THE COUNCIL OF WISE WOMEN is a 312 page stand-alone novel for adults. It's available in print, ebook and audiobook, performed by the Audie Award winning narrator Kate Reading.

 

 

Way back in 2008, I started a new serialization in The Village Life series. If you're familiar with the mythical/legendary Chelm, you know it is famous for its foolish "Wise Men."

 

Naturally, I decided to write about the women. The book starts with the birth of Rachel Cohen, and a few minutes later her twin brother Yakov. Sarah Cohen is thrilled, but her husband, Benjamin wants to know, "Which child was born first?" And cracks begin to appear in their marriage.

 

When I serialize, I write an installment on Monday, read it aloud on Tuesday, and then rework it until it's time to send it out. Each episode begins with a hook, and ends with a hook. While I usually know what the next episode is about, I often don't know what's going to happen after that. This keeps the book moving forward, and suspenseful.

 

About halfway into THE COUNCIL, my first marriage began to fall apart. While I don't use the events of my divorce in the book, the circumstances – and certainly the emotions – made their way in. 

 

Sixty-one installments later, the novel was finished, and so was that marriage. I put the book away, because I couldn't bear revisiting it. 

 

Fast forward to the COVID lockdown, when I vaguely remembered writing something about an influenza epidemic in the nearby town of Smyrna… I dug through my files, found the story and was pleased.

 

Enough time had passed, and I began the long process of editing and revision. In some other email, I'll talk about all the steps from idea to finished "product."

 

The most thrilling (and somewhat terrifying) stage was listening to Kate Reading narrate the "beta" edit of the audiobook. I found myself enthralled anew in my own story, and laughing out loud at stuff I'd written more than a decade ago.

 

The book and audiobook have finished. I hope you'll check them out.