Time Keeps On Slipping
You know those alien abduction films, where someone is driving down a deserted road and then realize they have missing blocks of time—minutes, or even hours--where they don’t remember where they were?
The past year was a bit like that for me. One minute, I was ringing in 2023 and then, in a blink of the eye, I was popping bubbly and ushering in the next year!
My first book hits the big time at Copperfield’s, a local bookstore!
2023 was a landmark year for me. On March 13th, my lifelong dream came true. The first book in my series, Darkness Below, was published. After many years of writing and editing and learning the craft, I finally graduated from writer to author. The response was amazing. BookLife, a major self-publishing company, chose Darkness Below as an Editor’s Pick, calling it “a smart contemporary spin on Lovecraftian terrors”. Kirkus Reviews gave it a recommendation and hailed it as “a goose-bump inducing dark fantasy.” It also won a silver medal in horror from Reader’s Favorite and a gold medal from The Book Fest.
Me acting dignified with my fellow panelists at StokerCon
The spring and summer were devoted to promoting Darkness Below, both locally and nationally. In June, I travelled to Pittsburgh for the Horror Writers Association’s annual meeting. I was honored to be part of a panel on “The Evolution of Cosmic Horror” and do a reading of my own work alongside Gabino Iglesias, New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Takes You Home (a gripping read, by the way).
But I wasn’t done yet. In October, I published the second book in the series, Thin Places. That had always been the plan-to have two books ready to publish the same year to “hook” readers. It certainly seemed to do the trick. A reviewer on Amazon said that she’s now “chomping at the bit for the third book in the series.” And BookLife continued to share the love. They said that readers “will savor the Lovecraftian adventure, authentic and likable characters, and satisfying ending.” I did another mini-book tour of Sonoma County and attended the World Fantasy Convention in Kansas City, participating in a panel on “The Rise Of Female Characters In Horror”.
I returned home ready to engage in more promotion for the second book. But on November 9th, as my husband was about to fix lunch, he experienced chest pains. His blood pressure was through the roof, so high I thought the machine was faulty. I took him to the emergency room just to be safe. Turns out he was having a mild heart attack. He went for surgery that night and had two stents put in his heart. Fortunately, he’s made a full recovery. Unfortunately, the incident disrupted the promotion of my second book. By the time everything was resolved it was Thanksgiving. Then the joyous chaos of Christmas descended.
And now, here we are in the middle of January!
So what’s in store for the new year?
I am hard at work editing the third book in the series, Shadow Zone. I hope to have it out sometime this year, but it depends on how much rewriting I need to do. I want it to be a worthy successor to Darkness Below and Thin Places.
I also plan to put out all the behind-the-scenes material I wanted to share with you about my second book, Thin Places. One of the frequently asked questions writers get is “Where do you get your ideas from?” Well, I will attempt to answer that question in a series of blogs. So stay tuned for more…
I wish you all a prosperous and happy 2024.
P.S.- As a public service, I’m sharing the video my husband made for his YouTube channel about the warning signs of a heart attack or stroke. If you experience any of these symptoms, go to the emergency room!
Signs of a heart attack and stroke