Kay DiBianca Interview 1/20/22

Last month I introduced two authors, Kay and Debbie.

Today we are honored to have Kay DiBianca with us to tell us more about her writing and her books.

Kay DiBianca is an award-winning author who loves to create literary puzzles in the mystery genre for thoughtful readers to solve. Her characters come to life as they struggle to solve murders and create relationships amidst the ongoing themes of faith and family.

An avid runner, Kay can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. You can usually find one of her characters training or racing through her stories.

Kay’s background in software development fuels her fascination with mysteries, and her dedication to running helps supply the endurance and energy to write them.

Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee.

***

Welcome, Kay. Thanks for joining us today and telling us about your writing.

How would you describe the type of mysteries you write?

I write cozy mysteries. Cozies obey certain rules of writing. There’s no explicit violence, although there’s usually a murder or a possible murder that takes place off-stage. Also, there’s no explicit sexual content, although the author can allude to things that are happening, but not give a graphic description. 

Some cozies deal with paranormal content like ghosts or spirits, but my books are grounded squarely in reality. The underlying theme is always the search for truth. 

Since I want my books to be described as “clean mysteries,” I don’t include any profanity. 

What life events led to your interest in writing?

I’ve always been interested in writing, but life events led me in another direction. My professional career was in software development, and it left little time to take on the major task of writing a novel. But after I retired, I became more and more interested in writing stories that had been floating around in my mind for a long time. It was while I was out running one day and listening to an audiobook mystery that I decided I could write a mystery as good as the one I was listening to. Maybe that’s why the first chapter of my first novel describes a young woman running a five-miler in a park. 

I noticed that the theme of time and time-keeping devices runs through your stories. Is there a reason for this?

I don’t remember why I included the watch as a central part of the first book in my series. But once I had decided on it, I got very interested in the subject of time. Watches and clocks remind me that we should use our time wisely while we’re on this earth. 

Why did you set your series in close proximity to a college campus?

My husband was a college professor before he retired, and we’ve spent much of our long marriage in and around college campuses, so it was natural for me to include characters and settings that reflect our experiences. Whenever we travel to cities that have a university, we’ll spend some time just walking the campus. It’s like a small universe in itself. 

What projects are you currently working on?

Since my third book, Time After Tyme, was recently released, I’ve spent much of my time in December working on posts to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to get the word out. And I expect to spend time in January with a launch group to highlight the book. I also write bi-weekly blog posts for the Kill Zone Blog. 

What projects do you have planned for the future?

I hope to publish a couple of short stories early in 2022, and maybe start the fourth book in the Watch series.  

Where do you hang out on social media or blogs? Or where can readers find you to ask questions or interact with you?

I love to hear from readers. They can contact me through my website at kaydibianca.com.  

My website blog is devoted to monthly interviews with authors discussing the craft of writing. This year’s interviews are with mystery, suspense and thriller authors. As you know, you will be my interview guest in February, and I’m looking forward to hearing about your writing journey. 

Here are some of my other links: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kdibianca 

Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/kay.dibianca/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kdibianca/ 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kay-dibianca 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18490743.Kay_Dibianca 

Where can people sign up for your newsletter?

They can sign up on my website at kaydibianca.com

Do you have any current deals or discounts on your books?

I put books on sale occasionally, so folks can watch for those. The audio of my second book, Dead Man’s Watch, is on sale at chirpbooks.com now through January 22 for 99 cents. 

What else should we know about you and your writing?

I’d like people to know how grateful I am to have the time and means to write books. My goal is to write excellent novels that are both entertaining and thought-provoking. That’s a high hurdle to jump over, but I’ve always loved a challenge. I look forward to connecting with you and your readers in the future.

Thanks, Kay, for joining us today and telling us about your books and writing. This has been very interesting.

Thank you, Steve, for giving me this opportunity. 

To leave a comment, click on the “Replies” line at the top (under the title).

Something New

Today I have something special for you – information on new authors and new books.

Meet My Partners in Crime

Today, I’m happy to introduce you to a couple of mystery authors I respect a lot, Kay DiBianca and Debbie Burke. We all write crime fiction but with different slants. As Partners in Crime, we conspire to write the very best mystery, suspense, and thriller novels. And many of our eBooks are on sale for $0.99.

~~~

Kay DiBianca is an award-winning novelist and blogger on The Kill Zone blog. Her cozy mystery series, the Watch Series, features half-sisters Kathryn Frasier and Cece Goldman, two amateur sleuths who solve murders while navigating through life’s challenges. The books are clean, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Connect with Kay at kaydibianca.com

Website: kaydibianca.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kay.dibianca/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kdibianca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kdibianca/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Kay-DiBianca

~~~

Debbie Burke is a suspense novelist, award-winning journalist, and blogger at The Kill Zone website. Her Tawny Lindholm Thrillers with Passion series plunges crime-solver Tawny into fast-paced twisty plots with quirky characters and snappy dialogue, set against the rugged scenery of Montana.

Website: https://debbieburkewriter.com   Twitter: https://twitter.com/burke_writer

Amazon Author Page     Major Online Booksellers

~~~

Steve Hooley is a retired physician, writer, and blogger at The Kill Zone blog. He is the author of seven short stories published in four anthologies. He recently completed a Vella serial fiction on Amazon’s Vella platform, and is currently working on the Mad River Magic series – clean, wholesome, fantasy adventures for advanced middle-grade to adults – stories young people enjoy reading, parents approve of, and grandparents love to give as gifts.

Available at Amazon  Google Books  Kobo  and Apple Books.

More details available at: https://stevehooleywriter.com/mad-river-magic/

~~~

Special thanks to Ben Lucas, the Twitter King who creates great social media banners for us! Watch for Ben’s new thriller in 2022. 

Gramps Introduces Scout

Hi, this is Gramps. The author of The Hemlock Aperture asked me to interview Scout (Leighton), because Scout is so busy that the author thought Scout wouldn’t hold still long enough to write out a description of his personality. And if he did, he’d take apart the computer or type writer to see how it works.

So, about Scout: Scout is my oldest grandchild. I know him well. He and his sister, Bug (Averie), live closer than the other grandchildren, so Gram and I see them more often, even during the “off season” (seasons other than the summer when all the grandkids come to stay at Cedar Heights).

Scout is two years younger than Bolt (the red-headed daredevil on crutches who lives next door and leads the Mad River Magic gang), and they have have been companions ever since Bolt and his mom moved to our neighborhood. And, wow, can the two of them find trouble. And if they don’t find it, they make it.

Here’s Scout. Let me try to catch him before he takes off.

Gramps: Scout, let’s sit down and talk.

Scout: What are we talking about, Gramps? I need to get back down to the tractor shed. Bolt and I are working on some mini-turbo-levitators so our barrel carts can do stunts.

Gramps: And what kind of stunts are you talking about?

Scout: You know, those neat tricks where the plane flies upside down, or—

Gramps: We’ll talk about that later. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.

Scout: I told Bolt you wouldn’t let us do that, because it’s dangerous stuff. I just think it would be awesome to be able to design an aerobatic cart that actually works.

Gramps: Don’t you think your carts can do enough stunts already?

Scout: Huh? (He looks out the window toward the tractor shed.) Gramps, I need to get back to Bolt.

Gramps: I think you can take a few minutes to tell us about yourself. The author of the first book (The Hemlock Aperture – the story about your adventures in the Strata), wants you to tell readers about you, what you’re like. Okay?

Scout: Why do I need to do that? And what’s there to tell? Okay, okay. Let’s get this over with. I like to explore here in the enchanted forest. I like to take things apart and see how they work. I like to go on adventures with Bolt, and invent solutions to trouble we get into. What else? Now, can I go? (Scout stands to leave.)

Gramps: Hold on a second. (Gramps pulls Scout back into his seat.) Tell us about your family.

Scout: (sighs) I have a younger sister and a dog. Mom and Dad work long hours. There’s always excitement and lots of activity at our house. It gets kind of noisy sometimes, with the dog running through the house and me and Bug chasing him.

Gramps: So you like noise and chaos.

Scout: (looks at Gamps with a contemplative look and pushes his dark glasses back up his nose) No, I actually like it better here with peace and quiet in the woods, and lots of things to take apart or build, and a shop with tools to work on stuff.

Gramps: Like that gizmo you have in your pocket?

Scout: (quickly shoves something deeper into his pocket) What gizmo?

Gramps: (laughs) What are you hiding?

Scout: Nothing. It’s just a tool we’re using to work on the turbos.

Gramps: Something tells me I need to know what you’re inventing. Show it to me.

Scout: (reluctantly pulls a device out of his pocket and hands it over to Gramps) It’s nothing.

Gramps: This looks suspicious for a remote control. I thought you said you were working on the turbos.

Scout: We are.

Gramps: (rubs his chin) Are you rigging the turbos to fly the carts with the remote?

Scout: (A loud buzz passes over the council house. Scout grabs the remote control from Gramps and runs for the front door.) We already have. I need to get that cart landed safely before it crashes. (He slams the door.)

Gramps: (runs after Scout and looks back as he exits the front door) I think this interview is over.

Rey’s Voice Journal

Hi. My name is Regan G, or as Bolt calls me, Rey, but my real name is Regan. Mom and Dad say that I shouldn’t give out my last name for safety reasons.

I guess my family calls me “Rey” for short and maybe because my hair is blond. You know, like a ray of sunshine.

Before I get started, I would like to say that Scout should have gone next (with this introduction thing), since he is the oldest cousin, but the author must be like Gramps with the boy-girl thing. Since Bolt went first, I guess I have to go next, since I am a girl. He wants boy – girl – boy – girl. Whatever.

Anyway, I’ll try to keep this short, since I need to get back to Gramps’ secret library. I’m researching one of the old wizard’s books, looking for a way to keep the boys quiet at the supper table. You’d think we could have a little peace and quiet once in awhile. But, no, Bolt and Scout have to carry on like savages and brag about everything they “conquered” that day.

I really think Gram would appreciate a little more sophistication, too, but I guess she’s given up. Anyway, if I find that spell, the boys will have their tongues tied when they sit down to supper.

Okay, what else should I tell you about myself? I like to dance and do gymnastics. I like to read. I like to meet with the girls when the boys aren’t allowed to attend. And, yes, I guess I like to challenge Bolt sometimes. He’s the oldest of the group and thinks he should be in charge. Well, I’m the oldest of the girls, so I should have some say so, too. Bolt just thinks he can take charge. Sometimes he needs to be taken down a notch or two. I think that’s how Gram says it.

And every once in awhile, when it’s been a busy day, I need to get away and have some quiet time. Maybe that’s why I like Gramps’ secret library, it’s quiet and there’s usually no one else there. I guess Bolt did discover how to get in. Maybe Gramps will allow me to check out the books and take them to my room. Then I’ll convince him that I need a lock on my door. Anyway.

Oh, yes, besides reading the magic books, I really enjoy using the magic. It’s like having a special power. It was really fun, surprising Bolt with my magic spells on our trip to the Strata.

Maybe I’ll write more later, but I think that is enough for now. Thank you for your interest. I’m off to study the tongue-tying spell. Have a good day.

Bolt’s Voice Journal

Hi. My name is Bolt. I mean Bolt Owen. Gramps says we should be precise. But you can call me Bolt.

That crazy author of the book—I think the title is “The Hemlock Aperture”—said I should introduce myself. It seems to me that he should do the introductions since he wrote the book. Anyway, I ‘ll tell you a little about myself. If the author wants more than that, he can tell you himself.

So, I suppose I should start at the beginning with my name, Bolt, and how I got my name. We’ll start with that.

It was a dark stormy night. Yeah, really. It was raining cats and dogs. Lightning was flashing across the black cloudy sky like a jagged spear. Now I wasn’t born yet to see this, but my mom tells me this is what happened, and I believe her. See, she was in labor and about to deliver me. I guess with intense situations like that, people remember a lot of things.

Anyway, she had made it to the hospital in time. My dad drove. She was in the back seat screaming, “Hurry up. I’m about to have this baby.” The nurses took us (Mom and Dad, and me inside Mom’s belly) to the delivery room. One of the nurses was a red-headed Irish nurse, and that made Mom comfortable, because Mom’s ancestors were from Ireland.

The nurses got everything ready and called the doctor. Mom had settled down by now. Dad was standing beside her helping her with her puffing and blowing. She reached the point where they let her push within half an hour of being admitted. Mom always said that I was in a hurry, even before I was born.

Anyway, Mom started pushing with her contractions while she squeezed my poor dad’s hands and arms. That’s when the lights started flickering, going on and off. We could hear the thunder rumbling outside, getting louder and louder. I mean my parents and the nurses could hear the thunder. The nurses got out the flashlights.

The nurses could see my head when my mom pushed. The Irish nurse was sitting down in the doctor’s stool, down-below. She said, “He’s a ruddy one, he is.”

At that moment, a huge clap of thunder shook the delivery room at the same time the lights surged with what looked like a bolt of lightning flashing through the room. The lights went out for a second, then came back on.

And when the lights came back on, there I was, in the nurses hands, crying like a baby. I say it was a lucky catch.

The nurse looked up at my mom with wide eyes of surprise. “Good push. Here’s your boy.” She held me up in my naked splendor for the whole room to see. You’d think there could be a little more respect for a new citizen.

My mom, reportedly looked to be in disbelief that I was out already.

The Irish nurse rubbed my head. “Yes he’s a ruddy one. I think you should call him Ruddy.”

“Let me hold him,” my mom said. “I want a closer look.”

The nurse clamped and cut the cord, then dried me off. After wrapping me in a blanket she handed me to my mom.

My mom rubbed my head with the blanket to make sure all the blood was wiped off. “Yes, his hair is really red, but look at this bolt of white that won’t lie down. I think that lightning zapped him. We’ll call him ‘Bolt’, for bolt of lightning. He was an active one before he was born. I bet he’ll continue to be busy.”

So that’s how I got my name. And my mom always introduces me as her red-headed daredevil on crutches.

Oh, yeah, now for these crutches. I got these crutches because I have Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy. It is a form of muscular dystrophy that is later in onset than Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, It can progress more slowly, and the upper body is affected last. Anyway, when my legs started getting weak, my mom took me to the hospital. They gave me crutches, and I started racing the doctors down the halls. They told me I was “stick-hopping.”

I said, “No, this is stick-sprinting.”

When I kept returning to the clinic for crutches, after I had broken my wooden ones, the docs finally gave me aluminum crutches. “They bend, but they won’t break,” they told me. And they were right. I’ve mangled a few pairs, but never broken any of them.

My mom says that she’s never seen anyone try as many things on crutches as I have. It doesn’t always work, but I have to try. No challenge should be left untested. Life would be boring without new challenges.

Probably my favorite stunt on crutches is vaulting over Mr. Finkelstein’s fence. He hates it, but he finally gave up on stopping me. He decided to get a guard dog instead. That’s made the challenge even greater. When I get over the fence on my side of the yard, I have about five seconds to sprint across the yard and get over the fence on the other side before Dobey—that’s Mr. Finkelstein’s doberman—catches me. I love it.

And finally, my most favorite thing to do is flying the magic barrel carts. Gramps and Scout and I built them. Scout and I put the turbo-levitators in them that make them fly. And wow! To have been slowed down by crutches, then to be set free into flight, like a bird, with the magic barrel carts, man, that’s just too awesome to describe.

Okay, that should be enough. If that lazy author wants more, he can write it himself. I’m off to look for another adventure in my flying cart. I hear that in the next book the gang and I get to explore a world a mile high in the sky. That sounds dangerous…and right up my alley.

Of the Reader, By the Reader, For the Reader

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln ended his Gettysburg Address with the famous words, “…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

As President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address referred to preservation and unity of this country, the phrase – “Of the Reader, By the Reader, For the Reader” – refers to the unity or commonality of the components of the book, The Hemlock Aperture.

Of the reader” refers to the subject matter and inspiration for the book. This includes the source of inspiration for the story, my grandchildren. Also in the source of the story is the local geography (the Mad River Valley and the woods where I grew up as a child near West Liberty and the Mad River), the local history (the Shawnee Indians and their language), and even the inspiration for the magic barrel carts (Young’s Dairy Farm, near Springfield and close to the Mad River).

By the reader” refers to the writing and publishing process, with the story written by a local author, using Shawnee Indian phrases from another local author’s Shawnee dictionary—“Say it in Shawnee!” (Samantha Holland). The editing was guided by beta readers from the Bellefontaine Middle School and High School honors English classes, directed by Lisette Hiatt. And the book cover was designed by students at the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, under the direction of their graphic design instructor, Tom Carrig.

And “For the reader” refers to the target audience, or intended reader, of the book. That is my grandchildren, middle-grade and young adult students (local and everywhere), local readers who are interested in stories about the Mad River Valley, and parents and grandparents who want clean, wholesome fiction for their grandchildren.

There is something satisfying about a project where the final product reflects the process. Completion brings a sense of fulfillment. It all fits together. Like a good ending to a book, it resonates.

There were times when I didn’t know if the process would work. But when it did, and we were finished and I wanted to start on the next book, I knew that it was worth the effort.

The second book of the series – The Tetrachrome Spiral Skyway – is in rough draft and beginning the beta reading and editing process.

Where has the time gone?

Three years! Where has the time gone?

I wrote in my last post (3 years ago) that I was moving my belongings to another house. Well, it’s been three years, and I still don’t have everything moved, organized, and put into place. I’m still working on it.

That disruption of the “normal” in my life caused me to rethink my goals, especially my goals for writing. I have shifted directions with my writing. And that brings me back to the plexus principle. After not finding an agent for my first book, Mark of the Fire, I reflected on what I really wanted to write. I had five grandchildren (now seven). They were growing older. Some of them lived out of town or out of state, and I was not able to see them very often. It dawned on me, that what I really wanted to do was to write books for them.

They were all toddlers. They weren’t going to be able to read for years. But that would give me a head start. I began studying children’s fiction. I started reading book series. I read the Harry Potter series (and many others). And I studied what had made those series successful.

I learned that children like to read about characters slightly older than themselves. They liked fantasy. And they liked humor.

Perfect. I would write middle-grade fantasy. That would give me five or six years to write books until my grandchildren would be able to read them.

I looked around. I was in the process of moving back to the house (and woods) where I grew up. The woods could be my enchanted forest. The Mad River flowed nearby. That would be the “magic” Mad River. And the series would be the Mad River Magic series. Magic would be “light” magic, not dark, and I would incorporate life lessons (subtly). J. K. Rowling used Latin for her magic spells. I needed something different. The Indians in my home area (when the settlers arrived) were the Shawnee Indians. I would use Shawnee phrases for the magic. I found a local resident who had written a Shawnee dictionary. My characters needed something to fly in or on, other than quidditch sticks. A local dairy farm gave children rides in train carts. I call them barrel carts, since they are made from 55 gallon oil drums (or barrels). My characters would fly barrel carts with magic turbo-levitators.

Since I had seven grandchildren, how would I play fair. They couldn’t all be the main character. I need an outsider. I developed the “kid next door.” He needed a handicap. I chose Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy, with late onset and sparing of the upper body muscles. Bolt would “stick-hop” on crutches, and his magic and determination would make up for his weak legs.

The series came together. The first book – THE HEMLOCK APERTURE – has been published (see the “My Books” page for a link to Amazon). The second book has been written and is currently being edited. Hopefully, it will be published in late 2019.

The plan is for many more books in the series. The plexus principle is working. I’m enjoying what I’m writing, and I believe I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing.

What decisions have you made recently that are leading to fulfillment and joy?

Ridding Up Is Hard to Do

In Neil Sedaka’s 1975 hit, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do,” we hear the misery of lost love:

Don’t take your love away from me
Don’t you leave my heart in misery
If you go then I’ll be blue
Cause breaking up is hard to do

Instead of breaking up I wish that we were making up again

I beg of you don’t say goodbye
Can’t we give our love another try?
Come on, baby, let’s start anew
Cause breaking up is hard to do

Instead of breaking up I wish that we were making up again

“Ridding up” is defined as a Midwestern idiom, meaning to get rid of, clean up, to empty. I’ve never done much ridding up. I tend to collect things.

In some ways, for those of us who collect things (a politically correct way of saying hoarders), “ridding up” can feel like lost love. We know we can’t do without that which we are about to throw away. The minute we dispose of it, we’ll need it. Why throw something away which is perfectly good? Etc, etc, etc. And after we finally release that object, with those sticky fingers that just won’t let go, aren’t we tempted to pull it back out of the waste?

Well—you knew this was coming—I’ve been forced into ridding up. We are moving to another house. And I have lived (and collected) in our current house for 28 years. That’s long enough to fall in love with a lot of junk. But some of it has to go. Wow, it’s tough.

As I was working on this thankless task, it hit me that ridding up was actually part of the Plexus Principle. All the junk I never use anymore is actually part of the bonds that tie me to the rack. These objects take up space, require maintenance, use financial resources, and interfere with the plexus that I want to create.

In I Peter 1:13, we are instructed to “gird up the loins of your mind…” Now “gird up your loins” refers to lifting up the long loose tunic and tying it around the waist in preparation for work or battle, turning that dress into shorts. Some translations of I Peter 1:13 refer to “clearing up” the mind, “getting ready for action.”

So, in a sense, ridding up is girding up, preparing ourselves for the important tasks, unencumbered by a long flowing tunic that could drag us down. Snipping the bonds, tying them up into a plexus of our choosing. The problem for me is, I never liked shorts. Of course I don’t wear a dress either. Isn’t there some compromise?

So how about you? What things do you keep that are getting in the way of your plexus? What do you need to rid up?

On Fathers and Father’s Day

I woke early this morning thinking about some problems I was struggling with, and it hit me that today was Father’s Day. I also went immediately into my feelings of disappointment at how I had failed in many ways as a father – the missed ball games, the school programs, not being available to just hang out. I remember times my children told me to get a life.

But I was too busy. I look back now and see that I was on the rack, working to establish my medical practice, doing my hospital duties, etc. etc. Not enough time for my children.

And at times in the past, I’ve felt my relationship with my children was not good, that my influence meant nothing. I had recently begun giving my books to my grandchildren. My children would not be interested in things good old dad wrote, right? Maybe there was hope for better relationships with the next generation. A new start.

But I realized today that I’m very fortunate to have three biologic children (and two stepsons) whom I can be proud of. They are all successful and have wonderful families. I heard from two of them in writing yesterday, and all three of my biological children today on the phone.

I still believe that I made many mistakes as a parent, and wish that I could start over, knowing what I know now. But I no longer believe that I have to skip a generation. I just hope that I will find time to travel and visit family. There may yet be time to have a positive influence on the next generation. Still, I’m not holding my breath that they will want to read my books.

Frustration as Fuel for the Fire

I’m frustrated. I haven’t been here for…way too long. I haven’t been anywhere for way too long. My time has been consumed by moving.

Moving? Yes. After 28 years of living in the same house, and collecting everything (I inherited my pack-rat hoarding ways from my grandfather, Martin Troyer—but that’s another story.) that I ever experimented with, I now have three areas of the house that I’ve used for office space, a mountain of books beside my bed, and two shop areas in the basement. And that doesn’t include a tractor shed full of junk. Yes, I’m hopeless. Just ask my wife.

Anyway, now we’re moving. Ugh! And I must sort out, throw away, organize, and move my treasures to the next house. Fortunately, it is only eight miles away, and I have all summer to accomplish this gigantic task.

Unfortunately, I have to downsize. And the problem is time. All of my free time—what little there is—is now consumed with the moving process. And there is no time left for “creative” pursuits, like writing, blogging, wordturning, landscaping, and inventing. Consequently I am making little progress on my second book.

The first book is finished and off to an editor. It has taken a long and winding journey, being accepted by a small press, forgotten by an agent, back to the small press to be rejected until changes were made that hadn’t been a problem the first time it was accepted, finally accepted by the small press, then delayed for publishing beyond the contract allowance. When I retrieved the copyright, I looked for a new editor to do some polishing. After finding one, the editor retired before my book was finished. Now I’ve found a new editor, and I’m going to the American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference in Nashville in August to begin, again, looking for an agent. I know, too much information – boring.

But the point of the above is FRUSTRATION, both with the process and now my lack of time.

Plus, I should be working on my second novel. Instead, I’m parting with junk, organizing treasures, and moving it all one direction or the other—to the trash or to the next house.

I realized recently that I need to use this extreme frustration productively. I decided that I must take that energy and channel it into determination, determination to find some spare moments to write, to get back to blogging, updating my website, shepherding novel #1 through the publishing process, and getting back to working on novel #2.

Taking lemons and making lemonade.

So, how about you? How have you taken adversity and used that to stiffen your determination to succeed?