Catching Up

Now you know how terrible I am at keeping up with this sort of thing. I promised I would attempt to make regular posts here in case anyone wanted to read them, but it's been a few months since I've been here. Sorry about that in case anyone has read it. I've been working on upgrading my MySpace page, with the help of one of our children, and think it looks a little better. I've added a number of pictures and the book trailers I made for two of my books. My friend, Gary has also put up a nice website for me and I have linked this blog site and the MySpace page to it so I can sort of gather everything up and manage it a little better. My website is http://brenda-adcock.com and the MySpace page is www.myspace.com/bkadcock.

And speaking of books, I have finished the latest revision of my next book, The Sea Hawk, and sent it off to my editor. Hopefully, there won't be a truckload of changes that need to be made. My partner and I spent a week in New Orleans near the end of June so I could soak up the atmosphere. About half the story takes place in old New Orleans when it was only the French Quarter. We never left the Quarter during our visit and I learned a lot of interesting historical facts about the city when it was still relatively in its infancy. I hope the description I included in the book will make it enjoyable for the reader. It will be released in January 2009 unless something unforeseen happens.

My fifth manuscript has been accepted by my publisher and is currently scheduled for a July 2009 release. It's entitled Tunnel Vision and is very loosely based on a murder that occurred on the university campus where I did my undergraduate work. As far as I know that guy is still locked away in a mental institution somewhere. I think it's an interesting story, but then I think they are all interesting.

At the end of July I am attending the Golden Crown Literary Society convention in Phoenix, Arizona. It really a terrible time to be in Phoenix no matter how dry they say the heat there is. I don't anticipate spending much time outdoors. In fact, I will probably never step outside the resort where the convention is being held unless I suddenly develop a desire to feel my face crack from all that "dry heat". My last book is a finalist for a Goldie Award in the Mystery category, but I seriously doubt it will make it any further than that. Still, it is an honor to be recognized even a little for your work. I have been asked to be a presenter in one of the categories so it looks like I'll have a reason to wear my tuxedo again. The poor thing only gets dragged out once a year. But I enjoy the opportunity to wear it. Makes me feel kind of cool.

I'm a terrible time manager and haven't gotten much written over my summer break. I'm sure once I return to work in mid-August I will be more productive since my time will be more limited. Thus far this summer we have done a ton of renovation on our home and thankfully we are almost finished. I'm getting too old now for all that manual labor.

Well, it's getting late and I have to be up bright and early tomorrow because I was tapped for jury duty in our local municipal court. They turn no one down for city court and I get to spend the day listening to people explain why the broke a traffic law and shouldn't be punished for it. I've served in city court before and they are mildly entertaining and about half the time the jury doesn't believe the police officer. An interesting commentary on the local law enforcement system.

I'll try to post more regularly, but it's likely I won't post again until after my trip to Phoenix. In the meantime, take care.