Recent News on Mailboat VI

I took the above photo while settling into a writing session at the Missoula Public Library. My chair reclined at an incredibly comfortable angle. The sunshine through the windows was warm—just the way I like it. And the view was unbeatable.

Well… it was lacking a Mailboat, such as I had during my writing sessions at the Lake Geneva Public Library. But it’s hard to have it all.

My task that day was to polish the first chapter of Mailboat VI in preparation for releasing it on Patreon that weekend.

But admittedly, I was struggling to focus.

Not because of the view, exactly.

Because I felt so lucky. Because I have the best fans in the world. And because of them, I get to sit in a warm, sunlit corner with a gorgeous view and just…

Write books.

I sometimes get the impression that many of my fans envision me living in a grand mansion on acres and acres of my own, pristine, Rocky Mountain wilderness.

I definitely do not. I am both a Millennial and an artist—so, you do the math.

I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll say it again: I was always nervous about launching a Patreon page. I didn’t want to come off like an ungrateful beggar.

But the truth is that Patreon turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done.

The writing journey is far less lonely.

The pattern of releasing chapters on a weekly(ish) schedule takes a monumental task and breaks it down into small, achievable goals with a fun reward (seeing the Patrons’ reactions to what I wrote that week).

And very importantly: The support of my Patrons is actively keeping me out of my book booth at the vendor shows, and seated instead in my cozy library or coffee shop writing novels.

And at the end of the day, that’s all any of us wants: me writing novels.

Thanks to my Patrons…

I don’t have to work the less-lucrative autumn shows this year. (Attendance really slows down here in Montana.)

In fact—unless something happens to upset the balance (hello, Murphy and your Law)—I don’t have to work the holiday shows, if I don’t want to.

Guys, you know how important holiday sales are, right? This year, my going out and gathering holiday sales is optional. And that’s thanks 100% to my Patrons showing up and topping off the bank account so I can simply sit down and write.

The paid Patrons have all my love and gratitude. Thanks to them, all of you will get to read my next book, Mailboat VI, that much sooner.

So if you bump into one of my Patrons out in the wild… give them a great, big hug. They’ve earned it.

And if you feel inspired to join their ranks, you can explore my subscription options any time. We’d be delighted to welcome you aboard.

How’s Mailboat VI Coming Along?

My only answer is the good one: I’m just stacking the words.

Sounds prosaic; sorry to rob you of the “mystique” of the writer. Yes, there’s tons of muse and inspiration and pathos, not to mention technique and skill and style.

But at the end of the day, you just gotta stack the words. That’s the only difference between “I’d like to write a book someday” and “I wrote a book.”

Or… you know… six.

Seven, counting the prequel.

And if the words are stacking smoothly and efficiently—I’m happy. The characters are happy. You’re happy. Everybody’s happy.

It’s still early in the voyage. But I can already say things are ticking along really well.

When a chapter’s done, I release it on Patreon, along with Book Club Questions and Behind-the-Scenes posts.

And the Patrons and I are immersing ourselves once again in our beloved little town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, alongside Bailey, Tommy, Ryan, and Monica.

Life Aboard the Patreon Ship

Most of my readers prefer to read a book cover-to-cover once it’s finished—and there’s nothing wrong with doing things the old-fashioned way.

But some readers just can’t wait, and that’s why they want to read every chapter as soon as it’s done.

Others want to know as much as possible about me, my writing process, my characters, and the art and inspo that goes into every scene.

Others want to go beyond just reading my books, and actually connect with me, on a level like you might get with pen pals; or like Facebook, but without the ads or the inflammatory posts you didn’t want to see anyway.

But chatting with this current Patreon crew… it’s become clear to me that the top reason many of my Patrons joined is because they are just so very passionate about this li’l author and her li’l books—and they want to do something to give me and my work a boost.

I guess there are creators I love so much, I’m like, “Hi. How are you? Take my money.” (With a giddy smile pasted on my face.)

And apparently, I am that creator to my Patrons.

I don’t even have words for that, beyond so much thanks and gratitude. I love doing what I do, and I love doing it for my readers and with my readers. The Patrons’ efforts are making it so much easier for me to keep on doing the thing I do.

So far, it’s still too early to announce a solid release date for Mailboat VI. The volatile combination of life and the creative process enjoys wreaking havoc on long-term deadlines like that, and I’ve learned to be really gun-shy of promising a date too early on in the process.

I feel the same way about announcing the total number of books in the series.

All I can say is that the words are stacking, that we’re progressing through this book, as well as through the main events of the series as I’ve always envisioned it, and that Mailboat VI is not the final book in the series.

Beyond that, watch this space. I’ll tell you what I know, as I know it.

For those of you who haven’t tried my Patreon subscription—maybe you just enjoy reading a book cover-to-cover once it’s done. That’s absolutely wonderful, thank you so much for supporting my work in that way, and I can’t wait to put my next book into your hands, once it’s ready.

But maybe, when I was describing my Patrons and why they joined, a little bell went off in the back of your head. Maybe you were like, Gosh, that’s me, too!

You can still join the cruise, and the current crew and I would be thrilled to have you aboard! You can review all my subscription tiers here:

Thanks for reading, and Happy Sailing!

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