Where has the year gone? Wow!

I’ve started Book Three of my Geek Girls trilogy, Confessions of a Beatlemaniac, but alas, have not found a critique group to critique the first two books. I did submit the first chapter of Book 1 to a contest and got some excellent feedback that I used to help me with that all important first chapter. My local romance writer’s group had our writer’s retreat in April and my first chapter of book 2 was easily torn apart and reconfigured by my excellent romance writing sisters. So it’s been rewritten as well. Alas, those two books have gone as far as I can edit on my own. Time for new sets of eyes. Book 3 is starting out shaky because I’ve been distracted by writing in a new genre.

Mystery.

I’ve never been much of a mystery reader per se but I have enjoyed the odd cozy here and there. Knowing that I wanted to dabble in mysteries a little bit, a MARA sister, M.A. Monnin, who writes The Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, sent me a link to an anthology looking for mystery short stories set in or about ancient times. Right up my alley! I quickly dug out what I thought would be two good starts to an ancient Greek mystery series set during Alexander the Great’s time as a young prince and turned the first book into a short story. I polished it up, sent it to a couple mystery writers for critique, did more editing, and then submitted it. I haven’t heard back and probably won’t for awhile as the deadline is October 31, 2024 but I’m optimistic. It is titled A Death In Pella. Wish me luck!

With the first short story under my belt I quickly shifted gears into turning the second synopsis into another short story and finished it last weekend. I did a little bit of editing on MARA’s Typing Tuesdays (where we get together to do word sprints, brainstorm or just talk books and writing) this week. I’m in no rush to do anything with A Death in Corinth until I find out how the first story does in the anthology. I will be writing any mysteries under the pen name Valancy Paige. I aim to do a third Alexander and Hephaestion murder mystery set in Athens but I need to brainstorm to come up with something. Nothing has come to mind as of yet. The intention is to get into the groove of writing these two historical men as sleuths and then work up to a full length manuscript set post-Philip II’s death and Alexander’s ascension to the throne of Macedon. There are a few stories percolating there, but nothing concrete.

I haven’t given up on writing my historical romances but I’m already tired of Regency and Victorian era romances, despite their enduring popularity. I’m thinking of dragging out an old start to an ancient times romance one shot set during Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia but I haven’t decided yet. Confessions of a Beatlemaniac takes precedence. Must get The Geek Girls Trilogy complete.