Sunday, January 26, 2020

What We're Writing or Not: Jenn's Not!

Jenn McKinlay: What am I writing? Welp, for the first time in ten years, I'm NOT writing anything. Weird, I know!

I turned in a book on January 6th -- One for the Books, the next Library Lover's Mystery -- and I haven't written a word since. At least, fictionally. Instead, I'm writing checks  - a LOT of checks - to plumber guy, electrician man, and carpenter dude.  You see, we're in the midst of a kitchen renovation. While I love all that is happening, it is exactly as disruptive as I feared, which is why I planned to not write during the, hmm, let's call it "the transformation". I'm doing a lot of the demolition myself, so that's fun! 


Hammer time for Jenn!
Otherwise, the only thing I've written is my NEWSLETTER and this blog post. I keep telling myself that it's a good thing. That I need to recharge the brain batteries, blah, blah, blah. 

We, meaning the fam and I, have discovered that not being on deadline is anathema to me. So, the kitchen renovation has trickled over to the bathrooms, where I decided to switch out all the taps, the yard, where I established a kitchen garden (fresh herbs!), and coming up soon, the master bedroom, which I'll be painting. As you can see, I have a small problem with sitting still when not chained to my desk, chiseling out the words in my head.

After long days of hard labor, I have managed to catch up to some shows -- Fleabag, The Witcher, and Sex Education -- all excellent and proof that I can sit still! I plowed through some books on my TBR -- Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson (fabulous!) and Murder at the Taffy Shop (excellent!) by your friend and mine Maddie Day, aka Edith Maxwell. I started a new knitting project after months of not having the time or energy. It's a hat in celebration of Buried to the Brim, the next London Hat Shop mystery that drops in two days - on the 28th!!!


Yes, there are corgis in it!
Thankfully, or so my squad said, the revisions for the next library mystery arrived yesterday, so I will get back in the saddle for that. I do have some mystery proposals to write, a few more blogs to pen, and undoubtedly some more checks to issue. Hopefully, the powers that be will let me know what my next project is soon. I sent my poor editor five ideas for my next single title, which she is pondering so we'll see. In the meantime, I'm feeling restless and think the laundry room could use a makeover...uh oh.

How about you, Reds and Readers, are you any good at sitting still?














34 comments:

  1. Jenn, I’m worn out just reading this!
    However, I am not good at sitting still, either . . . unless I have a book in my hands . . . .

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    1. Same here! I always read at night for a few hours before I go to bed.

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  2. I've read your most recent stuff, in that case. This blog post and the newsletter. Also BURIED TO THE BRIM, which I enjoyed. Full review to come Tuesday if I can stop procrastinating and edit my reviews.

    Hope you get a new project to really dig into soon. And I'll see you at Left Coast Crime!

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    1. LCC! Fantastic!!! I can’t wait to meet you for reals!

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  3. Considering how many books you were working on and deadlines you had to meet last year, I'd think a moment or two to catch your breath and destroy a wall would be welcome. When I confessed that, although I am a Jenn fan, I had not read the Hat Shop books, Deb met me for lunch yesterday and handed me the backlist there, so I can be prepared when the new one comes out on Tuesday. I have no problems sitting still when I have a good book in hand.

    And isn't it interesting how one self-contained project can grow, and spread, and take over your life? You kitchen remodel spread all around the house. (I've been there--my kitchen was 1960 all-pink when I moved in, but Barbie's Atomic Dream Kitchen is no more.) I took one skein of yarn into rehearsal the other day, thinking to replace my morning wash-up headband, and now I'm buying new needles, bags of yarn and planning on an afghan! Good luck to us both, I say.

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    1. Projects are like mushrooms! LOL! Delighted that you’re willing to read the hat shop series. Thank you for sharing it, Debs.

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  4. You are hilarious. I'm delighted Murder at the Taffy Shop floated to the top of your pile! And your house is going to look gorgeous after all this attention.

    I can't sit still, either, but I haven't been pouring energy into home improvement, not having quite as much physical energy as I used to. The decluttering projects I SHOULD be doing are too hard, emotionally, so I just keep working.

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    1. Oh, I hear you! I have a storage unit to tackle...ugh.

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  5. Sounds as if you have good energy, Jenn. That's a good thing, especially when one thing leads to another, which it always does with home remodels! Your new kitchen will be wonderful, I know.

    I take fits and starts, energy-wise. If there is a meaty project that interests me I'm all in, but I can also enjoy making a "project" out of reading a whole series that interests me. Something about being a Libra, I guess, always striving for balance.

    One of my daughters is buying her first house, in Portland, Oregon, and it will need a kitchen remodel, among other things. I'm on deck for a consult visit, along with helping out long-distance via Pinterest. Looking forward to working on that, too. She is buying the house with a girlfriend as an investment, and they hope to do a lot of the work themselves, especially the friend, who has mad carpentry skillz. They'll also be reworking the landscaping, so I expect to help with that, too. (Note knee-jerk comma before "too".)

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    1. Ooh, how industrious of your daughter! Well done! I am keeping my too commas, too! LOL!

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  6. After the youngest left for college, we hired a tile guy to demolish and retile the stall shower, which morphed into swapping out all the toilets and faucets in all the bathrooms, including going through a wall to access the plumbing in the hall bathroom. One morning my husband appeared in the kitchen, towel over his shoulder, and asked if we had a working shower or did he have to use the locker room at the lab?

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    1. I've washed dishes in the bathtub during more than one kitchen reno!

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    2. I completely understand this! I’ve been doing laundry at my neighbor’s house - inexplicably the washing machine and kitchen sink share a water line. Weird!

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  7. Jenn, that makes me tired reading it.

    Me, I have no problem sitting still - for a certain amount of time. But when it's time to move, it's time to move!

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    1. Yup! Speaking of moving, I told the Hub last night I want to take two-step lessons. He blinked at me. I can still make him speechless after 20 years - LOL!

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  8. You handle your hammer well! What a great shot, very reminiscent of Rosie the Riveter. You should find a place in the house to have it framed - hopefully without requiring another room remodeled.

    I don't sit still well - except with a book. Somehow I always manage to find something to do. Sometimes it's even something useful or productive!

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    1. Restless souls we are, my dear. I wonder if that’s why we read? We need a rest.

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  9. I love winter because I can work on all kinds of projects. Obviously we have pretty mild winters in central Texas. (Sumer heat tries to kill me.) Three weeks ago we built a platform storage bed for our new (up-sized) king mattress. We had to rearrange our whole room to fit the new bed. Because it’s now in front of the windows, we needed a headboard (didn’t have one before) because I read in bed, go figure. So I built our new headboard by myself! Wish I could include a picture - I’m really proud of how it turned out.

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    1. You are awesome! Wish I could see it. Congrats on getting it done!

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  10. If an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by outside forces, I'm the proof.

    I'm very good at sitting still. To the point where I eventually have to get up lest I grow into the couch literally.

    I'd love to be idly rich, but if I was I'd have to make myself not actually be idle because I'm a gold medal contender in the Couch Potato Olympics.

    My writing this week wasn't much. I wrote an article on the 2nd album from The Firm, a group that featured Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. I'm working on another article for this coming week as well.

    Oh and I got back the edits on three reviews I'd submitted so those were fixed and sent back.

    The only other writing this week has been, like Jenn, making out checks to pay people who insist on me giving them money for things I need to live.

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    1. LOL - Jay, you and my Hub must meet someday. He can talk all music all the time. He’s an encyclopedia (former music critic for the Tribune) of musicians, gigs, albums and gear. FWIW, Couch potato life in underrated!

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  11. Jenn, you have my sympathy on the kitchen remodel! I cooked with the toaster oven set up in the dining room and washed dishes in the bathtub for months. But it was so worth it in the long run. I hope you've taken before and after pics for us!!

    So looking forward to Buried to the Brim!

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    1. I’ve been looking for before pics but they always feature the Hooligans - will keep searching. Thanks so much for the encouragement!

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  12. Love the energy you have for all of these projects! I am with Deb for before and after photos, although I am the worst at taking them myself.
    In the Spring, I plan a deep dive into your books and it will take a year or more for me to catch up on everything, but it is something to look forward to doing. As for sitting still, I need projects. I need to go for walks and I need to have something purposeful, even if it is just baking before we go see the grandkids.
    Both retired now, we are reading up a storm. I am having the time of my life reading lots of Reds for the first time and many of the other authors who have been guests here. Your readers will still be here when you finish your remodeling and return to writing.

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    1. Thanks so much, Judy! Clearly, we are kindred spirits!

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  13. Jenn, great post! I preordered your Buried at the Brim novel from the Poisoned Pen bookstore since I suggested that my library purchase your book. Sometimes it takes a while for the library to order a new book. Look forward to reading the new book in the Hat Shop series! Home Renovation is a lot of work! Knitting is so fun! I remember learning how to knit during my study breaks in college. I have not knitted for a while.

    Regarding sitting still, I learned that if I sit still too long, my back pain returns! I can sit still for an hour at the most then I would need to get up and move. Ideally, it is best to get up every 20 minutes and move around so the muscles do not atrophy. I have been watching movies on streaming tv too. And series like Frankie and Grace - hilarious! I watched the new Murdoch Mysteries every week.

    Diana

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  14. Congratulations, Jenn! It is going to be great. As for sitting still, I am so terrible at it. One day I was particularly zonked, and I said to my husband: I am just going to sit here in this chair and watch TV and do nothing else. And Jonathan paused, and looked at me, and said: people do that, you know?

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  15. I am tired reading of your latest exploits, Jenn. Wow! Love the pic of you and the hammer: You go, girl!

    Your latest newsletter is an excellent read and I thank you for the piece on self-esteem. Most valuable.

    I'm off to make a batch of brownies; that's how I'm not sitting still on this dull-weather Sunday on the Canadian prairie...

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  16. Oh Jenn, I so love hearing from you although just reading about everything you do wears me out. I am the person who really has no problem sitting still - put a book in my hand and I'm good! I loved your newsletter too! When your hat is finished I'd like to see a picture. I'm wanting to make one for myself and I'm trying to figure out if I have enough yarn or should I get more. Silly question, I know.

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  17. I resisted buying yarn today. There is a movie I want to watch and I wanted something to do while I watch it. And I said to myself, how crazy is that? Just watch the movie! I have knitted or crocheted at least 4 scarves this winter, put the second coat of paint on the kitchen cabinet doors, bought new fabric for kitchen and living room curtains (all for my brother's place), redone the floors, and am this *a pinch* close to finishing my novella even though the press to which I planned to submit it no longer accepts short fiction. So yeah, Jenn, I can relate. And need to add to my TBR stack, it's getting thin.

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  18. My tendency is to sit and do nothing, so I have to remind myself to get up and move around. Just reading about what you’re up to, Jenn, has worn me out so I’m now sitting and resting!

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  19. I've always heard that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it. Jenn, you make that saying come to life. You are a whirlwind of activity and productivity. I hang my head in shame in comparison. I can sit still, but my husband isn't good at it. Luckily, we let the other one do their thing and co-exist comfortably. Of course, when I do get going on something, I want to see it through to the finish. Congratulations on all you do, Jenn, and I'd love to see some before and after pics, too.

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  20. I have no home repair skills whatsoever and not great at cleaning. I garden, cook and bake and make greeting cards on the computer. When I watch some TV shows I get up and dance, especially Dancing with the Stars and The Voice but also good themes like Hawaii 5-0 ans SWAT. Since I read a lot, I do sit then. Hope your projects go well and you are soon back to writing books!

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