Writing Again

Oh, it's been a while. Too long. But now that I'm done this term of school, it's time to get back to writing. Man, I've missed it.

I've started fresh with a new mystery. The one I was working on before just didn't feel right. The plot was just way too convoluted, and I wrote myself into one hell of a conundrum. So, I'm going to set it aside and let it mull around in my head for a while longer before trying to fix it.

So...starting over. It's a good feeling, actually. I took a whole new idea, and started rambling on the keyboard. It turns out that the boys are back in college after all. One more mystery to solve at school. So, while it will be the fifth book in the Cameron Vail series published, it's the third one chronologically.

I don't know why I'm writing college stories; I was in college for the past few years, but the past sixteen months have been online only, and before then I wasn't in residence. I haven't been in residence for thirty years, in fact. And yet, I still have some very vivid memories about that time.

I have a couple of other books done; they're fantasy novels, though, and covers are harder to come by for fantasy and science fiction. Do you know how hard it is to find a stock photo of a creature you made up in your mind? They just don't exist. Mysteries, on the other hand, are easier to find covers for. So, another mystery to get me back in the groove. Besides, I write them fast. Sort of. The first one took me nearly thirty years, with a very long break, but the second one took eleven days. When the groove hits, the words just flow. It's a fantabulous feeling.

So, back to the grind. I'm toying with an idea I got from Dean Wesley Smith: writing a novel in seven days. It's possible, but it takes a lot of dedication, focus, and commitment. I'm going to wait a bit until I get my writing legs back under me, but I'm going to get it done at some point.

In the meantime, though, for those who are interested in seeing what my mysteries are like, check out Final Exam, the first Cameron Vail mystery, available right now on Amazon.