A Tale of Two Writing Conventions by Susan Calder

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In August, I spent a weekend at When Words Collide Festival for Readers and Writers in Calgary, my hometown. This year marked the festival's 15th anniversary, and I've attended each year from the start. I love the energy, the learning, and the fun of catching up with people I only see once a year. 

About 900 writers and readers gathered at the downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel for panels, presentations and special events. They chatted and networked in the hallways and merchants' room. I sat on three panels, two of them related to short stories and the third about historical research and its application to stories. I learned a lot from the discussion with fellow panelists and from the other panels and talks I attended.        

A full room for our panel on crime short stories titled "50 Ways to Kill Your Lover."  

Despite the word "festival" in its name, WWC is really a convention like Bouchercon World Mystery Convention which arrives in Calgary nine days from now. I'll be there and look forward to experiencing the similarities and differences between the two festival/conventions.  

WWC is multi-genre, while Bouchercon is devoted to crime writing. B'con is a larger event. It spans five days vs. three days for WWC. Close to 1,500 people are expected to attend Calgary B'Con, which draws an international crowd. It takes place in different cities every year, usually in the United States. WWC is a Calgary event. Most registrants come from the local area, although people increasingly travel here from other Canadian provinces and beyond. B'con is a fan convention at heart. WWC offers more for writers than for readers. 

Popular WWC speaker, retired Calgary Detective Dave Sweet (middle), engages both writers and readers with his stories of police work. He'll be a Special Guest at Calgary Bouchercon.  

The Calgary B'con schedule is packed with offerings that interest me such as panels on historical writing and interviews with the eight author Guests of Honour: Louise Penny, Kathy Reichs, Abir Mukherjee, Mark Greaney, Jennifer Hillier, Vicki Delany, Kevin Sands, and P. J. Vernon. Posthumous Fan GoH Steele Currey was chosen for his long-time support of crime writing. Sadly, Steele died in November 2024. A special exhibit of his mystery, espionage, and thriller book collection donated to the University of Calgary will be displayed at the convention. 

I'll be on two B'con panels, one about the enduring appeal of traditional mystery stories and the other about the benefits for writers of conventions, festivals, book clubs, and critique groups. I've had experience with all of these things, and five of my six novels are traditional whodunit mysteries. It's been interesting to plan these panels with colleagues from Britain, the USA, and other parts of Canada. 

My fellow BWL author, Bonny Beswick, nabbed a twenty-minute spotlight talk on a topic relevant to Canadians: "Writing when it's so cold the ink in our pen freezes." She's generously invited the other attending BWL authors to join her. I'm especially eager to chat with Bonny and BWL writers donalee Moulton, Joan Donaldson-Yarmey, and David A. Poulsen at the convention.

Crime Writers of Canada will also feature me and four other writers in a media spot about Western Canadian writing. We all have short stories in the Sisters in Crime - Canada West anthology Crime Wave 4: Home Sweet Homicide, which will be launched at Bouchercon. 

I have a second short story published in the upcoming Murder Most Alberta Anthology, and I might read from the story at the twenty-minute spotlight for that book.  

Evenings at B'con will be for fun: Cozies and Cocktails Wednesday night. Thursday's Opening Ceremonies will include a White Hat Ceremony, Calgary's traditional welcome to visitors. 

At the WWC 2026 Opening Ceremonies, Special Guests received a received a warm Calgary welcome with gifts of white cowboy hats. 

Other evenings will offer a live auction, the 2026 Bouchercon Anthology signing, a pub trivia night, several awards ceremonies, and Author Bingo with free food at the Underrepresented Authors Reception.

Sunday's Closing Ceremonies will cap the five-day happenings with a Guest of Honour panel moderated by BWL author Dave Poulsen.  

When it's all over, I expect to be exhausted but pumped to dive into my writing.    

A Paranormal Investigation by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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In September I posted about meeting with Jo MacGugan, a paranormal investigator, as part of the research for my upcoming novel, The Haunting of Blackberry Hill. I want to have my characters bring in a team of paranormal investigators to help them figure out what is going on in their house. But I didn't know what exactly paranormal investigators do. During our conversation, Jo told me about an investigation that she would soon be doing in Worcester and suggested I attend.

The investigation was held at Salisbury House, the headquarters for Preservation Worcester, an organization that preserves the historic sites and structures of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. It was built in the mid-1830s and is supposedly haunted. Jo and her colleague, Shannon, led the investigation. My friend, Carol, came with me and we, along with 14 other attendees accompanied them in their investigation of the ballroom, basement, an upstairs bedroom, and the attic. 

We got to see several pieces of paranormal investigation equipment in action. There were electronic voice phenomena recorders, electromagnetic field detectors, a few different response devices including my favorite, the Epoch Box which actually allowed spirits to answer us with a yes or no, infrared cameras, and, Jo's favorite, a spirit box.

We didn't actually see any ghosts (for which I am grateful) but we did hear a few voices when the recorders were played back that we definitely did not hear while the device was recording. The Epoch Box got a bit of a workout in the basement. And while up in the attic, a music box started playing by itself.

The spirit box came into use in the attic. My friend, Carol, was the first to try it. I gave it a go next. The spirit box is a small handheld device, not much bigger than a cell phone. The person listening to it wears a blindfold and noise-canceling headphones that are plugged into the spirit box. The rest of us asked questions of the spirit. The person with the spirit box can't hear any of the questions because of the noise-canceling headphones. All they can hear is what's coming from the spirit box which sounds just like someone flipping radio stations at high speed with a lot of static in between. If the spirit answers, it will come through in the static at which point, the person with the box is to say out loud whatever they hear.

When it was my turn, I thought I heard a voice in the static three different times, but I couldn't make out what was being said. It was definitely the same voice each time, though. 

I never thought I would take part in something like this. Though I love ghost stories and I'm fascinated by tales of hauntings, I'm a big chicken when it comes to putting myself in the way of it. Still, I'm very glad I did it. Having had that experience will allow me to write the scenes with the paranormal investigators with better accuracy and much more realistically. Thanks, Jo and Shannon!

Carol using the spirit box in the attic of the Salisbury House

Lunch with a Paranormal Investigator by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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It's not every day I have lunch with a paranormal investigator, but recently I did just that. I am working on my contribution to BWL Publishing's upcoming Paranormal Americana Collection, The Haunting of Blackberry Hill. I've decided that my characters need to call in a paranormal investigator. The only problem is I had no idea what they do or how they do it. As I am a stickler for research and accuracy, I decided the best way to find out was to talk to one. So, I did an online search and was delighted to find a woman living in a nearby town who has been doing investigations for the past 13 years. I contacted her and she agreed to meet with me.

Jo and I clicked almost immediately. That's not surprising considering that I mainly write historical fiction, have a degree in history, have worked in a living history museum, and devour history books both fiction and non-fiction. Jo has a Ph.D. in medieval history, has published a book on medieval Irish history, and is the Chair of the Board of Trustees at her town's library.

One more thing we share is a fascination with the paranormal. Once I told her that The Haunting of Blackberry Hill is based on a house my family lived in when I was very young, she was hooked. We dove right in and talked for at least an hour and a half. It was like we had known each other for years.

Jo gave me some great information on what a paranormal investigator does and what kind of equipment they use. She let me know that she will be doing an investigation for Preservation Worcester at the Salisbury House in Worcester, Massachusetts on September 18th. The house is Preservation Worcester's headquarters. They'd probably like to know with whom they are sharing it. 

She will be using her infrared cameras, EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recorder, and a spirit box. I'm looking forward to seeing her in action, though I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to seeing or hearing any ghosts! In any case, it should be an interesting evening.

 

 

Beyond the Beyond

My latest releases: Spectral Evidence and...

 

...the third book of my Navaho Code Talker series, All of Me

 

I don't see any boundaries between any of the art forms.

I think they all inter-relate completely.

~ David Bowie ~

 

BWL website

 

One of my favorite stories that my friend Juilene Osborne-McKnight tells is of a boy whose mother loves him "beyond the beyond." Ah, the musical way the phrase rolls off the tongue of this wonderful Irish-American shanachie! And what a boundary-breaking image it conjures.

It's good to have friends who help you venture "beyond the beyond..."

Creative people participate in many and appreciate all forms of creative expression. I thought of that when I was urged to sing by my grandson's piano teacher. 

Also when my fingers ache for a piece of chalk so I can make a sidewalk creation beside a treasured child.

Speaking of treasured children, has anyone seen my grandson among his troop of monkeys?

I pushed my own creative writing boundaries recently with two future book projects. After saying that my specialty in the long form of the novel, I decided to take on two (count 'em two!) collections of short stories. Me? Who never met a plot that couldn't be expanded to book length??? Well, here I go, with the blessings of my deeply missed co-writer, Jude Pittman. I hope you'll try both The Ghosts of Bell Island and Vermont Gothic, due out in 2027.

  

Another wonderful writer friend, Eileen O'Finlan, recently asked me to do a character voice for promotion of her series focused on an Irish-American immigrant family. Have you read them? Kelegeen was followed by Erin's Children and they are great, well-researched tales powered by unforgettable characters. I have not acted in a long time. But will I take the project on? Of course.

Creativity feeds creativity. What ways do you exercise your creative intelligence, friends? What takes you "beyond the beyond?"

RIP Tom Kelleher by Eileen O'Finlan

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On May 26, 2026, I received devastating news. My dear friend, Tom Kelleher, had just been killed when he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle to work. Those who read the acknowledgments in my historical fiction books, know that I always thank Tom. As a professional historian, Tom was an enormous help to me in my research. He also read my drafts to check for historical accuracy. I even dedicated The Folklorist to him. He was indispensable to me for the 1830s timeline in that book.

Tom was a research historian and curator at the living history museum Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts where he worked for 40 years. The Village is a living history museum which interprets life in a New England village in the 1830s. A brilliant historian, Tom had a gift for making history real for thousands of visitors. There was nothing he enjoyed more than putting on a 19th century costume (some of which he made himself on his grandmother's foot treadle sewing machine) and getting into character. He even created several characters such as a peddler, a traveling dentist, a revival preacher, and a phrenologist.

It seems that there was very little Tom didn't know about 19th century American history. Yet, it didn't stop there. He also had a vast knowledge of European history and American history of other time periods as well. It wasn't just me who turned to Tom when in a research conundrum. Other professional historians who knew him have told me that if they didn't know something and weren't having any luck finding the answer, they'd contact Tom. He always knew.

I met Tom in the mid 1990s when I worked for three years as the Museum Assistant for the Department of Research, Collections, and Library at Old Sturbridge Village. He was promoted from costumed interpreter to Research Historian during my second year of working there. We quickly became friends and, not much later started dating. We were a couple for eight years, the last year of which we were engaged. For reasons I won't go into here, we decided not to marry and to go our separate ways romantically, but we never ended our friendship. It continued uninterrupted until the accident on May 26th took his life.

Tom and me in the log cabin where he lived - early 2000s

Tom was a huge part of my life. To the day he died, my entire family still considered him part of our family. Everyone loved Tom. Whether they knew him professionally, personally, or both, all held him in high esteem. That was evidenced by the seemingly endless stream of people who attended his wake which was held in the Center Meeting House at Old Sturbridge Village.

At about the half-way point of the line for Tom's Calling Hours

I knew I needed to acknowledge his passing and the massive contribution he has been to my writing and to my life. That's why I did not write a blog post in June or July. I wasn't ready. Even now, in early August, I had to psych myself up to write this. I can still barely believe that he's gone.

Rest in peace dearest friend. I will always love you.

                                        

    Tom in costume at Old Sturbridge Village

First Draft vs. Revision: which do you prefer? by Susan Calder

 

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After my first novel was published, I participated in several group readings. At one event, an audience member asked each author which we preferred: writing first drafts or revision? I answered, "First drafts because I love the exploration." If I were asked this question today, I would say, "Revision."

What changed during the past fifteen years?

Novel writers tend to divide themselves into plotters, who outline stories before they start to write, and pantsers, who write by the seat of their pants. I'm a pantser. When I start a novel, I typically know some basics about my main characters, the book's genre, the setting, and the inciting incident but not much more than that. I develop the characters and story in the process of writing and discover such matters as "whodunnit" along with my protagonist. Like all exploration, this is a tad unsettling -- I never know if the story will hang together until I near the end of the first draft.     

With my first novel, I let the story go wherever it wanted. Each day, I continued writing from where I'd left off the previous time without a backward glance. Not surprisingly, my characters and plot went all over the place and became mired in extraneous details, but the work went quickly with this free approach. During my second draft revision, I cut large chunks of writing and made major changes, like adding and then deleting a significant character.   

While I was struggling with the third draft, I attended a speaker session on three-act novel structure, which is based on the screenwriting principle that certain types of happenings must occur at specific points in the story to make it a satisfying tale. During the first quarter, the protagonist dithers on whether or not to accept the challenge posed at the start until she finally commits to the quest, however the story defines this. Midway, there's a reversal that changes the story's direction. Then the action nosedives to the black moment at the 3/4 point. In movies, the protagonist typically wallows through moody music until she summons the strength to push to the story's climax. Even classic novels, written long before movies, follow this structure. The speaker opened her copy of Pride and Prejudice to reveal the reversal in the middle of the book. Jane Austen had an instinct for story that is hardwired into the human brain.  

This talk was a lightbulb moment for me. I instantly saw how and why three-act structure works and where I had naturally applied it to my messy draft and where I'd fallen terribly short. The opening quarter was way too long. My story had a reversal but skipped too quickly to the black moment. This led me to cut tons of stuff from the first quarter, add a completely new chapter after the black moment, and make numerous other changes. This third draft took longer to write than the first one, but it was better than it would have been had I not discovered three-act structure.  

I started my second novel with structure in mind. Since I knew the book would be roughly 100,000 words, I created a structure outline that divided it into quarters of 25,000 words each. I still didn't know what would happen in the story, but I wrote to the three major turning points - commitment, reversal, black moment. If I felt events were moving too quickly toward a turning point, I added another development to enrich the story. If events moved slowly, I eliminated something unimportant that I'd planned. For instance, I initially wanted a wedding to take place in the first quarter. When there was no space for it, I postponed the wedding to the second quarter, and then the third, and finally never. This saved me the work of extricating the wedding and its offshoots during revision. 

My first draft of this second novel was less messy than the first, and I continued the process with subsequent books. Along the way, I added new things I'd learned to create a more detailed structure outline. I still didn't know what would happen in the story or how everything would resolve, but my first drafts required increasingly less revision. For my latest novel, A Killer Whisky, each draft became quicker and more enjoyable to write than the previous one as I developed and polished the existing material.

Last month, I finished the first draft of my current novel-in-progress - yay! I realized that I've become far more attentive to the writing than I was for my earlier novels. Whenever scenes fell flat or veered off in a wrong direction, I went back and rewrote them before moving on. This increased my time spent on the draft, and yet I still didn't know if the story would work or how it would end until the last few chapters. So, my first drafts now combine the worst of both parts of the process - the uncertainty of pantsing a first draft and the attention to writing that I used to reserve for revision. It's exhausting.

But the toughest job is done (I hope), and I look forward to my new favourite part of writing novels - revision.         

 

Having a Home Library by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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A few years ago I converted one of the rooms in my house to a home library. It's something I've always wanted. The table in the center of the room gets good use when I'm doing research for a novel I want to write. It's helpful to spread out books, maps, documents and notebooks. Having shelves of history books is also handy as I often have a book or two (or more) on the subject I'm researching.

Recently, while looking around my library, I realized that I have a multitude of books I've yet to read. There is no question that I acquire books much faster than I can read them. I'm fine with that. I probably couldn't stop if I wanted to. And while I do enjoy gazing at my shelves full of books, I don't buy them for looks. I buy them because I actually want to read them. Many of the books on my shelves have been in my possession for years and have yet to be read - a disservice to both their authors and to myself. So, I've decided to do something about it.

It is not a lack of interest that prevents me from reading them. It's a lack of time. I still work a full-time job, teach online courses for the University of Dayton anywhere from once to three times a year, run a household on my own, and, of course, research and write novels and still attempt to have a life outside of work and home. 

I also spend as much time reading as possible. I am never not in the middle of a book, usually several books. For example, at the time of my writing this, I am reading one book and listening to another audiobook on my Kindle. I bring a book to work with me so I can read on my lunch break. There is another book I keep in my bedroom to read before going to sleep. Add to those any books I'm reading for research and any other books I'm reading for unexpected circumstances (like the one I'm currently reading on clicker training cats in an attempt to keep one of my cats from strolling across my kitchen counters and stovetop.) Books are my life. Well, books, cats, and writing to be exact. They top the list of things that bring me joy. 

Also on that list is learning. I love to learn about almost anything. If I could be a professional student, I would. While I enjoy various methods of learning, reading is undoubtedly my favorite. This is reflected in the variety of books I own on many subjects. What a shame to have them and never find the time to read them.

I decided to do something about that. I am now mindfully carving out time to snuggle into the rocking chair in my library and start reading my way through my book collection. Since history is my greatest love, I've begun with the bookcase that holds my books on American history. I am more than halfway through Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. This bookcase will take me through the Salem Witchcraft Trials, the American Revolution and into the American Civil War. 

Other bookcases include biographies, early-mid 20th century history, books on art, music, and photography, theology and eco-theology, women's history, European and Non-Western history, folklore, material culture, poetry, classics of literature, crafts, gardening, and, of course, plenty of novels.

  

One of the best things about the time I spend reading in my library is that I am almost always accompanied by one or both of my cats. 

So, books and cats, my two favorites. What more could I ask?

 

    Zach in the window                              Josette on my lap

Music Hath Charms by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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It is well known that many authors listen to music while writing. For some, music serves as inspiration. Some use specific types of music to match the mood of their writing. Still others find that music helps their writing to flow. I have found that I fall into that last category. I can write with or without music, but I more easily get into a writing rhythm (no pun intended) while music is playing. 

The type of music authors use varies widely. Stephen King, for example, is known to play loud, hard rock or heavy metal music while writing. While that type of music is definitely among my favorites, it is banished during writing sessions. It's not the volume, it's the lyrics. I can't concentrate on my own words when other words are competing. For me, writing music must be instrumental.

Classical music is among my favorite writing music, especially Mozart. Most of us have heard of the Mozart Effect. Listening to Mozart's music for 10-30 minutes is known to temporarily increase creativity. I can attest to being susceptible to it. Other classical composers are also included in my writing playlist. I especially love violin music so I'm a big fan of Joshua Bell. His CD Romance of the Violin is probably one that I play the most while writing. In fact, it's playing as I write this.

My other favorite violinist is Eileen Ivers. Her electric fiddle playing is perfect for when I need to find a faster, edgier pace to my prose.

Occasionally, I like to write to CDs of nature sounds, especially if they are mixed with instrumental music.

I don't know what it is about music that aids creativity in writing. Perhaps those who have studied the Mozart Effect can explain it. All I know is that I feel a definite difference when I write with music on in the background. My words flow more smoothly, ideas come to mind more readily, and I feel more relaxed as the music weaves it's magic spell.

A small sample of my writing music

Artificial Intelligence: the Good, Bad, & Ugly by Susan Calder

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         A Killer Whisky is Book # 12 of BWL"S Canadian Historical Mystery Series

Every day I receive an email from a stranger wanting to feature one of my novels in their book club or promote the book in another way. I almost fell for the first email. It was well-written, contained specific details about my story, and analyzed it better than I could have done myself. I was sure the sender had read the book until later that day a similar email arrived from another stranger. Two new fans who loved my novel and wanted to help it get the recognition it deserved? This seemed too good to be true.   

Within days, I saw a Facebook post by an author who had received one of these effusive emails. This convinced me they were scams created by Artificial Intelligence. Not that I understood AI, but the emails were something beyond my previous experience. I deleted them both. 

From then on, I pressed "delete" without reading these kinds of emails. Quick deletion was possible because the first line of messages appears in my inbox and clues me in to the rest. So, this daily process wasn't too time consuming. Then variants appeared. Authors I didn't know wanted to connect with me as a fellow writer. A few were famous, like "Margret Atwood." Fortunately, I knew the real Atwood spells her first name "Margaret." 

The most recent variant came from "Kaela" who said she'd tried to post a review of my novel A Killer Whisky on Amazon but her review was rejected, so she asked for my Goodreads link to post a review there. Her story was plausible as I know many people who've been unable to post Amazon reviews, but why would she need my Goodreads link? While I was suspicious, I wrote back advising her to search for me on Goodreads. Meanwhile, a second person (I'll call him Jake) emailed me with the same review issues.  

"Kaela" replied with an attachment of the Goodreads review she'd posted. I went directly to the Goodreads site and her review was there! Was this really legitimate? I sent "Jake" my same reply, suggesting he search for me on Goodreads. I also thanked "Kaela" for her review. Then -- big mistake -- I decided to copy her rave review for my records and clicked on her attachment. Seconds later, alarms shrilled on my computer. A voice blared "Your IP address is stolen!" My computer mouse didn't work. I think the voice told me NOT to shut down my computer, but this is exactly what you should do in that situation. It worked. When I turned my computer back on, all was normal with no apparent damage done.   

"Jake" had now replied. I was curious to see what he'd said and assumed my computer would be safe if I didn't open any attachments or click on links. I opened his email and the alarm instantly blared because he had embedded his review in the email message. Curse you "Jake" for fooling me a second time. 

"Kaela" replied to my thank-you note with a message that began, "Susan, you're very welcome! It truly was my pleasure to read and review ..." I was too afraid to open her email for fear of crashing my computer, but I pinned the email to the top of my inbox in case I had the nerve (or foolishness) to see what she had said.  

Writers who've responded to these scam emails say that, once they rope you in, they ask for money to fund the project they'll set up for your awesome book. Some direct you to websites that look legit but turn out to be phony. The individual amounts requested aren't enormous, but if a percentage of the targeted authors sends money, presumably the accumulated amount is worth the scammer's effort. 

Like all scams, they appeal to the target's weakness. In this case, it's every writers' longing for their hard-earned work to reach and be appreciated by readers.         

Sadder still, these scam emails have made me suspicious of every unexpected email related to my writing. In the past, I've enjoyed engaging with readers this way, and some were strangers with genuine interest. I can't even fully trust emails of this type from people I know because email addresses can be stolen. Along the way, I'll probably delete an opportunity that is actually real. 

So far, this post has been all about the Bad & Ugly of Artificial Intelligence, but the Good exists. For the past 13 years, I've exchanged letters with a relative in the Czech Republic. Neither of us speaks the other's language. I compose my letters in English, plug them into Google Translate, and send her the Czech translation. I've suggested she do the same, but she continues to handwrite me letters in Czech. I tried typing them on Google translate, but it doesn't work because every second Czech word has an accent. Over the years, I've scrambled to find people to translate her letters, but now, thanks to AI, I photographed her last letter, uploaded it to ChatGPT, and got a good translation. 

I'm sure Artificial Intelligence has hundreds of other useful applications, and I can see a great potential for medical diagnoses and treatment programs. Every innovation comes with the good, bad, & ugly.

Today, in the name of research for this blog post, I opened "Kaela's" latest email on my old computer. No alarms went off. My computer didn't freeze. "Kaela's" friendly message continued with an offer to introduce me to Book Cafe to promote my novel that touched her deeply. She signed off with a casual, "Would you like more details?"

I deleted her but almost feel we had a relationship. Creepy, but maybe in the future we'll all have AI friends. Is this a huge leap from Facebook and other online friendships?  

I also checked my novel's reviews on the Goodreads site. "Kaela's" rave review is gone. Drat!

On the Loss of a Muse by Eileen O'Finlan

 

                              

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On Friday, January 16, 2026, my muse passed away. She was 17 years old, calico, and very fluffy. Her name was Autumn Amelia. She was a gorgeous Maine Coon mix. As anyone who knows cats well can attest, they are excellent at hiding illness and pain. I knew she was slowing down. That wasn't surprising. She'd been considered a "senior cat" by the vet for several years. She'd also been on medication for hyperthyroidism for several years, too. However, it did take me by surprise to find out at her December vet appointment that her liver and white blood cell counts were way off. The vet thought it might a side effect from her thyroid medication and suggested taking her off it for a month and rechecking her bloodwork. If her liver and white cell counts were headed back to normal, we'd know that  was the cause.

A few days before her next appointment, I could tell she was very sick, so I called the vet. They had me bring her in that afternoon. A recheck of her bloodwork showed that not only had her liver and white cell count not improved, but they had dramatically worsened. The vet was certain she had liver cancer and, given how quickly things had gone downhill along with her current condition, felt that she probably only had a few days left. Not wanting her to suffer any longer, I asked the vet to euthanize her. I held her in my arms, told her how much I loved her and what a special cat she'd been. I reminded her that she would live on in the Cat Tales books, and I asked her to send me the next kitties that needed a loving forever home. She left this world peacefully in my arms, soaked with my tears.

Autumn Amelia used to live with me along with a beautiful Russian Blue cat named Smokey. They were the inspiration for All the Furs and Feathers, a novel I wrote while home from work for a month recovering from a major surgery. Smokey passed away just as that book was being completed. My mom, who had been living with me, went into a nursing home due to advancing dementia one month later. She would pass away within three years.

Autumn and I were on our own ever since. We shared a home and a life. She was a great source of love, affection, amusement, and inspiration. She was always with me while I was writing, laying next to (or on top of) my keyboard. I called her my muse for that's what she was. My beautiful, magical muse. She celebrated with me when the second Cat Tales book, All in the Furry Family, was released. I bought cat "wine" for her and we toasted the unboxing of the new books when they arrived. 

She was a regular fixture at the writing group that meets at my house every Wednesday evening. They will all miss her, too.

Autumn and Smokey are the main characters in the Cat Tales series books. Their characters are based on their personalities. Many of their antics in the books were true to life including Smokey's zoomies before a storm and Autumn's penchant for stealing food. Autumn really did take apart my humidifier and eat the charcoal filter when she was a kitten and she really did have a pirate ship that she adored just like in the books.

The Cat Tales series will continue. I have the basic idea for the next book in my head now. Smokey and Autumn Amelia will return with all their furry and feathered friends. 

Autumn Amelia and Smokey

And in the next book, they will have two new friends because Autumn and Smokey completed their assignment very quickly and sent me two new kitties to help heal my broken heart. Zachary and Josette are brother and sister orange cats who are now living with me. I have had one cat or another since I was six years old and simply could not stand being without one. They came from a local shelter and now have a forever home where they will be loved and pampered for the rest of their lives. They will also become characters. I need to finish the paranormal book I'm writing now before I can start on the next Cat Tales book, but that will give me plenty of time to get to know Zach and Josette so that their personalities can shine through in the next story.

Rest in peace my precious Autumn Amelia. Thank you for your wonderful inspiration and for sending me these two new babies to love.

   

                            Zach                                                                            Josette

Muddling Through a First Draft

                              Please visit the BWL website for book and author information

Last summer, I started a new novel. I got half way through the first draft by Christmas and set the manuscript aside for the holidays. My New Year’s Resolution is to finish the first draft this spring.

The novel’s story begins in Czechia aka Czech Republic three months before the start of World War One. I chose this time period to make use of the research I’d done for my last novel, A Killer Whisky, which was set during WWI. This era also ties the new book to my maternal grandparents, the inspirations for the story. They emigrated from Czechia (then part of the Austria-Hungary empire) shortly after The Great War and settled in Canada. 

Matous & Emilie Slovacek 

Unlike A Killer Whisky, this novel-in-progress isn’t a whodunit mystery. A murder will take place – I think – but it won’t happen until later in the book. My original plan was to kill off the victim at the book’s one quarter mark, prompting my protagonist and her friends to escape to North America to avoid the police and imminent war. But as my writing of the story progressed, I didn’t want to rush the killing and stumbled upon a different first quarter turning point. My characters remained in Czechia and hatched a criminal plan, but it still didn’t lead to murder half way through. Their prospective victim was also becoming fun, in an evil way, and I wanted to keep him in the story.  

Before my Christmas break, I outlined enough future action to take place in Czechia that I’m pretty sure my characters won’t cross the Atlantic Ocean before the end of the book. There are advantages to keeping them in one location. Sending them elsewhere would mean creating a new supporting cast and researching another historical setting. Instead, I can develop my existing support characters more deeply and give them larger roles in the story.

My Czechia setting of Karlovy Vary will also become more important. A positive will be the opportunity more richly describe Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad in German), a beautiful spa city known for its hot springs and healing mineral waters. Goethe, Beethoven, Chopin, and Peter the Great were frequent visitors. A negative is that I don’t live there. I visited Karlovy Vary thirteen years ago but feel a need to return to check out the locations in my story and learn more about the spa city’s history. 

View of Karlovy Vary from Diana Lookout 

So, this spring, I’ll be adding a week or so in Czechia to a holiday in southern Germany. In Karlovy Vary, I’ll soak in some spa baths, drink the (extremely salty) mineral water from a classic sippy cup, visit the history museum, trace my characters’ footsteps on forested hill walks, stroll the river promenade, dine in the luxury hotel murder site, and absorb the city’s baroque architecture that hasn’t changed since the era of my story.  Not a bad incentive to finish the first draft of a book. 

Sippy Cups for sale - (above) Drinking hot mineral water from a sippy cup

Susan on the promenade

Surviving a New England Winter by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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Every time I send my sister in Florida a picture of the snowfall I just woke up to, she always texts me back about how pretty it is. She's right. A fresh  snowfall in New England is lovely as I'm sure it is anywhere. Waking up to look out at a blanket of sparkling white is awe-inducing. That is, until you have to shovel it. As of this writing, I have spent the past several mornings removing several inches of snow from my car and driveway. On go the boots, hat, coat, and gloves. Grab the shovel, spray the scoop part with cooking spray to keep the snow from sticking to it, and step out into frigid temperatures for some vigorous exercise guaranteed to wake me up. In my case, that also includes causing a very sore back for at least the next 24 hours due to the severe arthritis throughout my spine. On days when the shoveling is immediately followed by getting in the car and driving to my full-time job, there isn't even a moment to rest.

                   

Though I do appreciate the beauty of a pristine snow-covered landscape, I find the long, cold New England winters to be more and more of a hardship as the years go by. Oh, how I wish I could hibernate.

So, what do I do to survive the winter months? I spend as much time as possible tucked away inside my house, snuggled up on the couch or draped with a blanket in the rocking chair in my home library, a cup of hot chocolate next to me, a good book in hand, and my beloved cat nearby. More than ever, winter has become my cozy time. For me, cozy means books, cats, and warmth. The more time like this I can get in the winter, the better.

My "stay in the house as much as possible" routine has the added benefit of giving me more time for writing and research. Though I never make New Year's resolutions, I have promised myself I will be more diligent than ever about my writing this year. Ideas for novels have been spinning in my head so much lately, it's surprising that characters aren't falling out of my ears!

So, fine, bring on the snow and cold. I just wish it could be contained to the days I don't have to go out. Then I can semi-hibernate in my little house with my laptop, my books, my sweetie pie, Autumn Amelia, and some warming comfort food and that will see me through the winter just fine. 

Who could resist cozying up to this face?