TYPING THE END

Last week I typed \”The End\” on the last page of my novel. My shoulders became lighter, and it felt like a ton of bricks had lifted from them. What a great feeling. It\’s also a sad feeling.

The characters you\’ve lived with for the last year have moved on with their lives. You\’re not talking to them each day. They are no longer a part of your life.

That\’s only temporary because soon there will be new characters taking their place. You will become involved with more drama and suspense.

I love starting a book and ending a book. It\’s the middle I don\’t like. I get bogged down and forget who is doing what.

The beginning is new. New people to tell readers about, and new places to explore. Writing becomes exciting and a challenge. How do you explain the characters and the setting in a way the reader will enjoy? Will people think your book is good or hate it?

The series I\’m writing is a real place. My husband\’s home community of Shady Valley, Tennessee. It\’s not a town, but a community of around 400 people. There are five churches, one general store, one restaurant, and a new Dollar General Store. It is peaceful and quiet.

There are rolling streams that tumble over rocks, and they are cold. Believe me, I know. Summer is not hot, but pleasant, with a breeze coming through open windows. There are bears. I don\’t like bears. Several cranberry bogs dot the valley. The bogs are original to the valley with tiny cranberries, not at all like what you buy in the grocery store. When I think of Shady Valley, I think of peace.

What can happen in a community called Shady Valley? Lots.

The first book in the series is Bogged Down by Murder. It is available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3I7qKaX. The second in the series will release October 5, and it\’s Death by Doubloons. I would love for you to read about Shady Valley and the imaginary people living there.

The process of publishing is a little long, but as soon as I get a cover, I\’ll reveal here for Death by Doubloons. 

 

 

Kathy Cretsinger

Callie\’s Mountain

Coastal Promises

Bogged Down by Murder

Death by Doubloons, October 5, 2022

Dead Ringer, May 23, 2022

Death Threat, December, 2023