TJ Wilde Trilogy · Duxbridge Mysteries · Jennifer McCaffrey Mysteries
Left on a dusty shelf in a dark corner of a secondhand store. A hidden treasure, ignored and neglected. I brought it home, cleaned it up, and stationed it on my desk. There it sat, silenced by smaller, faster, more mobile instruments. Still, I loved its sleek, strong presence, evoking thoughts of rainy night mysteries.
Sitting, working, when the quiet of the night was shattered by ringing. I must be hallucinating. It rings again.
I picked up the receiver…
So in Run Aground I had several recipes that I’ve linked to my recipe blog. I have continued the tradition with Underway.
First it was Tahini Walnut Rolls
Next up, Italian Sausage and Grapes:
It’s sounds unusual, but it has amazing flavor and so quick and easy to prepare.
Buon appetito!
I may not look like much
But oh, the places I go
Over rainbows and behind waterfalls
Into secret, mystical portals
Magic begins with the push of a pedal
Hop on…
Update 11/15/19 – the manuscript is about ready to go to the editor. And I have a surprise! The draft of the Underway Cover. I’m loving it. What do you think?
Previous update:
I wanted to give you an update on Underway. As is obvious now, my projected publishing date has come and gone. I’ve now revised it for (hopefully) a December release. The reasons why are two-fold.
One, life got in the way and derailed my desire to write. And in some ways even my ability to write. I addressed that with my Anger Journal, and my creativity appears to be back on track.
The more important reason, though, was I got lost halfway through book two, mired in structure instead of remembering why I was writing. I forgot that I love TJ Wilde. I love telling her story. I love her quirkiness, her flaws, her inability to commit, her damaged soul, and mostly her fight to stay positive and moving toward what she wants.
In other words, I lost her voice. And I love her voice.
My first editor really, really did not like TJ, felt she was too dysfunctional, too morally challenged. She tried several times to sterilize her. I was a brick wall on that point. We agreed to disagree and instead focused on the structure and timing of the novel.
My current editor loves TJ as much as I do. Appreciates her tang, her spark, her weaknesses, and I suspect we will tangle more on pacing and structure than we will on characters.
Anyway, I’ve taken a long break, finished my cookbook, and dabbled with my other series. Most importantly, I indulged in the female characters that reminded me of how I like my heroes: the inept, yet fearless bounty hunter with a love of big hair and bigger eyelashes; the filled with anger and teenage hormones private eye; the “rules are for adults” preteen with a penchant for uncovering mysteries; the overall-wearing six-year-old with impulse control issues; the vampire slayer, also awash in teenage hormones and resentment; and yes, I suppose even a cowardly, clumsy talking Great Dane.
So now, refreshed, I now feel ready to tackle (with a lot of rewriting) Underway again.
I’m hoping to have a least a rough draft of Chapter One to share soon.
Stay tuned…
From my cooking blog:
Order What’s 4 Dinner Solutions: Summer into Fall here!
What’s 4 Dinner Solutions actually started years before the blog, as a menu service for busy families. When it was time to move on from that, I started the blog to continue sharing recipes. But what that means is, I have in my arsenal, fifty-two weeks of menus, recipes and shopping lists.
A few years ago, a friend convinced me to turn it into a cookbook. I quickly realized it would be unmanageable as one cookbook, so I’ve created four: Summer into Fall, Fall into Winter, Winter into Spring and Spring into Summer.
Recipes and menus are seasonal, to take advantage of what is local and fresh when available.
Not ordinary cookbooks. These are more a weekday dinner menu guide, including menus, recipes, shopping lists, and helpful tips. Most menus are thirty minutes or less. Each menu is filled with fresh ingredients that complement each other.
What’s 4 Dinner Solutions: Summer into Fall is available now! Order here.
Over the coming months, I’ll post a recipe and menu from the cookbook each week.
Until then….
Annie DeMoranville 