Jungle Red Writers: Cheers and Jeers (aka Check-in!)

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Cheers and Jeers (aka Check-in!)

LUCY BURDETTE: Today is check-in day--we'd love to hear how things are going for you too!

CHEERS: It’s our busy season in Key West because everyone wants to get away from winter. This week we have two special guests in town—Hallie is here teaching and Debs arrives on Saturday as she’ll be our speaker for the Friends on Monday. A mini-Jungle Reds reunion. Yay!

JEERS: I am taking a French conversation class 3-4 times a week and I wish I knew where all my French vocabulary has gone!

CHEERS AND JEERS: I’ve gotten so many ideas for Key West mystery #14 from the police academy and from a book club at the Big Pine library, but precious few words have been added to my manuscript…

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:

CHEERS: Yay! THE HOUSE GUEST has gone into second printing! Just six days after publication. I am absolutely floating. And! As I type this, it’s Amazon number 2 in genre new releases! SO fabulous! (Can we somehow get me to number one? Like Debs in her genre?) I am still counting blessings like mad.

JEERS: Oh argh. I have the edits for my next book ticking away until the due date. I love the new book, but I cannot focus until I am off of book tour. I have flown, gosh, thousands of miles in the past two weeks. Can that be? And that little nagging feeling of ‘YOUR EDITS ARE DUE” is flying along with me. But I have time.

CHEERS AND JEERS: What do I do next? I have a title and NO PLOT for the next book, book 16. So weird. And– I also have a great idea for something totally new. What would my world think of something totally new? I cannot decide what to do, so maybe that means it’s not time to decide.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hank and Lucy, those are some amazing cheers to nab! Mine aren’t nearly as exciting.

CHEERS: Youngest’s car dropped dead, throwing her into crisis, since her business - dog care - depends on her having reliable transportation. Last Friday she did her research, took the bus down to Portland, and in one long day we found a new-to-her car, test drove it, got it inspected by my mechanic, and made the purchase, title, tags and taxes before the town hall closed for the evening. She didn’t even have to stay the night! That felt like a real accomplishment.

JEERS: I've been so bogged down in taxes, grading, health insurance paperwork and more of Dad’s estate stuff, I’m getting almost no writing done. I keep feeling if I can only get these one-time-only things out of the way… but then more one-time-only things fall onto my to-do list!

CHEERS AND JEERS: My invitations to speak at conferences, libraries, etc. are starting to get back to pre-pandemic levels, which is very nice. But I’m finding planning and executing travel when there’s no one else at home is much more complicated than it was when I had the Maine Millennial or Samantha living here. So…hmmm.

RHYS BOWEN:

CHEERS: My only cheers this week are for Hank and Debs and their brilliantly successful new books. I’ll bask in your glory!

JEERS: This should have been my Jungle Reds week but I swapped with Lucy because I should have been on a cruise in the Caribbean. Alas John and I both came down with a horrible virus that has laid us low and we had to cancel the cruise. So I’m at home, staying away from people because we’re still infectious, coughing like La Dame au Camelias and feeling sorry for myself.

CHEERS AND JEERS: But I am making myself move ahead with the next book so I can finish early and plan a lovely vacation somewhere, sometime.

HALLIE EPHRON:

CHEERS: I’m in Key West where I get to hang out with Lucy and go to events at the wonderful Key West Library and teach a class at The Studios of Key West to a stellar group. So good to work out someone ELSE’S plotholes!

JEERS: I’m recovering from a mysterious virus that made me itch all over. Gaaaa.

CHEERS & JEERS: Being in a warm place in February is grand, but who invited all these other people?!?

JENN McKINLAY:

CHEERS: On the stroke of midnight last night I turned in the manuscript for FATAL FIRST EDITION (LIbrary Lovers #14) *and* the copy edits for SUGAR PLUM POISONED. Hallelujah!

JEERS: My house is a revolting wasteland of pet hair and unopened mail. It’ll take me a week to get it clean and then I’m back on deadline. Wah.

CHEERS AND JEERS: I nurtured a small black mission fig tree back to life. Yay! Now I have to figure out where to plant it. Ugh!

DEBORAH CROMBIE:

CHEERS: Lots of cheers here! I'm so looking forward to my upcoming visit to Key West, where I will get to see Lucy, Hallie, and Barb Ross, and speak to the wonderful Friends of the Key West Library. And A KILLING OF INNOCENTS is doing really well. The reviews have been lovely, it made #8 on the Wall Street Journal Bestsellers list, and it just had a fab tweet from ANN CLEEVES!

@AnnCleeves

My most recent crime read was A Killing of Innocents by

@deborahcrombie

New to the series but got pulled in immediately by the interesting plot and engaging range of recurring characters.

JEERS: I've made some real progress on the plot for Kincaid/James #20, but I still don't have a title, and very few words are getting on the page.

CHEERS AND JEERS: Loving all this promoting and travel (although not a fraction of what Hank is doing!) but it's really hard to concentrate on writing until things calm down a little.

P.S. A KILLING OF INNOCENTS is out in the UK today!

Now it's your turn Red readers!

82 comments:

Joan EmersonFebruary 23, 2023 at 12:42 AM
CHEERS: for Hank and Debs and their well-deserved successes with their new books . . . .

JEERS: My poor car is spending more time in the shop than in my driveway . . . I am definitely not looking forward to replacing Miss Phoebe . . . .

CHEERS AND JEERS: for the weather . . . we’re still managing to stay snow-free, have had only a very few really cold days . . . but we actually had a tornado touch down [north of us, so we were okay, thank goodness], but the weather is quite mercurial this winter season . . . .
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Mark BakerFebruary 23, 2023 at 2:29 AM
CHEERS: A good friend was in town for three nights, and we got to hang out all three nights. And my uncle and aunt are in town tonight and took me out to dinner.

JEERS: It's gone from 70 degrees on Monday to potentially snowing tonight. Yes, in Southern California. I know it won't stick if it does snow, but it is supposed to be cold and dump 4+ inches of rain on us on Friday

CHEERS AND JEERS: I work from home, so I don't have to go anywhere in the rain. But I will have to work, so I can't curl up under a blanket and spend the rainy day reading.
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Dru AnnFebruary 23, 2023 at 5:23 AM
CHEERS: Congrats to all the Red writers for what you have accomplished. Hank, I'm reading THE HOUSE GUEST and loving it. Deborah, you're book is next. Rhys, sorry that you got sick.

JEERS: A result of the side effect cause a small hole under the arm. Today going in to get it stitched up. ouch.

CHEERS and JEERS: Only 20 days before I head to Tucson where I'm Fan Guest of Honor at Left Coast Crime.
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Edith MaxwellFebruary 23, 2023 at 5:35 AM
I love this new feature! Rhys, so sorry for your illness, and Hallie, your itching. May you both be restored to good health, stat.

CHEERS: We had the loveliest of weddings Saturday in the mountains of western Puerto Rico. We helped do prep with and get to know Alexandra's family and the staff at Plenitud PR; shared a house with my sisters, my son and his wife, and our dear friends; and finally watched John David
and his beloved exchange vows in a bamboo grove, followed by a plein air gourmet vegetarian feast, toasts, and bomba dancing. Such joy.

JEERS: Everything got a late start (operating on Puerto Rico time, as I've come to learn about) and the photographer didn't get pix of my boys and me, Hugh and me, or our family cluster while we were all decked out. Sad about that.

CHEERS AND JEERS: I ended the trip with three days at the opposite coast with my bestie of 45 years, complete with beach swims, ferry ride to Vieques, and driving and hiking in El Yunque National Forest, but we're flying home today (75 degrees at 6:30 AM) to an ice storm and frigid temps tomorrow.
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Hank Phillippi RyanFebruary 23, 2023 at 7:10 AM
CHEERS: coming to you from the back of an Uber on the way to the Philadelphia train station! But last night at my fantastic event in Bucks County, our Jungle Red stalwart , David Squires came to see me! I almost burst into tears! Hooray, what an absolute treat to meet him!
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Amanda Le RougetelFebruary 23, 2023 at 7:33 AM
CHEERS: For Hank and Deborah's new-book success; it's such fun to see it unfold on social media. For me, because I finished that short story I was moaning about the day Jenna Blum was here (aargh, it's so hard to write fiction, 'coz you have to make everything up!); it's less than 5,000 words, but I stitched a beginning, middle and end together and hit SUBMIT. Doesn't matter what happens to it in the contest; finishing the (damn) thing is success for me.

JEERS: We're in a super-cold spell at the moment and I have to go out on errands today. Brrr...

CHEERS + JEERS: I'm having a pair of overalls custom-made for me out of beautiful flower-patterned fabric, but I'll have to wait for warmer weather to wear them -- in this neck of the woods, that might not come until May!
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Margaret S. HamiltonFebruary 23, 2023 at 7:42 AM
CHEERS: congrats to all on recent publications! I am, at long last, querying my debut traditional mystery, CURTAINS FOR THE CORPSE.

JEERS: Still working on the marketing plan some queries require.

CHEERS AND JEERS: Meanwhile, I'm plowing ahead with the first draft of my next book, CORNICED TO DEATH.
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Grace KoshidaFebruary 23, 2023 at 8:03 AM
CHEERS: I'm happy to be healthy today on my birthday.

JEERS: I'm getting a birthday snowstorm with gusty winds in Ottawa so I'm staying indoors. Doing daily steps inside.

CHEERS & JEERS: Due to the nasty weather, I plan on finish reading 3 really good books today and am making a traditional Japanese winter meal for dinner.
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MargoFebruary 23, 2023 at 8:19 AM
Cheers: It is late February and I am starting my transplants. Tomatoes are done, may do peppers today. I am going to try starting tree seeds – have no idea if it will work, but it’s only dirt…and a bit of hope. Just planting a seed makes me happy. Going through a good stretch of books to read, on all sorts of different topics.
Jeers: We have a semi-feral cat that is now in the house, trying to be tamed. He has boy parts. The other 4 boy cats who were perfectly happy, now seem to think they need to compete. Many pheromones mean much floor and wall washing. Free-Willie has a date with the vet for parts-departing March 22. Hope that works.
Cheers & Jeers: It is late February, and we have no snow – Don’t know how this will affect the water table for the summer. Best to take an optimistic outlook and not fret about it, and just enjoy the glorious sunshine (which means we burn less wood to heat the house).
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Flora ChurchFebruary 23, 2023 at 8:25 AM
Cheers: Rhys, hope you and John get well soon and can have a marvelous vacation! Hallie, I know, right? What are all those people doing, barging in on your paradise?! The nerve of some people! Hank, you're giving me jetlag with all the travel, but I'm betting you're pretty much floating along from one joyous celebration to the next! And Deborah, your book was so worth the wait! I loved being immersed in Duncan and Gemma's lives again, with all the gang popping in and out--especially happy for the Winnie bits! Looking forward to your new Library Lovers mystery, Jenn--that's my favorite of your series. Lucy, what a week you're having!! Enjoy!! Julia, getting a car and done in one day is a triumph! And I can wait, as long as it takes, for Russ and Clare's next mystery!

Jeers: This crazy winter--a temperature rollercoaster--65F one day and 28F and snow the next! But, really, the highs have been more plentiful than the lows, so I'm grateful that I haven't had to deal with snowdrifts and ice-covered roads.

Cheers and Jeers: Finally getting out some, but so many weird viruses popping up! Trying not to pull my head back into my shell--tomorrow night going with friends to see youngest nephew perform at a local pub. I hear he puts on a good show! ;-)
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Liz MillironFebruary 23, 2023 at 8:27 AM
CHEERS: I got a fabulous blurb from Edwin Hill for my upcoming Homefront book, THE TRUTH WE HIDE. He said, "“Budding private investigator Betty Ahern takes on a new case that has her questioning her own belief system and prejudices in this charming, thought-provoking, and impeccably researched historical mystery set in World War II era Buffalo. This superbly crafted mystery provides the perfect entry point to Milliron’s Home Front Mysteries.”

JEERS: The release date is approaching and I am nowhere near organized enough to pull it off.

CHEERS & JEERS: There are snowdrops in my front garden, but the weather remains cool and rainy despite hints of spring.
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Pat DFebruary 23, 2023 at 8:39 AM
Cheers: I have a clump of daffodils blooming that I didn't know I had. Yay! Some wonderful workmen are doing R&M on my house and they are so courteous. I have lots of good books to read!
Jeers: The weather is wacky and hard to predict. Makes it tough for the workmen. So far this winter we've had rain, but no snow.
Cheers and jeers: I need to go to the grocery and buy something yummy. I don't want to.
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JudyFebruary 23, 2023 at 8:50 AM
Happy Birthday, Grace! I have learned so much from you here on JRW! Since you must stay in today, bake a cake. We are all singing "Happy Birthday!"

OMG, Rhys, feel better. How awful to both be sick and disappointing to miss a vacation. ( Is that a photo of the ship you were supposed to be on? Oh-h.)

Hope the itches are subsiding, Hallie. I wish I could meet all of you in Key West this weekend. You all will have such a fun reunion!

Congratulations Debs and Hank! Woo-hoo! I have read THE HOUSE GUEST and A KILLING OF INNOCENTS, and they are fantastic!

CHEERS: I finally have made all the arrangements for our trip to Alaska this summer to see Grizzly Bears!

JEERS: All the points we have amassed using a particular airline credit card brought us very disappointing benefits. Very!

CHEERS AND JEERS: All the library books I have been requesting for 3 months, are all here now;>) It's a bit much!
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CoraleeFebruary 23, 2023 at 9:22 AM
CHEERS: I saw Hank in Vero Beach. She was excellent. Her fans are wonderful too, shy me made a new contact. The contract for "Tears into Rain" was signed, it will be released Fall 2023 by Parallax Press. One room of the house has been de-cluttered. I can now see the rug. At 77, my body, mind and spirit are all up and running within parameters.
JEERS: Ron DeSatan is still governor. Shock, blood and angst is still selling on media, although good news is beginning to move into commercial sites too.
JEERS AND CHEERS: Reliable Ganesh, the current car, needs $4100 in repairs. I ran a GoFundMe campaign. Members of my Meditation Group raised enough for a new to me car, to be named Sangha's Gift.

Rhys and John, get well soon, then sail away to happiness. Inspired by the activity in Key West, a mini Zoom Reunion with Red's and fans is requested . Everyone else keep on writing, and keep on reading.. Thanks to all.
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Brenda GaskellFebruary 23, 2023 at 9:33 AM
CHEERS: My copy of The House Guest arrived from The Poisoned Pen on Tuesday before the snowstorm hit.

JEERS: The snowstorm started Tuesday afternoon.

CHEERS & JEERS: The final wave of the snowstorm is still happening, but it will end around mid-day today. We haven’t had to go anywhere and my husband is keeping on top of the snow blowing and shoveling. Also, the pineapple plant we planted in a five gallon bucket in March of 2022 from the pineapple our kids brought us from Hawaii is still surviving the winter indoors , a Christmas cactus is blooming, and an orchid has buds!
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JCHullFebruary 23, 2023 at 9:36 AM
Cheers: For Hank and Deb's book success and joyful travel. For Hallie and Lucy's time together in Key West. For Rhys and Jenn's book writing success. For Julia's tackling all the big stuff that can bog us down - while writing what is sure to be another terrific addition to the Millers Kill series. You all rock.

Jeers: For the various illnesses amongst you. What is with these wacky viruses? It makes it hard to stick your head above the parapet.

Cheers and Jeers: After weeks where the snow melted and temps were sometimes in the upper forties and it felt like Spring was right around the corner (even some birds came back that shouldn't be here) -- we got more snow. On the plus side it was about half what they said we'd get. Now with more snow on the way and bitter cold I get to stay cozy indoors for three days. However, I will miss my daily walk.
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KaitFebruary 23, 2023 at 9:37 AM

Cheers - The plot for Maine 1 is jelling, the cover for Hayden Kent #2 is revealed and I'm moving full steam ahead with edits for Hayden Kent #. Whew -

Jeers - Nothing really, it's all good

Cheers and Jeers - Not enough time to read
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Deana DaleFebruary 23, 2023 at 10:05 AM
Jeers to nasty virus stopping lovely vacations. Hopefully you are not in California, Rhys because it's COLD here and they are predicting snow on Mt. Tam.

Cheers to still having power. Now if I could stay home to read.

Cheers and jeers: all that book success and beautiful tours but when are you coming to San Francisco Bay Area? Well?
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Rhonda LaneFebruary 23, 2023 at 10:15 AM
Cheers: Because I'll be self-publishing, I finally found someone to teach me all the admin stuff that often made my head swim. Sarra Cannon is teaching "Publish & Thrive" only once this year. She's a former elementary school teacher who can deliver intimidating info without delivering it in a condescending manner. I'm now structuring a doable plan.

Jeers: I'm behind on a schedule I'd set, but I should be used to this by now. ;) Granted, I'd had some wild plans, but I'm making them more realistic.

Cheers & Jeers: Just a friendly suggestion. Please don't skip your routine checkups. Even if you look and feel fine, a checkup can find the tiny breadcrumbs to whatever is going wrong inside. #TheMoreYouKnow
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Karen in OhioFebruary 23, 2023 at 11:06 AM
Yay, for the good news. Boo, hiss for Rhys's, John's, and Hallie's bouts of crummy health. Hope you're all back to fighting trim in no time.

Jeers: some might say it's worthy of cheers, but we have daffodils blooming here, almost a full month early, and no freezing daytime temps in the foreseeable future. Terrifying for Ohio in February.

Cheers: Finally, after more than 3 1/2 years, had a GNO last night with a group of women I've been friends with for more than two decades. It was lovely to see everyone again. And bonus, the restaurant where we met was a fabulous new find.

Tonight is book club at my house, so another cheer for that!
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David SquiresFebruary 23, 2023 at 11:38 AM
Shalom Reds and fans.
----------Hooray for Uber! Here in Doylestown, PA, we haven’t had a regular car service in twenty-five years. So, despite being skeptical of Uber since its inception, I was able to get a ride to the site of Hank’s event and a pretty reliable ride home.
----------Hank’s talk and the signing were marvelous. I feel as if I’ve known Hank from way back, probably from watching the reruns of First Chapter Fun. I am at the beginning of The House Guest, page 38 and will probably “binge” this weekend.
----------Cheers: I have booked a trip to Israel, now set for this time next year. I travelled there once for five months, 35 years ago. I am looking forward to reconnecting with family when I am there. I am studying and practicing my Hebrew.
----------Jeers: I don’t do well with paperwork and I need a new passport. I’ve downloaded all of the forms, had photos taken, and now all I need do, is retrieve my identity documents from my safety deposit box and head to our local passport office which is in the new courthouse here in Doylestown.
----------Cheers and Jeers: Episode 4 of Season 12 of Vera has dropped. I will watch it today, but I fear this may be the last and final episode of the series. I guess now I will have to read all the Ann Cleeves books that are on my shelves and on my Kindle reader app that I haven’t yet read. So many books, so little time.
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Triss SteinFebruary 23, 2023 at 11:47 AM
CHEERS to Debs and Hank for such a power start with the new books. Can't wait to read!
I'm finally getting a grip on that pile of poorly connected scenes on my desk. Yay!
Planning a trip to Cornwall. Never been there and looked liked a low-key and doable first post-covid trip abroad. With a stops at Stonehenge and Lyme Regis. Yes, excited.
JEERS a series of only semi-related medical issues, treating as separate incidents. Distracting and exhausting (Think it's affecting that grip on my scattered scenes?) Dr said what I already knew- it's something and need tests. Phooey.
Rhys and Hallie, feel better, ok?
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Deb RomanoFebruary 23, 2023 at 12:30 PM
CHEERS and JEERS:
My twenty year old Honda needed major work this week, and I feared I might need to start looking for a replacement car. But the garage I’ve been using for over thirty years was able to fix it, and the cost was about half what I expected it to be! And I’m grateful that I didn’t get stuck anywhere with the car, which could have happened, considering the problems it had.

CHEERS:
I read Hank’s The House Guest last weekend and I just started reading Debs’ A Killing of Innocents. I’m ecstatic, because my ability to concentrate on reading has returned! The pandemic took it away. Hank’s book was great, and I’m enjoying Debs’ book right now!

JEERS: At the end of December I came down with a nasty stomach bug, which left me weak and dehydrated. I spent a couple of days in the hospital on an IV. Some CT scans were done, and one of them showed an unrelated problem. I was referred to a specialist whom I’ll be seeing a week from today. I suppose I should also say Cheers, because if I hadn’t been sick, I wouldn’t have found out about this. I’m praying that we can safely ignore it, because I’m tired of having surgeries! Some of my fellow retirees and I have been talking about wanting to have new experiences. This is NOT what I had in mind :-)

DebRo
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Kathy ReelFebruary 23, 2023 at 2:49 PM
CHEERS: My birthday is tomorrow, and, well, I'm having another birthday tomorrow. I'm saying that in the cheeriest of ways, because I embrace my birthdays and am grateful to see another come around. Husband and I are meeting daughter and her family to go out to eat at a favorite (of mine, my birthday) restaurant. Now, big cheers to Debs and Hank for their wonderful success for A Killing of Innocents and The House Guest. These books are such favorites for me, and I expect there to be many nominations next year for them. Cheers for an amazing week of book mail, ones I'd ordered, including a special UK Independent Book Sellers copy of Elly Griffiths' The Last Remains (that came with a special pin) and some new Agatha Christie covers from Book Depository, hardbacks that are just beautiful. My youngest niece had a beautiful baby girl this week, making me a great-aunt for the eighth time. Cheers for Lucy and Debs and Hallie in Key West together. I really need a trip to Key West.

JEERS: I'm sorry to hear that you and John have been so sick, Rhys, and that you had to cancel your cruise. Jeers to Hallie having had the itchy virus. I have another friend who ended up in the hospital this week with a scary incident, but, thankfully, she's better now. While our weather is a balmy 71 today, it will drop to 50s tomorrow. These temperature swings are frustrating, but small potatoes, right.

CHEERS AND JEERS: I'm hoping to travel more this year, but like you, Julia, it's taking a bit to get back in the swing of planning to go somewhere. There is an abundance of great reading awaiting me, but I'm a slow reader and osmosis is working for me at all.
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