Savannah's Blog

It's Sunday. I'm writing, which means, distraction time. What better to distract one's writer self with than some more vintage campers. On with the cute...  During research for my current fiction series, this is one of the adorable Shasta models I researched.  Oh, and the curves on this one. It is tiny. It is adorable. I could see this as a writing office.  With this interior. Please, with this interior. The blue. That blue!  This one is a bit larger and I can see this as a nomadic forever home! More curves. More cute. I like the gray-scale, leaves more to the imagination.

Readers, I have a question for you. Do you typically choose the books you read based on the genre alone? So, here's why I'm asking. I have a soft mystery series (two books) in revisions right now. But like many of my other novels there is a bit of a hybrid nature to it. Many of my books straddle the line between cozy mystery and just plain ol' soft mystery. But these books have a bit more of a romance element to them. So, how would you describe the genre then? And does it really matter when you plan on a new purchase? At some point as an #indieauthor the book requires a specific genre description. When I go to check that box (or category) I'm not sure if this belongs under mystery or romance. But I have to wonder, does it really matter that much to the reader? Of course it matters in terms of the platform I pick to sell the novel. But for the reader themselves, I want to know how much the genre plays into their choices. I read a lot. For me, the genre doe

I just figured out a title, and there isn't anything exceptional about it. I've settled on "Stetsons and Strangers." There we go. It's a title. And sometimes, it just has to be finished. My best friend's little boy made that statement once and it has stuck with me since. (Out of the mouth of babes?) It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be done. And sometimes, done is better than perfect. Perfect is a demanding master. Perfect makes it difficult to a place where you can look back on your accomplishments, because nothing ever gets accomplished. So I have a title, and while it doesn't necessarily "pop" it is sufficient. On another note, I have reached a point in the revision of the novel that I can smile and think to myself: "You know, this isn't half bad." Perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I am struggling to name the book I am currently revising. I wrote it int he last six months. There is even a second novel in this short series. And since I wrote this untitled novel? I have written a novella, two novels, and started on a third for another series. Yup, got titles for all of the books in the new series. But this one? I came up with the name of the series. (Middle South Mysteries.) I tried to be cute. "Cowboy Jake Me Away." That lasted about two minutes before I knew it sounded off. I even tried those gimpy online title generator websites. That was a bust. I got: "The Captured Roses." <no roses in the whole entire book> "Nothing in the Snake." <wut?> "The Lonely Spark." <I have nothing for this one> Right now I think I'm going with "Stetsons and Strange Corpses." Because why not? Only problem? I still have to figure out a title for Book 2.

Once upon a time I wrote a novella. I fell in love with this, and I always thought that it was some kind of magnum opus. ..my great work. But I put it out there in the world and no one, save a couple of m y closest friends, took a look at it. Is this a sign that my judgment is a bit off? At least in regards to my own writing. To tell you the truth, I loved, adored, treasured that little story. If I could have held the story in my hands I would have done so, and maybe even put the cutest little ribbon around its neck and patted the top of its wee head. Here's a bit of it:  He would hold it first, gently, between his fingers, gaze at his name written in a hand as fine as calligraphy. Harper Mason scrawled in elegant black ink against an eggshell white background.  Whether the pen was engraved and gold plated or the ninety-nine cent variety from the drug store, he could never guess. To him, there never was a finer specimen of perfect penmanship to behold.   It was too

I sort of think this is adorable. Incidental Nomads, to be released. Soon.

So, I have this little mystery series in the works. So far I'm one novella and two novels in with a third one on the way. (I feel like i just gave a pregnancy announcement. Which I absolutely would not be giving. Not even. So there. Hear that, Universe? NO. Just no.) Back to the new series. I'm calling it "Incidental Nomads" because the main cast find themselves living the nomadic life in their RVs. But don't think there isn't plenty of mystery to go around, but there is! (Hard as I tried that was the best I could do with that sentence.) So I thought I would share a few of the little gems I have found in my <ahem> dogged and time-consuming <ahem> research. It was RESEARCH, I tell ya! All in the name of research! Oh, those colors! And this!