Weeding, Writing, and Revision

Gardening, writing books, it's all the same-right?

This summer, my garden has GROWN. And I mean the beebalm is six feet tall. Taller than me! My tomatoes are already ripening. My green beans cover a four foot trellis. Herbs are abundant and I’ve been picking zucchini for weeks. We’ve had so much rain in this corner of Wisconsin, I’m starting to wish it would stop because some plants-peppers in particular-don’t like it that wet. And oh boy, the weeds. Almost every day I go out and pull handfuls of thistles and oxalis. Grasses are growing in unwanted places, and so many weeds in the rocky path between my raised beds. I pluck them daily. And they keep coming.

What’s oxalis? It’s a cute, innocuous little weed that almost looks like a clover. The leaves are heart shaped, and they have tiny yellow flowers. Here’s the kicker- you don’t want Oxalis in your garden. When the bean-shaped seed pods are ripe, they explode when you touch them. Kinda cool, it you think about it. But each seed pod (1/4 to 1/2 inch long) contains dozens of seeds. Each plant makes dozens of pods. That means hundreds of seeds from each plant.

Hundreds. Of. Plants.

Oxalis is everywhere. So cute-until they sprout in every corner of your garden.

If you’ve been following my weekly countdown videos, you’ll know that aside from weeding, the past six months of my life have been dedicated to Publishing Forewarned. When you’re an indie author, there is so much to accomplish! However, it’s just as important not to lose sight of the long game. As writers, we, um, write. And even though I’m plowing through this publishing process, I’m still writing.

Getting my rights back for Best Kept Secrets opened up a whole new world for me. Before rereleasing the 2025 edition, I did another sweep of copy edits. (AKA weeding) I didn’t change the story, but there were spots that —in my opinion—needed clarifying. Once upon a time, I believed my publisher would polish and edit and copyedit my book to perfection. I had a bad case of misplaced hopes and dreams back then. And as a result, I was disappointed in that version of my book.

In six years since the release, my writing has improved dramatically.

Way back when I signed with my publisher, I began writing book two in Morgan Jewell’s series. She had more of her journey to share and since then she’s been tapping me on the shoulder and clearing her throat to get my attention. Now that I own the rights, I get to continue her story. So I dragged the old files out of my archives and began to slog through what turned out to be the 4th draft of Mother of Secrets (coming in 2026). But even as I reached the midpoint, I began to question the entire story arch. I needed to tighten some of the subplots to get to the heart of the story. I weeded through bad writing and slow paragraphs, replacing poorly written words with well written prose.

Yea, sure. I will find out if I hit the target when my critique group sends me their notes next week. And again, when I send it to an editor.

But that’s just it, right? Weed, revise, repeat.

I’m truly in this for the long game. I have stories to write and books to publish. Throughout the process I’m not losing sight of the long game. The stories are made to entertain you readers and share my experiences in an infinitely creative way. With words plucked from the garden of my mind and delivered to you in an immersing tale of joy and woe, misfortune, suspense and happily ever after.

Please look for me at several bookstore events this summer and fall. Meet me at Chapter and Charm on August 2nd where I’ll chatting and signing books with Cynthia Rice.