Hello, Readers!

I’ve been speaking to all you writers out there for the last several months.  But now I’m switching gears.  Motivational Mondays are giving way to giving my readers some info–about me, my writing journey, my books, and all sorts of other stuff.

Hello Readers!

I want to thank you for loving my books.  It is a joy to write, and I’m so grateful that you like what I produce.

I didn’t start writing seriously until about 16 years ago.  My first book was a Work-of-Heart, about my journey with my mom, who had Alzheimer’s.  When we were going through this difficult time, there was only one book out there–The 36-Hour Day–and it was more technical than helpful.  I knew I needed to tell family caregivers how it felt to deal with the craziness of the disease, and ways they could find to cope with it.  So I wrote Alzheimer’s–Living With a Stranger.  Mom was a stranger to me, and I to her.  It’s such a sad thing.

After my mom passed away, I decided to write something “fun.”  Mountain Spirits, Desert Deceptions was my first novel.  It took a year to write, and I shed some tears while doing it.  I kept saying to myself, “It’s just a novel…something you’re making up…why are you crying?”  It was because I put my heart into that story.  I identified with the character of Stevie Coral.  I used some of the things from my own life, as well as getting a lot of research information from a wonderful Native American, Fran Dancing Feather.

When I finished the book, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  I hated to see the end of my relationship with my characters.  That’s when I knew Stevie had to be part of a series.  And the same thing happened after I wrote Double Digits, my first suspense novel, staring Annie Malone, P.I.  I loved her spunk.  I didn’t want to stop “seeing” her.  So I turned her books into a series as well.  But after two Stevie Coral books and three Annie Malone books, I thought I’d like to do something shorter, less intense.

That’s where the Two Old Biddies Mini-Mystery Series and the Senior Delinquents Mini-Mystery Series came in.  And you know what?  People seemed to really like them!  I guess in this time of hurry-up-and-wait, readers like something short, funny, and light.  They may seem like “fluff” to the serious novel reader (and sometimes I feel the same way), but those mini-mysteries fill a void…plus, they’re a hoot to write!

So, my readers, I’ll keep on writing them, as long as you keep on loving to read them.  Let me know if you want to see more of something, or less of something, or have a story line you think might be fun.  I’m always open to ideas. 🙂

Go to the “contact us” portion of the website and let me know what’s on your mind, as far as books go.  I’d love to hear from you!  Also, you can find me on my author’s page on Facebook, if you have a comment you’d like to share.

Happy Reading to You All,

Jill-Ayn