Edith here, north of Boston until noon but in Indiana as of 5 PM.

I love these Wickeds. Isn’t this the best group, evah? It’s indeed a celebration to launch a brand-new series, and one close to my heart. Thank you, everyone – Wickeds, Accomplices, and readers – for helping me make this week a party! And since FLIPPED got as low as #49 (as of this writing) on the Amazon mystery amateur sleuths list (the best I’ve done so far with a novel), it’s really been a celebratory few days.

I am trying to remember to have fun. Really. But I’m going a little bit nuts. The Country Store Mysteries are on a seven-month schedule. That means…yes. As of last weekend, the first book wasn’t out yet. I had a deadline to return copyedits on the second book, Grilled for Murder. And I’m over halfway through writing the third book, When the Grits Hit the Fan. Then I have write a proposal for three more books in the series! Whew. Gulp. It’ll be fine, as Catriona McPherson said in her post earlier this year.

I’ve been the guest on all kinds of fabulous blogs in the last week – Jungle Red Writers, Dru’s Book Musings, Buried Under Books, Mystery Playground, and Club Hen House, to name a few – with more to come in the next couple of weeks. The work of writing the guest posts is done, of course, but I have to check in and reply to comments several times a day, and select giveaway winners sometimes, too.

With Barbie last year in Brown County.

Later this week I’m heading to Indiana for a delightful but busy six days of book promotion. I’m on two panels at the Magna Cum Murder conference, a Barnes & Noble signing in Indianapolis, a library talk (which I haven’t prepared yet) in Evansville, a visit to Brown County where the series is set, and a Barnes & Noble signing in Bloomington (details for all events here). My Hoosier sister Barbara will be with me the second half of the trip, which will make it even better. And we’re going to have lunch with the Gingerbread Log Cabin competition organizers in Brown County – an event I included in Grilled for Murder!

Two days after I get back? New England Crime Bake! And I don’t have a costume for the British pub-themed banquet yet. Gah. Any ideas? 

But really, it’s all good. A graphics-oriented friend helped me design new bookmarks that unify all my series, and I’m taking plenty on my trip to give away. You like ’em?

Now, back to the work in progress. I just keep telling myself, it’ll be fine.

Readers: any suggestions for not going nuts this week?