With the prequel, Threadbare, off to my editor, it’s time to construct the plot for Book Three (I don’t have a working title yet). I am facing an abyss, having never considered the possibility that I’d be writing a book three or four. Sure, I have some loose ideas, but I haven’t fully considered the challenges my characters will face. All I have so far is the trifecta of polio, Spanish flu, and WWI. As my publisher requested (along with many of my readers), I should write Book Three as a trilogy, traveling through time with my host of characters from Threadbare and In the Hands of Women (minus one).
One of the advantages of writing historical fiction is that when the plot twists, dilemmas, and reactions aren't coming to me, I can default to re-engaging in research. Strangely, many solutions reveal themselves in the obscure facts I stumble across.
Inventing, requires a clear head, one emptied of my daily ‘to-do’ list. For me, having spent my entire life multi-tasking, this type of quiet is not an easy undertaking. Promoting In the Hands of Women is an ongoing project - setting up new commitments, attending the ones on my calendar, and trying like the dickens to not forget anything is a daily undertaking. In a few weeks, I’ll have my editor’s comments on Threadbare and will be under the gun to make those revisions. In other words, I need to get cracking.
When everything fails, I extract myself from my office and drive to a different location where the daily chores aren't calling to me. Our lake home is my favorite place to write, and there isn’t much to distract me this time of year. The loudest chatter comes from the wind blowing across the lake and the crawing of non-migratory birds.
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Some cool updates (you can find details under Events on my author site, www.JaneLoebRubin.com:
1. I was a guest speaker at a bakery book club. How wild is that? And I have another in a yoga studio next month.
2. A friend of mine who owns Gallery Loupe in Montclair has worked with me on a program in December that will co-host me and a nationally known metal jeweler, Barbara Seidenath to discuss early 20th-century jewelry and the times in which women lived.
3. The furthest request I received for a signing came from the Dockside Book Store in Saint Thomas in the USVI. And yes, I will stop there on our way to Saint John.
It’s been so much fun because of all of you. Meeting new people and hearing your family’s stories has filled my bucket. Thank you for all of your generous support.
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