Duchess, the loving vibrant sorceress, decided to build a luxurious retreat in central British Columbia.

Now I’m writing a cozy fantasy series about Duchess helping people to heal, and others to make their dreams come true.

Six months ago, it started out as a memoir.

I thought I had a story to tell, and that it was a memoir. Then I decided I needed to reserve the right to make stuff up, so I switched to auto-fiction. Hmm, still not quite right.

When characters started morphing into cats, and talking to me, changing their names, and throwing out fairy tale story lines, I…paused.

The whole thing arrived fully formed: the structure, the staff, the premise. An episodic serial. Guests arriving at Duchess’s retreat. Healing. Or not. And then — life goes on.

It’s been fun. Entirely unexpected. A little unhinged. All I can really do is laugh, shake my head, then sit down and write.

In Writing in the Margins I’ll occasionally talk about how the story is unfolding, where it surprises me, and what’s happening behind the scenes—without interrupting the story itself.

Back to the forest. See you there! Doris