In 2021 I put the novel I was working on (more about The Doubloon below) aside and started a new historical fiction project. After working for years on The Doubloon, I realized the main character’s backstory deserved its own novel. The result is tentatively titled The Heirloom. That novel takes Sarah Kimmons and her brother and father down The Great Wagon Road from the mountains of Virginia to Salisbury, North Carolina in the 1760s after the tragic death of Sarah’s mother. I hope to publish The Heirloom in 2026

As of March, 2019, The Doubloon became the working title of what I thought would be my first historical novel. When the idea of The Heirloom was born in 2021, The Doubloon suddenly became the second book in a series! Set in the Carolinas in the 1760s, it follows Sarah Kimmons as a young adult. There will be a murder in The Waxhaws. How does Sarah’s story play out in the aftermath of that crime?

In July 2021, I hired editor C.S. Lakin to critique the first 50 pages of my 303-page manuscript for The Doubloon. It was the first professional critique I received. Ms. Lakin made numerous comments and recommendations. She pointed out many things I was doing wrong or not doing at all.

A writer’s journey to publication is almost always long, and there are many potholes and disappointments along the way. I continue to take advantage of writing webinars, books about the craft of writing, and online writing courses.

Thank you for reading my blog and coming along on my bumpy journey as a writer and reader.

Janet