Finding sustenance in a drought 

We’re hearing a lot about drought these days – towns in California running out of water, Lake Powell shrinking to historically low levels, and the grassy hills behind my Montana home growing browner and crispier by the day. 

It’s scary – the physical embodiment of how a writing drought feels. 

When my first book was published, I imagined some sort of steady upward trajectory, with a book a year and better sales each year, maybe even a bestseller someday. You know, the newbie’s dream.  

The reality looked more like the ragged silhouette of the mountains that define western Montana – a few peaks that catch and hold the sunlight, and lots of very deep, dark valleys. 

I have the good fortune of being on a bit of a peak right now, with one book – The Truth of It All (Crooked Lane) – coming out Aug. 10, and another – Best Kept Secrets (Severn House) – Sept. 7. 

It makes me look incredibly productive, but the truth involves the pandemic’s effect on both submissions and publishing deadlines.  

When the book that became The Truth of It All, featuring young public defender Julia Geary, failed to immediately find a home, I started writing the Nora Best series for Severn House. Once the pandemic hit, I figured Julia would never see the light of day. 

Turns out there’s a reason for the adage “Never say never.” 

It’s a good reminder not to get too discouraged by the many droughts in the publishing business. I know people who’ve had bestsellers followed by long dry spells. 

I’m way too well acquainted with drought. It’s no fun, but there’s a glass-half-full aspect to it, which is that it can force you to focus on what’s really important: the writing itself. 

The two books coming out in the next few weeks will be my eighth and ninth, something that’s still hard for me to believe. 

If I’ve learned anything beyond the fact that making an outline is truly a good idea, it’s that the longer I do this, the more I realize that getting the damn sentences right is what gives me the most fulfillment. 

Although, I wouldn’t mind a bestseller!