Cluttered Desks and Half-Finished Dreams- by Debra Loughead

 

https://bwlpublishing.ca/loughead-debra/

My home office is a packrat’s dream. And a neat freak’s nightmare. Not just the physical part of my office either, but the virtual as well. Even my laptop is cluttered with the verbose debris of my entire writing history. Hundreds of files of my started stories, of random chapters, of ideas that never actually took shape into something worthy of submission.

Why can’t I throw away anything I’ve ever written? Especially those actual paper files, stored in an actual filing cabinet, so many folders crammed with old stories from, I’m not kidding, the 1960s when I was a preteen and teen. And so many ‘compostions’ from elementary and high school. Boring typewritten essays from university. What good can all this possibly serve me in the future? 

One of these days I just might succumb to some sort of psychological guilt trip as the piles grow and the sheer volume of it all finally takes its emotional toll. What do they call it in Scandinavia? Swedish Death Cleaning? Does that count for disposing of old story ideas that never got developed? For half-written poems? Essays that never got published? Does it count for posterity? Surely my kids will want all of this someday. (Me, laughing right now.)

One of the pieces of advice I always proffer to budding writers is: save everything you ever write, because you never know when you’ll need it.  Hmmm.  Maybe that was a bad idea after all. Is it possible to become bogged down in the detritus of your own creative drive?  Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the thought of how much of my time would be devoured if, in fact, I actually forced myself to sit down and sort through it all and throw some if it away.

Just to imagine opening those desk drawers and filing cabinets and beginning to sift through several decades worth of material that I could never bring myself to part with. I’d be forced to dig through the burgeoning piles on my shelves and surrounding me on my desk, the newspaper clippings with story triggers, the stacks of old notebooks and file folders with scribbled ideas, all of which are beginning to severely limit my workspace; just the thought of it positively numbs me. I’m paralyzed—I can’t bring myself to get on with it and start flinging. And then there’s those daunting computer files. So many of them that I would have to open, peruse, then likely decide that maybe it’s a pretty viable idea after all, and surely I’ll find the time to get back to it someday. Hah! As if!

In Wikipedia, the characteristics of a compulsive hoarder are:

• the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value 

• living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed

• significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

That’s me! It fits the description of my desk! And just the fact that I’m writing this and stressing out over it is an indication that I’ve been besieged by it? Isn’t it? Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But I’ll bet I’m not the only writer who has this problem. Has anyone else out there saved absolutely everything they’ve ever written? And I mean everything, dating right back to the very first story they ever wrote in grade three called ‘A Narrow Escape for a Mouse’? (I was already obsessed with mysteries and thrillers back then, I guess.) Please say ‘yes’, so I’ll know I’m not the only one with this peculiar compulsion!

In a way it’s served me well. Way back when I was doing frequent school visits, I would  take along my scrapbooks of ‘everything I’ve ever written’ to show the students, and it’s truly an asset when the kids asked me how long I’ve know that this obsession to write has been my calling. In the past I’ve even ‘recycled’ old stories that I started maybe 30 years ago and never came to fruition. Using all of the creative skills I’ve developed in the interim, I’ve revised them and subsequently had them published. 

Hmmm.  Come to think of it, maybe this compulsion to hoard my copious collection of words and sentences isn’t such a bad thing after all! So I’ve decided I’ll live with this curated mess. After all, there might be a goldmine buried under here somewhere.  

Now where did I put that story I started writing in 1985?

Home Recipe

 

As the school year rolls to a painstakingly slow close, my heart aches for home.

My 8th graders are done (and pretty much have been for about three weeks). My colleagues are done (our witty banter has slumped to bland comments about the weather between blank stares). My inner cheerleader is spent (I've never been good at feigning enthusiasm). And to those who have ever found themselves saying something like, "But you're a teacher. You have your summers off!" I usually reply with a laugh, "I know! I don't know why everyone doesn't do it."  But the truth is, my body is crying for that ever-blessed two-and-a-half-month stretch affectionately known as "Summer Vacation" but should really be called "Recovery Period". 

I need to be home. Not on vacation. Not on a beach or at some cabin in the woods. Home. I just want to go home.

I want to get up with the birds, water and weed my gardens, love and train my horses.  Care for my chickens, dogs, and cat. Scoop poop. Cook and bake. Clean the house. Hang laundry outside in the sunshine. Mow. Make my weird and wonderful crafts. Read books and write reviews for those books. 

Most of all, I want to write. I want to curl inward at my laptop and let Forever Fields engulf me. I can't wait to see what Paisley Noon gets up to in the days to come. Even typing these words makes me smile.

Here is a poem I wrote long ago. I typically share it with newlyweds and then give the couple a fun collection of handwritten starter recipes. But for some reason, it hits home with me today. 

Enjoy!

Home Recipe

By Julie Christen

 

What does it take to create a home?

A place where you’ll never again feel alone?

 

If it was all written on a recipe card,

I bet it’d be complex, but prob’ly not hard.

 

You’d start with a crate full of laughter for flavor,

Then mix in a dozen warm memories to savor.

 

A bowl full of ideas, hopes, and big plans,

A heart full of love, you’d fold in with your hands.

 

Then you’d sprinkle a palm-full of hard lessons learned,

And season it all with each triumph you earn.

 

Next, you’d mix it all up with some family and friends,

And mash it and mold it, smooth out bumps and bends.

 

The secret ingredients: heritage and advice

Will be just what it needs to add mystery and spice.

You’d bake it inside four walls strong and sturdy

For as long as it takes … be it one year or thirty.

 

You’ll know when it’s ready; it’ll be no surprise

And serve generous portions to all who stop by.

 

Yes, that’s how that recipe card would look

If it were a part of a homemade cookbook.

The ties that bind us – to research by donalee Moulton

 

As you know, my third mystery, Bind, is out in the world. Here’s the pitch:

 

Everything that happens in a yoga studio is not Zen. Sometimes it’s grand larceny. Three yogis, two cops, and one damn cute dog join forces to discover who’s stolen a Patek Philippe watch from what was supposed to be a secure locker.  Time is ticking.

 

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As I was writing Bind, indeed, as I was envisioning what the book would be, I patted myself on the back for picking a theme, a location, and characters I was more familiar with than in my previous two books. Less research, less investigation, less fact checking. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My first mystery, Hung Out to Die, follows Riel Brava, born and bred in Santa Barbara, California, and transplanted to Nova Scotia where he is CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. It’s business as usual until Riel finds the company’s comptroller hanging by a thread. Actually, several threads. It doesn’t take the police long to determine all is not as it appears. Riel is drawn into helping solve a murder. He’d rather not. His reluctance, in part, has to do with the fact that he is a psychopath. The nicer kind, not the serial killer kind.

To make Riel and the murder realistically come to life, I spent a lot of time researching cannabis production, psychopathy, death by hanging, and upscale coffees. I even spent some time exploring the inner workings of a donair. Riel eats his first in the book; I’ve never had one.

          In a twist, my second book, Conflagration!, is a historical mystery that centers around Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting the lower town of Montreal on fire in 1734.  Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document her case, believes Angelique might be innocent. Or not. A reticent servant, a boisterous jailer, and three fire-scorched shingles prove indispensable in his quest to uncover what really happened.

          Of course, the reality of history and the mystery I created immersed me in life nearly three hundred years ago. It also required learning about the French justice system of 1734 and specifically the trial of Angélique.

          You can see why I patted myself on the back when the idea for Bind took hold in my imagination. A watch goes missing from a changeroom at a gym – an expensive watch with a loud, arrogant owner. The theft connects three yogis in a way full lotus never could. As the search for a thief unfolds, so do seemingly unrelated questions. Why does Lexie have such an intense interest in a much-younger trainer at the gym? Who is the unnamed, unknown man who keeps leaving Charlene messages? Why does no one know Woo Woo lives in a mansion?

          I thought research would be minimal. The women in the book are my age, they live in my neighborhood, they do yoga – like me. What more could there be to research? Plenty as it turned out. One of the main characters, Lexie, is a comedian with a popular podcast, so now I’m learning about podcasts. Another main character, Charlene, is an auditor, and suddenly I’m delving into what auditors do exactly and how they do it. Another character, Woo Woo, is a reflexologist…. Well, you get it.

          It’s authenticity that makes writing come to life, and authentic writing requires writers to hunker down and delve into worlds they don’t know well and don’t know at all. I mean who knew a watch could cost $100,000. I had no idea. I do now.

 

BWL Publishing New Releases June 2025

Lang, Jay - BWL Publishing Inc.

In the shadows of British Columbia’s Comox Valley, a tragic history refuses to rest. Based on chilling true events, Dancing Mary unearths the long-buried story of a young K’ómoks First Nation woman—named Mary by early settlers—who was betrayed and murdered by the very man she once trusted. Her spirit, said to appear as a shimmering blue orb, haunted the area for decades. The last vivid encounter occurred in 1914, when a soldier cycling down Comox Road rode through the ghostly light and described an otherworldly cold that he would never forget. From that moment on, the legend of “Dancing Mary” was born—named for the spectral sway of her ghostly presence.

But Mary's tale is more than just a ghost story.

Interwoven with the haunting is the emotional journey of a grieving father and daughter who return to the Comox Valley to lay to rest the ashes of their beloved wife and mother, lost to suicide in Vancouver. As they confront their own pain, they are pulled into the valley’s dark folklore, discovering a connection between past and present that is as healing as it is harrowing.

Blending historical tragedy, supernatural mystery, and human resilience, Dancing Mary is a gripping narrative of danger, loss, and the power of a spirit who refuses to be forgotten. Both a ghost story and a story of healing, it asks: what happens when the dead speak—and who among the living is ready to listen?

Baldwin, Barbara - BWL Publishing Inc.

Jordan Barrister loves her grandfather, her unique candle creations, and the life she’s built in present day Chicago. Her latest hobby obsessions, however, are love locks from a section of grille purchased at auction from Paris’ famed Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge. She’s determined to create a lasting tribute to those who put a lock on the bridge to safeguard their love. While a lock is normally used to keep something in, one particular lock accidentally opens a time portal and Jordan finds herself in 1926 Chicago.

Reporter Henry Douglas wants a more intriguing story than interviewing a magician named Harry Houdini. He is a man with a mission, on the trail of Chicago’s gangsters and bootleggers, crooked police and the man who shot his brother. His life doesn’t include beautiful mystery women falling into his arms out of nowhere. But there’s something about Jordan that intrigues him and discovering her secrets might be an even better story. He shouldn’t be surprised that along the way, he finds the other half of his heart.

In the beginning, all Jordan wants is to return to her own time, and she believes the now missing lock holds the key, but she needs Henry’s help to navigate this unknown period of history. By the time they discover the lock’s whereabouts and are in pursuit, she has fallen in love and wonders if she really wants to return to the present. How can she let go of the man who holds the key to her heart? When disaster strikes, they will need to use what they discovered to find the magic of the love lock that will keep their hearts together.

“Barb's books are like meeting up with a dear friend. It's a guaranteed good time full of magic, mystery, romance and a bit of mayhem.” – Anne Barringer, author

Lewis, Diane Scott - BWL Publishing Inc.

Sage, at fourteen, grows up in turmoil in Nahant, Massachusetts. Her changing body, her parents’ rocky marriage. When her cousin Patrick visits for the summer, his parents’ divorce has given him a reckless anger. He insists they explore the creepy mansion in the woods. Nate, Sage’s younger brother, is reluctant to approach the manor where a beloved teacher was found hanged months earlier. The children’s great-great grandmother worked at Lakeluster House in a previous century and was under suspicion of shooting another servant.

Now an old lady and her butler have moved in and the kids bring a welcome cake. Invited inside, Sage encounters a strange little girl who shows her the manor’s dark secrets—sparking Sage’s curiosity. Will the butler—a man with his own mysteries—throw them out for snooping? Who is real and who is a ghost? Was her relative guilty? And what danger lingers in the attic? Sage must gather her courage, risking her life to find out.

Editorial Review by Renee Duke

Review For Secrets Of Lackluster House by Diane Scott Lewis with Jorja Parkinson

TROUBLED TEENS TAKE ON EVEN BIGGER TROUBLE 5*

A YA novel that will definitely appeal to young teens who like scary stories, Secrets Of Lackluster House successfully conveys the insecurity and emotional turmoil of its adolescent and preteen protagonists as they find courage they didn’t know they had.

Hovey, Dean Doug Fletcher series - BWL Publishing Inc.

Deaths in US National Parks are not an uncommon occurrence. However, when the body of a Bourbon distilling icon is found at Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Historic Site, the industry and political implications of the death require special attention. Review Snippets Just finished Strung Out to Die and can’t wait until the next book Dean Hovey puts out. All of his books have been very enjoyable and leave you wondering who is the criminal right up to the end. Nice blend of humor and mystery. - Linda J.  A very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! This book is both thrilling and intriguing, all the way to the end. Western Justice is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

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From the Editor's Desk

Friends, I know a little about 'time critical'.  

Sometimes it's for a mission where you're finally actually doing something that may be impactful and the fuel gauge is running down 24lbs/min and the ship is sailing away from your current position at 22kts and if you spool up your sonar dome now from its 700' depth it should take about 4min then if you hustle back to the ship's projected position 25mins from now at 130kias you should have just about enough fuel to not have to ditch into the middle of the Mediterranean in time to turn you and your crew into shark bait. 

Sometimes it's life and death and someone has had a couple too many beers and rocketed their snowmobile into the trees during a nighttime ride and their femur's shattered which won't be a problem if the hypothermia has it's way because it was 25 below in the daytime and you know you'll be 12 minutes loading up firing up and getting airborne then you have a 36 minute transit to the scene where the ambulance is useless because this wreck is in 3' of snow about 3 miles from any plowed roads and if you rush this and clip a powerline on final or don't do a thorough check of the weather and pick up a bunch of ice on your tailrotor on the way there you may now be looking at a quintupling of bodies your own included.  

Sometimes it ain't such a big deal.  'Important', sure-  for scheduling and goal setting and planning and all kinds of other elements that keep ink in the presses and our projects on the tracks, but none of these things are multi-million dollar operations or have lives hanging in the balance.  I have to remind people of this sometimes (myself included), lest we get far too wrapped about the axle in this pursuit of writing and publishing- which, in my opinion, should ultimately be enjoyable and satisfying.  

For one thing, we'd like to see finished products that we know the author has had time to go through a few separate times. A job worth doing is worth doing right, after all. If you find yourself saying at some point "eh, good enough, but I HAVE to get this to my editor or all hell will break loose", then you need to take a step back, read this article again (yes, you may reference it when next in this position) and let me know you're just not there yet.  Oh believe me, we'd prefer all went according to our master schedule, but things happen, the best laid plans, etc. We get that, and sometimes it's pretty easy to talk someone else into releasing their book a couple months early in the spot where yours used to be!  

All I ask is for you to keep your publisher posted, keep at it, do your best, and keep the urgency of things in perspective!  

JD