by jphilo | Jun 11, 2025 | See Jane Dig!, West River Mystery Series
The 2025 South Dakota Festival of Books will be seeing Jane and me this September in Spearfish. Word came in late May that my workshop proposal was accepted, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Here are a few reasons why:
- Our son was born at the Spearfish hospital in May of 1982, a day my husband and I will never forget.
- Before our baby was born we loved to camp at the Spearfish City Campground. After he was born, we didn’t. Now that he’s grown we stay there when we pass through because it is a beautiful place. We’ve already reserved our campsite for during the Festival.
- Spearfish is located on the northern edge of the Black Hills, which means the city is West River, as in The West River Mysteries. What could be finer than to be smack dab in the middle of the series’ target audience?
- The city is ninety miles from Camp Crook, where we lived from 1978-1985. After the Festival we’ll head up there to visit friends for a week. (Don’t tell anybody, but that’s the reason we love best.)
Here’s what I know so far about the Festival:
- It will be held September 26-28 at a variety of venues throughout the town.
- There will be well-known authors and lesser known ones (like me) doing workshops, but all of them have South Dakota, Midwestern, or Western roots.
- Most of the events are free, and there will be many, many books available for purchase.
- Henry’s Books, my favorite Spearfish bookstore, will be handling the See Jane book sales and my book signing. Wahoo!
- My confirmed workshop is called Building a Book from the Bones of Your Life. It uses See Jane Dig! to demonstrate how to use life events as a springboard for a story, as well as how to augment it through creative research.
- There’s a good chance I’ll present another workshop and participate in an author panel.
More details will be passed along at a later date. For now feast your eyes on this photo of the Spearfish City Campground. Yes, it really is this beautiful!
by jphilo | Jun 5, 2025 | See Jane Stop Drop and Roll!
I just got rid of the ultimate book hangover. It started in early March when I began the manuscript of the sixth West River Mystery. From then until the end of May, my days were spent time and space traveling between my real life as a 69-year-old resident of central Iowa in 1978 and Jane’s life as a 22-year-old resident of northwest South Dakota in 1978. The hangover finally shook it lose when I completed the manuscript of See Jane Stop, Drop, and Roll! on May 31.
See Jane Stop, Drop, and Roll! takes place during a drought*, which is why the book is chalk full of prairie fires. And dust. And grasshoppers. And absolutely no mud. Even so, the day I finished the manuscript was of the joy in Mudville* variety. Wahoo!
Now that the hangover is no more, I can think again and share a few final See Jane tidbits:
- Whenever I finish a See Jane manuscript, it feels like I’ve returned from a visit to the South Dakota town where we used to live. It makes me homesick every time.
- Midwestern Books has confirmed that the fifth book in the West River Mysteries, See Jane Ride!, will be released in the spring of 2026. Whether that’s March or April has yet to be determined.
- The publisher has also confirmed that See Jane Stop, Drop, and Roll! will be released in October of 2026.
- I’ve been invited to present at the 2025 South Dakota Book Festival. It will be held in Spearfish*** in September. More on that to come!
Finally, I picked up several tee-shirts and pairs of shorts for our tall, skinny,10-year-old grandson (think rubber band that keeps stretching up but never out) at a garage sale today. That has nothing to do with the See Jane books, so it didn’t warrant a spot on the bulleted list. But it’s the kind of stuff I love to do when not dealing with a book hangover.
*The photograph at the top of the page was taken in July during a drought year in northwestern South Dakota. The grass was brown and crunchy. Tens of thousands of acres of tinder just waiting for a lightning strike and wind. (More on that in See Jane Stop, Drop, and Roll! when it’s released in the fall of 2026. My apologies for the wait,)
**See Earnest Thayer’s poem Casey at the Bat to find out what that means.
***Fun fact: Our son was born in Spearfish in 1982.
by jphilo | Mar 27, 2025 | Book Updates, West River Mystery Series
Jane is going non-linear for now. And yup, it’s complicated. So complicated that the linear lady behind Jane and her hijinks has yet to add recent changes to the wall calendar that usually makes her heart go pitter pat.
Jane is going rogue for several reasons. The reason behind her reasons were the subject of my March 2025 newsletter, which you can read here if you haven’t already. With the background reasons out of the way, you can join me for a tromp through the non-linear weeds that are Jane’s existence, at least for a while.
Weed one–– that phrase may hold a meaning quite different from what I want to convey if you live in a state where marijuana has been legalized––is the See Jane Ride! (Book 5) cover reveal in January of 2025. At that time, See Jane Ride! was still slated for publication in October of 2025. It has now been moved to October of 2026 due to the changes outlined in the March newsletter.
Are you with me so far? Good.
Weed two––again, this has nothing to do with legalized cannabis––is The Plot Thickened post that went live in February. In it I was giddy to announce that the plot outline for See Jane Stop, Drop, and Roll! (Book 6 in the series) was a done deal. The plot outline is done indeed, but that book’s release date has been moved to October of 2027.
Still with me? Then let’s keep going.
Weed three––refer to the previous two weeds for a disclaimer refresher––is where it gets complicated for Jane’s highly linear and calendar-loving creator. If you’ve lost track, I’m her creator, and I’m making pretty good progress on the first draft of See Jane Stop, Drop, and Roll! Nine chapters are already completed and it’s still March.
Now for a recap, which is where things get mindbendy for me. Maybe you as well.
- It’s March of 2025 yet I’m writing the first draft of a book that comes out in October of 2027.
- In a couple months (hopefully shortly after the current first draft is finished), the publisher will send the concept edits for the October of 2026 book that used to be the October of 2025 book, and revision process for it will begin. Probably through the summer so the revised book can enter the publication pipeline by early 2026.
- In early 2026, I’ll begin preliminary research for Book 7, which will come out in October of 2028. I have a title in mind, but don’t want to confuse you until I’m less confused. We’ll see how that goes.
- In February of 2026, the whole process starts all over again with a plot thickening workshop for the 2028 book and then the writing of the first draft.
- Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat until the eleventh and final book in the series comes out shortly before the apocalypse.
Are you still with me? That’s amazing because I’m not. I am not pleased that Jane is going non-linear for now. However, my editor assures me that I will adjust to their new publication schedule and like it. I hope that’s case. If not I may have to move to a state with legalized marijuana and take up a new hobby.
by jphilo | Mar 7, 2025 | Recipes
Kookie Brittle’s an eggless winner among kids and adults at this house for a several good reasons.
(Before I run through the reasons, you should know that this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. They don’t make your costs go up, but Amazon shares a small percentage of what you pay with me.)
Now, back to the regularly scheduled reasons and recipe.
- It contains chocolate chips, and everyone who lives here loves chocolate.
- The recipe is easy and quick recipe so the baker (that would be me) likes that.
- The kids and adults who live here agree it’s delicious. The 9-year-old thought it was a little “grainy” as he put it. Even so, I had to hide the remaining Kookie Brittle in a bag in the freezer so he wouldn’t keep sneaking pieces.
- The recipe is eggless which is important until the most recent bird flu outbreak can be contained.
- Our household has several members with dairy allergies. The recipe is easy to adapt by using dairy-free chocolate chips (we like Enjoy Life brand which can be purchased through Amazon and many local grocery stores. Instead of butter I use half lard and half Earth Balance Baking Sticks, which are also available through Amazon, health food grocers, and some local grocery stores.
- My “healthy snack” conscience is somewhat appeased by using half whole wheat flour and half white flour and also cutting back on the sugar. Even with the alterations, Kookie Brittle isn’t all that healthy, but make believe is always fun, right?
Without further ado, here is the recipe for Kookie Brittle, a recipe my mother brought home and taught my sister and me to make. For the life of me, I don’t know why I never made it when my kids were little. It’s so tasty.
Kookie Brittle
1 cup softened butter (or a half cup lard and one Earth Balance Baking Stick)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream the first 3 ingredients and gradually add sugar until all are thoroughly mixed. Mix in the flour. Then add the chocolate chips and nuts (optional). Press into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into bars immediately after taking pan out of the oven. Or let them cool and break them into irregular shards (like peanut brittle) and serve. They freeze well, in case you need to hide them so they last longer.
by jphilo | Feb 27, 2025 | Daily Life
Pie advice from a seven-year-old has become a regular thing at our house. Our granddaughter, who always has a lot to say about pie in general and cherry pie in particular, turned seven in January. Between that momentous occasion and many recent opportunities for pie making and baking, our newly minted seven-year-old has been cranking out pie pronouncements at record speed. Here’s a recap:
- In late January I made and froze six unbaked pies. Then I made the scraps of crusts into what we call “pie crispies.” The seven-year-old smelled them baking and came up to declare, with a sparkle in her eye, “I know what we’re having for dessert tonight––pie!” After I explained dessert was not on the menu, she shot me a look that would have killed had she not been offered some of the aforementioned pie crispies as a snack.
- Hiram and I hauled our camper home from points south on Valentine’s Day. We spent the rest of that day and all of the next unpacking, doing laundry, and recovering. On the 16th I baked a cherry pie as part of a late holiday celebration with the family. “It’s delicious,” the seven-year-old said after eating two pieces. “When are you making another one?”
- Last weekend I took four of the six frozen pies out to thaw and then baked them for my niece’s baby shower. (This is the same niece who asked my sister and to make over 20 pies for her high school graduation party and several years later, more than 40 for her wedding.) Two of the pies were cherry and two were apple. When we brought the leftovers home afterwards, the seven-year-old declared, “Can I have all the cherry?” The answer was “You can have one, just like everyone else in your family.” She looked at me and advised, “Next time, make more cherry.”
- The Monday after the baby shower, I took the final frozen pies out to thaw––one cherry and one apple––and baked them to serve at our church small group that evening. When the seven-year-old came home and learned they wouldn’t be served for our family’s dessert, she had this advice. “Next time. make an apple, a cherry, and one other kind like maybe strawberry. Give your friends the apple and strawberry, but save the cherry for us.”
So there you have it. Pie advice from a seven-year-old. Her advice has created within me a huge well of gratitude toward a sovereign God who scheduled her arrival in this world for 2018. I mean, can you imagine the free advice she would have bestowed during the pie baking extravaganzas before my niece’s graduation and wedding pie extravaganzas?
I shudder just thinking about it.
