Ten years and nine books later...Some Odd realizations, and a Confession...

Who would believe that my seventh Lucy Campion historical mystery and my ninth published novel overall, would be dropping next week?

Certainly, not me. 

As I've discussed on this blog before, it took me over ten years to write my first book--A MURDER AT ROSAMUND'S GATE, which came out in April 2013. I truly thought it would be the only novel I ever wrote, and I remember feeling so accomplished that I'd gotten past that 100-page mark. Then, when I received my contract, a two-book deal, I began to chronicle every step of my journey, with such breathless excitement. 
Copy edits! 
​Change of title! 
Cover reveal! 
100 Days! 
ARCs! 
Release Day!  
Not to mention I was just writing post after post for SO MANY BLOGS. Blog tours! Blog journeys! Blog quests!  I'm glad I documented the progress of that first book so well--the start of my Lucy's journey--because now...I'm tired.

Not tired of writing. I'm never tired of writing. Or seeing my book out in the world. But, blogging is hardly on my radar at all anymore. And in fact, when I finally decided I'd better post about my new book, I couldn't remember my password, the settings had changed, and worst of all, I made a dreadful discovery....

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I NEVER POSTED ABOUT MY SIXTH LUCY NOVEL. 

THE CRY OF THE HANGMAN was published by Severn House in November 2021.  And I never even told the story. Nothing about what inspired me, nothing about why I wanted to tell the story of a hangman, how I encountered a set of amazing objects that served as unexpected clues. I didn't talk about Lucy's relationships, after she stood at the crossroads.

How is that possible? Seriously? Not one single post.
That's awful.
I mean, I feel I can reasonably blame exhaustion brought on by the pandemic and having a super demanding day job. I also managed to have two Lucy books out in one year too, which was just draining. And maybe blogs are just a decade out of date. (That's probably true). But a lot of awesome stuff happened in that book, and there's a part of me that feels I let Lucy down. 

So I've tried to re-inspire myself to find different ways to talk about Lucy in Death Among the Ruins. Who were these rag-sellers who roamed post-Fire London? How did the busk--a piece of a woman's corset--become a lover's token, and a key to a murderer's identity? These are the types of odd interesting details that drive me, and maybe just maybe, I'll write a post about it. Or not.

But these Lucy Campion novels have been a true joy to write...they kept me sane when the world around me felt so difficult. And I'm so proud that I've been able to tell Lucy's story, and expand her so far beyond the 18-year old chambermaid who first opened the door to murder, plague, and London up in flames. 

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