Updates!

It’s been a bit since I posted here, so I figured it’s time for a wee update. I’ve been up to a LOT. Of things lately, hence my lack in blog posts.

Shortly after my last update, I decided a new logo was in order, hence the change on my website. I looked at this one before and decided, yep – let’s do it! I love the obvious connection to the fox. He looks strong, independent, like he means business. It looks like there’s a book under him, and then behind him, like the pages are all fanned out like the flames of a fire. The colours are pretty fab, too. It’s professional, but a play on my name, and ties in with what I do. I write stories, hopefully won’t light them on fire (but the stories themselves will be 🔥!), and I mean business!

Speaking of which, I’ve now joined two wonderful organizations for mystery/thriller writers such as myself. One is Sisters in Crime, and I belong to the Toronto chapter. The other is Crime Writers of Canada. I’ve considered joining some professional organizations before, but this past weekend, I attended (virtually) SleuthFest, which is a wonderful, annual writer’s conference hosted by the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. It was so great to be able to participate in each of the six sessions, whether it was a little mini-class on craft, or listening to some awesome authors read excerpts from their books. Question and Answer sessions, and a query + synopsis critiquing session were also on the agenda, followed by an amazing wrap-up motivational speech by Brad Parks. I’m hoping to attend in person next year in sunny South Florida, barring any Covid craziness, of course!

I’ve been ferociously attacking the first draft of my thriller, and I’m nearly done! My goal at the beginning of March was to complete the first draft, and so far, I’m on track for that happening. I had an epic writing day on the 19th which concluded with a total of 10,623 words written before 6pm. I’ve got about 20K left to go before the first draft is done, and it’s March 22 today. I can do this!

Once that is done, round one of edits begin. Before it’s ready to be queried, it’ll be critiqued, beta-read, edited and revised. PitMad is coming up again on June 3rd, and my goal is to have it ready for that because my last round of PitMad was SUPER fun! My pages for Well-Hidden Secrets are still out with one of the agents who requested them through this huge pitch event. June 3 is definitely possible because I have a lot of time every day to work on it.

This is not an official book cover, just something I played around with to create the tone/energy/title:

I cannot wait to get this baby out into the world! I think I’ve finally decided on a title for it: The Lies He Told Me. If you want to read more about the premise, click on Novels from the menu.

I’ve got five books on my Reviews TBR, so I really need to get working on those, plus the one I’ve been waiting to get into after hearing the first chapter read on the wonderful book club called First Chapter Fun. It’s a twice-a-week club that meets virtually every Tues and Thurs at 12:30pm. We chit-chat for a few minutes and then listen to either Hannah Mary McKinnon or Hank P. Ryan read the first chapter of a fabulous new (or maybe not-so-new!) book. Usually the author joins in the chat as well. Great way to spend 1/2 an hour of your lunch break! You can check them out on Instagram @FirstChapterFun or Facebook @FirstChapterFun.

I’ve been participating in a daily writing challenge on Instagram, and so far, that’s been going very well. I am quite active on Twitter and Instagram, but I wanted more of a presence on the latter because I’d like to build up my audience there. Are you on IG? Follow me @kathleenfoxxwrites and see what I’m up to every day! I post a lot of writing-related things, but I also post photos of trips I’ve been on, places I go around my home province of Ontario, quotes, and sometimes funny stuff. I also #bookstagram so you’ll see posts of various books, some old faves, some new ones. Since I do book reviews, you’ll see them on there as well.

And of course, Spring is finally here, and we’ve had some pretty epic days, considering it’s still only March. I’m enjoying getting back outside in the warm sunshine. I even sat out in my backyard the other day to get some writing done in the fresh air! I can’t wait to get back up to my Favourite Place on Earth and do some writing there!

What are you looking most forward to doing this spring and summer?