Unexpected Benefits

Before writing, my network of friends and family included one fiction author. She encouraged me to write, and I met a couple of online friends in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) community.

I joined local and national writers’ associations and met more writerly people.

I took online classes offered by the National Sisters in Crime Guppy Chapter. The classes are filled with writers in all stages of their career—from beginning writers to published authors.

But it’s through the in-person and Zoom meetings that friendships bloomed with other writers.

Developing a network of writing friends was an unexpected benefit of writing. Now when I browse mysteries in physical or virtual bookstores, I personally know some of the authors.

I met Karen Sue Walker through a local writers’ organization. I enjoy her three series—the Bridal Shop mysteries, the Haunted Tearoom mysteries, and the Arrow Investigations action-adventure mysteries. Because I know her, I feel a special connection to her characters and stories.

I often read at tea, and one of Karen’s Haunted Tearoom mysteries is the perfect companion.

Fan Club

My fan club has doubled in size recently. From 1 to 2.

One of my daughter’s friends was visiting her and saw “Murder Goes on Vacation,” the second Detective Scott McGregor mystery, lying on her table. He was reading it after another friend had shared the book with him. My daughter told him her mother wrote it, but he didn’t believe her — until she showed him the dedication and my picture on the website.

The anecdote gave me a warm feeling of accomplishment. Readers beyond my social network of family and friends felt the book was worth sharing.

(And for the sake of honesty, the other club member is really a fan of the children’s book illustrator, Deborah Anne. Isn’t she cute?)