During the long, dreary
winter months, I continued writing. I also did a bit of amateur painting. My
last watercolor represents my love of spring gardens painted in an
impressionistic Monet style during a snowstorm white-out.
T.S. Eliot wrote in "The Waste Land" that April is
“the cruelest month”. I’m not certain whether last April was one of my best
months or one of my worst.
April 2014 saw the
publication of three of my novels. The first was THE BAD WIFE, my 4th
Kim Reynolds mystery, published both in print and as an e-book by Perfect Crime
Books. I consider this mystery thriller a very special book, the most
significant novel in the series.
The second novel published
last April was an e-book version of my novel TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS. This
paranormal Regency romance was originally published in hardcover by Five
Star/Gale/Cengage and in large print hardcover by Thorndike Press. Jayne Ann
Krentz/Amanda Quick provided an excellent cover blurb. Unfortunately, the ebook
publisher recently went out of business. And so the ebook version of this novel
had a disappointingly short run.
The third novel, which was
published at the end of last April, is a YA entitled THE DEVIL AND DANNA
WEBSTER. Astraea Press, now known as Clean Reads, published this book. It is still
available in all ebook formats and a variety of sites such as: iTunes, Kobo, Barnes
and Noble Online and of course Amazon:
This
novel, thanks to word of mouth, has sold well and continues to do so at the
present time. I just read an interesting statistic which claims 65% of teen
novels are purchased by adults. This doesn’t surprise me. THE DEVIL AND DANNA
WEBSTER is the kind of novel that can well be read, shared and discussed by
mothers and teenage daughters.
I didn’t plan to have
three of my novels published in the same month. I found myself spread rather
thin. I love each of these novels, am proud of them, and wanted to support them
to the best of my ability and so I made a concerted effort to reach out and build
a readership for each book.
This April is a much less
hectic one and truthfully I prefer it that way. Luminosity will publish my
gothic romance DARK MOON RISING in July, both in print and digitally. After that, my next hardcover
Five Star/Cengage novel
THE KILLING LAND won’t be published until February 2016. And so I will have
time to address short story writing, poetry writing, plays and amateur landscape
painting. Long walks outdoors are also indicated as weather permits.
Spring is symbolically and
literally the season of rebirth. I am hopeful for new work to come into fruition
for me this spring. The orchid plant which my husband gifted me on Mother’s Day
last year and which had been totally dormant all winter long is once again in
bloom. I take this as a significant, positive sign.
What does spring mean to
you? Are you reading or writing something that reaffirms your life?
Spring to me is the season of temptation. In winter I have no problem staying indoors and working, but in spring the pergola beckons and the hot tub sings its bubbly siren song... neither of which are conducive to writing. In summer it will be too hot to enjoy the out of doors, but spring... Ah, spring. Temptation indeed.
ReplyDeleteJanis, aka Susan
You're right about the temptations of spring. Like you, I want to spend as much time out of doors as possible. But I find it also revitalizes my writing aspirations as well.
ReplyDelete"What does spring mean to you? Are you reading or writing something that reaffirms your life?"
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I'm now all but absorbed in my current wip. It's all come together nicely, plot points, characterization, setting -- it's so intense, as a matter of fact, that I'm amazed when I look up at the clock.
As you suggest, I think I've picked up both energy and inspiration from the burst of color and life all around me. Winter doldrums are gone for good.
Congrats, Mike, it's so important to work each day. Glad you are feeling inspired!
DeleteGreat blog, Jacquie, and I love your painting! Since I live in Roswell and the wind pretty much blows a gale every day, spring isn't necessarily my favorite seasons, but it used to be when I lived in California and had a lovely garden. This April, for me, sucks, but life should improve after the end of the month. Enjoy your good weather!
ReplyDeleteI love California too. But Roswell has atmosphere (and maybe a few aliens roaming about?). Feel better soon, Alice!
DeleteThanks, Jacquie. But I had SUCH a lovely garden in Pasadena. Roswell is okay for growing veggies (which are a good thing) but I want FLOWERS. Sigh.
DeleteIt's nice to look back and see how productive you've been. The quieter time this year will probably lead to several new books for the coming years. The painting is beautiful, and the orchid is amazing.
ReplyDeleteHi, Susan,
DeleteThank you for your kind words. Being productive even in small ways each day is important for all of us.
Hi Jacqueline! Another gothic--exciting! Spring, to me, is a time when I put on the "juice" and wear myself to a frazzle putting in the new garden, cleaning up from the winter, doing outdoor maintenance, etc. we have to do before it gets too hot here. By June, it's usually too hot here to do much outside. That's when I come back inside and write. My production has always been up around that time, and now I've figured out why. LOL. I need to get back into painting; it was always relaxing in a way that nothing else ever has been. You're doing good for a beginner--keep up the good work! And the orchid is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHi, Bobbi,
DeleteYou're right about summer. The heat pushes us inside. So that's another great time to work on writing.
I love your painting! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI am working on a story set in the summer. I never used to do that, match seasons with my stories, but I've found it works well.
Happy Spring!
Setting is so much a character in stories and seasons can be an important part of any plot. Glad you like the painting.
DeleteI'm impressed that with all the snow you could paint flowers! I like this time of year too. Where I am, we don't get much snow, but in winter it rains non-stop. Come April, the sun reappears and we all race outside to soak it up.
ReplyDeleteI've done some winter paintings as well, but here in the East it was a long dreary winter. I felt painting flowers would put me in a better frame of mind.
DeleteA lovely painting, Jacquie, and such a gorgeous orchid! I have one at home, purple, but a little smaller than yours. Still, I love to look at it. Thanks for your spring blog. The Vt snow is almost gone...
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the snow is finally melting in Vermont. I do love flowers and orchids in particular.
DeleteI love your painting, Jacqueline!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I love Springtime! Regrowth, rebirth and "a feeling of endless possibilities in the air." (That's a quote from the blurb for my third Malone mystery, Desperate Deeds, which takes place in April.)
I love that blurb for your book. You've done a great job with seasonal settings in your mysteries.
DeleteI admire your prolific publishing record. The Devil and Danna Webster is a thoughtful presentation of moral questions most teens face as they decide what is important for their lives. Caring adults could surely benefit from reading that YA book. Thanks for blogging--and writing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan, I really enjoyed reading your latest novel Beneath the Stones.
DeleteTo me, spring is the renewal. In Texas, spring is my favorite season. The sides of almost every road and freeway are an ocean of color with bluebonnets, primroses, Indian paintbrush, and other wildflowers. Utterly enchanting. There are even wildflowers the color of that beautiful orchid in the photograph! Happy anniversary and wishing you continued success.
ReplyDeleteJoan,
DeleteI saw a painting of bluebonnets by a very talented Texas artist not long ago and was really impressed. I've never been to your state, but I certainly would love to see it in the spring.
Hi Jacqueline! I've tried orchids so many times and failed miserably. Yours is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteResponding to a post about spring seems funny today because the bottom dropped out of ours here in Northern Colorado. It's snowing, and after many weeks of gorgeous spring weather. But we need the moisture, so we won't complain. I'm doing a lot of writing this spring so feel it's going well. Snowy days, however, are always a temptation to fall back on a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. I'm reading Bobbing for Watermelons by April J. Moore, a book she first started a good ten years ago. There's something mighty refreshing about finally getting a book out to readers, and April's experience got me to finally finish my own neverending novel and get it submitted. We'll see what happens next...
Hi, Pat,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the new novel! Sometimes the best ones take the longest to write. Hope spring returns soon to Colorado.