Life got crazy and then I got sick, so my challenge to finish my rough draft in ten days died on the vine. But my plan is to finish it by end of business tomorrow, Friday, February 21. I’ll do a longer post tomorrow, assuming I do what I say I’m going to do. […]
Just a quick check-in to update everyone on my progress in my challenge to write 20,000 words or finish my rough draft, whichever comes first, by Monday, February 10. I’m happy to say that since I gave myself the challenge on Friday, I’ve written 3048 words. That may not seem like the progress I need, […]
I just posted on Threads about how I’m struggling to get myself to write. Not write in general, but work on my book. I don’t think I have writer’s block, because I know where the story is going and have even been working out scenarios in my mind to carry the plot forward from where […]
It was fewer than 400 words. Barely a page. But I’ve begun my first cozy mystery. I honestly have no idea where it’s going yet. At this point, I’m just introducing characters, getting to know the setting. Regardless, it’s a start and I’m excited to see where the story takes me. I’m also excited to […]
The final draft is written. It’s been edited and proofread and rewritten and edited and proofread again. I’m ready to make a decision. Do I want to send this book off to agents and publishers, or do I want to bite the bullet and self-publish? I’ve tried the self-publishing route and it didn’t go well, […]
Sorry, folks. I know WIP Thursday, just doesn’t have the same ring to it, but I just ran out of time yesterday. So, a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short, is an excerpt from my new book, Home To My Arms: A Halloran Mystery. In it, Jamie and Pip are trudging through a […]
How is it Wednesday already? I don’t know, but I double checked my calendar, and it definitely is, so here is another excerpt from my new book, Home To My Arms: A Halloran Mystery. In it, there’s a slight misunderstanding between Jamie and Pip. Fortunately, the door was locked, as it should have been. Unfortunately, […]
It seemed like it would never get here, but I am finally finished with rewrites on my new book, Home to My Arms! It’s one last pass for proofreading and then I start the query process. As promised, only two days late, I want to share an exerpt. The situation is that the main characters, […]
If you started your visit to my site on my homepage, you’ll see I am author JD Stephens. I used to be author Joe Stephens, but I took a long break from writing for some pretty life-altering things, such as meeting and marrying the love of my life and adopting her beloved daughter, making her […]
I’ve read detective fiction for as long as I’ve been able to read, practically. I started with the classics: Holmes, Queen, Marple, Poirot. But then I picked up a new classic: Spenser. I’ve read others in the genre, including other characters created by Robert B. Parker. Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall, and Parker’s Western heroes, Virgil […]