Saturday, April 5, 2025

A thank you, and some short stuff

Welcome, I’m Mary Louisa Locke, the author of the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series and the Caelestis Science Fiction series. In this daily newsletter, I reflect on my life as an indie author trying to age gracefully. Occasionally, I will also publish some of my shorter fiction in this newsletter to read for free.

Daily Diary, Day 1676:

First of all, thanks to all of you who have responded to yesterday’s post, I am glad that what I said resonated with so many of you. There are times, writing this daily substack, which usually covers every day events in a rather unexciting life, I wonder how anyone is finding anything of value in what I have to say. Particularly when I compare my newsletter to some of the long, thoughtful essays by people who have made their careers as respected journalists or literary humorists. But then I remind myself that one of the reasons I started this diary was the pleasure I got in reading daily facebook posts by a few authors I follow, that were a similar mix of describing daily events and their writing process. And I console myself with the idea that a similar comfort can be found in my posts, which must explain why often as many as three hundred of you actually open up my emails.

But since comfort in the daily diversions of life is sort of what I think I am providing you readers, I do hesitate to get into more difficult topics and feelings. So, once again, thanks for all the likes and comments to reassure me that deviations like yesterday are ok.

However, if I am going to get this post out, and still have time for a quick walk, I need to get back to a short recitation of my day yesterday. I did yoga, cleaned, had an early morning walk, finished yesterday’s post, and then spent time getting caught up on reading newspaper and newsletters. Another walk, lunch, a phone call, and a couple of hours of writing, and it was dinner. Afterwards we watched the last two episodes of the Residence, a very clever humorous murder mystery set in the White House. I really recommend it.

Today, after walk, a zoom call, a visit from Rio, I do hope to get in even more writing time today. I will also be keeping in contact with a variety of people I know who are going on protests today. For those of you who are going, or are still thinking about it, here is the link again. Do stay safe.

More spring flowers.

Everything I publish in this newsletter is available to anyone who subscribes, but I am always pleased when someone shows their appreciation for what I am writing by clicking the button below to upgrade to paid, thereby providing me more resources so I can spend more time writing my fiction and less time marketing. In addition, please do click on the heart so I know you’ve been to visit and/or share with your friends, and I always welcome comments! Thanks!