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My novel, Sweet Jane, is complete. For the past three weeks, I have been getting down to the business of writing. The dreaded query and equally unpopular synopsis have gone through innumerable iterations, and I have made many improvements. Researching agents is ongoing and time consuming. These necessary tasks are not where my writer’s mind wants to linger. I am planning a rewrite of my first novel and developing character arcs and plotline for another.Read More →

Janie contemplates the Pacific Ocean during her time in the Haight. From the look on her face, she is concerned about Jeremy. She would be playing “Somebody to Love” or “Brown-eyed Girl” on her inner jukebox in 1967. “Sweet Jane” – my first draft is complete at approximately 87,000 words. Now the real work begins. I will read it through for continuity. I’ve made notes from the critique sessions I attend each Saturday. Chapter Two requires an extensive rewrite, but my path is now clear. While I edit the entire manuscript, I will work on the query letter and synopsis.Read More →

With her mother’s death, the past engulfs Jane like a tidal wave. She’d gone back to Austin after the funeral, but returns to Odessa at her father’s request. This time she drives, takes her cat with her, and makes two stops along the way. Jane can’t find the boundary tree when she visits Rangerland for the last time. She realizes that trying to repair the past is futile and reaches a hard-fought decision about her future. The muse has been kind. I am at 86,000 words and have finished Chapter 13 of a total of 14. I’ve drafted a query and a synopsis- those tasksRead More →

When Janie and Ricky explored their territory in the West Texas prairie in the summer of 1962, they found a leg from a fawn lying along the side of the country lane. They marked the spot and studied the find every day, speculating about the cause, until one day it disappeared. The mystery of the fawn leg is eventually resolved, but due to a tragic life-changing event, Rangerland is over for the two friends.Read More →

Janie and Jeremy drove back from Monterey Pop to the Haight, where Jeremy shared a house with several people. Janie was new to the scene and turned in her plain, dark blue 501s for a pair of hip huggers. They didn’t stay long in the Haight. The Hippie Funeral that fall got Jeremy thinking. He lost his job as a roadie for Steve Miller, and decided to try his luck with the 13th Floor Elevators in Austin. Janie agreed, although she wanted to keep a few hundred miles between her and Odessa.Read More →

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Jane, my main character, was first imagined at a weekly writing session where we worked on the writing prompt, “didn’t get that far.” An image of an unhappy teenage girl, running away from home and hitchhiking out West in the Sixties, flowered in my mind. The girl, driven by desperation, had no plan; she didn’t get that far, but she was determined and fearless. Fleshing out Jane took time. I began with a family tree and writing character arcs for every character. I visualized Jane’s physical description, provided a family history, and she became more real with each new detail. As she was more fullyRead More →

Welcome to my website, Sweet Jane A Novel in Progress Got up and running. Good learning experience for a veritable Luddite.Read More →