My Novel Found a Publisher!

Whoopee! Although big time publishing moves at the speed of a cautious sloth, I can finally announce that my mystery novel has a publisher! I am over the moon that Kensington Books Publishing, New York, New York, has taken my book. It feels like they will be a perfect fit. Kensington is an “indie,” or not one of the “big five” publishers like Simon Schuster, Random House, etc., but it has a stellar reputation and publishes lots of mysteries and thrillers. They said they loved the writing and the theme, but as, expected, I’ll be working with Editor Wendy McCurdy on polishing it up before it comes out. I won’t know how extensive the suggested revisions will be until the end of the month or early November, but cross your paws the process will go smoothly. I’m already working on novel number two (yes, a series with the same characters), and would like to make progress on that too this fall.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that it won’t come out until February or March of 2026. I know–forever, right? That is, without question, the downside of a NY publisher. Did I mention earlier something about things moving slowly? But a late winter/early spring 2026 pub date is actually better than the alternative, two years from acceptance being common in the industry. In spite of my repeating “Do they know how old I am? (about to turn 76) multiple times, that’s the soonest it can come out.

I will admit that the process has felt sooo long. I finished a “final” draft in mid January, and it was sent out by my agent to a list of editors in late spring. It received lots of (expected) rejections–“We just love X but have a problem with Y,” and “We just adore Y but can’t quite get on board with X,” until finally getting two offers–a “triumph,” I am told by friends in the industry, given how many manuscripts flood the offices of national publishers, and how hard it is to get fiction published.

I came close to signing with a “hybrid” publisher, Little Creek Press, in Mineral Point, WI. Along with loving their team, headed up by Kristin Mitchell, this kind of press is much more agile than traditional publishing. It’s a “hybrid” because it’s similar to self-publishing (you have to pay them), but it’s not a vanity press. They carefully vet all submissions and only those of the highest quality. I eventually went with Kensington, on the advice of many (because of their ability to get the book attention), but if you are a Wisconsin-based or themed writer, I strongly suggest you talk to Little Creek to learn more about them.

Writing a fiction book is such a strange mixture of solitude and community. I started on this novel in 2019, working with Susanna Daniels of The Madison Writer’s Studio in its initial phases. (She was great!) I let it sit during the first year of the pandemic, when it felt like all my energy was going toward staying alive. (Have we already forgotten about wiping down all your groceries in the garage with bleach?) I picked it back up over a year later, and worked on it sporadically until 2023, when I committed to finishing it by the end of the year. As is always true of good fiction, that meant lots of days writing alone in my study, but also a banquet of advice and feedback from friends, other writers, and my agent. No matter how much you read, it’s just not obvious how much writing, rewriting, re-rewriting (into what feels like infinity) goes on. And how much we count on feedback from friends. I’m especially grateful to have had an agent who is a great writer herself, a group of friends titled the Driftless Mystery Advisory Covey, and monthly meetings with the brilliant writer, Cat Warren, of NYT best-seller What the Dog Knows.

Nor is it obvious how much time and thought goes into each sentence. Like any discipline, the craft of writing includes so much more effort and thought than is obvious from the outside. Take the first sentence of this blog, for example. I wrote:

“Although big time publishing moves at the speed of a cautious sloth . . . “

Hmmmm, do I like the phrase “. . .big time publisher?” But what does that mean? Better “New York-based” publisher? Not sure that adds much. How about “. . . traditional publisher?” But what does that mean to those not in the bizz? I think I’d stay with “big time.” At least, for today. If this was in the novel, I’d mull on it and look at it again tomorrow.

What about “. . . cautious sloth?” Hmmm, can I make that better?  I like “sloth,” but is there a better word than “cautious?” Sedated sloth? Yes, better I think, I like the alliteration. Okay, I’d make that edit the next day. Good writers do this for every single word in their book, not to mention juggling plot, voice, tone, character development, etc. etc. Good books go through multiple drafts, endless attempts to get rid of unnecessary words (adjectives are your enemy), and sometimes radical changes in voice, plot, and or characters. As I’ve said, “the great thing about fiction is that anything can happen, and the awful thing about fiction is that anything can happen.” An infinite number of choices isn’t always easy.

Writing fiction, I have learned, is hard, and insanely fun. I’m ridiculously excited about my first attempt coming out, although it feels like so far away. There will be lots to do in the meantime though, from revisions to line edits to proofing the final copy to working with the publisher’s art department on the cover to helping to craft a marketing strategy. (We are given “author’s questionnaires” that ask things like “Please provide contact information for every single person on god’s green earth who could help you promote this book.)

So. This is a rather (see what I did there?) long-winded way of saying “Hey! My first novel has a publisher!” Please excuse my exuberance.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: The month-long black mold garage redo extravaganza is finally over, Jim and I took a morning to savor a testament to joy and creativity called the Farm/Art DTour west of Sauk City, WI, subtitled: “Where artists explore timeless connections between land and people.”

My favorite is called “Preserves,” a double entendre, with “preserves” as the 1,000 canning jars making up the walls, each holding a photo of a living thing that lives in the Driftless area, and “preserve” as a homage to Aldo Leopod and his conservation ethic. Brilliant.

Next up on our WOW list is “There Be Dragons,” built upon the irrigation “pivot pipe” systems working the fields around here.

Here’s Jim to provide some scale.

We went back a week later, this last Saturday, because the Food Fair in Wittwen wasn’t open yet when we arrived the first time. Yum. Here are the handsome men of the taco tent, who did magical things with pork tacos.

Then we were off to a one-day trial in Genoa City, hosted by Shannon Wolfe and the good people at Magic’s Legacy outside of Genoa City, as part of the American Herding Breed Association.  It was crazy fun, a totally different course than the usual border collie trials–no long outrun or cross drives, but lots of obstacles like the Maltese Cross, loading into a trailer, a standard kind of pen, and moving over a free standing “bridge.” Skip and I had a ball, and he ended up with High in Trial (Note: Small trial, lots of beginners–Skip is instructed to keep his head it’s normal size.) I was happiest about the fact that he had some push in him that he wasn’t showing earlier. I’ve been working hard on it and he looked good in that regard. Yay!

I showed him his ribbons, he tried to eat them and then looked at me as if I’d pimped him. Best part was the organizers letting me work Maggie “exhibition only.” She’ll be twelve in January and we just found out she’s in Stage 2 kidney failure. Our run was pretty sloppy (on me), but she had a ball and did really, really well. It made me so happy to give her a go. Here the dogs are totally confused as to why I called them over to sit and stay for no reason whatsoever.

There’s another trial in two weeks at the same place; I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Here’s some of the decorations already set up for “Stocktoberfest:”

In the interim, wish me luck on what I hear from my new editor, good weather for the last trial of the season, and without question most importantly, keep sending our love and any support we can afford to the people whose lives are in chaos after the hurricanes. Sloppy kisses to your dogs, hold them close to your heart.