The first book in my Show Me mystery series will be published in February 2013 by Five Star, an imprint of Thorndike/Gale/Cengage.

Moving a book from initial idea to print distribution takes years. For me, the most exciting part of the process is writing the first draft. I also enjoy rewriting to shape the whole, to strengthen each chapter, to add punch to each scene, to find the exact word or phrase. The next three to five passes, when I try to function as an editor, don’t thrill me so much.

As Show Me the Murder wends its way through the publisher’s editorial, design, and production process, I’ll polish the second book in the series and entertain myself by writing the third.