It’s been a wild few weeks. A combination of euphoria, celebration, panic, and nose-to-the-grindstone work. I have wonderful friends in the writing community who have been eager to celebrate with me. I’m overwhelmed. I keep recalling that infamous acceptance speech Sally Field made. You like me! You really like me! I’m touched and honored, because these people who are congratulating me and buying me chocolate and wine are the same people responsible for making me the writer I am. Anyhow, while the celebrations keep cropping up (surprise pie courtesy of Paula Matter at the Pennwriters board of directors meeting!), mostly I’m settled into the rhythm of work. Write, write, write, and write some more. My goal was to finish the first draft of Sins of the Fathers (book #2) by the end of September. Today! And I did it! Okay, it’s a prime example of what Anne Lamont calls the “shitty first draft,” but it’s words on a page. So much easier to fix than a blank one. In the next day o...

Last week was huge. It started on Monday when Diana Nyad completed her life’s dream and successfully swam from Cuba to Key West . After her feet touched sand in Florida , she managed to say something that I plan to print and frame: "I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you never are too old to chase your dreams. And three is, it looks like a solitary sport but it's a team." All three totally apply to us struggling writers. I took it to heart. Then on Wednesday, my own dream started to come true. Henery Press offered me a three-book contract for my Zoe Chambers/Pete Adams mystery series. The contract was signed on Friday and all became official. I’m the newest hen in the Henery Hen House! My debut novel, Circle of Influence , will be released in March 2014. I have bruises on my arm from pinching myself. Seriously. More than once I stop in the middle of the day to wonder if I imagined it all. Thankfully the news i...