Amazon Kobo Apple Barnes & Noble Google Play

What I’ve Been Reading

Two of my favourite reads over recent weeks are both fantasies.

Successors by Felicia Jedlicka is filled with atmosphere and a really interesting premise. Captured and thrown into slavery, 23-year-old Cori fears that her miserable existence is about to get even worse when she’s bought by a large, surly man named Donato. Donato also purchases a teenager named Ethan. Both are taken to a remote place in Russia that is actually a large, secretive prison that holds all sorts of dangerous creatures. Cori is assigned housekeeping duties in the home and later the prison, but otherwise is treated reasonably well. Her curiosity leads her to a werewolf named Vince who changes her life. The characters are great and we’re introduced into all sorts of interesting creatures in this highly entertaining read.

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn. This book is a bibliophile’s dream. Twenty-six-year-old Alix Watson is having a tough week. She’s fired from one of her dead-end jobs and is kicked out by her roommate, leaving her homeless. Having no real friends to turn to, Alix heads for the Boston Public Library. Books have always been a source of refuge, especially after her mother abandoned her at age eight. During this latest venture into the BPL, Alix finds herself in an unusual room, where a librarian she’s never met before, tells her that this is the Astral Library. The place is magical, but is not without its problems as Alix soon discovers. When those problems threaten the librarian and the library itself, Alix has major decisions to make. Aside from the beautiful prose and obvious knowledge of books, the author has a subtle message about the importance of libraries and the threat they’re under in these tumultuous times.

That’s it for now. We’ll talk again soon!

What I’ve Been Up To and a Health Update

Hi everyone, and Happy Easter weekend to those who celebrate. We’re enjoying a quiet holiday weekend, although not everyone here in Canada gets today (Monday) off from work. Yesterday, we enjoyed a lovely family dinner at my daughter’s and son-in-law’s house. The granddaughters were delighted to take part in an Easter Egg hunt earlier that morning.

Now that the weather’s warming up, I’ve been walking outdoors more often, which is important for recovery and my overall well-being. The temperatures have been warm and sunny lately, which has been wonderful. And the cherry blossoms are everywhere!

Cancer Update

My sixteenth and final chemo/immunotherapy treatment took place on February 24^th, and yes, I rang the bells! My hair has started to grow back and my tastebuds are pretty much back to normal. There’s still a bit of neuropathy in my feet and discolouration on my toes and fingernails, but no pain. My eyelashes and eyebrows are sparse, so I’m hoping they’ll grow back as my eyes water a lot.

Surgery was on March 26, and I’ve been living with an elastic corset around my bandaged chest since then. I have tubes running out of two incision point, which are attached to clear plastic bulbs pinned to the bottom of the corset. They need to be emptied twice daily and can’t be removed by a nurse until I have less than 24 ml of accumulated fluid daily. It’s not a problem for one incision, but the other one is still draining too much fluid. I have a couple of follow-up appointments this month to discuss next steps, so stay tuned to see what happens next in this healthcare adventure.

My Writing Life (including all of ours)

My recovery has given me some extra writing time. As many of you know, aside from walking, writing helps me recover from difficult events. Over 100,000 words have now been written in this first draft of the third book in the urban fantasy trilogy. It will be pared down with future edits. I’m working on the last chapter right now, and will celebrate once it’s done. Now, onto other matters…

I’m sure some of you have read about Hatchett cancelling the contract of Mia Ballard’s Shy Girl, claiming that more than half of it was written by AI. Ballard is apparently now suing, indicating that she can prove her work wasn’t AI-generated.

A number of blogs and articles have been written about AI books. One of them was Anne R. Allen’s post and, in particular, the use of the em dash in fiction. It seems that readers have been accusing authors of using AI to write books, partly based on the use of em dashes and other punctuation ‘quirks’ in their stories. The other major complaint is that all the voices sound the same. Some of the accused authors are disputing these claims on social media, fearing that their books (and maybe careers) could wind up dead in the water. Since I haven’t searched out these titles, I have no idea if the accusations are true or not.

The point is that negative comments, AI or otherwise, can happen to any author who’s releasing a new book. It also speaks to the growing AI backlash I’m seeing these days. I suppose it’s to be expected when something new and seemingly uncontrollable invades our lives, but it’s another obstacle for authors to face in already challenging times. All I can say is, who knew the em dash would draw so much attention? You can find Anne Allen’s insightful blog HERE.

Promotional stuff

This month I’m reducing the price of my final Casey Holland mystery, A Gold Satin Murder to $.99. This novella offers a more humorous and quirkier side to Casey’s life as a transit security cop. If you’re looking for quick escapism that just might make you smile, then maybe it’s worth a try? Here’s a short blurb:

Security cop Casey Holland does not want to help prove the innocence of a murder suspect and male stripper named Eduardo…until she learns that his relationship with her good friend, Lily, could destroy Lily’s life. So, while Eduardo’s busy peeling off his clothes, Casey’s peeling back secrets that reveal way more than she bargained for. **Please note that there is no explicit sexual content in this novella.

The book is available at Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play

What I’ve Been Reading

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

This isn’t normally the type of book I read, but I heard many good things about it, and I’m so glad I gave it a try. This is a compelling story about broken hearts, family, love, and forgiveness. Set in a San Francisco bookstore, I loved how the story incorporated historical elements of the 1906 earthquake, and that the romance between the main characters wasn’t overdone. I enjoyed the story so much that I wish it had been longer, and I rarely say that about novels.

Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian

This unique, urban fantasy also includes a murder and the hint of romance. It’s more literary than many others in this genre. The inner monologue and narrative descriptions pay careful attention to language and result in a slower-paced read. It’s a thoughtful story about a young woman who’s forced to come to terms with her identity and her strengths and weaknesses. Very thought-provoking.

Puki Horpocket Presents Roy by Zachry Wheeler

On a much lighter note, is this funny and entertaining science fiction story about a working-class guy who’s disappeared on a giant space station for reasons no one understands. Journalist Puki Horpocket is trying to find out what happened to Roy and why by interviewing an odd cast of characters. This author reminds me of the late, great Douglas Adams whose Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of my all-time favourites.

There are several other books I could recommend, but this blog is long enough, so I’ll be back toward the end of this month, and let you know how those appointments turned out.

Unsettling News for Writers, and Another Trip to the ER

Happy Lunar New Year, or Gung Hay Fat Choy as my Cantonese-speaking spouse says (the phrase is quite different in Mandarin). As of yesterday, we are now officially in the year of the Fire Horse. One of the rituals we follow is to thoroughly clean our house. My spouse vacuumed the carpets and washed the rest of the floors while I stuck to lighter tasks. This weekend, we’re having the family over for dim sum and will hand out little red packets of lucky money to the younger generations. Celebrations in some countries go on for five weeks, but that’s a little over the top for me.

Cancer Update

I ended up in the ER again last week, but this time only from about 2:30 a.m. until 6:a.m, and everything turned out fine. As I’ve mentioned before, I self-inject a drug to boost my white blood cell count once a day for seven days after every chemo treatment. On day seven, I started to feel a tightness in my chest several hours after the injection. At first, I thought it was acid reflux until my chest began to hurt when I moved around. I also had lower back pain, but had been warned that joint pain is a common side effect from this drug.

Long story short, the pain worsened to the point where my chest was throbbing and I was experiencing shortness of breath. I began to worry that this was more than a side effect. After bloodwork, an EKG, chest x-ray, and vitals were checked, it turned out that my heart is fine and that the pain likely came from the joints in my sternum. After taking a couple of Tylenol, the pain gradually subsided. 24 hours later it was finally gone. Needless to say, I’m thrilled that my last chemo/immunotherapy treatment is on Tuesday. I’ll be having a chat with the oncology doctor tomorrow about reducing the dosage or stopping it altogether.

My Writing Life

Work on the third installment in my urban fantasy trilogy continues, slowly but surely. I’m up to 83,000 words and writing the last chapters. Although I’m taking my time, I’ll be happy when it’s done.

Aside from the scams I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve noticed two disheartening trends in the writing world lately. It seems that a growing number of writers are so upset and distracted by tumultuous global events that they’ve stopped writing. Some have decided to move onto other things while others are simply taking a break until they can focus again. Everyone has to decide what’s best for them. Negative external events certainly impact us in different ways. If/when I stop writing, I hope it will be because the timing feels right and not because of what’s going on in the world.

This morning, I also came across an interesting Substack blog from BadReadHead Media called “Why We Can’t Focus Anymore: The Hidden Cost of our Attention Economy”. It’s well worth reading and you can find the link HERE.

I can’t exactly recall the source of this bit of news, and I apologize for that. I think I heard it briefly mentioned in one of Joanna Penn’s recent podcasts, but don’t quote me on that. What did stick with me is reference to an author who’s published a large number of books (I don’t know the genre and assume she’s self-publishing) but the author is also now using AI to write books for her. She puts in all the info she needs for AI to adopt her style, and from that she allegedly produces a book in an hour. Even if that is an exaggeration, it’s far faster than what the rest of us are doing. Not only is her output amplifying, but she’s teaching other writers how to do it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one. Using AI for research or marketing purposes is one thing, but to write your books for you? Is this our future? A number of publishers and magazine editors won’t accept AI generated material at least for now, but will that change over time?

By the way, I find Joanna Penn’s podcasts quite interesting. She provides updates regarding different aspects of the publishing world. She also shares a little of what’s happening in her writing life, and then interviews writers on all kinds of interesting topics. You find the link HERE:

Promotional stuff

On the promotion front, this month I’m offering a $.99 discount on the fifth installment of my Casey Holland series, Knock Knock until Feb. 28. Please note that these books can be read in any order. This novel was inspired by a series of local news stories several years ago about home invasions targeting senior citizens. The topic troubled me a great deal, and further research revealed just how common this was in cities everywhere. Here’s the book blurb:

When a home invasion kills senior Elsie Englehart, security officer Casey Holland is devastated. Part of her latest assignment is to watch over elderly bus riders in an area frequently targeted by a group of thugs. Determined to keep others safe, Casey escorts an elderly man to his home, only to come under attack by an armed intruder. Hospitalized and angry, Casey struggles to regain control of her life, despite interference from family and colleagues, and the postponement of her wedding. Yet another home invasion compels Casey to take action, but at what cost to her health and her relationships?

Platform links: Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play

I think this blog is long enough, so I’ll stop there and catch up with you next month, after my final chemo/immunotherapy treatment!

Christmas Prep and a New Phase of Chemo Treatment

Since my last post, time has gotten away from me a bit. The doctors have encouraged me to maintain my normal activities, so I have been, albeit with longer rest periods. Christmas preps are underway and I’ve had plenty of help. My family came over on Nov. 30 to help put up and decorate the tree. My granddaughters had a great time choosing ornaments to hang. Here’s the final result. I didn’t use the ropes of silver stars and white snowflakes that are usually wrapped around the tree. Sometimes less is more.

Cancer Update (Phase 1 ends: Phase 2 begins):

I’ve just ended 12 weeks of weekly chemotherapy treatments, which means I’ll no longer be taking the two cancer drugs, one of which caused an intense allergic reaction. Nor do I have to take the steroids that have messed with my sleeping habits after treatment. Two new drugs will be administered with the start of this new phase on Dec. 23. There will be only four sessions, and they’ll be three weeks apart as my white blood count will need time to rebuild. I’m told to expect nausea and extreme fatigue for the first week. My family and I planned for this weeks ago, so they’ll be doing all the cooking on the 25^th. My job will be to get out of bed and get dressed, which might be all I can do for those first couple of days after treatment, according to the doctor. This is the time when I’ll be most at risk for infection, so I’m definitely staying away from malls and social gatherings.

Fun fact: One of the doctors told me that a one-centimetre tumour can contain one billion tiny microscopic cancer cells. My tumour was three times that size. After an examination earlier today, the doctor reports that it’s now only two centimetres and very soft, which makes her happy. The drugs are doing their job. In my mind, there’s no question that daily exercise, healing meditations, and healthy eating habits are contributing factors.

My Writing Life (or maybe everyone’s, in this case)

Every so often, I listen to podcasts or attend webinars that discuss the state of publishing and bookselling. I’m always interested to hear what others think, and what they foresee for the future. To that end, I attended a webinar sponsored by the Authors Guild on the topic, ‘Making Sense of 21^st Century Publishing’. The guest speaker, Michael Castleman, has been writing for a long time and admitted that after 19 traditionally published, nonfiction books, his income has been cut in half in recent years, which he attributes to the changing publishing environment.

He stated that approximately 2.5 million books are now published every year. This is a significant jump from a decade ago. He also said that about 80% of the books published don’t sell a hundred copies. He didn’t specify whether this was over the book’s first year or over the span of several years. He also said that only 6% of authors sell over 1,000 copies, but honestly, this is nothing new. Similar stats have been around for quite a while.

The problem, Castleman says, is that the number of readers hasn’t grown at anywhere near the same rate for at least twenty years. Therefore, everyone, including large publishing houses, are increasingly challenged with finding readers. Castleman notes that the publishers have struggled forever to make publishing a profitable business. Given the uncertain economic climate and the growing number of AI-generated books, publishers are more risk-averse than ever about taking on new books and new authors. According to Castleman, this is placing literary agents in a crisis mode as they struggle to find representation for their clients. He said that many are leaving the business, although I’m not sure what he means by many.

Those of us who’ve been writing and publishing for a while won’t be surprised by any of this. Nor do we have illusions about our sales numbers. The simple fact is that this is a labour of love. We love to tell stories and share them with whoever might be interested. If we make a little money along the way, great!

I’ve met many new authors over the years who don’t realize how challenging it can be to market, distribute, and sell a book. Some of them would rather not do any marketing at all, and I understand that. While it’s not a bad idea to note changes in the publishing industry, it’s equally important to keep things in perspective with respect to our own goals. In other words, don’t worry about stats and how others are doing. Think about what works best for you. Maybe start with just one marketing idea, and then begin to create your own numbers. Half the battle is just showing up and trying, right? And on that note…

Promotional stuff

My last promotion of 2025 is a $.99 sale for Casey Holland mystery #3, Beneath the Bleak New Moon. While I was researching street racing for this book, about fifteen years ago now, I was astonished to learn that legal and illegal street racing was a billion-dollar industry back then. How knows what it is now? The story was inspired by a true event in Vancouver that happened a couple of decades ago, when a woman was struck and killed during a street race. Sadly, it’s happened several times since, and all over North America. Here’s a short blurb:

What happens when a street race on a busy Vancouver thoroughfare kills a pedestrian? And what happens when it occurs again, deliberately? Public outrage, a missing investigative reporter, and upheaval in Casey Holland’s personal life creates a wild ride to the heart-stopping end.

Here are the platform links: Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play.

Also, for those of you who use Smashwords, most of my books are on sale for the rest of this month through this platform. Which you can find HERE.

That’s it for now. I wish all of you a joyous and peaceful holiday!

Why I’m Not Rushing to Publish

As many of you know, I’ve been writing an urban fantasy trilogy for quite some time. The first two books are about 100,000 words each, and I’ve begun writing the third. This weekend, I was jotting down ideas in a notebook and something occurred to me. It was a key point about magic that I don’t think was addressed sufficiently in book one. The plan now is to read all three finished drafts for continuity. For this reason, I’m no longer eager to search for an agent or a publisher. Nor am I sure I want to choose that path for various reasons.

Here’s an interesting thing I’ve learned about writing a trilogy. As I delve further into the story with each book, deeper nuances and subtle key points emerge. Issues that should have been brought to light, or at least foreshadowed, in the earlier installments.

Once I’ve edited these three fantasies as well as I can, they’ll be edited by professionals, which will undoubtedly result in more changes. Writing in a new genre has been a long and enjoyable learning curve. I work on these books 2 to 3 hours every day, but trying to do more is exhausting. I’ve never been able to sit down and write all day. It’s just not practical for me. As it happens, I’ve got a lot going on this summer, which will cut into writing time as well. I’ll tell you all about it in my next blog.

Speaking of summer, happy Summer Solstice to all who celebrate! Friday will be the longest day of the year. My Google search tells me that it officially starts at 7:42 PST. Aside from writing, Until then, stay cool and stay safe, everyone!

What I’ve Been Reading

In my last post, I mentioned that I’ve been reading a lot lately, so I wanted to share three books that stand out for me so far this year.

The first was recommended by my blogging friend, Jane Fritz, and is Who We Are: Four Questions For a Life and a Nation by Murray Sinclair.

Mr. Sinclair was an Indigenous senator, lawyer, and chair of the Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission for several years. He passed away early last November, two months after his book was released. The first half of the book is about his life, professionally and personally. The second half is an account of the long and sordid history of residential schools in Canada. To say that I learned a lot would be a huge understatement. Unfortunately, my generation was not taught the whole truth about Canadian history, especially with respect to Indigenous lives. I’m so grateful that he wrote this book. It’s a good place to start for those who want to learn more about Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The second book is an excellent how-to guide for writers called Emotion and Immersion: The Two Pillars of Storytelling by Michelle Barker & David G. Brown.

This is a fantastic, easy-to-read guide for both beginning and experienced writers. No one masters everything in the writing craft, so I found it extremely helpful. Ideas kept popping into my head as I read, which was really inspiring. As the title suggests, the book has two sections. The first provides tips on how to engage readers in the story. The second half focuses on creating an emotional connection with characters. It’s well organized book and I’ll be referring to it often.

This third book is Creative Self-Publishing: ALLi’s Guide to Independent Publishing for Authors and Poets by Orna Ross.

Orna Ross founded the worldwide Alliance of Independent Authors and I’m about 100 pages into her book. As an author who’s both traditionally published and self-published, I’m well aware of the pros and cons of both options. Truthfully, I haven’t quite decided what to do with my urban fantasy trilogy once it’s finished. Yes, I’ve been pursuing agents, but if that doesn’t pan out, the question will be what to do next. This book is already helping me gain a clearer perspective. The first chapter is “What Kind of Publisher Are You?” which is intriguing in itself. Several exercises are offered to help writers hone in on what they want out of publishing. Again, writers at all levels will find this this book useful.

How about you? Do you have any great book recommendations to share?

Summer Solstice, and the Question of Time

Happy Summer Solstice! For reasons I don’t quite understand, this day becomes more relevant to me every year. It might have something to do with all the research I’ve been doing on Druidism and Wicca, where the solstices were immensely important and still are for many today.

As the days will now grow shorter, I also reflect on the passage of time and a panel discussion I took part in two months ago. A senior attendee mentioned publishing his first book of short stories. He went on to say that he has lots of ideas, but figures he has maybe ten good years left. My answer to him was that an awful lot can be accomplished in ten years.

I share that fellow’s concern about time, but what’s most important is not the amount of time we have left, but how we spend it. As I often tell beginning writers, regardless of their lifestyle, writing isn’t about finding time, it’s about making time. It’s also about discipline, and just showing up. If we can do that, then who knows what can be accomplished in ten years?

I have a couple of more photos to share from our backyard garden. These were taken about three weeks ago, but more blooms are coming from other plants. The spring flowers were amazing on our property, so let’s see what the summer brings.

Series Sales Blast and a Question

May is flying by, and as you can see from the photos, more flowers are blooming in our yard. I’ve also enjoying the fragrant lilac bush bordering our front patio. Last weekend was a long weekend (Victoria Day) here in Canada. My brother-in-law is visiting from Ottawa, so he and my other brother-in-law joined the rest of the family for a housewarming at my son’s new condo. He moved out last October, but with all the flus and colds in recent months, plus demanding work schedules, the whole family couldn’t get together until now. The pizza and pie party was worth the wait.

Now I’m back down to business and am trying something a little different on the promotion front. I’ve put the entire Casey Holland mystery series on sale for the next three days. The Opposite of Dark and my novella A Gold Satin Murder are on sale for $.99. The rest of the novels are $1.99. This means that the entire series can be purchased for just under $12.00 U.S.

The series isn’t being sold as a boxed set, so anyone who’s purchased one or two ebooks before can choose another book without having to purchase them all. Amazon (US) offers a single page to display each book that allows you to click on the book you want. You can find the link to the series sales page HERE.

The sales will also apply to the platforms below, but to not inundate you with links to each book on all the platforms, I’ve kept it simple and provided the link for The Opposite of Dark:

I’ve been working with the Casey Holland series for over twenty years and first got the idea for Casey way back in the mid-1980s while working as a temporary secretary for BC Transit. One day, a young woman walked in wearing a black leather mini skirt and matching leather jacket. I later learned that she worked undercover on the buses, and suddenly the idea for Casey Holland was born: a feisty character doing a job that some didn’t think (and still don’t) is appropriate work for women.

But now I’m wondering if it’s time to let the series go once and for all. Those who’ve been following my blog know that I’ve been writing fantasy novels. On the other hand, I’ve also received terrific feedback from repeat customers at Christmas craft fairs, some of whom are waiting for the next book. But these aren’t large numbers of folks. So, my question is should I continue the series or not? Some days I say yes, other times, no.

I would love to hear from those of you who have published more than one series. How do you decide when it’s time to end a series, or do you keep an open mind about returning to it someday? As always, I appreciate your feedback!

My Two Favourite Things

Those who’ve been following my blog a while know that my two favourite things in the world are writing and family time. Reading is a close third. Happily, I’ve been enjoying a lot of those activities these past couple of weeks.

As I write the second installment in my urban fantasy trilogy, I occasionally go back and tweak something in the first book. It’s hard to completely put it away. I submitted the first 5,000 words to a writing competition, so needless to say, I went through those pages thoroughly. I’ve also signed up with QueryTracker to help find agents, and submitted my first query yesterday. So, the journey has begun.

I’ve worked with two agents in the past, one in Canada and the other in the U.S. Both were sole operators. The first agent helped me edit my very first book, Taxed to Death, (now out of print) in the mid-1990s. The second agent I acquired around 2008 did no editing but she did receive encouraging responses from large publishers for The Opposite of Dark. I’m looking for larger, more established firms this time. It’ll be a long process, I expect, but I have enough on the go to keep me preoccupied. If I don’t find an agent or a publisher, that’s okay, too. I’ll likely self-publish the trilogy at some point. So, regardless of what happens, it’s all good.

On the family front, we celebrated Easter at our house this year, and held my granddaughters’ first Easter egg hunt. I hid the eggs in only three rooms, and it didn’t take three-year-old Ellie to figure out that there was chocolate inside the colourful wrappers.

I think that the worst of cold and flu season is over in our part of the world, as both girls have been going to daycare every day for the past three weeks, which is a record. Good health is crucial right now, as I have five in-person writing-related events coming up next week. Spring is a busy time in the writing world, but it’s always good to get out there and chat with people face-to-face.

Here’s my favourite photo of the day: A 3-year-old with her Easter duckie on grandpa’s motorcycle, while grandpa keeping a watchful eye. She loves the motorcycle, which doesn’t bode well for her parents when Ellie’s a teen. 😊

Beginnings and Endings This Spring

Two days ago, I finished the edits of my urban fantasy, tentatively titled, When Darkness Draws Near. I’ve been working on that book for so long (since before Covid) that it feels surreal. As I mentioned last time, there will be more changes down the road, but for now it’s ready to submit to agents and editors.

I wrote a query letter and synopsis last year, which has been critiqued by numerous people. I’m going over them again and researching the list of potential agents I’ve compiled over the past two years. The work never stops, does it?

Also, on Tuesday, I finished my volunteer work with the organizing committee for this year’s Bookfest 2024. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional and organized group of volunteers. The festival was great fun and I had a blast catching up with folks I hadn’t seen in months. There’s nothing better than being part of an event in your own community, where so many people know you.

I’m now switching gears and doing more activities with the literary society in my area. I was asked to be on the board last fall, and their festival is coming up in April. Today, I spent two and a half hours putting up posters in our community and there’ll be more volunteering next week. As the new kid on the block, I look forward to meeting many people.

Two weeks ago, we were babysitting our sick grandkids and as a consequence my spouse and I came down with colds. All is well now and I’m looking forward to hosting our Easter dinner on Sunday. We’ll do an Easter egg hunt inside the house, which will be the girls’ first experience. I’ll take photos 😊

We’ve gotten into the habit of walking nearly every day. The photos are just a sample of the sites we often see only minutes from our house. Tree blossoms line the street on one side of the shopping complex we frequent. The slough and the ducks are on the other side. As the weather improves, I’ll take more photos of life in beautiful Delta.