Ann Eichenmuller's Blog

 It has definitely been a while! Much of my attention has a writer has been focused on writing in the past four years. I was commissioned in 2020 to write a historical non-fiction book documenting the founding and growth of a local rescue group. After a year of interviews, followed by almost two years of writing and editing with the group's leadership, the book was finished in 2023 and released this July. It is titled There When Needed, A History of Smith Point Sea Rescue, and is available on Amazon. All proceeds go to the organization.

At the same time, I have been finishing a novel of historical fiction which I just shipped off to my editor. We'll see where it goes.

I am constantly reminded that writing fills my soul and keeps me sane. 

 It has been challenging to write in the time of COVID. I have a new respect for the Renaissance writers who produced such elegant and passionate plays and poetry at a time when theaters often had to shut down and quarantines were common. At first I thought all of that alone time would make it easier, but I found myself sitting despondently at the computer, staring at the screen, paralyzed by a sense of impending doom. I could write non-fiction, but I couldn't seem to focus on fiction. I had four novels going at one time--science fiction, modern mystery, and two pieces of historical fiction--that's how scattered my brain felt!  I would write a few pages on one and then my attention would wander to another, so I was bouncing between Bronze Age Greece, early Judah, futuristic time travel, and Sandi Beck on her sailboat in Florida. It was confusing, frustrating and disheartening. 
 It wasn't until the days got warmer and I was able to get outside, see other human beings (albeit in a distanced way), and lose myself in kayaking and sailing and gardening that I found the discipline and desire to focus on writing. Funny, isn't it, how living feeds creativity? Unfortunately, I wasn't sure which novel to push to the forefront and actually finish. I owe a debt to three friends (Barney, Ronda, and Pam) who kindly offered to read the first few chapters of all the novels and give their feedback to break my deadlock. Based on their recommendations and their love of mysteries, I hunkered down at the computer and completed the fourth in the Sandi Beck murder mystery series. I'm excited to announce that   Drowning in Lies , will be out this November, and this time High Tide Publications is having an audible/audiobook version released along with the e-book and paperback. It was exciting to listen to audition tapes and choose a voice that fit my character. I can't wait to hear the completed version! More details to come!
 

 It has been challenging to write in the time of COVID. I have a new respect for the Renaissance writers who produced such elegant and passionate plays and poetry at a time when theaters often had to shut down and quarantines were common. At first I thought all of that alone time would make it easier, but I found myself sitting despondently at the computer, staring at the screen, paralyzed by a sense of impending doom. It wasn't until the days got warmer and I was able to lose myself in sailing and gardening that I found the desire to write again. Funny, isn't it, how truly living feeds creativity? That said, I'm excited to announce that my new novel, Drowning in Lies , will be out this November. It follows Sandi Beck to West Palm Beach and back to Virginia again. More details to come! 

Feeling the need for a little escape during these difficult times? We're running an Amazon Countdown Sale on the Kindle version of the three Lies murder mysteries. Starting April 9, for 40 hours, each novel is just $.99. But hurry--the price goes up to $1.99 on April 11,  $2.99 on April 14, and $3.99 on April 15. Regular pricing resumes on April 16.

Want to know more about Sandi Beck? Read her journal! I've met with quite a few fans who ask about Sandi Beck and tell me she's "such a real person." With that in mind, my character will be starting her own blog at www.sandibeckinvestigations.com. You can read about unpublished past cases and her current adventures aboard Andromeda.

Enjoyed the Q&A at a recent workshop I gave in Kilmarnock. It got me thinking about characterization. One of the attendees said she just didn't feel she "knew" one of the main characters in the sci fi book she was writing, and she wanted to know if she should just forge ahead or if she should try some exercise to figure it out.

Here's the thing--for a character to be a living, breathing presence on the page, you have to know him or her intimately, perhaps better than you know yourself. So how do we learn about ourselves? By analyzing how we react in a myriad of situations. You see a stray dog--do you call the animal shelter? Do you feed it half of your sandwich? Do you walk by, pretending you don't see? Do you move to the other side of the street because you are afraid? What if it was a homeless man instead--or a mother trying to control three small children? Your reactions to these everyday, common situations say something about who you are and can help predict how you will react in the future.

These are questions of human character, and they apply to fictional characters as well. I try to imagine some of these scenarios before  I begin a novel, when I am just developing the characters. And even with that, sometimes I will find as I go along that the character I have created and the plot I outlined don't fit well together. My heroine often grows within the story so that the ending I imagined for her no longer fits the person she has become.

That's when I know I am on to something.

The Lies Beneath, the third book in the Lies series, will be out this July. As I did with The Lies We Are, I tried to incorporate contemporary issues while still crafting a fast-paced "whodunit"--this time looking into the use of biological weapons and potential threats to our country's food supply. I also listened to readers on this one--especially those who told me Sandi needed to "stop looking out for everyone else and do something for herself." The novel begins (of course) with a murder, but this time Sandi is on the move, sailing from her small town marina to Norfolk and points south, in search of a new life. So yes, expect a "side of romance" this time!

Flying Like the Wind (originally published in longer form in Chesapeake Style Magazine)
Our sailboat is slow. There, I said it. We have a full keel, a nearly 12-foot beam, and a solid 2” thick fiberglass hull. We could run through a dock—just not quickly.
This has been hard on my husband. He is a racer at heart. If we are on the same tack as another sailboat, he will adjust the sails to within a millimeter of their lives so we can pass them. And he’s good. We have actually passed much sleeker, faster boats, though in the spirit of full disclosure, I am not sure they were aware we were in a competition. I take the helm, and he loosens and tightens lines, ponders telltales, and optimizes…and tweaks….
I know how this all started. In the days before we could afford an actual boat, Eric raced windsurfers. At one point, his name even appeared in Windsurfing Magazine as holding third place in the Mid-Atlantic standings. He had a full quiver of sails and four different boards, which he hauled to races via a remodeled (and totally free) 1968 Apache trailer. I was a windsurfing widow. I went along, sat on the beach, and read books. Come to think of it, that was a pretty good life.
We never officially raced a sailboat together, though we did end up at the finish line of the Governor’s Cup once. The race goes from Annapolis to St. Mary’s College, just across the Potomac from the Northern Neck. We were newly married and borrowed my in-laws’ little swing keel Catalina for an overnighter. Blissfully unaware of the race, we sailed up the St. Mary’s River and snuggled into the deserted, quiet cove—only to be awakened the next morning by raucous shouts and champagne corks flying. We had anchored at the finish line.
These memories were triggered by a recent visit to Christchurch School near Urbanna. Though they have a small student body –about 200—they already beat out every sailing powerhouse to win their second consecutive MASSA Gold Fleet Racing Championship by an impressive 64 points. Watching those kids sail is nothing short of inspiring. It is enough to make a dedicated cruiser dream of racing.
Who knows? I might even tweak a mainsail.

I am so excited about this project! My first non-fiction book, The Writing Rx is an evidence-based guide to using writing exercises to become healthier and happier. It includes information about how and why writing is important to our social evolution and how its use can affect everything from blood pressure to lung function to PTSD symptoms and depression. I've included exercises modeled on those used in research studies. Applying this in my own life has been so helpful--I am eager to share what I've learned!