It’s going to be an interesting month.

On the writing side, this week I’m tackling the climax of Tangled Roots (working title), the sequel to Driftless Spirits. It’s Halloween in Casten’s Horn, bones have been found, Ivy’s visiting Charlotte, and a mysterious stranger has Anna on edge. So much is happening, and this week it’s all coming to a head.

My goal is to finish the first draft by the end of March. One of the best things I did with Driftless Spirits was to start Book 2 before publishing Book 1. That gave me a firm story foundation for the sequel and let me sneak in some foreshadowing and hooks in Book 1 for future happenings. I’ll be starting Book 3 in the summer for the same reason. At the same time, Book 2 will be edited to death by multiple people. Since the story timeframe is Halloween, I’m adamant to publish in early October at the latest.

On the marketing side, some big news. Driftless Spirits will be featured on a two-week virtual blog tour starting on March 23rd! It’s with Escape With Dollycas, a fellow Wisconsinite and awesome book blogger and supporter of cozy mysteries in particular. I really hit the jackpot in finding her site. During those two weeks, I’ll be promoting the bloggers taking part. I’ve written guest posts for some of the days and will make sure you see them. There’s also an author interview and a character interview in the works. I’m looking forward to all the fun! Did I mention there’s a giveaway as well?

If you haven’t checked out Driftless Spirits yet, both the ebook and paperback are newly available on Bookshop.org. You can find it pretty much everywhere (here’s the universal link). It’s also listed on Overdrive for library access. (If your local library doesn’t have it in their digital collection, could you ask them to pick it up?)