As promised, Edith Maxwell, who also writes as Maddie Day, is our guest author. Her latest book,
Murder at the Taffy Shop, is soon to be released. It’s a tough time for all of us, authors included. Thank you, Edith, for taking the time to write for us.
Writing (and Surviving) in the Time of Quarantine
Lesa, thank you for inviting me – and my alter-ego Maddie Day – to your blog! It’s lovely that you and others are helping authors who are forced to miss in-person launch appearances. I appreciate it very much, along with my fellow March-April release pals.
When I thought of what to write about, the title Love in the Time of Cholera popped into my head. Gabriel García Márquez was a brilliant writer, and thanks to our shuttered library’s ebook checkouts, I can give it a re-read. I remember being delighted by his magical realism my first time through Cholera andOne Hundred Years of Solitude.
But…I’m not really in quarantine, and this isn’t a time of cholera. Or am I, and is it?
First, the disease. Cholera, COVID-19 – equivalent? Who knows? I do know there’s no vaccine and no targeted treatment for coronavirus. That there’s also little knowledge about it except by what has been observed in the last few months in China, Italy, and other hotbeds.
Quarantine? Libraries and schools are closed. Events, including concerts and major mystery conferences are being postponed. We are all encouraged to practice radical social distancing. Around here, we’re doing our best. My son and his wife, who live in Maryland, paid a fly-by visit to New England recently and WE DIDN’T EVEN HUG. We’re family, but we don’t live together, so we acted responsibly. I can go outside for solo walks, and I’ll have to go grocery shopping occasionally. That’s going to be it for activities. Kind of feels like quarantine. Two silver-haired people hanging around the house.
Still, I’m a writer. I have book releases and deadlines. And I have lots (LOTS) of online fans and friends. In a way, I and my fellow authors (at least those of us who have recklessly abandoned our day jobs) are uniquely positioned to weather this isolation. Give me electricity and a supply of dark chocolate, and I’m good to go. I often let my schedule get way too busy with author events. This spring was one of those times. I’m frankly feeling a little relieved at being able to just stay home and write.
Right now I’m putting polishing touches on Murder at the Lobstah Shack, my third Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, which is due April 1. Then I have my ninth Country Store Mystery to write, which my editor expects to receive August 1 (yes, I write three – or more – books a year), and after that the seventh Quaker Midwife Mystery, due at the start of 2021.
Back in January – well before the current crisis in the US – I organized a long rolling book birthday party on Facebook for my newest book, Murder at the Taffy Shop, the second Cozy Capers Book Group mystery. It’s my twentieth novel (squee!), releasing March 31, so I invited twenty author pals who write traditional, cozy, and historical mysteries to each host the party for one day. It’s running for six more days, with me winding it up on the 31st, and I hope you’ll join us. We have a major, huge, best-ever grand giveaway anyone can enter, with details over at the party page. And nobody has to wash their hands.
I’ll be writing and partying from home for the foreseeable future. I’m not one of the natural introverts to whom quarantine sounds almost like a dream come true. And I confess to a teensy bit of anxiety at not being able to see people in person, or at least not in close quarters. I’ll miss hanging out at events like History on Tap, an event at a local brewery sponsored by our town’s historical society, or going to a friend’s book talk in Boston. And I’ll really miss attending Malice Domestic at the end of April in Bethesda, where I always meet so many fabulous book fans and online friends. I love my partner, Hugh (who IS a lifelong introvert), but we’re not one of those couples who do everything together. If he’s the only human I get to talk with face to face for very long, well…wish me luck!
All things considered, we’re in good shape. While a little up in age, Hugh and I are both in relatively good health. We have a fully stocked pantry. We can afford to pay our bills. Neither of us has to report to a job taking care of others.
I know others are feeling a lot more anxiety than I am, and I don’t mean to treat this lightly. I hope you’ll reach out to whomever you can. What’sApp video calls. Good old fashioned phone calls. Skype or online book group meetings. Zoom church services. And I always recommend reading a cozy mystery for whatever ails you. You know it won’t be too dark. You know justice will be restored to the community in the end. You know some combination of friends and neighbors will help each other, just like we should be doing in real life.
Readers:What are your social distancing coping mechanisms? Please share movies or shows you’re binging, or mystery series you’re now able to read straight through. I’d love to send one of you a signed copy of the new book as soon as I get my box of copies!
When bike shop owner Mac Almeida heads out for a walk with her friend, she finds a horrified Gin staring at an imperious summer person, dead on the sidewalk in front of Gin’s candy shop, Salty Taffy’s. When the police find the murder weapon in Gin’s garage, the Cozy Capers book group members put their heads together to clear Gin’s nameand figure out who killed the woman whom almost everyone disliked. After the killer later invades Mac’s tiny house to finish her off, Belle, Mac’s African Gray parrot, comes to the rescue. Murder at the Taffy Shop is out March 31 in a one-year paperback exclusive from Barnes & Noble.
Maddie Day– aka Edith Maxwell – is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha-nominated and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and pens the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries and the Country Store Mysteries. As Edith she writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. Maddie/Edith lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen. She hopes you’ll visit her on her web site, sign up for her monthly newsletter, and visit her as @MaddieDayAuthor on social media.
I am mainly an introvert so this time hasn't been too bad. Due to the fact I travel for my job, I was already self quarantined before NY shut down all non-essential businesses. I am grateful to all the writers & publishers who have put so many first in a series novels on sale for cheap if not free. I know what I'll be doing in my free time.
Most of us are not having it quite as easy, Ryannaward. I'm glad books help you during this time. Stay safe.
Thanks, Ryanna. I've just put six of my short stories for free on Smashwords!
And thanks for having me on the blog, Lesa.
Thanks, Lesa and Edith. I enjoyed reading that.
You're welcome, Jeff. I'm glad.
I am looking after my 8 and 6 year old grandsons everyday from 9-5 which is a demanding and busy time for me. Being 72 makes this very tiring but rewarding too. I have a schedule which we try to follow in order to have a routine which is important. After they leave I take a bath and go to bed only to start again the next day.
Reading has always been my favorite form of entertainment and it hasn't changed but increased now. I devour books and many types, historicals, family sagas and mysteries. They are my escape. In between I go for walks in my neighborhood and my granddaughters visit several times a week in order to have a change from their home.
We use the phone to connect. I’m not able to see my Mom right now since she’s in a rehab facility but I call her every day.
I had major surgery in January so I am slowly recovering and reading and doing home exercises. I face time 2 sons and youngest son is an ICU nurse who lives with us. It's bad here in New York.
marypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) com
Maryann
Traveler, that is a true gift!
Petite, where would we be without reading?
Sandy, I'm glad you can still call her.
Maryann, heal up well. And thank your son from all of us!
While I've become a bit of a hermit in retirement, it's different when it's forced upon one. The closing of the library and the Y has emphasized the seriousness, and the creative approaches to increase safety are heart-warming. May we all be well . . . and read! Now to go find out about this Smashwords . . .
For those home with children, of for the inner child, many authors and storytellers are putting videos online. <3
Here you go, Mary – and everyone else!
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/EdithMaxwell
Nice,nice guest post! If weather permits I'm in the yard,drinking coffee, reading, weeding the flower beds, re-potting plants. If weather doesn't cooperate then I'm in the house, doing odds & ends I've put off, drinking coffee & reading . When I do have to go to the store, as everyone should be, I am very cautious, hand washing & all. My hubby is a butcher, he will still be needed at work, If we go into "Stay at Home" mode. I'm constantly sanitizing everything, even more so when he comes home. Prayers for all..remember, This too shall pass. nani_geplcs(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks, Sheryl. Blessings on your husband for providing food!
I binged on Heartland it's amazing. I read the books too. I'm waiting to see the last two seasons but I can't wait to see them. Hoping to see them soon. Thank you for the chance. I need more books the library is closed. Wisconsin is in a lock down.
I just love this series – great interview – I don't know whether to feel sad or lucky that very little has changed for me. I still have to go to work, but i work alone. I also live alone. The only two changes is that I can't go to the library, and my hiking buddy and I can't hike together.
I am definitely an extrovert, so I really miss socializing with friends. I have been taking walks in our neighborhood, reading, catching up on chores, and laying in the hammock when the weather is nice. I just finished Flipped for Murder and loved Robbie. Can't wait to read the next book and so glad that I have this time to catch up on this series. I also read Murder on Cape Cod a few weeks ago and loved it!
Donamae, it's so hard with the library closed!
Thanks, Taylor. Can you and your buddy hike six feet apart, maybe?
KellyL, I'm so glad you are finding Maddie's (and my) series! I'm an extrovert, too, and keep thinking of six-feet-distant driveway happy hour parties with friends. ;^)
Great post! Our library being closed actually helped me–the due dates have been extended so I may actually get to all of them. (The new Erik Larson is one I could not have renewed). I still have to work. I do feel they are trying their best to keep us safe, but I feel too many people are still out.
Holdenj (sorry, don't know your first name), it does seem like too many people are out. Every day I start to go to the PO to mail some books to contest winners – and then I reconsider and stay home. Must investigate mailing labels I can print at home.
First, Edith, congrats on your 20th. I've been following the book party and it's been fun. We're both retired so life isn't all that different for us now. I've always been accused of overstocking the pantry and freezer so we're in good shape for supplies, and our granddaughter lives with us and will be our shopper when necessary. I'm a morning person and hubby is a night person so our daily schedules overlap a bit for "together time" and the rest of the time we're left to our own forms of entertainment. I definitely recommend it to survive retirement at home together! I'm catching up on British shows on ACORN TV, and checking my bookshelves for books that I meant to get to before and got pushed aside. Happy to socialize with The Wicked and Jungle Reds and my other favorite blogs for now.
I've been watching my grandsons (1 & 3). I normally watch the 1-year-old and the 3-year-old goes to preschool. He misses his friends a lot and grandma is a poor substitute for rambunctious boys. Yesterday, we got into the truck and drove down the street. Didn't get out of the truck, just drove around. He was thrilled to go someplace. After they leave, I work at my regular job which is writing course content. I have to admit I'm going a little stir crazy. My husband is working from home also but he's not much of a communicator.
Thanks, Grandma! Sounds like you are pretty well set.
Bev, two little boys! You are earning angel points, for sure.
Grandma Cootie was picked by random.org! Congratuations, and please send your snail mail address to me at edith@edithmaxwell.com. I wish I had a copy for everyone.
Thanks! Sending my info now.
Congratulations, Grandma Cootie! Good to see you win!
Thanks, Lesa.
Oh, you're welcome, Grandma Cootie!