Summer writing...

Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

In June I participated in Jami Attenburg's #1000wordsofsummer. All sixteen days. I worked on my novel-in-progress and added several thousand words. Since then my writing has consisted of producing this weekly newsletter. I've submitted a few plays to theaters, but otherwise have not done much related to writing.

On June 30, my latest poetry collection Migraines and Their Remedies was published by Launch Point Press. I had amazing advance praise from several poets. It has two five-star reviews already. You can purchase it here, here, or here. I appreciate every purchase, and welcome reviews. If you suffer from migraines or know someone who does, you might find this book useful even if you don't like poetry.

For the past ten days I've been mostly laid up with a bad back. I was gardening one morning (harvesting herbs, tall spiky ones) and stripping the leaves from the plants, and by the time I was finished, my back was hurting. The pain got worse through the day, with my muscles stiffening. For the first three days I mostly lay down, using ice and acetaminophen for the pain.

I gradually got better enough to do some physical therapy exercises, and after ten days I was able to leave the house and help with the grocery shopping (not the lifting, obviously.)

What about the twenty days prior to the back injury? I had good intentions. I read a lot (always helpful for a writer) and thought about my characters. I read ideas and tips related to novel writing. One day I met with another author and we discussed writing, among other things.

Sometimes a writer needs a break from the actual pounding out of words on the computer -- time to let ideas germinate and grow. For me, the break needs to be short-lived, so this week I'll be back to work.

My novel-in-progress is third in a series with a female Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. My protagonists are Shirley Combs and Dr. Mary Watson, naturopath. The first in the series was The Hounding, a nod to A. Conan Doyle's The Hound of Baskerville. The second was The Illustrious Client, like Doyle's story of the same name. But my books are set in present day Portland, Oregon. Shirley is asexual, and Mary came out as a lesbian in the second book when she fell for her realtor.

In this book, A Valley of Fear, nothing is like Doyle's story of the same name. The book begins before Covid-19, and then has to cope with it, as we all have. The mystery begins in a ghost town, where Shirley has gone to practice her tracking skills. Before Shirley and Mary can solve the mystery, Shirley's apartment burns down. Mary is in a long-term relationship with her realtor, Beth. Shirley rescues a dog and has a pet for the first time in her life. After stalling to accommodate the pandemic, the women meet Dr. Moriarty.

I'm at least half-way through the book. I look forward to seeing what happens next. I'm the kind of writer who works with a rough outline, but it is not so detailed that I can't be surprised by happenings along the way.

Meanwhile, I also have a full-length play to finish. I will let it marinate while I continue working on A Valley of Fear.

If you're a writer, I'd love to hear about your work. If you're a reader, I'd love to hear what you're reading now. I just finished Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. You can read my review on Goodreads. Or you can just know that I gave it five stars.