Ten years ago, on August 28, 2012, my debut novel, Artifact, came out!
The timing was especially meaningful, because it was less than a month after I’d completed a year of cancer treatments.
In June of 2011, shortly after my 36th birthday, I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. I learned that I’d have a full year of cancer treatments ahead of me. It’s the kind of news that puts life in perspective and helps you realize the important things in life. In addition to valuing my dear friends and family, I realized that I needed to throw myself into my writing. Below is a snapshot of my journey.
This photo is me in my chemo wig that my writers group picked out for me, holding an advance reader copy of the first edition of ARTIFACT, Book 1 in the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series.
At the time of my cancer diagnosis, I’d been taking my writing a bit more seriously for four years. After discovering National Novel Writing Month, I was thrilled to have finally reached “the end” of a full draft, so I submitted my draft to a writers grant competition for unpublished traditional mystery writers. To my surprise, I won the William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant for my work in progress. That was my first clue that I should take my writing more seriously.
I joined Sisters in Crime, got involved with my local chapter, found critique partners, and attended writing workshops. I found my terrific agent in 2009, and she worked with me on revisions for a year to get the book ready to submit to publishers. In 2010, she began pitching editors at publishing houses. While some editors were enthusiastic about the book, we kept hearing that they didn’t know where it fit in the marketplace.
Artifact is a lighthearted adventure-mystery on the cozy end of the mystery spectrum, inspired by my favorite Elizabeth Peters novels, and featuring an Indian-American history professor who solves present-day crimes linked to historical treasures from India’s colonial history. My agent loved Artifact and kept trying to find the right editor who’d champion the book in spite of the fact that it didn’t neatly fit into one genre.
On the day I was at the hospital getting the news about my cancer diagnosis, I missed a voicemail message from my agent that it was time for Plan B. I took that as a sign.
I knew that during my year of so many things beyond my control, I needed to take charge of my writing. My agent believed in the book and in me, so she supported my decision to self-publish Artifact. I gave myself a whole year to learn how to do it right. I’m so glad I did, because there was so much to learn! This was a decade ago, so there weren’t the same resources there are now.
It was a rough year for so many reasons, but I was thrilled that at the end of my cancer treatments, I was able to celebrate by holding my debut novel in my hands and throw a big party to celebrate surviving cancer and releasing my first book. (More about the party next week, on the party anniversary!)
Holding my first novel in my hands, as my hair was beginning to grow back after chemotherapy.
My writers group did so much for me during my year of cancer treatments, including buying me this fabulous mystery-writerly wig that I never would have picked out for myself but was perfect.
While I was going through chemotherapy, I also drafted the book that became The Accidental Alchemist. My subconscious had me create an alchemist who’d discovered the Elixir of Life, since I was taking my own elixir of life through chemo treatments to save my life. I’ve been fascinated by gargoyles since I was a kid, since they represent all things mysterious, so I created the character of Dorian the gargoyle, who was once stone but was accidentally brought to life through alchemy. He was a fun character I wrote for myself while I was going through a rough time, never thinking anyone else would read the novel. I was so surprised that my agent loved it, and she sold the series quickly!
At the same time, Artifact was well-received so I got a publishing offer to pick up the whole series. After nothing happening for several years, now everything was happening at once.
The Henery Press edition of ARTIFACT and the Midnight Ink edition of THE ACCIDENTAL ALCHEMIST.
I kept writing both series, having fun coming up with new adventures for Jaya and Zoe, and got more into writing locked-room mystery short stories. I’ve been honored to win several literary awards for my novels and stories, including Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, as well as being short-listed for an Edgar Award.
I kept honing my craft, and signed my first “Big 5” publishing deal during the pandemic, for the Secret Staircase mysteries, beginning with Under Lock & Skeleton Key. It’s a book that I’d been trying to write for years, and it took the pandemic for me to figure out how to tell it right. It was a dream come true when the New York Times Book Review gave it a great review, calling Under Lock & Skeleton Key “wildly entertaining.”
Holding my first hard cover book, UNDER LOCK & SKELETON KEY, published by Minotaur Books in 2022.
Fast forward to August 2022, and I now have thirteen novels out, plus two novellas and more than a dozen locked-room mystery short stories. Plus plenty more to come.
There’s so much more I could say about my publishing journey, that this blog post could easily fill the pages of a book. Instead, I should wrap up this post (which is already too long) and get back to working on my next novel. I’m excited to discover what the next 10 years will hold.
