My baby has left the nest...

Officially, OBSIDIAN was released at the end of January. Every writer will tell you that having a book published is a lot like doing publicity for a movie. Actors end up doing the interviews and promo stuff long after they've moved on to the next couple of movies. They have to drum up the same excitement for a project that they may have worked on two years before. Writers tend to get the same thing. By the time our projects hit the shelves we've already (hopefully) moved on to the next project, or the next project... or if we're very prolific then maybe even another, by the time it is time to the promo for the book. If you're like me you spend a lot of time trying to put yourself into the reality of your book. You want to be there and feel what is going on around you and those emotions and intensity that belong to that plot, that book... so going backward can sometimes jolt you out of your self-imposed reality. I suppose if I were working on a series this might not be as jarring, but since the book that I am working on now has no relation to OBSIDIAN other than being another Romantic Suspense I find myself going between the two worlds.

Still, I was offered a great piece of advice from a friend when I sold the book. Advice I intend to take to heart. She told me not to worry about what is going to happen... only to enjoy it because you can only sell one "first" book.

Teagan Oliver
www.teaganoliver.com

This and That...by Lonnie Cruse

Hello all,

I'm celebrating finishing my current WIP last night, well, actually around 1 AM this morning. Not a lot of sleep, so I'm not my usually alert self. But color me perky! (I hate that word.) I have a few words to tweak yet, because I had to look up the proper spelling/usage online for several words, like Betty Grable and grille verses grill. Not to mention porta potty and if anyone can steer me straight on Fifty-Seven/fifty-seven/Fifty Seven/fifty seven (as in the year we all know and love?) I'd be obliged. Oblidged? Thankful, how's that? This is the second book in my '57 series, and I'm hoping Five Star will want to publish it.

To celebrate finishing, I took my Rewards certificate from Best Buy and bought more Charlie Chan movies today. Ahhhh. Anybody else a Chan fan?

I've been taking some online classes from the Mary Buckham courses and Earthly Charms and the lessons have really helped me work my way through the saggy baggy middle of the recent manuscript. Now to begin anew. I hate middling my way through a manuscript. Wondering if I can get from "here" to "there" and make it all connect.

My first book in the '57 series, FIFTY-SEVEN HEAVEN, is due out from Five Star in December. I have an ISBN, but no cover yet. I can't wait to see what they come up with. Now, to locate a poodle skirt . . . one that actually fits. Sigh.

Researching my next book

I've just sold my second Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery to Five Star (Yea!) and they say it'll come out next spring. ('08) Now I'm into book three. This one is set on a cruise ship in the Greek Isles. So, as usual, I'm spending as much time researching questions like "What sort of uniform do the police on Mykonos wear?" as I am actually writing.

The story is about murder, but there's a sub-plot involving the illegal antiquities market. In my research so far, I've learned a lot about how museums end up with stolen artifacts, how many millions of dollars change hands, and what countries serve as conduits for the blackmarket.

There are those who don't see it as wrong. They reason that if the items end up in a display case--anywhere--they are better off than if they were still in a farmer's field somewhere weathering away. The farmer who discovers something on his property can't understand why he can't sell it to whomever he wants.

But the point is, the illegal excavation and smuggling destroys all evidence of where, when, and with what else the artifact was found. There is no record.

I've bought a great CD called Network, and I'm using some good websites, but if anyone reading this knows about the illegal antiquities market, would you respond to this blog and let me know?

Thanks,
Maria Hudgins