I have been having a blast going here and there to live and work.  It means I don't always have time to write like I want but this too shall pass. There is so much out there to say and see!  Currently I am on an island on Vancouver Island doing my thing.  It has afforded me the time to do my edits, and continue my research.  This island is much like Nova Scotia except perhaps a little more open to new people coming in.  Many parts of Ns are so far behind in so many ways, and on the surface it can seem charming, below, it can be very hard to move and meet new people or get accepted.  This end of the country was the first to be inhabited by more than aboriginals, and the first to be forgotten once the country grew and developed a government.

It is interesting living in different places in this huge country or other parts of the world. In the end, the climate may shape the culture, however as varied as the norms of different social structures are, they are still so much alike!  It is all about the people.  No matter what creed, race, colour or culture, people all have the same basic needs, the same basic desires and and are motivated with the same basic drives no matter how militant, or passive or convoluted they are.  Sometimes I think us human beings are so predictable because unless you are truly twisted in some way, we all want the same things, all act basically the same way under certain conditions, and like it or not, are all capable of unparalleled greatness or evil.  I have no doubts of this what so ever.  Perhaps this makes one more flexible and less judgemental since I can do as my brother or sister can do.  Who knows however one thing is for certain.  Where we are in our history, has all been done before.  

Perhaps this is a good point to remember when writing, that to appeal to others, just appeal to all our basic needs as desires, even if it is to pick up a good murder mystery and escape to somewhere else besides our daily lives, even if just for a short time.
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Editing a book is NOT easy, whether it is your own or someone else's. I thought long and hard about whether I would bother to take my book from past tense and put it into present tense because I knew very well it would mean going over every word, line by line...in essence, almost like re-writing it!

In the end, I decided, even though this entire book writing venture I had done for my own amusement since I was tired of reading murder mysteries, I was not going to do something any less than the very best I can do.  I had spent HOURs designing my cover, and even more hours learning Adobe InDesign and I expect it will be the same learning Affinity Publisher. If I were to NOT do the best I can on the writing, then it would be like doing a painting of a house with lousy perspective...no matter what details you apply to the building, it would always look off, and so would the book!

I admit ignorance in so many ways, I make no bones about that. I never set up to write an award winning book. I am not a retired journalist who has spent her life writing, and I am not an academic. I am just someone who has led an interesting life and likes murder mysteries!

I know my writing style is not quite orthodox.  I wouldn't expect it to be since I am not orthodox either!  And I would hope my writing isn't overly showy or flowery. I am just not that type. I am a Sagittarius, we get to the point and are direct. So if I can say something or present an impression, idea or setting in a few words, you can be sure I shall do it! On more than one occasion I put a book down because I couldn't slog through all the descriptive words. Perhaps I will grow more in my writing style and my next book will have more poetic, fancy or fashionable lines, however for this book, what you read is what you read. I set out to tell a story, invoke a few feelings and also illuminate a topic as well as leave you trying to figure out who did it. 

Time will tell how much my book appeals to others, however at this point, all I care about is how much my book appeals to me.  After all, I am the age group I expect to target, middle aged female, and if others decide to read it, bonus, certainly would be a surprise. For now, next step is to read agai and then send it off to my editor for her approval and proofing. Oh the joys of it all!