Turning the Page

 I love a good book metaphor, and "turning the page to 2021" is perfect. Anyone like 2020 enough to want to relive it? It would be interesting to look at lists of New Year's Resolutions prepared last January and see how many could be achieved.

My writing was off until the third quarter of 2020, largely self-inflicted slowness encouraged by worry. And we all know how effective worry is in relieving writing stress. Not.

The one full-length book I managed to finish was Least Trodden Ground, first in the Family History Mystery Series. Ironically, near the beginning of Least Trodden Ground the protagonist mentions the 1918 flu pandemic. Family historians sometimes try to figure out which ancestor succumbed to it. 

The book is set in Garrett County, Maryland, and Western Maryland had few cases of the 2020 coronoavirus as I wrote it. Easy to have references to masks or not hugging people.

As I finish the Unscheduled Murder Trip, lo and behold cases in Western Maryland (where many eschewed masks) have exploded. Now I wish I'd made the series timeless. I can't make the illness a focus of the book, but I will have to have a memorial service with few attendees, and now there's a sign on the door of an assisted living residence -- Mask It or Casket. 

I should do a blog post on choosing a time period for a book.

As 2020 finally draws to a close, I wish you enjoyable reading and a healthy 2021.

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To learn more about Elaine, go to www.elaineorr.com or subscribe to her newsletter.