Monthly Archives: January 2014

The Chaos of a New Start

New starts are associated with blank slates, a clear, fresh beginning.  But in my experience, new starts follow deeply worn patterns of behavior, new in a way, but also comfortingly familiar.

Like many authors, I have two jobs.  I write, but I also teach American government classes at a local university.  That means the start of every new year also signals the start of a new semester.  And if you think New Year’s Eve is crazy . . .

As the semester launches, the campus crawls with students, many upperclassmen who greedily embrace old friends and lug their well-worn backpacks from class to class.  Plenty, though, are newbies, frantically trying to find classrooms amidst all the campus construction (because heaven forbid they be caught using a map), suffering sticker shock at the price of their textbooks, wondering if they really need to buy those books after all.  All of them are frantically trying to change their schedules around to accommodate and change in major, to satisfy one last forgotten graduation requirement, or to avoid the dreaded 8 AM lecture.

On the surface, it’s chaos, but for vets like me and most of my colleagues, there’s a comforting rhythm to the beginning of the semester, a satisfying to do list that keeps us busy but that can also be ticked off one item at a time:  draft syllabi, order the aforementioned expensive textbooks, set up the online course management system, figure out how to set just the right tone on the first day of the term.  Again, it’s work, but it’s also routine.

I find that writing a new book, is much the same way.  Some of the characters are upperclassmen who slip easily into their roles, while others are new and in need of shaping.  And there are a satisfying list of things to be done before the actual writing begins:  draft an outline, do some research, set a schedule to help meet deadlines, and getting into the right frame of mind to write.

That’s where I am right now.  I just finished a draft of the second book in my Pet Boutique Mysteries, and now I’m facing the blank page that—in about 70,000 words—will become book number three.  As a result, I’m wrapped up in all those “getting ready” details.  My thoughts are tangled up in who’s going to die, how, and why.  I’m constantly running to Google to check some fact or figure.  I’ve got my schedule worked out.  And most importantly, I’m getting into the right frame of mind:  purging all the clutter that built up during Book 2, getting a haircut and taking care of medical appointments, and then a message to kick things off in style.

I have two blank slates before me:  a semester and a page.  Each offer a wealth of possibilities, and chance to do things differently, better.  But each start with a time-tested ritual of preparation that lays the groundwork for all the possibility to come.

What do you do when you’re setting off on a new project or adventure? 

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While Annie Knox does not commit–or solve–murders in real life, her love of animals is 100% real.  She’s also passionately devoted to 80s music, Asian horror films, and reality TV.   Annie, her husband, and their spoiled cats (Todd, Iphy, and Squeak-a-doodle) make their home in a small town in north Texas, just blocks from the town’s courthouse square.

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You can find Annie online and in bookstores everywhere. We’re happy she could be here!! Don’t forget to answer the question or just leave a comment to say hello and you’ll be entered to win January’s Heart-shaped Giveaway. 😀

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Izzy McHale is on the brink of launching her new business, a pet boutique called Trendy Tails, when she winds up on the wrong side of Sherry Harper, Merryville, Minnesota’s resident trust fund baby and social activist. With Sherry threatening to picket Trendy Tails’s grand opening, Izzy’s worried her business will fail before it officially opens. But the night of the big event, Sherry Harper is found dead in the alley behind Izzy’s store and suspect number one is her best friend, Rena Hamilton. Izzy and her friends and family have to solve the mystery of Sherry’s murder before Rena gets sent up the river for a crime she didn’t commit.

Paws for Murder is the first in the new Pet Boutique Mystery series… READ AN EXCERPT HERE.

“This … series debut delivers a delightful mix of well-written characters and a plot that keeps readers hanging on until the very end. Readers will feel as though they are in Merryville playing a part in the mystery that unfolds.” ~ Romantic Times (four stars)

“Annie Knox has created a warm, funny, flawed, but completely endearing sleuth in Izzy McHale, and I’m already panting for the next book in the series.” ~ N.Y. Times Bestselling Author Miranda James

About Beth Rhodes

Beth jumps into life with both feet...or head first. Impulsive and spontaneous to a T, she joined Passionate Critters and never looked back. She loves writing and reading, which made this wonderful group of woman a perfect match for her.

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Hi, Beth Rhodes here. I’m kinda knew to this place [not really, but let’s pretend, and I’ll tell you more about that decision later].

It’s funny, because I thought last year was my year. And it was! I contracted and published a book with Entangled. Contracted a book with Boroughs. My self-published book is still selling…very, very slowly, but still selling. It was a great year. As it ended, I began to think, how could it be greater?

And there were alot of answers. So then I thought, maybe 2014 will be my year! 😀 haha. I feel a pattern coming on. And it occurs to me that every year is my year. Every year will bring more writing, more sales [hopefully], more contracts….more learning, more investing. Constant movement forward.

And that makes 2014 my year. And I’m doubly glad to have this group of writers with me, helping me along the way, pushing me forward, and otherwise wreaking havoc on my occasional desire to drift.

What about you? Will you make 2014 your year? How?

About Beth Rhodes

Beth jumps into life with both feet...or head first. Impulsive and spontaneous to a T, she joined Passionate Critters and never looked back. She loves writing and reading, which made this wonderful group of woman a perfect match for her.

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Obstacles are interesting things. They stall or stop our writing when we least expect it.

They show up disguised as sick children, demanding parents, unsupportive spouses, hostile work environments, personal illness, and many other things. This isn’t a joke, these things are real. And they can derail our writing faster than you can say, “I quit.”

To be a writer takes grit. Guts. Perseverance. It also takes personal growth. It takes facing obstacles every time they appear, and dealing with them. Some days it’s easy, and some days not so much.

I like motivational sayings because as cliché as some of them are, they resonate for me. I have them posted throughout my house in little frames here and there. Little reminders to stay positive, because being negative is so easy. And on those really bad days, the sound of breaking glass as one hits the wall provides its own kind of relief. Here are some of my favorites. Maybe they’ll help you get through a writing day that might not be so great.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

~Mary Anne Radmacher~

“Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way.”

~Les Brown~

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

~Michael Jordan~

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.”

~Confucius~

“Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win.”

~Bernadette Devlin~

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

~Art Linkletter~

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.”

~Bernice Johnson Reagon~

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

~Albert Einstein~

And these two are my personal favorites. I have them posted on my writing desk.

“Winner’s never quit.”

~Dale Earnhardt, Sr.~

“You are the heroine in the story of your life. Act like it!”

~A play on the words of Joseph Campbell.~

Keep writing, my friends!

Do you have a favorite saying that motivates you on a tough day?

About Sutton Fox

Sutton Fox has been published by Lyrical Press, Gypsy Shadow Publishing and wrote a bi-monthly column for an auto racing magazine for several years. She traded life in Bluegrass Country for life in the Windy City in a home she shares with The Man, a lonely cat, and her beloved dog, Lucy. When she’s not working the edj, you can find her writing or spending time with her extended family.

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