My favorite part of summer is a very small and specific thing. The smell of the fig tree outside my office window. I love the smell of anything fig – the leaves, the fruit, the… well, I guess that’s about it, huh? Smell is one of the strongest triggers of memory and emotion, and I have a strong sense of smell (sometimes it’s great, other times, not so much). I wish Diane Ackerman had dedicated more of A Natural History of the Senses to it.

But I’ll be leaving my fig tree behind for a few days to drive off into the woods and unplug. Not literally, because I’ll need AC and I’ll need to charge my computer and run my Nespresso machine and turn on the lights. But you know what I mean – no social media or internet to distract me. Just me and my words, and my crocheting, and Grimm on DVD. But mostly words. Lots and lots of words.

Hey – if you haven’t signed up for my Patreon yet, think about it! Love Letters starts in June!

UPDATE: Well, that was quick. I figured it would take a few days, but my Patreon account is already ready to go! Find out more at My Patreon Page!

Καλό μήνα! Or, kalo mina. That’s what you say in Greece at the start of a new month. Basically, have a good month. My husband and I are planning this year’s trip to Greece and I’m supposed to be improving my Greek skills, but it’s a hard slog for me. I’m excited, though, because sitting alone in an apartment in Thessaloniki is where I get some of my best work done. This year we are in the same apartment as last year, and I can’t wait. It has a Nespresso machine, which was the source of my current addiction.

Anyhoo, I’m grinding away at Not a Witch, but it’s been slow going as life has been a little chaotic the last couple of months.

I also spent some time working on book two of Cable’s Bend, “Love Letters”, and finally had to admit something to myself. At first I thought the story was boring me, but that’s not it. What it is, is that it doesn’t fit in with the other stuff I’m writing now. A big part of that is that it’s got sexy bits. I’m fine with writing sexy bits, but I’d rather do a scene where they start getting hot and heavy, and the cat throws up on the sofa or someone throws their back out.

Timing-wise, “Love Letters” runs concurrently with Saving Grapes, and includes some of the same events, but from a different viewpoint. The main characters are men in their late forties, with responsibilities and commitments, who have to figure out how to balance that with finding personal happiness. Yeah, I know it’s not action-packed, but it’s real, and deserves a shot.

I just don’t think it fits with the “brand” I’m building with Jake & Boo and the upcoming Hill Country Witch series.

So, here’s what’s happening:

I’m starting a Patreon account. It has been created and is under review. Once it has been approved I will post a link here and on Twitter. I’ll be serializing the stories and throwing in some stuff from the Jake & Boo universe as well – I’m thinking some short stories about Jake and Don as kids, that kind of thing.

Anyway, content will start going live in June, and the stuff I put on Patreon won’t be available anywhere else! If that kind of stuff interests you, I hope you’ll check it out.