On Simmer

Boston is a sauna today. One must first move the air in order to walk outside. Our porches are finally stained and attempting to dry in 88% humidity.

Yesterday I had a meeting with my editor about a cozy mystery series I started five years ago at the challenge of a friend who is a book publisher. They’re called The Esther Jackson Eliot Mysteries and they center on a character who is a former art professor. Based in Truth-Or-Consequences, New Mexico, the books are all about community.

At the time of my friend’s challenge, I wrote about 50 pages and let it go. But the books have been on simmer ever since, and something let me know that it was time to turn up the heat on this series so I sent it to my editor. He waxed eloquent and helped show me myself as an author so I’m going back into writing these again.

Those of you who know me know that I write a series I call The Spiritual Adventures of Mex Stone. I’m in the midst of my seventh novel in that series. These novels are designed to act as spiritual teachers. Mex is an intuitive investigator, and she solves her cases by communing with her Inner Voice whom she calls Spirit. Mex travels all over the world for her cases.

And, you know, the books I write about her work on simmer as well. I get a basic idea for the next one, do research, and then let the whole thing simmer on a back burner in my mind. Then, one day, it’s time to move the pot of the book to the front burner and burn up with keyboard because simmer’s over and I’m cooking with gas.

Don’t be surprised at simmer, my friend. More things are created this way than we even realize! I didn’t know that something I started five years ago was ready for cooking till it was ready for cooking. Never doubt that “simmer” is where a lot of projects need to be whilst you grow, heal, change and otherwise get ready for cooking time.