Horse Latitudes

Can you tell how excited I am to announce that my good friend and writing colleague, Andrea Zimmermann, has published her book, Horse Latitudes, a Martin Sharp Mystery? This has been a long time coming. She worked at navigating the agent/publisher maze, but found that path was way too crowded. Knowing it would take years for this intriguing story to be enjoyed by readers, she decided to self-publish. Andrea is also a talented artist, and she drew the boat that is pictured on the cover. A meet-the-author and book-signing event is planned for June 27, 2026, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the C.H. Booth Library, Newtown, CT. I'm looking forward to the event.

The Great Danbury State Fair

One of my first blogs was a photo of my friend and writing partner, Andrea Zimmermann, when she received her just published book, The Great Danbury State Fair. I was fortunate enough to receive an early copy and although I never had the opportunity to attend this fair, the stories contained in this book touched my heart.

I wonder if we will ever again witness the love and passion of men like George Mortimer Rundle, John Leahy, C. Irving Jarvis and others who created and carefully managed this enterprise over its 112 year run.

For anyone who experienced the magic of fairs during their lifetime, this book is a must read. You can order a copy through Amazon, the History Press, or from the author, who will send you a signed copy if you wish. 

The Great Danbury State Fair - Published!

Andrea Zimmermann with her newly published book

Last October my friend Andrea Zimmermann and I decided we would do our own NANOWRIMO. We would each work on our own writing projects and be accountable to each other by producing Progress Reports each week. After starting and stopping during the writing of my mystery, this was exactly the incentive I needed.

And so it went over the months. Each weekend I sent her my word count, page count, progress made, goals for the next week, and other writing projects completed with word count. For me it was my genealogy blog, Growing up in Willow Creek.  She did the same.

Andrea got a good start on her mystery, but then signed a contract with The History Press to write the history of the Great Danbury Fair. She wasn’t much enthused about this project at first (they approached her), but I prodded her along, and then once she saw photos of the fair and interviewed local folks who went or exhibited, her excitement grew.

This week she received a shipment of her book. She was tickled beyond belief and I am so happy for her. With my novel almost ready to be published, our NANOWRIMO collaboration worked!