Celebrations

By Annette Dashofy 

February has proven to be a banner month for me. I received my seventh Agatha Award nomination for Helpless. It never gets old. Okay, so maybe LOSING is getting a little old, if I’m to be completely honest, but the adage “It’s an honor to be nominated” is absolutely the truth. 

Being nominated in the company of four good friends in the mystery community (Tara Laskowski, Gigi Pandian, Ellen Byron, and Korina Moss) makes it all the sweeter. 

A week or so ago, I signed a contract with One More Chapter (HarperCollins UK) for three more Detective Honeywell Mysteries. Having a series picked up for additional books is always a milestone, especially when you’re enjoying writing it as much as I am.

The first book in this contract (the third in the overall series) is due to my editor in five days! No, I’m not a superhero. I was already writing it before the contract negotiations even began. The reason for celebration, though, is that one week ago, I finished the third draft of it! I’m sitting on it right now and will reopen the file in a couple of days to maybe tweak a word here or there, but overall, it’s DONE. 

At least until my first round of developmental edits arrive in a month or so. 

I have a bit of a gap before the next book is due, and I’d planned all along to take March “off.” Oh, who am I kidding? My brain will be spiraling, and I’ll be jotting notes the whole time. But I need to get my accounting in order for my appointment with my tax accountant in a few weeks. And I need to make a bunch of phone calls and sort through the mess of insurance and investment information surrounding my husband’s impending retirement. AND I have more phone calls to make to line up workers for an upcoming home improvement matter. 

None of this sounds like a celebration, does it? 

I love hearing stories about writers celebrating their victories, be it finishing a first draft (or a chapter or a scene…all reasons to celebrate!) or signing a contract or being nominated for a major award. It sounds like so much fun. Yet, I rarely do. Finish a book? Great! Get busy and start the next one. Sign a contract? Yay! Start planning my schedule and figure out how many pages I need to write each day to meet the deadline. Receive a nomination? Hooray! Enjoy all the congratulatory messages on social media…during breaks from writing. 

I confess, I did enjoy a REAL celebration when I won the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for Death By Equine. The next evening, while still in Kentucky where the awards were handed out, my husband and I went out for dinner. A nice dinner. An order-whatever-you-want dinner. 

You’re probably wondering what, if anything, I did to celebrate this bountiful month. I binge-watched a bunch of episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles that I hadn’t seen before. It may not sound like much, but considering I’d normally have turned off the TV after one episode so I could get back to writing, sitting back in the recliner with my cat (Kensi, named after Kensi Blye from that very TV show) felt decadent.

What about you? Do you celebrate victories large and small? If so, what is your idea of a celebration?