• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation

Braylee Parkinson

Author

  • About
  • Welcome!
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Mystery(Sample of Fracture)
  • Literary Fiction
  • Romance

Blog

Writing Update: 2020 Is Almost Over!!

December 14, 2020 by brayleep

This is has been quite a year and as we near its end, I can’t help but look back at all that has occurred over the past eleven months. Part of me feels like this year has been one or two very long months because I’ve spent the bulk of my time at home. One of the best things to come out of 2020 is that I’ve gotten back to counting my blessings. I wake up in the morning and think about all the good things in my life. At the core, I have all I need and there is no lack.

December is upon us, and I’m wrapping up the very last book of 2020! I’m very excited to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I spent the first seven months of the year distracted and a bit down about the way things seemed to be unfolding in the world, but in late July, I perked up and got moving. So glad I snapped out of the doldrums!

2021 And A Question…

2021 will bring the resolution of one ongoing mystery and more travels for Sylvia and Martin. I have four books in the Sylvia Wilcox series planned for 2021. You can expect a new mystery in February, May, August, and October. We will see Sylvia come to more realizations about herself and the world.

The third book of the Sylvia Wilcox series, Fracture, is NOT about a murder. This has led to some readers disliking the book because they want to read about a murder. Sylvia Wilcox is a private detective. While P.I.’s take on murder cases at times, they often work non-violent cases because private detectives are private citizens-not police officers. Sure, they will pick up cold case murders, but it is perfectly reasonable to think that a private detective will take on a missing person case.

So, here’s the question I’ve been pondering this week. Is murder a requirement of a mystery book for some readers? Is it okay to write about a missing person case, or financial crimes in a mystery? I think so, but I could be alone in that thought. I recently read an article, “Why The Serial Killer Novel Is The New Feminist Fiction,” and the author presented and interesting idea. She discusses how she enjoys watching the show Snapped, and asks what if a woman kills a man and she doesn’t feel bad about it? My response is that if any person kills another human and doesn’t feel bad about it, I’m not able to frame that as a victory just because the killer is a woman. I’m not on board with thinking that murder is a feminist act in and of itself. I tend to shy away from gruesome crime fiction because I don’t have the ability to completely disconnect from the extreme act of taking a life, even in a fictional context.

I’m not sure if most people think a murder must be included in a mystery, but Sylvia Wilcox will be investigating murders and other situations that may, or may not be crimes. Sylvia will have murders to solve, but there will be deeper, more complex mysteries to examine as well. The mysteries of the heart and human behavior are the things that keep us up at night. Surely, those things deserve investigating as well.

What do you think? Can a mystery series examine more than murder?

Road to Nowhere

Road to Nowhere will be off to the editor in early January. Newsletter subscribers will receive the prologue in January, and the ebook preorder is already available. If all goes well, there will be a preorder for paperback copies in mid-January. I plan to take a few days off after I finish my literary fiction novel, but I’ll be back at it soon after the New Year. Road to Nowhere will be released February 19, 2021 and a description of the book is included below. !

Road to Nowhere

A young man disappears during an impromptu cross-country road trip. Initially, it appears that Anson didn’t have a destination or a reason to drive from Michigan to California, but when Sylvia Wilcox starts to examine the mystery, she finds that Anson had a reason to be driving the backroads and interstates of America. 

Preorder Now!

.

Photo by Laura Kapfer on Unsplash

Filed Under: Blog, Uncategorized

Writing Update

September 25, 2020 by brayleep

https://brayleeparkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Update-September-25th.m4a

(transcript)

Hi there. This is Braylee Parkinson, and I want to give you a quick update on how the writing is going. A Sylvia Wilcox Christmas is coming along swimmingly! I am very excited about this book and can’t wait to put it out. I literally can’t sleep at night because I just want to be in the story. I’m having an absolute blast writing it!

Currently, I’m editing the manuscript and have made it to chapter four. My goal is to be done with my edits by September 30th and send it off to the professional editor on October 5th. After that, I’ll be moving on to book number five.

Road to Nowhere, the fifth book in the Sylvia Wilcox series, is also in the works. Last year my husband and I took a cross country road trip, and we did a little exploring in Wyoming. I am intrigued by empty, desolate places, so I loved every minute of it. I remember thinking, “There’s a story here…” Well, the story has shown up. It’s supposed to be cooking on the backburner right now, but I already have a few chapters down.

The story will involve a ghost town in Wyoming. I hope to get an interview with a descendent of one of the founders of the town. My husband grew up with this gentleman, and he loves history, so I’m hoping he will be open to an interview. I would also like to get permission to tour the townsite next spring. So lots of exciting stuff going right now.

Speaking of ghost towns, my husband and I have been watching a Youtube channel about a town in California named Cerro Gordo. I love ghost towns, so I’m always looking for videos on Youtube about ghost town history and exploration. So, this guy named Brent, one of the town owners has been in Cerra Gordo since March of this year. The Youtube channel is chronicling his ups and downs, victories, and losses. It’s really great stuff, and I totally admire this guy. Watching him pursue his dream for this town is fascinating, and it gives me hope for the world. I’m including a link to his latest video below. Head over to his channel and subscribe if you like what you see. If you’re like, “who cares about a ghost town?”. Please note that cute goats and kittens are included in the video.

Stay safe and healthy!

Cheers!

 

 


Subscribe to Braylee’s Newsletter

* indicates required


*(Posts on this website contain affiliate links. Affiliate links do not cost you anything to use, and I receive a small commission if you use them. This helps pay for the website and editing of the serial story.)

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Braylee Parkinson, Cerro Gordo, ghost towns

Let Memento Mori Be Your Guide

September 14, 2020 by brayleep

Memento Mori… a phrase the conveys a simple concept-remember, you must die. Sounds depression, right? But wait, let’s think about this for a moment. Is it true? Absolutely. So why not use that to motivate yourself to do the things you’ve been putting off? In August, I realized that the year had just about passed me by. What had I done for the first eight months of the year? When I reviewed the year, I concluded that the better question was, “What have I NOT done?” In reality, so much. 365 days in the year, 24 hours, 1440 minutes, and 86,400 seconds in a day. We all get that. What we do with it is entirely up to us.

To be clear, I’ve done some great things this year. For example, sitting on the couch with my husband every morning, slowly sipping coffee and talking without a care in the world. Our garden has been fantastic, and over the past month, we’ve begun to can and freeze fruits and vegetables. My parents, nephews, sisters, and I are all in an endless group text message, so I interact with them daily. I’ve stopped absorbing depressing, anxiety-producing news reports and social media, restricting my time in Facebook to writer groups and my author page. I’ve gotten back into a workout routine, lost six pounds, and I feel fantastic. I’ve taken on the attitude that if the world ends tomorrow, that’s fine. I’ll be writing or editing a draft of my next book, picking tomatoes in the garden, or sitting on the couch with my beloved husband, sipping coffee. Basically, whatever happens, I’ll be doing something I wanted to get done. 

In my mind, the year started on August 24, 2020, because that was the day that I reminded myself, “memento mori.” The holiday novel I’m writing on was inspired by this idea that we will all die. My favorite podcaster utters this phrase from time to time. In the beginning, I was very uncomfortable with her throwing the truth out there like that. Then I realized that one of the reasons I admire this woman is because she’s taken this phrase to heart. Doing today, or you might not get the chance.

A Sylvia Wilcox Christmas was sparked by this idea that there is only so much time in life. No one has an endless clock, but there are times when we forget how precious each moment is. Sylvia Wilcox is a workaholic, partially because she is a young widow, but also because there are times when she isn’t sure what else there is to do. In A Sylvia Wilcox Christmas, she takes a moment, a breath, and examines what can happen in a moment of much-needed downtime.

The first eight months of the year were not a loss. I learned a great deal about what I wanted in life and what I needed to leave behind.  Ten years ago,  I climbed aboard an Amtrak with a bunch of books, a few apples, trail mix, and the last sixty buck I had to my name, because I’d figured out that life was too short to stay in stagnation. It was better then, and now, to walk into the unknown. 2020 has made me realize that it was time to get back in the game. Throw caution to the wind and move forward, even if the road is scary and I don’t know where I’m going. I’m confident that the road will eventually meet my feet. 2020, with all its troubles, has ironically boosted my mood back up into the stratosphere. I’m excessively happy again. As an old friend of mine use to say, “She’s all sunshine and lollipops!”

As I continue to contemplate memento mori, and the beauty and mystery surrounding mortality, my level of gratitude increases. Death can be feared,  or  simply recognized as a part of the life cycle. Let it encourage action-not fear or stagnation. I’ve come to think of it as a motivation to live my dreams and keep moving forward without looking back.  This idea that we will all die reminds us that time is of the essence. Do it now, or possibly never accomplish your goals. The good news is that you have time, as do I, to move forward and complete the task at hand. Make yourself proud!

Cheers!

Braylee

Subscribe to Braylee’s Newsletter

* indicates required

*(Posts on this website contain affiliate links. Affiliate links do not cost you anything to use, and I receive a small commission if you use them. This helps pay for the website and editing of the serial story.)

Filed Under: Blog

Fracture Is Out And Other Good News

September 12, 2020 by brayleep

Hello Readers, Fracture is available at various ebook retailers, and it will be popping up at more stores soon! Google Play was not admitting new authors for a while, but now that things have opened back up, all three books will be adding in the next few weeks. Also, hardcovers should be available before the end of the year. Physical books, both paperback and hardback books, are hard to come by these days, but the hope is that things will improve soon. The prologue for A Sylvia Wilcox Christmas will be shared soon! I’ve been having so much fun Displacement is still free. Pick it up! Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like to save 50% on Fracture. I recently opened a Payhip store, so I can now offer newsletter subscribers special discounts. You also will receive other perks, including an opportunity to sign up for my Advance Reader Team, sneak peeks of new books, and tons of free book offers from my fellow author friends. Don’t miss out! Sign up below!

Subscribe

* indicates required
       

Filed Under: Blog

A Quiet Place in the World

September 4, 2020 by brayleep

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is doing well. This has been a great week for me and I wanted to share some of the going-ons in my world, and give an update Fracture, and a surprise announcement of another book that will be out in November. Yay! Productivity has returned! You may be wondering why my engine has suddenly been revved up and there are a few simply explanations to why I’ve been more productive in the past two weeks, than I’ve been the rest of the year. Exercise and living in the present moment.

2020 has been a year for re-evaluating everything from my career to my weight. As I hunkered down in my house earlier in the year, I will admit that I was frustrated and angry, but over time, I realized that there was so much opportunity in those moments. What was working? What wasn’t? How could things be different? Once I stopped following social media eliminated what I’ve heard termed, “doom scrolling” I just focused on my life. What could I do to become a better person? A few of the ideas I came up with were getting back into shape, writing several books a year, and getting to know the town where I live. When I first moved to Utah, I loved living in Salt Lake City. It was so clean and pleasant, and I had no choice but to learn the city, because I didn’t have a car. As the years passed, I moved into a teaching career and eventually relocated to a suburb in northern Utah. That was back in 2016 and I still don’t care for the area of the state I live in. Over the past few months, I’ve taken some time to analyze why this is the case.

One of the reasons I fell in love with Salt Lake City was because I didn’t have a car. I walked or used public transit to get everywhere, and I became a part of the city. At one point, I lived in the 9th and 9th neighborhood, which was 2.7 miles from my job. On nights when the bus was taking forever or stopped running, I’d walk home. I don’t recommend walking alone at night. Still, it was something I did in part because I felt like Salt Lake City couldn’t possibly have anything that Detroit had not thrown at me. While this is probably true, I realize now that I should have just asked for a ride from the scores of concerned coworkers who often volunteered to take me home. But, I was in a phase of my life where throwing caution to the wind was a daily occurrence. Right or wrong, those long walks home helped me become a Utahn.

Moving to northern Utah was a bit of a shock to my system. First of all, I’d never been to the area until I met my husband. Most of the people I knew spoke of all points near Ogden as “out there.” Well, they weren’t wrong. It takes close to an hour for me to get back to Salt Lake City, and if I-15 is shut down, I have to take a roundabout, long route that weaves through mountains and adds about half an hour onto the drive. Needless to say, I don’t drive down there often, and during 2020, I have only headed to SLC a handful of times. No matter how much I love Salt Lake, I don’t live there anymore. It’s time to move on and embrace the present.

Salt Lake City is a unique hub for transplants and misfits. There isn’t another place in the state that is as welcoming to newcomers. With that said, after moving to northern Utah, I fell into a habit of rarely leaving my house. Could that help explain why I don’t feel connected with the place where I currently live? I spend time in my garden, head out to the grocery store from time to time, and I do have one friend that lives in the neighborhood, but for the most part, I drive to Salt Lake City for all significant socialization outside of my hubby. This, of course, is not healthy, and it led to a twenty-four-pound weight gain. Yes, I’ve eaten all the loneliness, stress, and unfriendly encounters I’ve experienced over the last few years. Well, you know what? I’m done with it. I live where I live, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t love it. So this week, I’ve been embracing everything that exists right now.

Each day this week, my husband and I have taken walks on the Ogden River Parkway. It’s a cozy little blacktop trail that travels along the river’s edge throughout communities in the area. We park and walk to the Ogden Botanical Gardens where we browse through the rose garden and stroll along the short trails. There’s one spot, tucked away in the shade where we like to sit and chat while resting up for the walk back. It’s just a pleasant, quiet place in the world where we can relax and take in the beauty of the area. It’s also a way to feel connected to where we live. That little bench is “our seat.” We now have a set path and a general time that we take to the parkway for “our walk”. All of s sudden, this place feels more like home than it ever has before.

 

Beautiful rose and a busy bee.
Our little bench in a shady area of the botanical gardens.
The Ogden River creates a soothing soundtrack for the walk.
Our view from the bench in the woods.

Filed Under: Blog

Displacement: A Sylvia Wilcox Mystery-Coming Soon!

August 25, 2019 by brayleep

Canva - null (4).jpg

As you can tell from the picture, I am ready for summer to be over. I love the chilly, crisp gray days that arrive in October and I hope that the image will bring those days closer. The rustle of fallen leaves blowing across the driveway, apple cider and donuts, bulky sweaters, cold rain showers-I can’t wait for autumn to get here!

When I am not trying to wish autumn arrival upon the world, I am writing. Most days I get in at least six hours of writing-related activity, and I love it! I’ve got a few Halloween and Christmas stories started, and the third novel is halfway done. When I am not writing, I am editing Displacement. The manuscript needs to be on its way to the editor next month, so I have to stop getting caught up in my holiday stories and get the darn thing edited. Not to mention, I also have to work. It’s part-time, and I do it from home, but that’s 25 hours out of my writing life each week. Even so, the next novel will be released in November (October for newsletter subscribers!). Yay!!

I recently finished Displacement, the second installment in the Sylvia Wilcox mystery series. The next phase is a content edit. After that, I will do a hand edit, and the final round of edits will be done by my editor. The story took some twists and turns I hadn’t expected, but I love where the characters took me.

Displacement is the second installment/prequel, and it will give more information about the questions readers posed to me after reading Who She Was. Some of those questions were ones I hadn’t considered, so I had to turn to my characters to get answers. Writers need to be ready to give up control and let the story take them where it may. I like to be in control of things, but Sylvia Wilcox was reaching for the reigns. I let her have them, and boy did she surprise me! I’m so glad I trusted her to bring this story home.

The cover reveal will take place in September. If you have subscribed to the newsletter, the code to access the prologue of Displacement is in your inbox! If you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter…What are you waiting for?! Sign up and get the code to access the prologue of Displacement: A Sylvia Wilcox Mystery (book 2). Also, if you haven’t read Who She Was, you can pick it up from your favorite bookseller for free. That’s right-FREE. Here’s the link: Who She Was.

Newsletter Sign-Up

Subscribe

* indicates required



Filed Under: Blog

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Copyright © 2021 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress.com. · Log in