Cover Reveal: Any Second Chance (Book 2 of the Time Wrecker Trilogy)

What ever happened to Mara and Will Sterling?

At the end of Every Last Minute, I fully intended to have the second book of the trilogy published within the year. But, as it always does, life happened. There was a surgery that got complicated, a way-too-long recovery, and, just to top things off, a global pandemic.

Through it all, I kept re-drafting and rewriting parts of Mara and Will’s what-next. I knew what would happen, but as I experienced my own healing process, it made me more sensitive to what theirs would be like. At long last (and over thirteen drafts), I had a draft that felt right.

Now for the scary-fun part: turning it into a book.

One of the really fun steps to getting a book ready for publication is the cover design. I’m very fortunate to work with Monica Haynes of The Thatchery, who brings her passion for reading to her art. She really takes the time to dig deep into the story and offers suggestions and asks for input as she designs. The result always means a lot to me as an author, because it’s the first time I see how someone else visualizes this story that I imagined. (Did you know she was also the cover designer for Every Last Minute, Reluctant Cassandra, and Ghosts of Eagle Valley? See a full gallery of cover designs by The Thatchery here!)

As you can tell, I'm a HUGE fan of Monica's work! And while I might be slightly biased, her newest cover design may be my favorite yet! This is the cover for Any Second Chance, Book 2 of the Time Wrecker Trilogy.

Drumroll please...

Synopsis

New college graduates Will Sterling and Mara Gaines are ready to take on the world--together. With only two weeks to go until their wedding, Will and Mara are busy decorating their new apartment, preparing for two promising careers, and planning their future. They both feel lucky to have met their once-in-a-lifetime love.

Then a breaking news story turns Will and Mara’s happy world upside down. The sealed records maintained by the Department of Timeline Rectification have been hacked and leaked to the press. The data is shocking: in a span of just fifteen years, four and a half million Americans have been granted timeline rectifications. What was thought to be an occasional rehabilitation program for repentant criminals is far more routine than anyone guessed. Collectively, those named in the data leak become known as the Time Wreckers, the subject of national fascination and derision. No one knows which of those named in the leak were victims, which were criminals, or whether any of them can be trusted.

Will and Mara are shocked to see their names on the list, but more troubled to discover that they were married in their first life map, too. Even worse, their rectification took them back to a time before they met. Whatever the crime may have been, Will and Mara were willing to forget everything about that part of their lives, including each other. Does the fact that they found each other again prove that they were meant to be, or does it mean they’re about to make a huge mistake? Before they walk down the aisle, Will and Mara have to confront the truth about who they were…and decide how far they’ll go to find out.

Set in 2006, Any Second Chance is the second book in the Time Wrecker Trilogy.

I am so excited to share the cover design and synopsis for ANY SECOND CHANCE with you! Huge thanks to The Thatchery for once again creating such a beautiful book cover!

Stay tuned for the official release date—Book 2 is coming out later this fall!

Therbligs in Quarantine

How Would a “Genius in the Art of Living” Shelter In Place?

When I wrote out my 2020 reading list, I had no idea that come mid-March I’d have plenty of reading time on my hands. I had hoped that reading 20 books from the Jazz Age would be a nice escape from “real life.” Kind of like the cocktail dress I wore for our Roaring Twenties New Year’s Party—fun for the afternoon, but nothing I would want to wear every day.

Then came COVID-19. Suddenly my reading list started to feel a little too much like reality.

This threat of illness is reminiscent of the 1920’s, too. The Spanish flu had swept through the nation as recently as 1918, only coming to an end in the summer of 1919 when those infected either developed immunities or died. Summers in the twenties would have also been overshadowed by the constant threat of polio, a disease that often struck children. Polio paralyzed or killed many Americans between the 1916 outbreak until a vaccine was released in 1955. To say nothing of measles, scarlet fever, and diphtheria, all contagious diseases prevalent in the 1920s that have disappeared—or nearly so—today.

So when I began my own shelter-in-place experience on March 14, 2020, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find the familiar themes of contagion and quarantine sprinkled throughout my reading list. Two of the books I’ve read so far were actually re-reads for me: Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, co-written by siblings Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. These memoirs recount their experiences growing up in the 1910s and 20s in a family of twelve children, headed by parents and efficiency experts Frank B. Gilbreth and Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth.

These past few months of quarantine, “efficiency” has been one of the last things on my mind. We are fortunate: our little family has stayed healthy so far during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both my husband and I have the ability to telework. The children have almost limitless time to use their imaginations and explore. While we shelter in place, we are living what the Gilbreths might have called “unavoidable delay.”

“Unavoidable delay” is one of the Therbligs, a term coined by the Gilbreths to describe the basic units of a worker’s motions when completing a task. Frank, Jr. and Ernestine give this example in Cheaper by the Dozen:

“Suppose a man goes into a bathroom and shaves. We’ll assume that his face is all lathered and that he is ready to pick up his razor. He knows where the razor is, but first he must locate it with his eye. That is “search”, the first Therblig. His eye finds it and comes to rest—that’s “find”, the second Therblig. Third comes “select”, the process of sliding the razor prior to the fourth Therblig, “grasp”. Fifth is “transport loaded”, bringing the razor up to his face, and sixth is “position”, getting the razor set on his face. There are eleven other Therbligs—the last one is “think”!”

— Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen

You can see how breaking down a complicated process by each task would be useful in a factory, where the Gilbreths often conducted their motion studies. Making even the simplest of processes simpler and easier to perform saves valuable time, allowing the workplace to be more productive and the workers less tired. What I love about the books is how the family applied these Therbligs in their home life, making the most of every minute.

In the first book, Cheaper By the Dozen, it’s the father of the family who seems to take the leading role. Frank B. Gilbreth, Sr., is portrayed as a charismatic, creative, highly-driven leader in the field of efficiency. He was the one that decided to buy victrolas for the childrens’ bathrooms so that they could listen to French and German language records while they got ready for the day. He painted models of the solar system and messages in Morse Code on the walls of the family’s summer home, keeping their minds active even while they were on vacation.

Given the general “unavoidable delay” of staying home for weeks on end, I imagine Frank Sr. would have used the opportunity to teach his children some quintessential skill. This was the Therblig I thought about the most, as the weeks of our state’s stay-at-home order turned in to months. I have to confess that I had a lot of ideas for how I could use this unexpected time at home. I could go back to baking my own bread! I could organize the craft supply closet! We could teach the kids to play piano!

Guess how many of these self-improvement projects have actually happened? None. Nada. Zilch.

And honestly, I think Lillian Gilbreth would have understood.

Although the memoirs are a funny, nostalgic read, the shadow of illness and tragedy touched the Gilbreths’ lives, too. While it isn’t directly addressed in the first book, a careful count during roll call reveals only eleven children. In Belles on Their Toes, a brief footnote explains that the second of the Gilbreth’s children, Mary, died of diphtheria at the age of five. Nevertheless, the family always referred to themselves as “the twelve,” phrasing I fully understand as a mother of three (two at home and one in heaven). It makes me wonder, too, about the scenes of illness that are recounted in the books—that time the children all caught whooping cough while traveling cross-country on a train, or when all the children needed their tonsils out. Maybe our current quarantine would have held an element of familiar anxiety for the Gilbreths, as it does for us.

The sudden loss of Frank, Sr. from heart disease marks the end of Cheaper By The Dozen, with Belles on Their Toes picking up the family’s story only days later. Lillian bravely travels overseas only days after her husband’s death to deliver lectures in his stead. It’s an important move: one that will lead to more respect for the field of motion study. She succeeds, and brilliantly. Lillian Gilbreth is now remembered as the “First Lady of Engineering.”

In Belles on Their Toes, Lillian shows us a different side of practicing efficiency. What strikes me about Lillian is her concern for the fatigue and well-being of the worker. It’s evident in how her children portray her in their books, as well as in her own published works. While her husband had excelled at creating systems that eliminated wasted time and movement, she focused on the individual performing each task.

Although large companies and factories had hired Lillian and Frank Sr. together to conduct motion studies, Lillian had to work extra hard to establish herself as a consultant in her own right after her husband’s death. She found that companies were much more willing to consider her expertise in the field of homemaking. Ironically, Lillian herself did not have much experience with cooking or housekeeping. The family employed a man named Tom, who held the role of cook, handyman, and housekeeper. Although he wasn’t an amazing chef, it was Tom and Tom alone who prepared the family’s meals. Still, since the field of home economics was where Lillian could find work as a motion study expert, that was where she went.

“If the only way to enter a man’s field was through the kitchen door, that’s the way she’d enter.”

— Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Belles on Their Toes

Much of Lillian’s approach to her household and her business was like this. Lillian held a doctorate in the field of psychology. She wanted to help housewives and working mothers spend less time on chores and cooking and find more free time to explore their hobbies—time she referred to as “happiness minutes.” Her practice wasn’t only about saving time—it was about increasing satisfaction and making a more well-balanced, enjoyable life. No wonder Lillian was also called a “genius in the art of living.”

This is where I find myself applying the Therbligs in our “new normal” of sheltering in place. I did come back to my idea of organizing the craft closet, but not for the sake of housekeeping. I’m doing it because we’re using our arts and crafts supplies much more often now, and it’s easier to make time for creativity when the scrapbook paper and stamps are easy to find. As a family, we’re learning that if we do school projects early, we have more time to paint and build and sew. I’m discovering how to keep up with emails and freelance work while also finding more time to be creative with my family. We’re turning away from frantic cleaning as a way to keep anxiety at bay and towards planning purposeful ways to make the world a better place, right now, right where we are.

Maybe that is the message the Gilbreths would have for us in 2020: not to pursue the principle of efficiency, but the art of living.

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Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)

By Gilbreth, Frank B.

Belles on Their Toes

By Gilbreth, Frank B.

OK Reality, You Win

When confronted with real-life dystopian themes, the author was not amused.

I mean…

We have a global pandemic, a shortage of both medical supplies and toilet paper, and now murder hornets.

Since mid-March, when my state began closing down schools, churches, and non-essential businesses, I’ve actually felt guilty whenever I sat down to write science fiction. Writing about time travel and data leaks feels so mundane now. I get the feeling that the Universe is looking over my shoulder as I type and giggling, “Oh, she thinks time travel is weird? How quaint!” But then, I can’t make my writing weirder, right? What if I accidentally up the ante and the Universe responds in kind?

Seriously though, this is a bizarre time in my writing life, both in freelance and fiction. As an education writer (and former teacher), I’m suddenly writing far more virtual-learning and printable materials than ever before, in addition to managing distance learning for my own children. As a science fiction writer and voracious reader, I’ve already gone down the rabbit hole with a number of dystopian plotlines. And quite honestly, from any angle I look at it, this year…is not my favorite.

So just for the record, here is what I have to say to 2020:

In my mom voice: “That. Is. Enough!”

In my teacher voice: “The longer it takes us to follow directions, the longer we’ll all have to sit here.”

As an honest reader review: “2020 started strong, with a great premise and quick-moving plot. Unfortunately, it slowed way down right after the inciting incident. The jokes about toilet paper shortage were funny, but they didn’t do much to counterbalance the hospital scenes of suffering and death. The day-to-day descriptions of sheltering-in-place got tedious and the story really dragged for me there. Briefly touched on topics like “government responsibility in times of crisis” and “man’s inhumanity to man,” but unfortunately the plot was quickly sidetracked by over-sensationalized elements, such as a tiger king and the arrival of murder hornets. I give it 3 stars (rounded up from 2.5)”

As a science fiction writer: “I didn’t know it was a competition! But if it is, you win. You can be the weirdest. Your dystopian future is the most creative. Please, just stop while you’re ahead. Okay? Okay.”

Author Interview with ACF Bookens

When I need a good, relaxing evening, I love to curl up with a warm drink and a cozy mystery—especially if it’s one of a series. I’ve read all of Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schultz mysteries, a lot of the Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman and many of the Cat Who… series by Lillian Jackson Braun. There’s nothing quite like revisiting favorite characters in each new book and trying to guess the ‘whodunit.’

This week, I spent my evenings with a hot caramel macchiato and a book about Harvey Beckett, a bookstore owner turned sleuth when she discovers a dead body in her storage room. What a way to start a series! I was hooked from the first page. I am thrilled to know there are more books in the St. Marin’s cozy mystery series, and even more thrilled that I (virtually) know the author! ACF Bookens and I met through the online Indie Book Festival and I am so glad I got the chance to talk more with her on the blog today!

Ellen Smith: Welcome, Andi! I am completely hooked on your cozy mystery series! Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the stories?

ACF Bookens: Oh, I’m honored, Ellen.  Yeah, I’ve always been a mystery fan – TV mysteries, book mysteries, the game Clue . . . probably because my mom was a huge mystery reader. So when I decided I wanted to write something really fun, I decided to try cozy mysteries. And I love it because I really like the characters and the place I’ve created. But it’s also a way to connect again with my mom, who died almost 10 years ago. Every time I write a new book, I think of how she might have enjoyed reading it. I think she would have enjoyed the read . . . and also that I don’t write fast enough to have kept her in books.

ES: I love the setting of your books! Having lived in Maryland myself, I felt right at home in the fictional town of St. Marin’s. Do you have any tips to share on giving such a realistic touch to a fictional setting?

ACF: Well, St. Marin’s is loosely based on the real-life town St. Michael’s, so I do often rely on maps of St. Michael’s and some of the local history – like there’s a Maritime Museum in my books and in the real town, and Harriet Tubman features into the first book in the series because she was enslaved at a plantation near St. Michael’s. So I find that having a real place to use as a jumping off point can be helpful in letting me put my creativity into the characters and story because setting is sometimes hard for me.  

My best tip if anyone wants to try this is to use the real-life town layout as a guide for where things are in the town. That way, you don’t have to decide if the lake is north or south of Main Street – you can look at an actual map and just know.

ES: Your series opens with main character Harvey Beckett fulfilling her dream of owning her own bookstore. Sounds like a career I would enjoy! Is this a dream of yours, too?

ACF: 100% My husband and I have even talked about opening a bookstore in St. Michael’s after we retire.  I worked in bookstores a lot in my 20s, and I loved them. I hope one day to have my own full of all the books I love and want to recommend.

ES: I love the dynamic between Harvey and her best friend, Mart. I also love that they work at a bookstore and a winery—clearly, they’re my kind of people! Will Mart play a big role in solving the mysteries, too?

ACF: Oh, thanks. I love Harvey and Mart’s friendship, too. Mart will play a role in keeping Harvey alive when her sleuthing gets a bit wild in most of the books. But in book 4, Plotted For Murder, Mart actually finds the victim, and she can’t help but be bitten by Harvey’s curiosity bug and want to get in on the investigative action.

ES: I adore Harvey’s dog, Mayhem. Is Mayhem based on a real-life canine companion?

ACF: Oh yes, totally. Mayhem is based on my rescue dog, Meander, who I’ve owned for almost 8 years now. She’s my gal, and when she was younger, I took her with me everything. She still loves a good car ride.

ES: In addition to writing, what other creative pursuits do you enjoy?

ACF: Well, before my toddler began walking, I was a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles. I love how they let me think, but also give my eyes something to study. I like coloring for the same reason.

But my favorite creative thing to do is counted cross-stitch. Even though I don’t have to make up the patterns, I find the attention necessary to create something from such tiny actions to be so fulfilling.

Oh, and I garden. We moved last summer, so this spring, I’m spending time figuring out what to plant where – anyone else love red-twig dogwood as much as I do? – while I also tend my veggie garden in the planter boxes my husband made me for Christmas.

ES: It was so much fun talking with you today, Andi! Thanks for stopping by the blog! How can we stay in touch with you?

ACF: Thank you so much for having me, Ellen. What an honor!!!

Folks can find me at my website:

And I’m also over on Facebook:

And then I’m Goodreads here:

And on Bookbub here:

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Are you as hooked on the premise as I am? Start here—Publishable By Death is the first book in the St. Marin’s Cozy Mystery Series!

The last thing Harvey Beckett needs on opening day of her bookstore is a dead body. 

All Harvey Beckett wants to do is help the residents of St. Marin's find the perfect book for that moment and snuggle with her hound dog Mayhem.But when the small, waterside town's newest resident discovers the body of the community's persnickety reporter in her bookshop storeroom just before her grand opening, Harvey can't help trying to solve the crime, even when her curiosity puts her in danger. 

The more Harvey learns about the town’s history – and the history of the gas station that’s become her bookstore – the more she understands that forgiveness is a hard thing to give . . . and receive. 

Will Harvey and her friends be able to solve the murder of the town reporter without her becoming a victim herself? 

Publishable By Death (St. Marin's Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

By Bookens, ACF

Author Interview with Savannah J. Goins

I met Savannah J. Goins at the online Indie Book Festival, and guys, not only is Savannah a fantastic fantasy author, but she’s also a real-life dragon wrangler! I had so much fun speaking with her last Saturday about story research that I invited her to talk more today about her books, her dragons, and her own author journey.

Welcome, Savannah!

Ellen Smith: Hi Savannah! Thanks for joining me on the blog today. I love the premise for your fantasy series, The Odan Terridor Trilogy. Can you tell readers a little bit about your main character, Enzi Montgomery?

Savannah J. Goins: Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Ellen! Here’s a little peek into where Enzi’s story begins:

Just when Enzi discovers the connection between an old necklace and her ability to turn invisible, a dragon recognizes the artifact he’s been searching for dangling around her neck. And he’s not the only dragon watching her now.

ES: What sparked the idea for the Gwythenian?

SJG: A giant icicle on the side of a mountain, actually.

My family used to drive from Indiana to Georgia to visit family for Christmas, and whenever we drove through the mountains on the interstate, we would see sheets of huge icicles draped over the cliffs.

When I was about fourteen, I thought how cool it would be if there was a ring or something that would give you the ability to see through icicles into other places. Basically like scrying, but I’d never heard of scrying then so I thought I was making it up. And then I thought I would be super original and make it a magic rock instead of a magic ring, since nobody’s ever done that before :)

ES: I have to tell you, I absolutely love the cover art for your series! It’s the perfect fit for your books. How did you find your cover artist?

SJG: Her name is Ingrid Nordli and she is amazing! I saw some fan art she created for a friend of mine, and was so mesmerized by how gorgeous it was that I had to reach out and ask her to create some art for me. At the time, I was looking for character art for Enzi, Gaedyen, Shaun, and Veri. I had a wonderful experience working with her on those, so when the opportunity arose to create new cover art for the series, she was the first person I thought of. I had another fantastic experience working with her again and 100% recommend her!

Enzi

fan art by Ingrid Nordli

Gaedyen

fan art by Ingrid Nordli

Shaun

fan art by Ingrid Nordli

Veri

fan art by Ingrid Nordli

ES: In addition to writing about dragons, you’ve done some real-life dragon wrangling! What has been your most interesting rehabilitating and fostering experience?

SJG: I have fostered a lot of tiny dragons over the last few years. Possibly the most interesting experience is the one I’m in right now, with a bearded dragon I adopted from the rescue.

I adopted Abraxos (points if you recognize the name!) a few months ago and shortly after, he broke his jaw in two places biting my finger. His bones were in poor condition from his previous owner’s level of care. He had an emergency procedure with my friends at the exotic animal clinic where I began my dragon wrangling career and he is still healing and undergoing daily treatments at home.

The vet had never seen a break like his before, so we don’t know how well it will heal, but we’re providing the best care we can for him and are hoping he will make a full recovery with nothing but a bit of an underbite left from the experience.

Another interesting foster I had was a young alligator named Levi (short for Leviathan. Full creds to my creative genius for that one:). He’d been abandoned in a vacant apartment with no heat or food for an unknown period of time in zero-degree weather.

He lived in a large aquarium in my guest room for a few months until an alligator rescue in Michigan had room for him. He was not a nice little dude, either. We kept the door closed because every time my husband or I would walk down the hall, he would launch himself at the glass hissing and cussing at us. By now, he’s probably longer than I am tall.

ES: Besides dragons, you’ve worked with some other really interesting animals! What are some of the most unusual animals you’ve treated as a veterinary technician?

SJG: I’ve worked with everything from tiny axolotl salamanders to full-grown tigers. My favorite animals to work with were the large reptile species (I even got to handle some Gila monsters and beaded lizards once—the only venomous lizard species in the world!) and rats. Rats are awesome little creatures!

I also worked with a couple of kangaroos, a coatimundi, a lynx, a patas monkey who’d been in the news for attacking people, and a lot of local wildlife such as raccoons, foxes, owls, eagles, possums, and giant snapping turtles.

ES: I really love that you’ve used some of your real-life experiences with animals in your stories. What helped you decide to start with writing fiction instead of non-fiction?

SJG: Writing non-fiction never occurred to me until a couple of years ago. As a teen and young adult, I thought all non-fiction was boring (ha! I gobble it up now!) and I’d always loved reading fantasy, especially the Chronicles of Narnia. So I guess it just naturally flowed that way.

ES: What are some of your favorite fiction books?

SJG: The Chronicles of Narnia, Eragon, Tiger Queen, Harry Potter, Six of Crows, and all Sarah J. Mass books, just to name a few!

ES: What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far as an author? What advice would you offer new writers?

SJG: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that perseverance is key. Writing is hard and revising is hard and producing a book out of a manuscript is hard, but you just have to keep doing it. Keep making a little progress every day.

And remember to enjoy the journey, despite the many struggles. I’ve met many of the most important people in my life and made several of my best memories with them all because of writing, because I didn’t give up all the times I wondered if I should. There is so much joy in writing stories (why did you start in the first place, anyway?) so make sure you focus on that and not how hard the hard times are. You can push through them and learn and become a better writer and a better person for it, and have so much fun along the way!

ES: Thanks for stopping by the blog today, Savannah! How can we stay in touch with you?

SJG: To jumpstart your writing journey and/or get unstuck, you can book a one-hour coaching call with me here:

To inquire about booking me as a podcast guest or to speak to your group, please visit this page:

I spend most of my time on Instagram and YouTube, and you can subscribe to my newsletter here:

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Ellen! It’s been a pleasure!

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The Gwythienian: Odan Terridor Trilogy: Book One

By Goins, Savannah J

YA fantasy novelist, speaker, and professional dragon wrangler Savannah J. Goins has been a fantasy nerd for as long as she can remember. While spending her days working with real animals, she has accidentally touched both tiger blood and dragon blood, so it’s only a matter of time until her own magical abilities surface. She especially enjoys stories with sword fights and talking animals. In real life, she likes drinking tea and coffee and discovering new bookshops.

She lives in central Indiana with her husband and their dog, and sometimes has a foster dragon or two hanging around as well.

Online Indie Book Festival 2020

If there is one social gathering this introvert can get behind, it’s a book festival. I have happily stood in long lines for a chance to meet a favorite author and crowded shoulder-to-shoulder to hear writers talk about their work. Unfortunately, going to an in-person book festival isn’t exactly in the cards for any of us right now. But thanks to the hard work of indie author Mindy Schoeneman, we can absolutely enjoy a day of book festival fun while staying safe at home.

I am so excited to be one of twenty indie authors joining up for the first-ever Online Indie Book Festival! We’re going to put on a full day of live discussions, author panels, Q&As— and it even ends with an online mixer with authors and attendees. Plus prizes!

Oh, and did I mention it’s free?

I can’t wait for you to meet the two authors I’ll be presenting with on Saturday!

At 11 a.m. CST (noon EST!) I’ll be chatting live on Instagram with YA fantasy author Savannah Goins! We’ll be talking about plotting and planning our fantasy and science fiction worlds, plus some of the craziest things we’ve done for story research.

Then at 2:00 CST (3:00 EST!) ACF Bookens and I will do a live Q&A on Zoom! We’ll be sharing more about our books, our author journeys, and answering your questions too!

The day is absolutely packed with features from authors of just about every genre you can imagine. Take a peek at the festival schedule!

Personally, I’m planning to hunker down in my office with a little leftover Easter candy (okay…a lot of leftover Easter candy!) and enjoy a Saturday full of bookish fun. Please join me! You can RSVP here to get all the links for the live Zoom events.

Hope to see you there!

Author Interview with Mindy Schoeneman

Life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect. As COVID-19 spreads throughout the United States and around the world, many of us have found ourselves drastically rearranging our lives. Most states in the U.S. have shut down schools for the next few weeks (at least), non-essential businesses are closing down, and many people are transitioning to working from home—or going without work at all. Most importantly, the medical community is working around the clock to meet the needs of COVID-19 patients and keeping us informed on how we can slow the spread.

At times like this, we need stories more than ever. When our world has flipped upside-down and we’re consumed with worry, we look for books that can offer an escape. We look for characters that reflect who we are in times of crisis and what we hope to become.

Adrienne’s Awakening by Mindy Schoeneman will debut next week on March 24th. Honestly, I feel this story couldn’t come at a better time. (Click to tweet) I was actually a beta reader for Mindy’s book and I immediately fell in love with Adrienne. This is a character who finds herself caught between two worlds. She’s trying to find her footing between the life she expected and a terrifying new reality. Adrienne is us.

When I first asked Mindy if I could interview her for her upcoming release, neither of us could have imagined how much the world would change by mid-March. I’ve seen Mindy rise to the myriad challenges of the past week with so much grace and strength. Listen to how she speaks on the process of writing and releasing her story in the midst of so much uncertainty:

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“In 2016, I had an idea for a story that wouldn’t leave me alone. In June of that year, I started writing the story that would become Adrienne’s Awakening. Little did I know that this story would change me. It has changed me on a fundamental level that’s hard to explain without novel-length personal and painful detail. 

Originally, this story felt like something to fill my free time. But sometime in the process, it shifted for me to feel more like a calling. When I didn’t have time to work on it, I didn’t sleep well. My dreams were heavy and I’d wake up worn out and tense. I felt an insistent urging to keep writing, to keep working on this story. I rearranged my business life a bit to make more time for it so I could finish it.

So in December, 2019, I was ecstatic to be editor-ready. I had done it! I had finally fulfilled this insistent urging to write this story. At the time, neither I nor the world had heard of COVID-19. So I began planning the publishing and launch of my book.

After carefully plotting timelines for all the work (copy editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design, etc.) that needed to be completed, I landed on March 10 as my launch date. Then my husband and I received some less-than-happy news that led us to the realization that we would need to move to a larger school district as soon as possible. Luckily, we found a home to purchase as soon as we started looking. I realized as we were reviewing the offer for the house, that our moving date would coincide with my book launch. 

Deep breath. It can be done, right? It’s not ideal, but it’s possible. 

I pushed the launch back two weeks to make sure we had plenty of time to launch this story into the world with as much care as it deserved. 

Then comes COVID-19.

All of my carefully laid plans go terribly awry. My release party—canceled. My first book signing—postponed. 

After recovering from whiplash, I began to wonder if I had imagined the insistent urge I had felt to write this story. Would anyone even know it was being released into the world with all the worry, fear, and noise in the world at this moment? What was all of that for? Why did I suffer through the writing of this if no one will see it? 

I don’t know if my launch will fall flat. But I do know this: I am a better and different person for having written the story that was within me. I am better equipped to face all of this and help where I can because I listened to that still, small voice telling me to keep writing. 

I don’t know what any of this means, but I will cling to it as my confirmation that we’re all important and that each and every one of us has a purpose. I will be content with the thought that my book might spare someone from boredom while they stay home to help protect the most vulnerable members of humanity. That my lack of a book signing event might keep someone from being exposed to illness. And one of my characters might inspire someone else with a story of their own to fill their free time.

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As you can see, Mindy is an incredible person and I am thrilled to interview her for the release of her debut novel, Adrienne’s Awakening!

Ellen Smith: I was captivated by the premise of your story! Telepathy is already a fascinating topic and you gave it a totally original spin. Can you tell us a little about how telepathy works in the world of Adrienne’s Awakening?

Mindy Schoeneman: In my story, telepathy is related to brain waves. The brains act as a sort of receiver and transmitter, and the mind readers are capable of closing off their thoughts. Like flipping a switch to stop transmitting. Of course, it’s not so clear or simple in the story for the characters, but that’s the premise I built from. 

Strangely enough, the way whales communicate first gave me the idea for my version of telepathy.

ES: The characters in Adrienne’s Awakening were so dynamic I felt like they could leap right off the page. In fact, there’s a few of them I wish I could meet in real life! If you could sit down for a cup of coffee with any one of your characters, who would it be?

MS: Wow! Thank you for that compliment! My characters often feel real to me, and in a way they are. I’ve borrowed personality types from those I’ve met throughout my life, and I “typed” them using an Enneagram test. So when I hear others recognize them for true-to-life people, it makes my nerdy little heart soar.

As for coffee, I feel like I’ve already had that coffee date with each of them, and it was glorious! My coffee dates went something like this:

Since 2016, “Adrienne” has been writing in a journal. We meet once a week to discuss what pops up in her entries. I’m starting to feel like her therapist, and I’ve been considering charging her. 

I’ve only managed to get Parker to meet me for coffee once, and when he did he shoed up late, of course. He then told me all about his innermost struggles (and by that I mean he avoided talking about any feelings and kept the entire conversation surface level). 

Effie told me she wouldn’t dare set foot in a “coffee shop” where all the hipsters like to hang out. Instead, she invited me to a dark, dingy dinner in a tiny, out-of-the-way town where she treated me to the best coffee I’ve ever had. She also told me the entire history of the place and the cook’s tragic life story. 

My favorite coffee date was James, though. I’d love to tell you why, but you’ll have to read book two first. ;-)

ES: In addition to writing fiction, you are the creator and owner of Sincerely Me. As a marketer, content writer, and strategist, you already have tons of experience with the written word! Did you find yourself using a different process for your fiction writing than you do for your business? Are there skills you use in your business that have helped you write and launch your book?

MS: Yes and no. Fiction is a completely different beast, and I struggled with finding my footing. Finally, I started treating my characters like a customer. For customers, I create extensive questionnaires I ask them to fill out. Their answers give me an inside look into who they are. Once I started doing this for my characters, everything else started coming together better. 

As for launching my book, my daily work in marketing strategy has helped me in ways I didn’t expect. I’m not just planning a launch, I’m plotting a career as a fiction author. This helps me to keep this book launch in perspective and roll with the hiccups.

ES: Work/ life balance looks different for everyone—what helps you balance your time between family, working, writing, and preparing for the launch of Adrienne’s Awakening?

MS: I’ve spent a lot of time trying to make my life fit the image I have in my mind of what balance and authorship should look like. Thankfully, I finally gave up. Instead, I started doing things that fit with my life and the limited spare moments I do have. So, I gave myself permission to do things that feel extravagantly wasteful, such as printing my entire book, putting it in a big red binder, and carrying it (and a fine-tipped red Sharpie) around with me for weeks as I edited.

Preparing for my launch has been especially difficult because it happened to coincide with me and my family finding the perfect new home for us in a new town. So I’ve been balancing family, work, fiction work, selling and buying a home (plus moving), and the launch. It’s been a lot to juggle, but I have wonderful friends who listen to me rant, pray for my specific needs, and take some of the burden from my shoulders where they can. I also have a husband who always asks, “How can I help?” Without these supporters, I would have been sunk long ago. 

ES: I’ve had the pleasure of beta reading Adrienne’s Awakening, so I know that once readers get their hands on your book, they’ll be eager to read more from you! In fact, this is the first book in The Mind duology. Can you give us any hints about the sequel?

MS: I appreciate the feedback you gave me as a beta reader. You helped me write a better story! 

I sent book one off to the editor with a clear vision of book two. But since then I’ve delved deeper into the psyches of my villains, and the story is evolving. I’m working on hashing all of that out by writing a novella that I hope to release later this year. So I suppose the biggest hint I can give you about the sequel is that you’ll get to know the villain much better. ;-)

ES: Thank you for chatting with me for the blog today, Mindy, and congratulations on your new book! How can we keep in touch with you on social media?

MS: I’m on Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter. I’m always happy to talk to people on any of those platforms. 

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The countdown is on! Adrienne’s Awakening will be available on March 24, 2020! Please join me in celebrating Mindy’s book launch at her Facebook launch party on March 26, 2020 at 7:00 CST!

Move the Desk

When we first moved to our current home, I spent a lot of time designing the perfect home office. I love my office. I work from home as a freelance writer and author, so I thought it was important to carve out a little space just for work. Some place I could focus on writing instead of getting distracted by dishes, laundry, and errands. Some place that was close to my kids’ playroom but still felt separate.

That system worked really well for a year or so. Then the kids got older and the rhythm of our lives changed. Life didn’t get busier, exactly—just different. I noticed how rarely I was able to sit and write in my pretty home office. Instead, I roved all over the house with my laptop, looking for pockets of time to write. I wrote at the kitchen island while waiting for the pasta water to boil. I wrote in waiting rooms. Whenever I had half an hour left on the laundry cycle, I spread out my notes on the dining room table and typed as fast as I could.

I hated it.

I felt like less of a writer because I didn’t have the discipline to carve out a space or time devoted just to writing. I found myself writing less, not because I didn’t have the time, but because I was punishing myself for not writing “the right way.” Whenever I finally did make it down to work in my office, a little voice in my head would chastise me the whole time: “See, this is what you were supposed to be doing at ten o’clock this morning. This is what you used to do every day. Look how much more productive you are. Why can’t every day be like this?”

A lot of adulthood seems to involve telling that little voice to shut up.

As it happens, this is currently the season of Lent, when a lot of Christians “give up” something to help us focus on our relationship with God. For the past several years, I’ve given up excuses for Lent. Instead of thinking “I should really…” and immediately coming up with a reason why I can’t, I find a way to get it done. Even if it’s not perfect. Even if it’s not the way I want to do it. And as these things tend to go, practices I adopt in my spiritual life have a way of leaking in to the rest of my life, too.

The fact is that “I can’t write until I sit at my desk,” and “I’m not truly productive unless I’m in my office,” and “Real writers stick to a routine,” are excuses. So last week, (the day after Ash Wednesday, actually) I asked my husband to help me move my little roll-top desk to the hallway upstairs. Thankfully, he is the kind of husband that responds to requests like this with “Sure, when do you want to do it?”

My desk in its new location—at the end of the upstairs hallway.

The upstairs hallway is central to everything that goes on in our home. One end has a little alcove just big enough to accommodate my desk and an extra chair from the dining room. Since relocating the desk, I’ve found plenty of opportunities to sit and work on a blog post, answer emails, and even draft little bits of dialogue for a short story I’m working on.

I still prefer working in my nice downstairs office, and I’m still committed to doing most of my writing there when I’m editing or working on a freelance project. (We also have a cool standing desk in the office, which is not moving anywhere anytime soon—it’s huge!)

But if I can’t make it down there, no excuses. This time in my life still has plenty of opportunities for writing.

I just had to move the desk.

Write What You Fear

I am not a risk taker. 

Just this week I threw out a carton of sour cream that was one day past its shelf date. (How does sour cream spoil, anyway? Does it get more sour?) My passwords are updated so regularly I'm not even sure what half of them are anymore. Come to think of it, I may actually be the only person in the Metro area that has never jaywalked in D.C., merged on the shoulder to get through Beltway traffic, or driven over the Bay Bridge.

But writing is all about risk.

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

— Ernest Hemingway

It doesn’t help that I tend to write stories about heavy topics—the things that work their way into the deepest part of my heart and don’t come out until I find a way to write about them. This is a short list of subjects that have reared their ugly heads in my stories:

• Gun violence

• Sexual assault

• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Chronic pain

• Poverty

• Alzheimer's disease

• Racism

• Sensory Processing Disorder

• Infertility

• LGBTQIA+ discrimination

• Domestic violence

Some of these issues are things that have personally affected me and shaped my life, and some of them aren't. I think it's slightly easier to write about the issues that I haven't experienced firsthand--but only slightly. When my characters face issues I've dealt with myself, I have to work harder to stay in my fictional world. It can be a huge challenge to purposefully put my characters through situations that I would never want anyone else to experience.

When I'm writing about issues that I haven't experienced, on the other hand, I constantly worry about whether I'm being accurate. I do a lot of research and reflecting before I ever start drafting, but can that even come close to having walked in those shoes myself? 

Like I said, this is tough stuff--and it should be. If I found any of it easy to write about or think about, I wouldn't be doing my job.

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”

— Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

We don't live in a safe world. That knowledge has led to so much fear, and at the same time, I've seen it give rise to so much courage. Even in me, a person who won't eat extra-sour sour cream. I believe we all have some small way of staring down our fears and turning them into connections instead.

Mine is writing. What’s yours?

20 Jazz-Age Books to Read in 2020

So January 1st ushered in a new decade, and those of us who live and breathe Downton Abbey were 100% ready to welcome the Roaring (20)20’s. Some of us may have even been a little overexcited.

Me, for example. Nothing wrong with that—after all, “a little party never killed nobody.”

But there’s so much more to the 1920s than flapper dresses and champagne towers. At every extravagant, high-society party, there were servants working tirelessly below stairs. While Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table were using irreverent wit and wordplay to poke fun at social norms, others were finding a way to make their voices heard for the first time. The Harlem Renaissance was this incredible creative explosion of African-American art, music and literature that celebrated cultural identity at the same time that it called for social change. The Nineteenth Amendment was passed in the summer of 1920, and the decade saw women not only voting in America but running for public office—and writing about freedom and feminism, too. Society was experiencing huge changes in how it saw class and race and gender, and the books of the 1920’s explore it all.

In honor of the roaring twenties, I’ve put together a list of 20 books to read in 2020. Many of these are popular novels and poems written in the 1920s, while a few are works of historical fiction set during this time frame. I’m excited to cross some of these off my eternally long to-read list. Others will be fun to revisit now that I don’t have to read them for school (looking at you, Faulkner!)

1. Jazz by Toni Morrison

Jazz

By Toni Morrison

So not only is there a book by Toni Morrison I haven’t read (yet), but it’s historical fiction set in the jazz age. Clearly, I have to kick off my roaring twenties reading list with Jazz.

“What’s the world for you if you can’t make it up the way you want it?”

— Toni Morrison, Jazz

2. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tales of the Jazz Age: Stories (Vintage Classics)

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The term “Jazz Age” was coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald, so it’s only fitting to read a collection of his short stories from the twenties. Bonus: this book includes one of his better-known stories, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

3. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)

By Frank B. Gilbreth

I first read Cheaper by the Dozen in sixth grade and liked it so much I’ve re-read it several times since then. Two of the twelve Gilbreth children recount their experiences growing up in the 1910s and 20s as the children of efficiency experts Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth.

4. Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Belles on Their Toes

By Frank B. Gilbreth

The sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen follows the young adult lives and eventual marriages of the Gilbreth children during the Roaring Twenties. I like to read this immediately after Cheaper by the Dozen—the two books flow almost like a single, uninterrupted story.

5. Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey"

By Margaret Powell

I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan, so when I read that Julian Fellowes was inspired by Margaret Powell’s memoir, I had to add it to my reading list! Powell started out as a kitchen maid—think Daisy from Downton Abbey—and I can’t wait to read her own account of what it was like to work in service in the 1920s.

6. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

By Kate Morton: The House at Riverton: A Novel

Paperback

The House at Riverton is another great book reminiscent of Downton Abbey and all the delicious upstairs/ downstairs drama. Kate Morton is a brilliant writer—her book The Forgotten Garden is another favorite of mine.

7. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Vintage Classics)

By Langston Hughes

Some poetry just sends chills down your spine, and Langston Hughes’ work is some of the best. I, Too and Mother to Son get me every time—I can’t turn the page until I’ve read it two or three times and really feel each line.

8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

The Paris Wife

By Paula McLain

The Paris Wife has been on my to-read list for ages, so there’s no time like the present to finally dive in to the story! This is a work of historical fiction that explores Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson.

9. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises: The Hemingway Library Edition

By Ernest Hemingway

And speaking of Ernest Hemingway…his debut novel The Sun Also Rises made him the so-called “voice of the lost generation.” The story is largely based on his own experience traveling to Pamplona, Spain with Hadley and their friends to watch the bullfighting.

“You are all a lost generation.”

— Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

10. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own

By Virginia Woolf

Technically, A Room of One’s Own is an essay, based off of two lectures Virginia Woolf gave on feminism and writing. I’ve read it a few dozen times and I’ll happily do it again: this essay talks about creating space for women to write, both literally and figuratively.

11. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon

By Dashiell Hammett

True confessions: this book is lifted straight off my list of “books I need to read before I let myself watch the movie.” Maybe I’ll plan a weekend to settle in with this book and then watch the Humphrey Bogart movie right after.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane

12. Complete Poems by Dorothy Parker

Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)

By Dorothy Parker

I absolutely love Dorothy Parker (and she would have slayed social media, had Twitter been available back in the 1920s). I’ve already read quite a few of these poems so I’m especially excited to read a complete collection of her work.

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”

— Dorothy Parker

13. Passing by Nella Larsen

Passing (Penguin Classics)

By Nella Larsen

Published in 1929, this novel follows the reacquaintance of two childhood friends—one who is deeply involved in her Black community and the culture of the Harlem Renaissance, and the other who chose to “pass” for white. Nella Larsen reportedly based the themes of the novel off of her own life: Nella was biracial and lived in both Black and white communities during her life.

14. Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald

Save Me The Waltz (Handheld Classics)

By Zelda Fitzgerald

Even though F. Scott Fitzgerald dubbed his wife Zelda “the first American flapper” and used her (and her diary) as inspiration for his work, their marriage was not a happy partnership. The Fitzgerald’s partying eventually became self-destructive and they both suffered from illness and exhaustion. Save Me the Waltz was reportedly written by Zelda in only six weeks while being treated at Johns Hopkins for schizophrenia. The novel is largely based on Fitzgerald’s life and marriage throughout the Roaring Twenties—enough so that it greatly upset her husband when she sent it to his publisher.

15. The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

The Call of Cthulhu: And Other Stories

By H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft was mostly published in pulp magazines during the 1920s, but he’s gone on to inspire generations of writers since then. He combined science fiction and his own mythos in The Call of Cthulu—something fresh and new, even if it was underappreciated in his own time. I haven’t read this in years, so it’s definitely time I pulled it back out!

16. Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset

Plum Bun: A Novel Without A Moral

By Jessie Redmon Fauset

Like Passing, Plum Bun depicts the life of a young African-American woman who moves to New York and decides to “pass” for white. The book is also about feminism—in New York, the main character struggles to pursue her often conflicting ambitions to marry and to become an artist.

17. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

By Agatha Christie

Out of all the Agatha Christie mysteries, why did I choose this Hercule Poirot for my top 20 list? No spoilers, but…I do love a good plot twist.

“The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it.”

— Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

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18. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall

By Evelyn Waugh

Fun fact for those of you who are name nerds like me: Evelyn Waugh’s first wife was also named Evelyn. They were known to their friends as He-Evelyn and She-Evelyn. At any rate, He-Evelyn Waugh’s novel Decline and Fall is definitely a must-read for any Roaring Twenties reading list.

19. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Text

By William Faulkner

My opinion of The Sound and the Fury suffered while I was in school since it was used so often as an example of stream of consciousness writing. I’m giving it another shot this year—maybe when I’m reading it on my own terms, I’ll have a different experience with it.

20. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is the third book by the Fitzgeralds, and the second by Scott, to appear on this list, but I just can’t end 2020 without reading The Great Gatsby one more time. It’s a classic!

““Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!””

— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

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There you have it: 20 books from the Jazz Age to read in 2020! What books would you add to the list?