Fifty years ago, I published my first attempt to become a writer. Over the years, I’ve seen so many changes. In the old days, I often received my manuscripts with comments written in the margins or in letters helping me improve my stories. These days, editors seem to want a manuscript nearly ready to publish. In those days, there were magazines galore waiting for short stories and an agent wasn’t needed for submission. Slowly, the magazine market dried up. A number of book publishers have either closed their doors or merged with other publishers. In some ways, this is sad.
But there are positive matters to consider. Back then, there were only hard cover and paperback books. I remember being at a small conference when two writers so envied me because three of my books were in hard cover. Now, there are many ways to publish. Major publishers, small publishers, electronic publishers, self publishing.
I found electronic publishing near the end of 1997 and had my first eBook appear in 1998. These times were exciting and sometimes traumatic for writers, if they chose to go that ways. My first book, though it’s been updated and parts re-written, is available today. The book in its many incarnations has not made me a fortune but has continued to sell and sell. MURDER and MINT TEA was and is the title.
Murder and Mint Tea
Katherine is a retired nurse and a retired church organist. The small Hudson River village where she lives in her Victorian “Painted Lady” makes her the neighborhood matriarch. Along with her Maine Coon Cat Robespierre, she guards friends and families.
When amoral Rachel moves into the first floor apartment of Katherine’s house, trouble erupts. The murder weapon is one she recognizes and makes her fear for her friends and family.
Finding the killer becomes her goal.
Editorial Review
“Murder and Mint Tea is a gem in its genre, combining the voice of a classic American whodunit with that of a traditional British detective novel. Murder She Wrote meets Miss Marple in a beautifully crafted tale that makes the reader want to reach into the pages and dispense justice to the villainess themselves.” ~ Writer Gail Roughton
