We all have our faults–those little things that make us unique.  Some of us are just more unique as others. Add that to a unique name, a unique lifestyle–my whole life–and a unique almost everything else, when you add in those faults, it gets a mite… much. Me, I’m riddled with faults.  Since confession is good for the soul, and James tells us to confess our faults to one another, I’m here to confess.  Like Anne Shirley, I’ll make it as interesting as I can, but I promise not to make it up!

Trust me. I don’t need to.

In no particular order… I’m lazy.  Oh, so lazy. I’m selfish.  It’s embarrassing how selfish I am.  And let’s not even get into how easily I shut down when I get the slightest bit overwhelmed. I could go on indefinitely, but do you really want to hear about how I go weeks at a time without grocery shopping or how I never call my family?  Do you really want to hear all this?  Shall I go in alphabetical or chronological order?  Just how long do you have, anyway?

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But as a writer, my biggest fault is my “Literary ADD” as I call it.

Let me explain. It started with Ready or Not. I was probably eight chapters into that book when I saw something somewhere and went, “Hm….” And I began the first chapters of Noble Pursuits. I hadn’t even gotten three chapters into that, when I got an idea for a murder mystery. So, I started that one. Home Improvements. I still need to finish that book. Then there was another one, not long after that.  Give & Take.  That book just got a revamp. So now I need to write it, right?

One by one, the books filled the folders of my laptop.  Hundreds.  No. Seriously. I’ve started hundreds.  Need proof? Here.

That is just a FRACTION of one folder. I have several.  That particular folder has 107 documents.

And Ashley is no help.

Why? I’ll tell you why. Because I’m a helpful kind of gal.  Or because I like to share the blame. Then again, it could just be because it’s one of my faults–because I’m unique.  Yeah.  Let’s go with that.

Oh, yeah.  No help.  Why?  Because when she got a hold of my work, she went to town.  “Publish this.  Publish that.  Do this one.  Now, do that one.  Don’t do this. Do do that.”  She’s a rather demanding gal.  Someone compared her to Megamind once, and she took it way too much to heart.  Just sayin’.

And with that, came one of the biggest problems I have as a writer.

The Sequels

Or rather, All. These. Sequels  ALL of them.

What am I talking about?  Well, let’s start with what I’m not talking about. I’m not talking about series. I’ve got a dozen or more of those things–series, I mean. And I blame Ashley for every last one of them. I’m talking just about sequels. Deliberate and not-so-deliberate–I’m an equal-opportunity sequel…er.  So, here’s a list of books that I’m anxious to write sequels for!

• Noble Pursuits:  I have a plan for Further Pursuits, but I’d rather do the huge revision I have planned for book 1 first.  Still, people often ask me about what happened with Grace after the book, so…
• Argosy Junction: I’ve been planning this sequel ever since I finished the first and people asked what happened next. I had ideas for years… and a title.  The Reluctant Shepherd. And then last autumn, while driving through Tennessee, I got a much better idea. And The Reluctant Shepherd got a new title and new motivation. Argosy Crossroads.
• Thirty Days Hath: There’s a gal in that book who gets her own mystery.  After all, not everyone wakes up to a dead body on her porch. The murder weapon–it’s a real kicker.  I can’t give you the title. It’d be a total giveaway for those who read that book after reading this post.

I don’t like to do that to folks. I’m unique that way, too.

• Allerednic: While I call it part of the Heart of Warwickshire series, it’s really just a two-book thing because I wanted to write a sequel.  And the only reason I wanted to write a sequel is that I got the idea for a cool title.  Bullfinch’s Methodology. For those who remember Amelia Bullfinch, you’ll get a feel for the tone of the book. And it’s a mystery.  I like mysteries, obviously.
• Moore’s Code:  Andy’s going to mail himself to the North Pole. Why?  Well…
• Corner Booth: Within the first twenty-four hours after Corner Booth was released, I began getting emails. “Will there be a sequel?”  “What happens next?”  “I need more Dean and Carlie!”  So, I decided to write another one. I’d toyed with the idea, but with that kind of instant response, I knew I should.  And Corner Room was born.  Split between right after book one and forty or so years later, Corner Room will be a bittersweet combination of past and present–an exploration of a life lived together.

And that’s my sequels list, folks. 

As for series.  Let’s just not go there.