Happy Friday & I hope your week has been satisfactory. Mine has! It’s been a red pen week of edits, edits, edits. I’ve traded my desktop computer for my iPad to tear apart my manuscript so I can rebuild it better. Few things satisfy me more than taking my Apple pen in hand to scribble fire-engine-red marks all over fresh pages. The real story emerges in thousands of scribbled improvements. Besides, it’s FUN (as long as you’re the one with the red pen).
Something else immensely satisfying… Don’t you love it when you try on an old pair of jeans and they still fit?
Okay, that didn’t happen to me this week, but the writer’s equivalent did. I dug out an old manuscript from over ten years ago to give it a fresh read, and guess what? It still fits! A sweet baseball romance inspired by years of Little League, the story is quirky and heartfelt enough to move it from my manuscript graveyard and into my cue of works-in-progress—a satisfactory surprise since I went into it with low expectations.
So, edits will begin again—ah, me and my red pen!
The downside to edits is that reading everything else has been sidetracked. I haven’t finished a non-me book this week! But don’t worry. I won’t leave you without any book suggestions. Nights are getting colder, and Halloween is coming. It’s the perfect time to revisit an old 5-star favorite…
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – Creepy. Island. Murders. There’s usually a certain coziness with Agatha Christie’s works, especially when considering early Poirot and Miss Marple. They’re murder mysteries, yes, but they’re “safe.” But sometimes Agatha goes dark. Really dark. Murder on the Orient Express and The Crooked House are standout examples. But And Then There Were None shatters the comfortable, it’ll-be-okay mold of most mysteries. There’s no quirky investigator. No safety in numbers. No heroes. No escape.
Want a more contemporary suggestion? I loved The Guest List by Lucy Foley for its dark And Then There Were None vibes. Immensely satisfying. Either will put you in a spooky mood.
If you’d prefer quirky to spooky, try these great books.
But it’s not been entirely about edits. Other Extremely Satisfying News…
- 12 Days until One Thing Better comes out! (This could be why I’m hiding in edits.) It’ll be an exciting launch—watching the reviews come in & the sales go up!
- Editorial reviews are rolling in. ICYMI last week, One Thing Better earned a Kirkus Star (only 10% of books get that each year!) & an awesome review, calling it “A complex and hugely satisfying contemporary romance between genuine, flawed people.” If you get the chance, like the review!
- One Thing Better earned five stars & a Must Read trophy from Reedsy Discovery! Click the link & give the review an upvote! “This might be one of my favorite books of the year… Every character in this book is lovable and you create a connection to each character to where you don’t want to let go of them. I would love for Sherry to create a series around this town. Maybe a book focusing on Dot?” … A Dot story, huh? That might happen!
- Time is running out to lock in your prelaunch ebook price! It’s only $.99! Order your copy of One Thing Better, and it’ll magically appear on your reading device on October 24th—a nice fall treat.
- Delilah Duffy’s new look is almost here! Ah, she looks beautiful! And for readers who love to binge, all five of her adventures will soon be available in a box set. Coming soon!
Here are some lovely writing quotes from Dame Agatha Christie that hit home this week:
“Writing is a great comfort to people like me, who are unsure of themselves and have trouble expressing themselves properly.”
“The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. ”
Next week–more bookish thoughts & book launch nerves, probably. Now, back to my pen edits… and yes, dishes, later.
Think Happy Book Thoughts,
Jessica
