I am amazed by the strength, courage and resilience of my friends in Florida in the wake of Irma. Many of them, for varying reasons, have stayed in their homes, ready to wait out the hurricane. They are already enduring a loss of electricity, empty stores, a lack of resources like gasoline, and an unrelenting forecast.
Yet they are finding ways to be positive, and this is inspiring. One of my friends just wrote that she has total peace of mind.
I can't claim that, and I don't have a hurricane barreling toward me!
Thank you to all of you for teaching me a lesson in courage, and I wish healthy and safety to you and your families.
She was your everything.
You woke up with her on your brain, scribbled notes to her throughout the day,
fell asleep wondering how to make her happy. And now, after she consumed your
life for an entire year, drove you crazy, and fulfilled you on levels you
hadn’t known were possible, she’s left you. Just like that, she’s moved on to
someone else.
Actually, if you’re lucky, she’s moved on to thousands of
someone else's.
I’m talking books and readers, of course, and that day when
your sweat and tears moves from your brain and computer to to bookshelves and
e-readers all over the country. So, how long until you move on, too? When is it
okay to start writing that next novel?
Today, the lovely Shannon Baker and I would like to share
our experience on that front. Shannon and I have written over 20 books between
us, and we’re on our second national blog tour, Double-booked Round Two.
Shannon is promoting Dark
Signal, the second in the fabulous Kate Fox series, and I’m shilling for March
of Crime, the 11th (gasp!) in my Murder-by-Month mysteries. Pull
up a chair, dip into your favorite ice cream flavor, and relax while Shannon
and I share our book break-up, moving on stories.
Shannon Baker, you amazing soul, how are you?
Shannon Baker
Shannon: I’m stoked (does that term make me sound old?... or
fat?) because I’m plotting a new series. To pick up on your analogy, it’s like
the first blush of a romance. We’re flirting and kissing, I can barely think
about anything else, and I’m waking up at night with a flutter in my heart.
Jessie: That’s fabulous. Also, “stoked” makes you sound
“stoned,” so I’m cool with it. So, I’ve been churning out two books a year
since May Day released in 2006. How
about you?
Shannon: Slut. And I mean that in the best way possible! I
mean, look at all the fun you’ve been having, while I stayed true to a novel
that I should have left years earlier. I worked on that one book for over 10
years, finally had it published in 2010 with a nano-press, and then—only then—moved
on. Since 2013, I’ve published one book a year, though I’ve had affairs with
short stories and experimented with other unmentionable genres.
Jessie: Sweet naughtiness, that’s a lot of book break-ups.
How long do you wait after sending one book off to your publisher before you
start writing your second book or short story? Or do they overlap?
Shannon: I am at a writer’s retreat right now with a friend
who is working on three books simultaneously. Unfathomably, she seems pretty
normal. I don’t work on more than one book at a time. So it’s unusual for me to
have an idea for a new series while I’m working on line edits from my editor
for an ongoing series, AND, last week finished revisions on another book.
I’m afraid of waiting too long to jump into another book
because for me, writing is like exercise. If I let it go too long, it’s painful
to get back into shape. It’s a habit and I don’t want to disrupt the routine
I’ve established.
Jess's latest Murder-by-the-Month novel
Jessie: Makes sense. When I finished May
Day back in 2003, I immediately began to shop it around. It hadn’t occurred
to me to start another book until about rejection 376 (I received a total of
423), when an agent told me she liked what I was doing but couldn’t sell it
unless it was a series. I began writing June
Bug. That agent didn’t sign me, but someone else did. In a perfect world,
I’d still have that kind of time (and blissful ignorance about the industry),
enough so that I could dedicate complete brain time to one project.
Now, with
multiple series plus my author marketing commitments, I usually give myself 7
days after finishing one book to celebrate, make poor food choices, and relax
before I start writing a new novel. Any less than that and I don’t feel like
I’m honoring the work and energy I put into the manuscript. Any more than that
and I start to go a little crazy. I need creative writing.
Shannon, do you carry around a notebook or something else to
keep track of those random, buzzing story ideas for a future project that pop
into your brain when you’re working on a current project?
Shannon: Gaa! I hate that I don’t a) carry around a notebook
for ideas, and b) have so many ideas I need to. Maybe if carried a notebook I’d
have ideas to write in it. But, maybe
I’m turning over a new leaf, because as I write this, I remember being at a fun
event last weekend and suddenly thinking how great it would be for a mystery
series. *runs off to get that cool journal someone gave me*
Jessie: Yes! Write it down. I text myself notes and then
transcribe them all at the end of the week. I also try to keep track of any
writing hacks that I learn as I go, so I can remember to use them in the future
but also so I can share them with others. A lot of those made it into my how-to
book, Rewrite
Your Life. (Yes, that was a shameless plug.) (Editor: View Jess's whole TED-x talk below).
Since today we’re talking about book break-ups, and
specifically that moment when you move from writing one book to the next, it’s
only fitting that we end by sharing our real-life break-up remedies. Back in
the day when I was dumped by or did the dumping of boyfriends, my go-to was Ben
& Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream and red wine out of a box. Those huge
shards of dark chocolate from the ice cream would get stuck in my back teeth,
and when the red wine would rush over them, it’d create an explosion of rich,
bitter deliciousness. Who needs boys when you can make that sort of fun
yourself? Shannon, what was your break-up go-to?
Shannon: It took me over a decade, but I got the best
break-up remedy possible. My husband of 20 years had a long-lasting affair in
our town of 300 people and I left him to start a new life. Took me a while to
get my sense of humor back about the whole thing and my appreciation of the
place, but when I did, I got a whole mystery series out of it, starting with Stripped Bare and now Dark Signal. They say living well is the
best revenge, but I have to say, writing is pretty sweet, too!
Please join Shannon and Jessie as they continue their blog
tour. They will each be giving away three books this tour, and every comment
you leave at a blog stop gets you once chance to win.
Jess Lourey (rhymes with
"dowry") is best known for her critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month
mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her
writing "a splendid mix of humor and suspense." She is a tenured
professor of creative writing and sociology, a regular Psychology
Today blogger, a sought-after workshop leader and keynote speaker who
delivered the 2016 "Rewrite Your
Life" TEDx Talk (below) and a leader of transformative writer's
retreats.
Shannon Baker is the author of
the Kate Fox mystery series (Tor/Forge). Set in the isolated cattle country
of the Nebraska Sandhills, the series has earned great reviews. Kirkus says, “Baker serves up a ballsy heroine, a
colorful backdrop, and a surprising ending.” She also writes the Nora Abbott
mystery series (Midnight Ink), featuring Hopi Indian mysticism and
environmental issues. Shannon makes her home in Tucson where she enjoys
cocktails by the pool, breathtaking sunsets, a crazy Weimaraner, and killing
people (in the pages of her books). She was voted Rocky Mountain Fiction
Writer’s 2014 Writer of the Year. Visit Shannon at www.Shannon-Baker.com
I am amazed by the strength, courage and resilience of my friends in Florida in the wake of Irma. Many of them, for varying reasons, have stayed in their homes, ready to wait out the hurricane. They are already enduring a loss of electricity, empty stores, a lack of resources like gasoline, and an unrelenting forecast.
