by jphilo | Jan 29, 2025 | Mystery Update, South Dakota, West River Mystery Series
Yesterday the plot thickened.
You may be asking yourself how can that be? Just last week, Jolene revealed the See Jane Ride! cover and said the manuscript was now in the concept editor’s hands for review. Does that mean the editor wants a total plot revision? Say it ain’t so!
Rest easy readers. It ain’t so.
The plot being referred to in this post’s title is for the yet-to-be-written sixth book in the West River Mystery series. To stay on track for its release in October of 2026, my handful of notecards about a mystery that takes place during prairie fire season needed a lot of thickening. That handful of cards was also intended to contribute to the overall arc of series and its overarching mystery. That needed some thickening too.
Yesterday afternoon’s plot workshop with Midwestern Book’s concept editor and I was thick enough to accomplish both aims.
I’m not gonna lie. It was a brutal afternoon. Mainly because the concept editor kept asking hard questions like:
- Why would such-and-such a character do that?
- What possible reason could there be for Velma to stay overnight this time?
- Is that concern big enough for Jane’s mom to get her underwear in a bunch?
- How will Jane’s students contribute to solving the mystery?
- What spiritual growth will Jane experience?
- What’s the community event that gathers the town together?
- What about Dick and Jane?
My initial answers to such unreasonable questions were:
- I haven’t thought that through yet. I just thought it would be funny.
- I’m not sure yet, but Dick is going to agree with Velma.
- Everything gets her Mom’s underwear in a bunch.
- Still working on that, but they will.
- Still working on that, but she will.
- I assumed coming together to fight prairie fires was a community event.
- What about them?
To which my diabolical editor replied:
- Think harder.
- Let’s brainstorm until we figure it out.
- True, but be more specific.
- We’re not moving on until you come up with something.
- Ditto.
- Wrong assumption.
- Time to brainstorm again.
Thanks to the editor’s uncanny ability to spot plot holes and not move on until they were plugged, we worked on thickening the plot for almost 4 hours.* The picture at the top of the page shows that by the end of the 4 hours, my handful of notecards had expanded to almost 50 and categorized into 5 “acts.” The feat is actually more impressive considering the number of cards we torn up and rewrote. They’re the messy pile visible in the bottom middle of the table.
At that point the diabolical editor abandoned me, citing a flimsy excuse. Something about frosting a birthday cake for her daughter who turned 7 yesterday. After she left I used the calendars ,also visible on the table, to fit the plot into a three week mid-September 1978 through early October 1978 timeline. Then I stacked and rubber banded the cards for each act in chronological order and then banded the acts together into one thick and beautiful plot outline.
Oh, the burden the brutal workshop afternoon lifted from my shoulders!
Oh, the joy!
Oh, the freedom!
Oh, to begin writing the first draft of Book 6** and doing research to keep the story historically accurate!
All this because yesterday, the plot thickened.
*Minus 1 potty break per person and 1 session each at the espresso machine.
**The name of the next See Jane book will be announced in a few months.
by jphilo | Jan 14, 2025 | Mystery Update
See Jane Ride! cover reveal time has arrived. I love the way the design captures the atmosphere of the book and hints at the reason “ride” is in the title.
Jane’s fans may be shaking their heads at the idea of her sporting a doo-rag and black leather. That attire was not worn by the average country school teacher in the late 1970s. Then again, readers of the first four West River Mystery books can tell you that Jane is not your average country school teacher. In case you doubt that, here’s a view of the full cover.
Though See Jane Ride! won’t be released until October 7, 2025, rest assured that your favorite Little Missourians will grace its pages: the sheriff and his hungry deputy, Jane’s boyfriend, the cranky school janitor, the couple who own and run the phone company, Jane’s students and their families, and her sewing partner. New characters run the gambit from family members who come for a South Dakota vacation to seedy-looking ne er do wells passing through town. Put them all together and you’ve got one wild ride!
The second draft of the manuscript is finished, which means the hardest part of the writing process is behind me. With that out of the way, you may be wondering why the book won’t be available until October. Here’s a quick rundown of what remains to be done:
- The manuscript is in the hands of the concept editor at Midwestern Books. Her job is to make sure the plot hangs together and that the writing is clear. She’ll suggest changes (revisions, additions, deletions) to improve the story.
- The concept editor will send her edits to me to look through. I either incorporate her suggestions into the manuscript or, in rare cases, don’t.
- The revised manuscript goes back to the concept editor who sends it to the line editor.
- The line editor proofreads for mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, spacing, omitted words, etc.). She also researches for historical accuracy, character consistency (physical descriptions, work place, kind of vehicle, etc.), and references to previous books in the series.
- She sends the revised document to me to either approve and make changes or not.
- Then I send my revisions to the publisher for typesetting.
- The editor sends me a digital copy of typeset book, which I send to possible endorsers.
- The publisher sends the book to several other proofreaders to catch the mechanical errors missed by the line editor, myself, and the typesetter.
- They send their error catches to the publisher who corrects the typeset copy.
- I collect and send the back cover endorsements to publisher.
All that gets done by June so the publisher has time to get the book on Amazon and work on marketing. In between all that, I do research for the next book and start its rough draft.
Telling you all this is making me very tired, so I’ll sign off before becoming completely overwhelmed. You, on the other hand, are invited to let See Jane Ride! cover reveal fire up your imagination, speculate on what Jane will be riding and what could possibly go wrong, and then share your ideas in the comment section below. Ready…set…go!
by jphilo | Jan 7, 2025 | Book Updates, See Jane Run!, West River Mystery Series
Midwestern Books lost its renaissance man and founder, Tom Walker, this past December. Tom succumbed to pancreatic cancer just two months after his diagnosis. Those who knew and loved him––his wife Kris, his three children, his eight grandchildren, his siblings, his nieces and nephews, and many more––are still reeling.
Our family was among those who attended his funeral. Tom’s brother-in-law gave the eulogy and described him as a renaissance man, a person who is educated and knowledgeable in a number of fields. That was certainly true of Tom. He assembled his own computer when they were just coming onto the scene. He was a musician, an athlete, a theologian, a pastor, and an avid fisherman. He operated a sawmill, constructed several buildings, read widely, was an IT director, and founded a publishing company. He was a lover of books, and was both a reader and a = writer.
He wrote sermons, seminary curriculum, and computer code. He created elaborate Dungeons and Dragons back stories in his role as a Dungeon Master. He helped his parents write books about their lives and wrote children’s books for his grandkids. When he retired, he started Midwestern Books to showcase writers who represented the values and stories from a poorly represented area of the United States. See Jane Run! was the first manuscript he acquired.
Tom was more than the renaissance man who published The West River Mystery Series. He was also my husband’s cousin and an appreciator of my daughter’s editorial talents. To that end, he asked her to become his partner at Midwestern Books. She accepted and they worked closely together for five years. After his cancer diagnosis, he signed the business over to her at no cost.
Midwestern Books lost its renaissance man and founder. In the midst of our grief, Anne and her husband, as well as Hiram and I, are aware of the opportunity he created for our daughter’s family before he died. Our hearts testify that Tom Walker exemplified more than a renaissance man. He exemplified Christ. We were blessed to know him and grateful beyond words.
In loving memory of Thomas “Tom” Hayes Walker,
November 7, 1953 – December 22, 2024
by jphilo | Dec 11, 2024 | Recipes
Grandma Fern’s sour cream red chocolate cake made regular appearances at the end of Sunday dinners during my childhood. Mom liked to make it for 2 reasons:
- It reminded her of the mother-in-law, Fern Stratton, who she dearly loved and who died at age 55.
- It was easy.
So easy, in fact, Mom taught me how to make it so I make it as my first 4-H project at age 10. It earned a blue ribbon.
We’re celebrating our oldest granddaughter’s 10th birthday this weekend. She requested chocolate cupcakes, so it seemed fitting to use a blue ribbon recipe. I made the cupcakes today. They appear rather plain in the photo above for good reason. I spent a good part of this morning hunting down this recipe and don’t want to lose it again. If I wait until after we get back from Wisconsin, where we’ll decorate them before her party, getting ready for Christmas may push my good intentions right out of my head.
Also, I found a card with the recipe written in Mom’s beautiful cursive and don’t want to wait another minute to share this bit of her with you.
Doesn’t her writing take you back to elementary school penmanship practice? Mine never looked that good.
One final note: Because of my dairy allergy, I used Kite Hill’s dairy-free sour cream and no one could tell the difference between it and regular sour cream. Will wonders never cease!
by jphilo | Dec 5, 2024 | Mystery Update
Welcome to the West River Mysteries Holiday Gift Guide. It was created for the soul purpose of simplifying your life.* It was also created to help you avoid busting your budget. The first two items do cost money and are the perfect gift for the cozy mystery readers on your list. The remaining items are free** and perfect for the authors in your life. Primarily for this author, though they can be adapted and given to other writers. Items 3 through 7 require no gift wrapping or card, which is always a plus.
Now, in the spirit of the holiday season, here are the gifts that made the cut for the completely altruistic West River Holiday Gift Guide.
- Inscribed, signed set of four paperbacks–– See Jane Run!, See Jane Sing!, See Jane Dance!, and See Jane Dig!––are available for $60.00, which includes shipping and tax. To take advantage of this offer, send me an email with the following information: your preferred payment method (Venmo, credit card, or check); instructions about how to inscribe the books, including the spellings of the name(s) to use; and your mailing address. Place your order by December 18 to receive it by Christmas. Sooner is better as there’s less chance you will chew your fingernails down to the quick while waiting for the books to arrive in time.
- Inscribed, signed sets of individual books can be purchased for $20.00. To order, follow the same instructions as above. Consider joining the Save Your Fingernails campaign by placing your order as soon as possible.
- Write reviews of each See Jane! book, as well as for those written by other authors you love, and post them on Amazon and GoodReads. Your reviews raise visibility and help readers decide if the book is for them.
- Recommend the series to friends. Gush about the books if you are so inclined. Positive word of mouth advertising is highly effective!
- Recommend the series (and books from other authors you enjoy) to your local library. A certain amount of their book buying budget is earmarked for purchasing patron-requested items.
- Like and share social media posts about the West River books. Doing so increases visibility and gives them legs.
- Join Down the Gravel Rd on Facebook to get background information about the series and early peeks at what I’m writing before anyone else does.
I hope the West River Mysteries Holiday Gift Guide adds sparkle and magic to your life as you prepare to celebrate the season with family and friends. On behalf of Jane, her students, the citizens of Little Missouri, and Snippy the cow, we wish you a Merry Christmas!
*Actually it was also designed to boost book sales, but you can ignore that angle completely.
**They were designed to boost book sales as well…another angle to ignore.
