It's a waiting game...

Only one refusal- pink slip - sofar from those five agents. One acknowledged my submission (thank you!) but nothing from the other three. I haven't started another novel yet. Too much going on at home to concentrate, and I am seeking ideas.

My creative spark is dim...needs igniting!

Ready to go!

I'm done...I think. Now to compose the killer query letter and approach some agents. A terrifying step and I have little idea how to make this succeed. I've read a lot of suggestions, and have a smattering of understanding, but dread those awful, "Thanks, but no thanks" responses. It's not about being rejected, more about all the work being wasted!

I now need a new idea for the next attempt, as I know that is a good step - get another book going asap...

Almost done with first and second drafts

Completed the penultimate chapter of the novel today. I have the ending mapped in my head, and it is actually written on my brain. Now to commit to paper! My writing style means I not only get those ideas down, but I edit as I go. Not recommended by anyone as far as I know, but I am finding I cannot do this any other way. It comes from all those years of preparing lengthy papers for my degrees, when I found the same issue. I cannot let mistakes go by if I see them! Anal!
However it makes the editing much easier when I finally reach that point. I wonder if it really matters how you do this writing thingie, so long as you get it done.

Writers Block?

Now nearing the culmination of my novel - approaching both climax and culminating point - I am stuck with a mind block that defies me. I know how the characters want their story to end, but do I want the same. I have two very different avenues to take, and am so undecided and sitting on a most unomfortable picket fence!

So, who will win - depends, and I may have to write two versions - a good idea, and I only just thought of it!  Off we go again...

The novel has a life of its own!

Interestingly, my novel draft is taking on its own life!  The characters are telling me how they want to proceed, and I may agree.  There are two directions as I approach the third part...and I am undecided.  Who is in charge? Darned if I know.  Maybe many writers find this happening.  You plan it out, then find yourself in a segue - not necessarily good - but it may take you somewhere more thrilling or of interest to the reader.  Hmmm...now I must decide which way a reader would prefer, then NOT do that?  Do I want to surprise the reader, shock them, or satisfy?

A review I am proud of!

My first book, "Panama? Why Panama?" has been reviewed by Premium US Reviews and the result follows:

Panama? Why Panama?
by Iris M. Todd-Lewis
Trafford Publishing

reviewed by John E. Roper

"I guess it's my Parisian French spoken with an English accent that confuses them? If one more set of eyes roll into someone's forehead I'll smack him or her!"

Life in exotic destinations intrigues us, and due to this an entire subgenre of true adventure books revolving around the building projects of individuals determined to carve out a new life for themselves in a foreign locale have emerged. Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence along with Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy may be the premier examples of writing in this field, but newcomer Todd-Lewis' book seeks to do them one better by recounting her and her husband's experiences a full two and a half years before they ever emigrate!

Based on her ongoing blog but expanded for this format, the author's book starts out with the couple's decision to move somewhere close enough to Canada for family visits yet far enough south to be better for Iris' arthritis. After some careful research Panama is selected, and thus begins the long and frequently frustrating odyssey of trying to build a house in another country while closing down life in your own. In a weekly series of posts Todd-Lewis takes her readers on a lively and often humorous trek through foreign red tape, banking delays, building issues, house renting (and selling) hurdles, and the ever-looming anxiety of trying to unload a business that no one either wants or seems able to buy.

Written with transparency and a personable manner, Todd-Lewis' narrative retains the newsy appeal of a blog but with the clear beginning, middle, and end that a book requires. As a postscript she even includes a critical analysis of some of the decisions she and her husband made along the way to help guide future emigrants in their own moves. Overall, the author has constructed an enjoyable and well written memoir that practically begs for a sequel.

RECOMMENDED by the USR                                        

©2015 All Rights Reserved • The US Review of Books

Needless to say, I am elighted and agree with every word!  The sequel has been written and is out there for sale as "Postcards from Panama", also available through Trafford.

Update

Slow going again.  I want to get to the editing stage, but there is still a way to go before I can start.

This past week, I discovered I had sold all four books I placed at a local B&B, so I will collect the money and have left some more books.  These were my first book "Panama? Why Panama?" and I have personly sold about a dozen.  The sales are low with such a niche market and my royalty checks are very small!

The cover of my second book "POSTCARDS from PANAMA"