As I started to write this, I began to think back over the many years I’ve been on Earth and this blog began to take too serious a tone. I want and need positivity in my life, although, sometimes when I’m writing, I use realistic and sometimes sad things to write the stories. That can be depressing and I don’t want to bum you out. I love laughter and want to entertain my readers, but leave them wanting more. I rethought writing anything negative as I want something positive to end the year with.
Something I do when there is a lot of bad happening in the world, is I hunker down, hibernate, and write like crazy to avoid the news, the barrage of it, and, of course, popping on and off social media.
This year I was able to crank out twelve books. Let me correct that, that is, three complete books, and nine novellas. No, I am not bragging, I have no life when I’m writing voraciously, it’s like a mania that I can’t control. I definitely get aches in my joints from sitting too long, my shoulders and elbows too! My fingers have been known to actually tingle from the intensity of my typing and, I apparently clench my jaw when I write. This means my teeth hurt!
The first that I came out with was Inn the Dog House.
I often wonder if every lesbian loves dogs and cats and secretly wishes to have a day-care center for them? Nah, just like everyone doesn’t like human kids, not everyone loves fur-kids. That’s okay. Diversity is what I like about our community. Besides, who would have this kind of money to indulge like my character did? It helped that I was in the Pet Industry for 30 years and had a bit of inside-knowledge…oh, and Pininterest helped a lot! Check out the page on my website because I put the designs for the doggie daycare on there that I myself cobbled together. Was pretty proud of that too!
The second book I came out with was Flight.
Now, THIS one was to be only a novella. I finished it, and then, my girlfriend said, no, I think this should be a novel. But, I was DONE with it! <insert whine here> (rolling my eyes at her influence). And yet, that niggling doubt created a whole ‘nother tangent that I went off on. It also added a year to the release! Now, my editor (who does not help me with these blogs, punctuation and other errors are my own), does not like this cover. Apparently those with phobia’s about flying have reason not to like this cover. However, that shouldn’t keep you from reading this awesome mystery. Maybe you shouldn’t read it when flying or waiting for a flight? I’m imagining the expressions of other passengers as you read this and they see the cover?
My third novel this year was An Island Between Us.
I loved the idea of doing it all yourself and these women, after WW2, were discriminated against enough that they decided, let’s make our own world. That would be so scary, their families had reason to become alarmed, and, what an amazing story they became.
I did actually ‘write’ another story that is not available to the public. It was for my mother’s family and I’m very proud of it. However, since it was only for family, it is not available for sale. Still, at the family reunion and to those generations of cousins and their kids, it will prove to be an invaluable resource of dates, pictures (I did it in color), and stories that we shared.
That’s my mother in the middle of her parents, the youngest of four. The stories that came out in the completion of this book were amazing. Sharing the pictures in this manner made me nostalgic for a time that no longer exists. All of these people pictured here are gone now, the gentleman on the far left of the front cover, my Uncle Eugene was the last to go at 92! That was in 2018. My mother has been gone 19 years now and I wish I had written down every single story she told of her family, youth, as well as wisdom. If you have the opportunity to do so, do it! I am now working, of course, on the Meinel side of the family.
After my three (four) books I had some time ‘off’ as my main editor was back at school and unavailable. I was in a creative mood and my back up editors were working on other things for me. So, I decided to come out with a series…in fact, these stories had been in my head for YEARS and YEARS and I decided to do a creative spin from the various points of view of the women I so wanted to write about. Some of it worked, other’s didn’t like it, but overall, I enjoyed writing them. I released FOUR at once! Then one a week for a while a month or so later. I have more planned, but I was pleased to use these terrific pieces of art that I found and manipulated to my needs. I think these covers are so eye-catching, you would never know what they looked like originally. I think I’m getting better, not only at my writings but at my illustrating.
Welcome to A Woman Down Under series:
There is nothing like a strong woman! I’ve got several heroines in these books and wait, there is more to come!
Lastly, I must not forget my faithful Alice. She’s still whispering in my ear as I came out with her latest antics. Don’t worry, I have more of her planned too.
She’s an insatiable bitch for a lesbian serial killer, but she’s the kind of woman who keeps on giving…and killing, and more…
Well, in this year of reflection, I must NOT forget that my wonderful book Pioneering, won for Best Historical Lesbian Romance! YAY!
and Cavalcade was an Honorable Mention!
In researching and setting up various pages on my website to showcase these honorable mentions, finalists, wins, etc, I found several that I had ‘forgotten’ or been unaware of. Check out all this here. I’ve had at least (that I could find) TEN honorable mentions/finalists in the past years, many that I didn’t even know about!
So, overall, I’d say I had a pretty good year! You should see what I have planned for 2020! Thank you to all who follow me, read my works, and send me emails, inboxes, and reviews. 
I hope that it all makes your life a little better for having me and my works in it, because I know I appreciate you!
Imagine it’s 1945. You are waiting for your husbands to return from WW2…and they don’t.
