What To Do, What to Do? by Edith Maxwell aka Maddie Day

LUCY BURDETTE: We're in the dead of winter, which those of you in the path of that storm know too well. How are you keeping yourself from going crazy? Our friend Edith Maxwell aka Maddie Day has some ideas...

EDITH MAXWELL: Thanks for inviting me over to fill in some of everybody’s mid-winter slog, Lucy.

I’m not only trudging along mid-winter – and it’s been a damn cold one in my northeastern corner of Massachusetts – I’m also in a long gap between book release days. Murder at Cape Costumers released in late August, and A Poisonous Pour won’t be out until late April. I know many authors have one book birthday per year (or less often, ahem, Debs and Julia, making their readers suffer patiently). Me? I channel Jenn. For the last decade I’ve written and had published at least three books a year.

Is the gap because my sales are slumping? Does my publisher hate me? No to both. But, as regular readers of the comments here know, I now have TWO adorable grandbabies. I’m not a spring chicken, and I didn’t want to be too busy to hang out with them while I’m still here, so I ended one of my three series. (Sorry, Jay!)

Anyway, at a time like this, dual questions arise. How do I stay in touch with readers between releases? How do I stay healthy and lively and interested in life when it’s too cold and icy to venture outside, and when the world seems about to explode? Following are my top ten (or so) solutions for both issues, in a purposely mixed-up order:

10. Writing. Working on my books is one thing I hope I will not abandon for many years to come. Crafting and polishing stories is what keeps me going, morning after morning. It keeps my brain sharp (as much as is possible) and my imagination honed. The royalty checks are lovely, too.

9. Walking. If I don’t get my 10k-plus steps in after my morning writing every day, I don’t feel right. What about when it’s too icy outside? I walk fast laps in my long kitchen-dining-sitting room, listening to the radio or a good podcast.

8. Dreaming. I cheer myself by paging through the Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog, dreaming about when the snow is gone and I can plant greens and peas and everything else. Speaking of growing things, a cluster of paperwhite bulbs are blooming in a glass bowl right now. The growth and scent are lovely.

7. Cooking. Cold weather is perfect for cooking up stews, curries, loaves of bread, and cakes. My Hugh, who prefers not to cook if he can help it, is supportive of my cooking habit. And being part of an author-chef group blog, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, along with Lucy, means I’m obliged to come up with an original recipe twice a month. Triple purpose – feed myself and Hugh, survive the winter blahs, AND stay in touch with readers.

6. Protesting. Every Saturday at noon, kindred spirits in my small city of Amesbury hold a standout for democracy in the town square. I’m there with my sign every week I’m in town. Forgive me this foray into real life, but if our democracy doesn’t stand, I won’t be able to do any of the other things I love. (Photo courtesy of Christine Green)

5. Planning fun travel. I’m organizing my plans for Left Coast Crime in San Francisco in a few weeks, which will include a visit with dear family for a couple of days beforehand. I’m also planning an Author-Reader Connection field trip to a wine bar! I’m looking forward to a Kensington Cozy Con in Connecticut on March 14, with an event at the Groveland, MA public library the afternoon before. 

The end of April brings Malice Domestic. This year my slightly evil tale, “When the Iron is Hot,” is nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Short Story! Fingers crossed, my friends – it’s my ninth Agatha nomination, four of which have been for short stories. In other travel plans, I always look forward to my spring solo retreat on Cape Cod a couple of weeks after Malice, followed by who knows what in the summer, and the Calgary Boucheron in the fall. I know planning the future takes me out of the moment, but when winter is long and frigid, that’s just fine. And there’s nothing like an award nomination to warm us up – right, Hank?

4. Puzzles. All kinds of puzzles get me through to the next release and warmer weather. I do Wordle every morning, then compare notes with Hugh when I come downstairs for my second coffee. I always listen to the NPR Sunday morning puzzle and its weekly challenge, which half the time is too hard for me and the other half I’m one of 1,693 who sent in correct answers (but I’m determined to get randomly selected and on the air one of these years). I read the Boston Globe “May I have a Word?” biweekly column and try to send in entries for the word challenge. Hugh and I always have NYT Sunday puzzles going on a clipboard we trade back and forth. Words are a great way to stay lively, as are cards and numbers: Hugh and I play cribbage every afternoon or evening. 

3. The Next Writing Project. The book I’m working on, Murder in the Lighthouse, is due April 1st, and it’s currently out with an independent editor. In the meantime, I’m noodling a short story for this year’s Best New England Crime Fiction anthology from Crime Spell Books. But I’m also getting closer to writing book one in my new Golden Broads series. Ideas for the next novel are dancing in my brain, as usually happens when I’m close to finishing a book, but I need to stay away from it until I turn in the one with the closer deadline. 

2. Almost Everything Else. I sit on the couch and read in the evening, with a cup of tea or a little glass of bourbon (or both combined). We watched Ballard and now are making our way through all of Bosch. I fill various volunteer roles with Amesbury Friends Meeting (Quaker), and I meet up with friends when I can.

1.Grandbabies – You knew I was saving the best for last, right? I’m blessed with being beloved Grammy to the sweetest, spunkiest little two-year old, and I love the regular time I get to spend with Ida Rose. Reading and dancing and playing with her is the very best antidote to winter, as is tracking her exploding language development (a long-time personal interest). 

And now Ida Rose’s little cousin Silvio Ilán is in the world, born to my younger son and his wife on January 4th. The little guy is thriving on his mama’s milk and is gaining weight fast, just like his daddy did after he was born. The family lives less than an hour away from us, and I can’t wait to spend regular time with Silvio, too.

Readers: What are your best tricks for getting by and thriving at a time like this? Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for A POISONOUS POUR!

Fourth-generation Californian Maddie Day writes the Cece Barton Mysteries and loves the California wine-tasting research. A transplant to Massachusetts, she also pens the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the historical Dot and Amelia Mysteries. As Edith Maxwell, she writes the Agatha-Award winning historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries and Agatha-nominated short crime fiction. An MWA member and a proud lifetime member of SINC, Maxwell/Day lives north of Boston with her beau and their cat Martin, where she writes, cooks, gardens, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at her website and at Mystery Lovers Kitchen.

Whimsy

Jenn McKinlay: I was recently doom scrolling through social media, as you do, when a post popped up about whimsy. Y’all, it was delightful. The OP (original poster) shared what little bits of whimsy filled her day and invited other readers to chime in to share their daily whimsical moments as well. It was a delightful antidote to the winter doldrums I was having at the moment, so now I share with you (my fave was the tiara, which informs me that I need to go find mine).

Some of the whimsical things were…

1. ”I wear a “lock in tiara” whenever I have to lock in on a difficult task.”
2. ”I say “it’s bath time” when I’m about to do the dishes.
3. "I wear matching pajamas every time I change my sheets so I can have what I call fancy sleep."
4. "I hold 'office hours' every Tuesday at a local coffee shop, which means I sit on the couch and order drinks for 4-5 hours while various friends and acquaintances visit me to yap about books and gossip."
5. "I say, 'my lady,' every time I walk by a mirror."
6. "I teach the dog how to do things either to make them more interesting for me ('Let me show you how to start a load of laundry') or just to make him feel included ('Do you remember how to make coffee or should I walk you through it again? I know it's hard to remember since you can't practice without thumbs.')"
7. "I kiss my cat on both cheeks then she kisses me on both cheeks then I explain 'she's European' to no one."
   
8. "I sleep in vintage nightgowns, it makes me feel like an 1800s princess✨"
9. "I hot glued a bow tie onto the Roomba and we call him Jeffrey."
10. "I say, 'May I take your coats?' when I'm peeling garlic."

My personal whimsies are to tell the dogs “we’re going on an adventure” instead of a walk. I give pep talks to my plants in the garden - “oh, look at you , growing overnight” etc.

And when the hooligans were little, the whimsy was usually over the top. I convinced them that packages at the post office had wings put on them and were launched to fly to their destination. They spent a lot of time scanning the sky for boxes.

But my favorite was the koi pond at the Phoenix Zoo. I convinced them the fish were “wish fish” so we would stop by every week, pick out a fish, and tell it our wish. I stumbled upon a koi pond last week in CT and naturally had to make a wish. I’ll share the video here, so you can pick a fish and make a wish, too. ♥️

And now you, Reds and Readers, what silly whimsical things do you do to bring cheer to your days?