First, my humblest apologies for posting nothing for the majority of this year. May 2024 see this blog more active and informative and fun. Second, it’s time to play catch-up, so this will be a bit long-winded.
My started writing Death at the Devil’s Elbow in late 2018. It’s my third Murder-Mystery and the fourth title in my Barnesville Mystery collection. I am THRILLED to report that it has finally reached a stage where it is fit for the eyes of others. This is always the scary part for me, but you gotta do it! Hopefully, it will prove to entertain those few who will receive an ARC, and not be too riddled with typos, plot holes, and other miscellaneous errors. With any luck at all, Death at the Devil’s Elbow will be released in the Spring of 2024.
Other Barnesville Mystery Titles: Secrets of the Scarecrow Moon, That’s What Shadows Are Made Of, & The Witch’s Backbone
This past spring, I released another Children’s book title, Wacky Jackie. The story is about a fun-loving, lady who does her own thing and encourages others to not be afraid to be who they are. “Dare to be different, dare to be you, dare to be WACKY!”. I love the story and the illustrations came out amazing. You can find it on my Bill The Worm page.
Sales this year haven’t been the greatest. There were even a few months the monthly royalty check was a big Fat Zippo! Alas, that is the Indie Writer’s Life more times than not. Every time I see a fellow Indie author bemoaning their sales, their progress in general, their overall sense of “Why bother?” This is pointless and I’m a failure – it reminds me I’m not alone. Imposter Syndrome is strong, but even as I commiserate with them, I know that I cannot NOT write. I love telling stories too much. I enjoy the work, the puzzle of creating a believable murder-mystery, the challenge of creating a scene out of thin air that will, I hope, send a little shiver up someone’s spine and make them go, “Ew!” Or, creating, not just in writing, but illustrations as well, lovable characters that children will enjoy reading about. All that being said, if you have read my work and enjoyed the experience, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of leaving a review either on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t have to be long or in-depth. A few simple sentences will do. Maybe mention your favorite scene and how it made you feel, without spoilers, of course. That’s it. It means SO much to the author and like garlic to a vampire, it pushes away the negative and often soul-crushing doubts we all suffer from in this business.
One writing project I finished up just a couple weeks ago, was actually written in 1871 by my great-great-great grandmother! Decades ago, I was given a typed transcript of a travel journey she wrote and have always wanted to do something more with it. It’s not quite ready for release, but I haven’t a doubt in my mind that my grandmother, who gave me the transcript, would be very, very proud of my efforts. More to come on that soon. I’ve been busy with other non-writing projects too, namely audio and\or visual. In March on YouTube, I created Postcards From Barnesville, a playlist featuring some of the short stories I’ve written over the years narrated by yours truly. I have been uploading episodes the first Friday of every month. I’m no professional narrator by any means, but I did my best with what I have and I hope they are entertaining. I’ve also been dabbling in creating miniature. You can see a couple of my creations on YouTube as well on the Making Miniature playlist. So, busy I have been, but taking it easy and really just going where the Muse takes me. I’ve even dabbled over on TikTok if you’d like to see some of my goofiness and meet two of my newest personas, Gertie and Birdie, along with whatever I randomly feel like talking about at any given time. At minimum, there will be three new book releases featuring my work coming out in 2024. Yes, I haven’t mentioned some projects just to keep things interesting. I’m pretty excited about them and I hope you all are too.
I wish you all a happy holiday season and Bright Blessings for a new year that will be here faster than we know it!
Pamela Morris Books 