You know you've turned the corner from a hot, young thang to an AARP discount-loving Weeble when the most exciting thing to happen to you is that you switch from drinking coffee 24/7 to sipping black tea in a mug that a toddler painted fifteen years ago that looks like Woody from Toy Story met Jack the Ripper. 😈 (If you don't know what a Weeble is, watch this vintage commercial. And also, are you old enough to read this newsletter?) I drink a lot of coffee. ☕ When I say a lot of coffee, picture Ron Swanson eating breakfast. 🍳🍖🍳🍖🍳 However, there's a tea and herbal shop in A Bitter Swill to Swallow, and its owner plays a very important role. I visited a tea shop recently and purchased far more than I had planned to. I would have liked to have browsed more, smelled more blends, taken in the ambiance, but the blasted owner followed me through the store like a yapping Chihuahua begging for a biscuit. She talked incessantly. 👄 When I asked her questions about her business, her … [Read more...] about Which is better? Coffee or tea?
It is a jpg, but it’s a major award 🦵🏻
Last weekend was The BookFest and I'm honored to say that I took top prize for A Fatal Fumble in the LGBTQ Mystery category. 🎉 Now I can slap AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR on everything: my Amazon page, my books, my Instagram profile, my license plate, my children's birth certificates... 🏆 You get the idea. The only thing that could be better is if the award were wearing fishnets, and I could light it up and stick it in the front window for all the neighbors to see. 👠 To make the weekend even sweeter, A Fatal Fumble took second place for both the Cozy Mystery category and the Amateur Sleuths categories. I'm just as proud of those awards because the first place winners are prolific and talented authors. Visit The BookFest website to see the awards page. Isn't that just the coolest thing? My excitement just doesn't come through your screen. I'm thrilled, honored, humbled, and just amazed where this author journey is taking me. And it's all thanks to you readers. Thank you, … [Read more...] about It is a jpg, but it’s a major award 🦵🏻
Why Kindle Unlimited is Great for Mystery Readers
Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service offered by Amazon that allows you to read an unlimited number of ebooks from a specific catalog. The books range from classics, like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes) by Arthur Conan Doyle, to modern bestsellers, like Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover and Quick Silver by Dean Koontz. Beyond those heavy hitters, though, is a deep catalog of fantastic cozy mysteries, amateur sleuths, female detectives, and traditional mysteries written by authors like me who are self-published or just getting started. They've got four-star and five-star reviews, but they don't have a big five publisher behind them. Kindle Unlimited gives authors like us more exposure and a chance to reach readers who are craving new mysteries and new authors. Kindle Unlimited is essentially perfect for the reader who devours ebooks like Hercule Poirot devours a dish of escargot. Misconception One misconception about … [Read more...] about Why Kindle Unlimited is Great for Mystery Readers
Best Book Husbands
Recently I posted on social media about my favorite "book husbands." Bookstagrammers (people on Instagram who love books and post about them) frequently post about their favorite "book boyfriends," but I thought husbands deserved a shout-out. (I suspect they post about boyfriends because romances are usually about boyfriends and because bookstagrammers are frequently young.) My post prompted my own husband to ask, what makes a good book husband? I said that good book husbands are just like good husbands in real life: they're supportive; they listen; they see their wives; they're partners, equals. My list includes Jamie Fraser from the Outlander series; Inspector Gamache from Louise Penny's series; Leon Farrell from The Chronicles of St. Mary's; and Emerson from Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series. What book husbands would you recommend? Hit me up on Instagram or Facebook to tell me. … [Read more...] about Best Book Husbands
The One Where I Want Zoom With Filters
As I write this, I'm looking forward to attending my first conference since the 'rona stopped the world from turning for a bit. (And still keeps rearing its ugly spikes.) It's the Pennwriters conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'm hoping to learn about firearms, forensics, and character flaws that will level up my writing and add more realism to my stories. I'm also slogging through the first draft of the first book in a new series. Don't worry; Robin and family aren't going anywhere. They're just taking a vacation while I play with folks who live an hour south of them and encounter a woman who's a bit past her prime, shall we say. Like, she's dead. I'm falling in love with the story and I hope you will, too. I had the honor and the pleasure to talk with Kristina Stanley, the CEO of Fictionary, an online software that analyzes your manuscript and gives you visual feedback about your story arc and pacing. I discovered their StoryTeller tool last year and it's helped me … [Read more...] about The One Where I Want Zoom With Filters