Maybe?
What I can tell you is that there will be no more Ginger Gold books this year. I'm working on one more Higgins & Hawke book and then I'm taking a hiatus from writing.
Why would you ever stop?
There are a few reasons, and as I'm a person who enjoys lists, I'll make you a list:
1. I'm tired.
2. I'm really tired. No repeats? Okay, my creative well is dry.
3. I'm turning sixty (not an excuse but a reason) See #4.
4. There are other things I want to do (at the risk of being dramatic) before I die. Writing and publishing on the very demanding schedule I've kept over the last ten years doesn't leave room for much else.
What possibly could you want to do besides writing cozy mysteries?!
1. (See, I like lists). For one thing, sitting on one's behind (the spirit of Ginger is here!) for hours every single day of the week isn't good for one's health. If you recall, we've had a couple pretty scary health issues in our family, and I also had shoulder surgery which drastically limited movement. I want to spend more time out of doors, communing with God and nature, in the form of time spent on my ebike or my inflatable kayak.
I'm also a big fan of the fasted growing sport in North America (yes, I said it!) Pickleball. I have a personal goal of becoming a 4.0 player, and was very close to reaching this objective before being set back by arthritis. I hope to still get there. I want to give it a good shot.
2. I picked up the ukulele bass last year and I'm having a hoot learning to play. The musician side of me has sat dormant for many years and I'm enjoying time playing and singing in a duo with with my singer-songwriter husband called Mr. & Mrs. Strauss. It's a stretch, and I'm scared to death half the time, especially the day of the concert, but it's so fun and rewarding too. I want to give more time to this.
3. I want to grow my online business (sell books I've already written) and start a new one. More on what that business will be in the future but I can give you a hint: It has to do with teaching mystery writing.
4. Norm and I want to go back to Europe. If you don't know, we lived in Germany for quite a few years, but haven't been back since 2018. We feeling a strong tug to make this happen again. We also just want to do more travel in general, and get back to low-key RVing.
5. I'm becoming a grandparent! I need to open up more time to love on this new little one coming into our lives soon.
6. I want to write a book.
Wait, I thought you said you didn't want to write any more books?
What I said is that I needed a break from writing cozy mystery books. I didn't say that? Exactly? Well, that's what I meant. I want to write a "big book", a historical fiction that's not a murder mystery. More on this when I'm ready to share.
As you can tell, I'll need some time to get through this last task list. I do plan to report on it all as it happens on this blog and I hope you'll stay with me for the ride.
In the meantime, if you haven't already heard, The 25th Ginger Gold Mystery has just been released.
You can get in on Amazon. https://books2read.com/GGM-Olympics
And don't miss the next Higgins & Hawke, available to preorder.
