The calendar may say it’s spring, but it is still cold even here in Texas. I can’t remember the last time the temperature flirted with the thirties this late in the season. My editor, Sue Fairchild, tagged me in a springtime writers challenge to help me get into the spirit. So here it goes…

Dust-bunnies and Plot-bunnies: Reorganize Your Writing Goals (Or Make New Ones)

When the year started I intended to have the third book in my Book Cellar Series written and published by March. But life happened in a big way. The month of March came and went and yet I still have another twenty thousand words to go. At this point, it might as well be a million more words left to write. So my new goal is to finish it before the end of the year. I also am taking part in a romantic thriller box set at the end of the year which will feature my Summer of 78! At the end of the year, I've committed to writing a flash fiction piece for a magazine. My goals should be doable, but one never knows these days.

Which Stage Are You At? Expound!

• Remodeling layouts (planning the story)
• Painting the walls in colorful hues (writing)
  
• Polishing the windows and scrubbing the floors and putting flowers in vases (editing)
  
• Blueprints (not the cleaning or remodeling yet… just drawing up plans for the beginning inklings of a story)
• Some combination of those things (cleaning out a closet)
  
  

I am hard at work painting the walls of Remember the Stilettos and Remodeling the layout for the flash fiction. And I am Polishing the windows and scrubbing the floors for the Summer of 78.

Treasure From the Back of the Closet (Share one to three snippets you love!)

Black and White Truth:

“Love makes a man do stupid things.

It once made me believe I could go up against the Lex Luthors and Bruno Mannheims of the world with just the power of my words to slay them.

The problem with is I’m not a man of the hour. Nope, I’m just a bumbling fool—Jimmy Olsen singing the blues.

Being a hero is one of those things that sound great on paper. After all, they save the day and get the girl, but when you aren’t the Man of Steel, it doesn’t quite work out that way.

Seventeen years ago, my best friend and the one-sided love of my life, Katherine, got me caught up in an investigation that led to the most scandalous trial of my lifetime. Senators, FBI agents, police officers, and wealthy businessmen were convicted and sent to prison for a long time.

Only a handful of people know about the part I played in making this happen, which is okay. Even now, the demise of The Syndicate is publicly credited to the real hero, Superman flying in to save the day, and getting the girl—except he was shot and killed on the courtroom steps.

My anonymity won’t last. When everything’s said and done, Jason Knettle is going to be a household name, and it’ll be all because of her. In the days leading up to her death, she gave me the go-ahead to write her story—the story. I took it and ran with it—like I always do—but I should’ve known better. Everything about her was dangerous.

I’m compelled to tell it—the truth; the story no one else felt brave enough to tell.

Stupid.”