Beautiful weather. The garden is growing. My paddling crew is out on the water so my leisure time is outdoors. My writing calendar is full which means much time in front of the computer. I have two books to get ready for publication, another is ready and to be released September 12th, and the conference and festival season is upon us soon. As well, I’m periodically dipping into a new plot.
The Sunshine Coast Words and Arts Festival takes place August 10th to 13th in Gibsons, my home town, with a unique art display that involves a collaboration between an artist and a writer to produce a work. https://www.scwes.ca/ I am thrilled with the work of Kevin Wells and can’t wait to see it displayed. It illustrates a scene from Always Pack a Candle: A Nurse in the Cariboo-Chilcotin where I describe skating at night on a frozen lake. Photo Diane Hill
At the Words and Arts Festival in August I am giving a mystery writing session. If any of you want to take it you can register at SCWES – Art & Words Registration It should be a lot of fun.
I am working on the sequel to Always Pack a Candle which is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2024. I’m struggling to get just the right title. It is set in 1975-76 in the Cariboo where I live on a ranch with my husband, three young children, 80 head of cattle, 26 sheep, chickens and one huge pig. I also still work at the health unit supervising the home care nurses and nursing in my regular district of Williams lake, south to Lac La Hache, east to Horsefly and Likely .
Any suggestions you have for a title would be grabbed, examined, chewed over and considered seriously. Just send them to marioncmcrook@gmail.com
I’ve come up with
Chasing Patients, Paper and Pigs: A Nurse in the Cariboo- Chilcotin
and Coping with the Unexpected: A Nurse in the Cariboo-Chilcotin
But they don’t seem quite right. It was a wild and wonderful time and I’d like the title to reflect that.
I just got Murder in Vancouver, 1886 back from Northwest Corner Book and will attend to the edits which look to be copy editing so shouldn’t take long. There is always the worry that an editor will say, “Can you change the age of the protagonist, put her in a different city and change the ending?” which is a monumental amount of work—if it is even possible. Not this time. Just copy editing which is totally doable. I don’t have a release date or a cover for it yet.
I plan to have a good time with my granddaughter at the beach and visiting relatives. I hope everyone is looking forward to the summer.