Last week I posted that my novel, Murder Over Kodiak, is being re-released, and this week I’ll tell you about my current writing projects. As I mentioned recently, I never have enough time to get everything done, and sometimes it seems as if I never complete anything. I am guilty of tackling massive projects with no end in sight, and then I start something new before I complete the first project. I am presently working on a technical non-fiction book, a cookbook, and a novel. I also write this weekly blog and a monthly newsletter. I’m not a patient person, so I would love to finish all these projects by next week. I know, though, that writing a book is a long, slow process, and once I finish the rough draft, it needs to be edited, re-edited, and edited several more times again.
Six years ago, I started writing about the animals of Kodiak Island, species by species. My original plan was to post the information on our Munsey’s Bear Camp website, and I have been doing that, but it occurred to me a few years ago that if I put all this information together, I would have an interesting guide book. Since then, I’ve been compiling a rough draft along with photos. I find researching this book interesting, but writing it is hard work, and it moves forward at a snail’s pace. Each fact must be attributed to its source, and too often, the sources do not agree with each other, so I must research other sources until I’m satisfied I’ve reported the best information available. I plan to cover the mammals endemic to Kodiak Island. These are the Kodiak Bear, the little brown bat, the short-tailed weasel, the tundra vole, the red fox, and the river otter. I’ll also detail some of the introduced mammals, including Sitka black-tailed deer and mountain goats, and I’ll cover marine mammals, including harbor seals, Stellar Sea Lions, sea otters, porpoises, and whales. In addition to mammals, I want to include a few birds, such as bald eagles, puffins, oyster catchers, and arctic terns. I still have quite a bit of work to do on the book, but it is beginning to take shape. Many of my blog posts about wildlife are a product of the research I’ve done for this book.
My second book project is a cookbook that my friend, Marcia, and I are working on with Mike’s mother, Pat, and Mary Schwarzhans. Marcia was the cook at our lodge for many years, and Mary is our current cook. Marcia is the driving force behind this project, and I feel as if she has done most of the work on it so far. Little by little this project is also taking shape, though. Marcia has a vision of what the book should look like, and when she talks about it, I get excited. In addition to being a cookbook, it will tell the history of Munsey’s Bear Camp with short stories, and we also hope to give the reader a feel for what it has been like over the years to cook at a remote Alaskan Lodge. Our working title for this book is Tales from the Kitchen at Munsey’s Bear Camp.
Book number three is my next novel. I love writing fiction, and this is my project of choice. To write fiction, though, I need a large chunk of uninterrupted time, so I can let my imagination roam, and those chunks of time are difficult to find. I hope to spend more time on this project over the next few months. Next week, I’ll post an excerpt from the prolog of this novel. Its working title is The Fisherman’s Daughter, and as with my last novel, it will be set on Kodiak Island.
My blog is fun, but it takes time. So far, I’ve had plenty of ideas for posts, but I worry that won’t last. My Mystery Newsletter profiles a different Alaskan crime or criminal each month, and it is a great deal of work, but I find it fascinating as well as disconcerting and creepy. I’ll write more about my newsletter in two weeks.
Speaking of my newsletter, I just sent out the latest edition. If you are signed up for it but didn’t receive it, check your spam filter. If you would like to receive my newsletter, go here to sign up, and I’ll send it to you. As always, let me know if there is anything about Kodiak Island you’d like me to write about on my blog, and I’ll do my best to fulfill your request!