Just yesterday I had the chance to talk to an acquaintance who has read all five of the Journey of the Freighter Lola novels. He told me how much he has enjoyed the series. Now I’m no one’s fool. Some people will say nice things about your work just to be polite. I really don’t think that was the case here.
He went on in detail about the stories, telling me about his favorite characters and plot twists. He finished it with “I really liked them, when is book six coming out?” It made my day.
I will never be a Hemingway and I will never make a fortune in royalties but I knew then I had achieved my goal of writing something people would enjoy.
I keep my storyline traditional. I grew up watching the old westerns where the good guy rode into town, met the girl, fell in love, had a run in with the bad guy, then rode back out of town. Simple, filled with honor, and showed right was stronger than wrong. They left me feeling good.
I felt good after talking to my friend. He enjoyed the fantasy of the books and let them take him away from his day to day cares for a while.
I’m about 19 chapters into book six. Maybe it will be the final book in the series, maybe not. I might take a break from the series and try another story idea I have had bouncing around in my head. I keep hearing from readers they don’t want the series to stop, so we will see what happens.
I’m also working on the second edition of my cookbook. This one will focus on easy and tasty meals for anyone new to the kitchen rather than the focus on the single dad. I’m finding parents are buying it for kids off at college without a meal plan or for most anyone new to the kitchen. Not only do I give some common sense cooking tips but I include some very tasty meals. Since the original cookbook release, I have been fine-tuning and searching for new recipes. At this moment I have a new variation of Turkey Chili simmering on the stove top. Dinner will be great tonight.
