BoucherCon 2024 - Nashville, Tennessee
Bouchercon Convention is upon us. In case you have not been paying attention, it runs August 28-September 1, 2024, and is held at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville. If you are coming to enjoy BoucherCon this week, please join me and my other esteemed panel members, Saturday morning, bright and early at 8:00 a.m. to discuss finding success with independent and small press publishing.
Spark, Book 3 in the Elements Series
I'm happy announce that my next novel, SPARK, Book 3 in the Elements Series has been picked up by my publisher. It has a scheduled release for January 8, 2025.
I have been hard at work completing yet another set of edits to Spark and it is now back in the hands of my publisher. Next up will be their formal edit and format, and then cover designs. I can not wait for that step. It's one of my favorite things in the list of tasks that come along with book publishing. Putting my story into a simple yet compelling picture. One that I think represents my vision and one that people and my readers will like as well. My least favorite is the editing. It's amazing to me that no matter how many times I go through a project, and other people go through it, and then beta readers give it a look, that there are sometimes STILL mistakes in the final project. It's incredibly frustrating.
I think I will focus on the exciting bits instead of the annoying ones. Bring on the cover design!
Graduation 2024
This spring marks a milestone for many graduating seniors. However, for the high school graduation class of 2020 that is now graduating from college, this year will bring to close what the Covid Pandemic took from them.
If we look back to 2020, the high school graduates didn't get a senior prom. They didn't get a senior trip. They didn't have their senior breakfast. They didn't have a rehearsal. They didn't get a senior clap out. And for many, and maybe one of the most important losses for not only the seniors of that year, but also their families too, they didn't get to walk in their high school graduation ceremony.
Many schools tried so hard to make up for the lack. They tried virtual events and drive up diploma pick ups that they called graduations. But let's be honest, it was so far from a ceremony and event, as you can possible get, and still call it a graduation. It wasn't the same for the graduates. It sure as heck wasn't the same for their families who had been a part of their school journey and had also been looking forward with excitement for the conclusion of that stage of their child's life.
Many went off to college and I would bet most felt like sometime was missing, as they didn't get that closure. In my opinion, not having that closure changed many of these young adults. The world as they new it, and felt comfortable in, was no longer safe and no longer known. Everything was suspect. Everyone could be dangerous. They began their adult life, in an unknown world filled with fear and confusion as what the future would hold.
Here we are, and 2024 has arrived and with it the chance to finish what they started and attend their graduation, a first for many, with their family and friends there to cheer them on. These young adults lost so much in 2020. Their worlds and life came crashing down right as they were about to take off and fly into adulthood with hope for a bright future.
So to the college graduates of 2024, who are also the high school graduating class of 2020, I am so proud of you all. For your strength. For your perseverance. And for your ability to pivot and push forward regardless of the obstacles you faced. You have come a long way, but you made it. Congratulations to you all, wherever you are. You made it!
April Blues
By Courtney Rene
Spring rain in the forest, fresh branches of a bud and young leaves with raindrops, by Kichigin19
April Showers, brings May flowers. Here in the grand state of Ohio (USA), we live by this saying. Winters can be hard here. With below zero temperatures, snow and ice, and don't even get me started on the wind, we wait and dream of spring. Spring arrives in March, yes, however, for us Ohioans, that does not mean an end to the cold and wintery weather. By the time April finally arrives, we are a sad and pale reproduction of our summer selfs.
The problem being that although the snow and ice may be gone, we do generally get a lot of rain in April. So much so that we go from frozen cold misery to mud city (esp. those of us with pets). I wondered if maybe the old saying of April showers brings May flowers was a way of saying, hang in there. There is a purpose to all this wet misery. You need the rain and storms for the plants to grow and bring forth the beauty of the coming summer seasons.
With that in mind as I slog my way through all the wet, the question is: where did the saying come from? Well, it is not a saying per se. It is a poem. Didn't know that. It has its origin from the year 1157 from a poet named Thomas Tusser. His very short and sweet poem read: "Sweet April Showers, Do Spring May Flowers". I know poems come in many forms and fauna, but is this really a poem or just a quip really. The idea of what constitutes a poem, may be a discussion for another day. Moving on.
Geoffrey Chaucer, however, did write a poem in the fourteenth century. The original in all its spelling glory is:
"Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The Droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,"
Translation:
"When in April the sweet showers fall
That pierced March's drought to the root and all
And bathed every vein in liquor tht has power
To generate therein and sire the flower,"
I do like the melody that comes with this poem, and the story behind all the flowery (no pun intended) words. Chaucer, he's got quite the story telling skill in my mind. I may need to do more digging on the man behind the poem. I know of him, but do I know who he is? Stay tuned that may be in the works next, as now I am intrigued.
Happy April. Hang in there. The beauty of spring and summer are on the way.
Valentine's Day
With Valentine's Day coming up, here is a little reminder, that this is actually not a day of love, chocolates, flowers, and stuffies. It is in reality a day of death.
St. Valentine, who the "holiday" is named for, died on February 14th, in the 3rd century. He was a Saint recognized at one time by the catholic church and then removed in 1969 (Britannica, 2023). Why was he removed? Because...the church really could not obtain what they deemed as reliable information on the guy. There are too many "real" and vastly different stories about him that don't add up. So, was St. Valentine one guy? Or several? St. Valentine is still recognized as a saint, but he is no longer documented in the General Roman Calendar and has not been since 1969. He was named as a saint and was listed as a patron saint of epileptics, beekeepers, and...lovers (Britannica, 2023). Hence, where our story begins.
St. Valentine (again, based on unreliable information) was in some stories a Roman priest as well as a physician. He was martyred in Rome during the rein of emperor Claudius II Gothicus in about 270, during the Christian persecutions. Another telling of what is believed to maybe be the same story is that he was a bishop of Italy, but again was martyred in Rome due to his conspiracy against the emperor (Britannica, 2023).
The fairy tale begins and ends in one account that St. Valentine signed a letter with, "from your Valentine" on his day of death. This letter was to the daughter of his jailer, who he had helped heal her blindness (Britannica, 2023). During St. Valentines imprisonment, he and the girl had then become friends and in some telling, St. Valentine fell in love with the girl. This story transpired because St. Valentine was held prisoner in the home of one of the nobles. Once he healed the blind girl, the entire household converted to Christianity, which angered the emperor. He was then tortured, decapitated, and then put to the death, which was how in this story St. Valentine was martyred (Gershone, 2024). Just before his death, he sent the letter to the girl, signed "from your Valentine". I know this is supposed to be a sweet love story, but I get stuck on the idea of how old was St. Valentine and the daughter?
Another telling of the legend is that St. Valentine secretly married people, in defiance of the emperor's order, for the purpose of sparing husbands from war, as married men were not generally forced to go to war (Britannica, 2023). Husbands were seen as not being good soldiers as they missed their families too much. This sounds very romantic in some ways. Couples in love being married in secret. Forget the fact that they were only doing it so the man didn't have to go to war. It's still romantic. More so than some old guy falling in love with a daughter of a noble. St. Valentine was captured, beheaded, and again martyred upon his death for his conspiracy against the emperor (Gershone, 2024).
If you keep digging into the history of St. Valentine, you can find many different stories and tellings. Who knows what is real and what is made up. With these historical fairy tales in mind, how will you be spending our Valentine's Day?
References
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, October 10). St. Valentine. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Valentine
Gershone, L. (2024, January 30). Who was the real St. Valentine. The Many Myths Behind the Inspiration for Valentine's Day. https://www.history.com/news/real-st-valentine-medieval
Like many people I have hobbies outside of writing. These include many artistic avenues, but one I spend a lot of time on is painting. I paint in watercolors, acrylics, and even dabble in oils. I'm versatile like that...
I like watercolors the best, simply because they are easy to clean up. I like oils because even if I mess up, I can just scrap the mistake off and try again. Acrylics are also fun as I can get deep colors and they are easy to use on any type of surface. I don't pretend to be very good. Somethings I can paint very well. Others...I am very lacking. However, I keep enjoying the time spent on them all the same.
Here are a few for your winter day enjoyment:
You may begin to notice a trend...I have an affinity to animals, bugs, and nature.
Nothing too awesome but not to shabby either. I use painting when I'm stuck with something I'm writing or when I just can not get inspired to write. I think that may mean that if I have not put out anything in the book or magazine world in a while...someone might need to tell me to put my paintbrush down and get to writing!
We all need our outlets. Painting is mine.
This January here in Ohio has been strange. In most years, the 1st of the month hits and hits hard with winter weather. We get blasted with snow, cold, and ice. This type of harsh winter weather stays for weeks and weeks. Then we get a January thaw for a day to help wash away the brown ick that has become our landscape. We breath a sigh of relief at the break in the weather. Only for winter to rear its giant angry head and hit us again with a gleeful vengeance. Schools close and companies let employees work from home. January is a hard month usually. Misery is winter in Ohio.
This year, 2024 has not been the usual. We had lovely 40 degree weather for most of the month so far. That is until this week when the snow and ice has come with a vengeance of its own. Temperatures in the negatives and windchills making it even worse. It is only January 20th and I am dreaming of spring. Wishing for it.
No, granted it has not been a hard month overall. However, this last week sure has felt hard. Getting outside, walking in that wind is miserable. The air physically hurts. Less than nine weeks until spring at this point. As we still have February to get through, it can not come fast enough for me. Brrr.
Welcome to Winter...
Spark - WIP
The new year has brought with it a new and determined spark of creativity on my end. With that in mind, book 3 in the Elements series is firmly in the works and a concrete work in progress. For those that don't know, this series is about four extraordinary teens, each with a corrupted gift from one of the four elements: water, earth, wind, and fire. These young adults come together to face a common threat...their creators. Scientists of a genetic engineering company have been hunting for them since they were children. Each one of these genetically modified teens have been on the run and hiding for years. Alone. They have decided to not run anymore.
Cold - Book One in the Elements Series
Cold - Book one in the series is Nora's story. Water is destructive all by itself, but turn water to ice and it can become even more deadly, especially in the hands of an angry young woman out to right a wrong.
Burn - Book two in the series is Ash's story. Fire is destruction. It burns and eats anything it comes in contract with. It has been used as a weapon, as a means of demolition, and even as a method of death. That does not mean it always has to be evil and used to destroy.
Spark - Book three in the series is Eve's story. We don't yet know what all Eve can do. She is an earth element and with it is a creator of life. Does that mean she is also the bringer of death? How far can she be pushed before she becomes exactly that?
Wind - Book four in the series is Reed's story. Stay tuned as his story will be told and soon.
Upcoming Events
With the new year here and roaring, that brings with it the planning of events. This year, I have worked hard to get some big things on the schedule. I currently have three on the calendar, but anticipate four or five. The main ones, are exciting though.
The first big even is the Mid Ohio Indie Author Book Expo. I have been trying to get into this event for about 3 years, but it sells out so fast. I am so excited to finally be apart of this expo. The event will be held on August 10, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can find information on location, attendees, food, parking, and more here: Mid Ohio Indie Author Book Expo
The second big event this year is that I have registered to attend the BoucherCon 2024 - Murder and Mayhem in Music City. I was supposed to be a part of this conference in 2021, held in New Orleans, but thanks to Covid and a hurricane, it was unfortunately cancelled. The conference for this year is being held in Nashville on August 28-September 1, 2024. Once I have more information on the conference as well as any panels I will be sitting on, I will update. For more information on the BoucherCon you can find it here: BoucherCon2024
Finally, up and coming is the West Lafayette - Hop into Easter Event on Sunday, March 24, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. This event will be held at the Coshocton Moose Lodge. Fellow Author Rebecca Besser will be joining me at this event and we will have plenty of books on hand.
Stay Tuned as this list will change as the year progresses, but for now, this is the anticipated events.
Image by hannazasimova on Freepik
With the new year upon us, most will look back over the previous year and think about what they would have done differently. What they loved the most. What they did not enjoy. Then, there is the big question of what we want to do in the coming year.
My 2023 came with a job change (or two). It also brought with it a new inspiration with my writing. I am back to working on book three of The Elements series. For those keeping up, this will be Eve's story. Eve has the gift of life. She can create life in the form of plants. She can help create life with animals. The question is, as our four elements are growing and learning and surviving...what else can Eve do? Now that Eve along with Nora, Ash, and Reed, have left SanCorp together, the four need to decide how to forage on in the world they have always been fugitives within. There is also a part of them that wants to understand and set right the wrongs done by SanCorp not only to them, but what they are coming to understand, includes many others as well. Stay tuned as Eve gets here story told. Coming as soon as I can get it written.
Be save this new year. If can offer any advice, it would be to take the time to find out who you are and what you want. I have been trying to do that for several years now. I think I'm getting closer to actually figuring it out.
