More Time

I've been quiet here of late because I was dealing with big changes in my life—and those usually take their emotional and physical toll. But now I'm free and more relaxed. It's the first day of the rest of my life.

Because as of this week, I'm unemployed. Or self-employed (though one looks like the other just now).

I left my day job of eight years last week, and I couldn't be happier. Though I'll miss my co-workers and the steady paycheck, I've grown tired of ... well, just tired.

For many years now, the common refrain in my head has been, "if I just had more time." I'd contemplate a long-weekend mystery convention and think about how tired I'd be on the way to it, because I'd be working right up until the plane flight, and then think of how tired I'd be on the Monday going back to work, because I'd be returning Sunday evening.

Mind you, I'm not someone who can go-go-go every minute of the day. I need considerable down-time, both physical and mental. (See: introverts who need quiet, alone time to recharge, though they enjoy being social.)

But now I'm going to have all the flexibility and time I want. I'm re-launching my freelance/contract writing business (TK Communications), and I'll be working on building my business over the next weeks and months. (So if you know of anyone who needs marketing, tech, or other material written, let me know!)

I'll also be working more regularly (and quickly) on Kate's next adventure. I'll also be more attentive to social media and blogs. And I'll hopefully have more time to take care of a lot of the details I let slide over the past months (ok, years).

We'll see how it all turns out, but I am hopeful. On to a new adventure!

Poisoned Pen Press February Releases!

Congratulations to my fellow Poisoned Pen Press-ers on their releases this month! The 

Chaos Theory is the first of The Kami Files, a new YA series from the Poisoned Pencil imprint. I just started reading it, and it's good! I predict more good stuff from M Evonne (Meg) Dobson. More info and links to buy on the PPP site.

The Magician's Daughter, by Judith Janeway, is another first in a new series, this one the Valentine Hill Mysteries, about a young woman who's a magician on a quest to find her con-artist mother. I'll be looking forward to the next in the series. More info and links to buy at PPP.

Satan's Lullaby is the 11th in Priscilla Royal's award-winning Medieval Mystery Series. It takes us back to the autumn of 1278 and to some dark doings at Tyndal Priory (of course!). It wins best title of the month. More info and links to buy.

And Jane Tesh offers up the fourth entry in her Grace Street Mysteries, Just You Wait. I haven't read this series yet, but it's going on my list, because this one sounds good. More info and links to buy.

Sharing My Reading List

I've often thought about sharing a reading list, but I've always put a lot of restrictions on myself about commenting on the books or rating them.

And I don't want to have to always do that. So I'm not going to. But what I will do is share what I'm reading every couple weeks. (I read a lot, so there will be plenty of books.)

I'm hoping you'll know some of them and tell me what you liked about them. Or better, that you'll tell me what you've read that I should check out.

(Alert: I've been on a cozy kick.)

Recent Reads

1. Jana DeLeon's series of Miss Fortune Mysteries, from Louisiana Longshot to Gator Bait.
I do love me a zany, madcap mystery series featuring a fiesty and smart female, and this has it in spades. (Thanks, Mom, for the recommendation!)

2. I also started reading DeLeon's Ghost-in-Law Mystery series, and I like it, but so far not quite as much as the Miss Fortune series.

3. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries, more or less in order (I'm 2/3 of the way through the list. Imagine my surprise when I looked for a complete list and discovered I hadn't read some of them! Error rectified. The Blue Train was one of the welcome surprises on the list.

4. Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series and a couple of the Nina Quinn novels. Not to mention Heather writing as Heather Blake in the Wishcraft Mysteries and Magic Potion Mysteries. I'd read most of them before*, and I enjoyed them again. I'm not much on supernatural stuff, but the touch of it in her books is fun. Light and sweet ... which is exactly what I've needed from my fiction lately.

5. Elizabeth Haynes, Under a Silent Moon, which I received in my book bag at Bouchercon. I'd never heard of her before, but wow, was I impressed with her suspense novel. It was creepy and clever!

So, what are you reading?



* I've started trying to re-read what I already own instead of buying new ... but then it turns out that I have to catch up to current with series, so I'm still buying more books. But fewer!