Patricia Stoltey

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Edging Back into the Writing Life…one word at a time

April 23, 2017 By: Patricia

I’ve been regrouping, reclaiming time, recalculating, rescheduling, and happily, writing. Getting my feet wet again with the essay in the anthology Still Me…After All These Years: 24 Writers Reflect on Aging made me eager to return to the writing life–a little older, and hopefully a little wiser about things such as time management.

Getting back into the writing life after a couple of years focused on family issues, getting my knee fixed, and other activities feels like a major transition. Almost like starting over.

And because I write mostly crime fiction, I really am starting over this year. My last book with Five Star will be published in their Frontier Fiction line because it’s historical. My contemporary crime fiction manuscripts in the works will need a new publisher. Five Star recently dropped their mystery line, retaining only the historicals and westerns. My one historical novel, the one I consider the novel of my heart, will possibly be the only book I write that’s not set in today’s world.

I say possibly, because I never know what idea will present itself next.

Meanwhile, I have two full first drafts to work on and a new project started that I really like. I plan to finish that new first draft before going back to the others for revisions, self-editing, and submission. It would be nice to finally finish something. I haven’t done that for quite a while.

Wishing Caswell Dead is the historical mystery that’s scheduled for release in November. I expect to have cover art soon. That’s when I’ll really get excited. It never seems real until I see the cover.

And by the way, Wishing Caswell Dead is the novel I started back in 2007 while waiting for The Prairie Grass Murders to be released. I wrote five versions of WCD over the years, completed The Desert Hedge Murders and Dead Wrong and saw them through publication, then finally went back to version three of WCD to fix and submit.

One thing writers need in abundance is perseverance. Another is patience.

What other qualities do you think writers need to survive the writing life?

Category: The Writing Life

Sassy Loves Star Wars Movies

January 5, 2017 By: Patricia

Sassy watched all of the Star Wars movies with me when TNT ran the series (up to but not including The Force Awakens and Rogue One). Her favorite scenes include war/fighting, space ships flying at top speed, the robots, or the aliens. I think her most favorite character is Jar Jar Binks. Sassy even recognizes …Read More

Category: The Writing Life

And So Another Year Ends…

December 31, 2016 By: Patricia

First I must thank Rich Keller whose very special blog post carried me through the second half of December, a month that ended on a sad note. My mom, age 97, developed a serious case of pneumonia complicated by severe sepsis. She passed away on December 27th. It seems every year of our lives is …Read More

Category: The Writing Life

Embracing Your Creative Soul (and Feeling Good About It) … by Richard Keller

December 15, 2016 By: Patricia

Pat, a million tiny sparks of thanks for allowing me to be part of your blog once again. We’ve been doing this for four years now, and I finally have the courage to admit this – I apologize for nothing. That’s right … the knee, the cat nip in your underwear drawer, the accusation that …Read More

Category: Books and Authors, Guest Blogger, The Writing Life

I’m a Guest at JC Lynne’s Blog This Week!

September 2, 2016 By: Patricia

I had some fun writing this post for JC Lynne’s blog. There aren’t too many things a writer can count on for sure, but I was able to come up with five. Please visit the blog and see if you agree or disagree. And leave a comment! If she doesn’t know you aleady, JC will …Read More

Category: Guest Blogger, The Writing Life

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Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. Read More…

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