What I've Been Up To

What have you done for me, lately?

Sorry, I couldn't resist writing that as if folks wanted to know. Anyway, you might well ask what I've been doing.

I've been writing. And I've got several new books published this month and over the next couple of months. And I'm developing plans for a couple of new series, as well. And here they are.

A Lady in Hiding

A Lady in Hiding (previously published as The Bricklayer's Helper) has been re-edited and was just released this month. I got the germ of an idea for this book from an article I read about a girl who was orphaned and instead of living on the street, she disguised herself as a boy and went to work at a series of jobs, including a bricklayer's helper and a footboy, before her identity was discovered and she exchanged her trousers for a dress.

Of course, A Lady in Hiding is entirely a work of fiction, but sometimes readers ask me where I get my ideas, and in this case, that true story is where I got the idea.

A Lady in Hiding - Available now!

 A tragic case of arson sends Sarah into hiding to escape the terrible fate of her family. She works as a common laborer, and is safe for thirteen years, until she receives an ominous note. The killer has caught up with her. Despite her disguise, she is once again in danger from a man determined to silence all echoes from the past.

William, an inquiry agent, is consumed with curiosity when he meets Sarah, and one look into her gray eyes has him hooked. Even though the evidence is scanty after so many years, he promises to assist her, unaware how events will challenge him as both a man of honor and an investigator.

When a second attempt is made on Sarah's life, William is forced to follow a treacherous path through the twisted, dark past. And his growing attraction to the independent woman proves just as dangerous. He needs a clear head to sift through the ashes of the old tragedy, with its hints of corruption stretching back to the Napoleonic wars and reaching into the highest levels of Society. Above all, he must protect Sarah, regardless of personal cost.

Love must find a way to bring the two together and thwart a desperate arsonist, or the last survivor of the long-ago fire will die.

A Stolen Rose - Available for Pre-Order now at $0.99

When the Earl of Wraysbury rescues a young woman from a carriage accident, he can't resist her laughing eyes and wry sense of humor, even though their families have been locked in a feud for generations.

Anemone may be achingly lonely but she's loyal to her family. When she wakes up after an accident in the strong arms of a handsome stranger, she's immediately drawn to him, and appalled  when  she discovers he's her family's sworn enemy, the Earl of Wraysbury.

Neither Anemone nor the earl is prepared for the flaring attraction they feel, or for the escalation of the war between their families when a 40-year-old mystery triggers accusations of murder. Loyalty and the threat of a dangerous duel are destined to tear the lonely lovers apart unless they are willing to defy their families and take a chance on love. 

Regency Romantic Mysteries Boxed Set - Available November 1

A boxed set containing The Unwanted Heiress, A Lady in Hiding, and The Earl's Masquerade with a bonus book, Love, The Critic, will be available November 1. This set has the first three of the Archer Family Regency Romances and will be $4.99, which is much cheaper than buying the individual books.

Her Vampire Bodyguard - Available December 1

Her Vampire Bodyguard (previously published as Vampire Protector) will be available December 1.

Gwen can't afford to trust anyone. She has a horrifying secret only half-remembered. But she knows she's not the young woman she appears, and her nights are filled with terrifying nightmares. Her tenuous peace is shattered when a mysterious letter arrives, hinting that someone knows her secrets and driving her to uncover the truth at her long-abandoned home.

But she doesn't go alone.

Although frightening secrets plague John, he has a duty to protect Gwen from the unknown dangers surrounding her. She seems unaware that there is an artifact in her old house that others will kill for, so he's determined to accompany her when she returns home.

Unfortunately, their seemingly casual visit unleashes an ancient evil that threatens them both. Despite their growing love, they soon realize that if don't learn to trust each other and face their deepest fears, they will die.

Only trust and their growing love can give them the strength to overcome the ancient evil waiting for them in the shadows of their past. 

Future Series

Once all those books hit the streets, I have a mystery, Time, that will come out in 2016, and then I will start on a new series of romantic cosy mysteries featuring the Harmony sisters. Oh, that doesn't mean there won't be any more Second Sons Regency mysteries or Archer family Regency romances. In fact, I'm writing another Archer family Regency romance, Fencing for Ladies, right now. But I am also working on the Harmony sisters.

What is so special about the Harmony sisters? Well, each of the sisters will have her own story (and romance) and they manage to solve some puzzling murders in the small town of Peyton, NC. The sisters run a business called Total Harmony that is a lifestyle center helping people outfit their homes and themselves to bring harmony back into their lives. The concept that colors, decorating styles, scents and event cosmetics can be brought into harmony to improve a person's mood, and therefore, life. Kind of Feng Shui mixed with color theory and scents.

I've gotten into a lot of DIY (do it yourself) projects lately, including developing my own sourdough starter to bake all my own bread, pickling, and more recently, making my own hair rinse, cold cream, and face cream. I like having more control over the ingredients and freshness, and I've seen minor improvements in my own life through these efforts.

For those interested in having more control and like small DIY projects, here is a face cream I use and really like. I had some small red spots/scars on my forehead and this cream has really helped me with those spots. It is a little oily at first because it takes longer for the skin to drink it in, but as I am older, I find I'm okay with that because of the sense of accomplishment, control, and skin improvements I'm seeing.

Mature Skin Face Cream

2 Tbsp Almond base oil

2 tsp Rose Hip Seed base oil

1 1/2 tsp Beeswax

1 Tbsp distilled water

Contents of 1 vitamin E capsule

10 drops Rosemary essential oil *

5 drops Carrot essential oil *

10 drops Neroli essential oil *

* Essential oils are optional, but these 3 are good for mature skin, so I tend to use them. And I like the way it smells, particularly the rosemary. I use rosemary a lot.

In a large glass measuring cup, put the base oils and beeswax. Microwave in 30 sec increments (about 1 min, 30 sec) until the beeswax melts. In a different small bowl, microwave the water for about 30 secs.

Let the oil/beeswax cool a little (until the glass container is warm to the touch, but not hot) and using a wire whisk, whisk the warm water into the oils. Whisk for about 3 minutes, until a creamy, pale yellow cream forms. Pierce the vitamin E capsule and squish the contents into the cream. Add the essential oils (if using), and continue whisking for another 4 minutes or so. The cream should be thick and a little shiny.

Scrape the cream into a very clean glass container (I use the canning jars meant for baby food).

This makes quite a bit and generally lasts me more than 1 month, so I keep it in a small refrigerator, along with my collection of base and essential oils. That way, it stays good for several months. It will last about 1 month without refrigeration, though.

To use: you don't need much, and you may wish to rub it between your hands and then apply to your face and throat. (I prefer just to massage it into my neck and face.) You don't need much. A little dab will do you (to re-use that old ad phrase.)

So that's one of my recipes that will be appearing in the Harmony sisters mystery books. Stay tuned--there is a lot coming up.

Thanks!

Gardening and Writing

Gardening

Oops, someone forgot to pick the veggies for a while. Sigh. But I did manage to harvest almost 2 quarts of garlic (2 qts of cleaned garlic cloves, to be exact) and a whole BUNCH of zucchini. As you can see in the background, I ended up using a lot of it for pickles. Then I took some more and made flour-less zucchini muffins.

I'm very pleased with the pickles. We are trying to cut out sugar and this particular recipe has no sugar at all in it. It's a spicy pickle with hot pepper flakes and garlic and we've already eaten one jar. What makes it even better is that you don't have to go through that long hot water bath canning process. You clean the jars (fill with boiling water until ready to use), prepare the zucchini and while you're doing that, boil the vinegar with the spices for 5 minutes. Then fill the jars and pour in the boiling vinegar. Of course you have to store them in the refrigerator, but that's okay with us. I got the recipe from Eatsy at this link.

 For the zucchinis I did not use for pickles (I made 12 pints of pickles) I made zucchini bread with almond flour. Okay, actually, I turned this into zucchini muffins because we like them for breakfast.

I got the recipe for that from comfybelly.com at this link. Of course, I modified it just a wee bit to add a little more spice because we really like our spices, but the basic recipe was from comfybelly.

So, if you are overrun with zucchini or squash, you might look into making either pickles or bread. My sister likes to make zucchini cake, but as I mentioned, we are trying to cut down on sugar and gluten, so we're not doing the cake thing. However, if you make those muffins, they are like mini carrot cakes and are absolutely wonderful for breakfast with a dollop of cream cheese. In fact, I almost prefer them to most cakes at this point.

Writing

I've been working extra hard on my writing lately and for those who are interested, I'm still taking my net proceeds from The Vital Principle and donating them to the Red Cross for the tornado victims. I haven't earned as much as I would like (I'd at least like to give $500) but every little bit helps.

For my fans, the second Prudence Barnard/Knighton Gaunt mystery, The Dead Man's View, is in the final stages and should be out in August. Pru and Knighton were first introduced to readers in The Vital Principle, and I hope folks will enjoy their continuing adventures. In The Dead Man's View, Pru discovers she has a second cousin and goes to visit him, only to have him die within a week of her arrival. The coroner believes her cousin committed suicide, but Pru finds clues that lead her to believe otherwise and she writes to Knighton to gain his assistance in proving her cousin was murdered. 

The wonderful cover artist, Amber Shah, is working on the cover for The Dead Man's View and has even done a new one for The Vital Principle to give it a "make over." Here is a "proof" of the newly redesigned cover for The Vital Principle. It is not final yet, but it will give you an idea and show her wonderful work.

I'm torn at the moment between two of her designs for The Dead Man's View, but hopefully I'll have a new cover to show folks soon!

Next year, I hope there will be a third Pru and Knighton mystery as they are going to go on a trip to Europe and once more, they are going to stumble upon a dead body during their travels...

In the meantime, the Second Sons Inquiry Agency is getting a new detective and I'm writing chapter five even as we speak. It's tentatively called: The Illusion of Desire and like The Vital Principle, it deals with some difficult topics but there are dashes of black humor that I hope readers will enjoy.

For readers of my contemporary mystery, Whacked!, I'm editing a second manuscript (I don't have a title yet) in preparation to sending it to my editor at Five Star. The new one is also set in the small town of Peyton, NC, and features Kelly Harmony. Kelly is suspected of killing her roommate and then torching the apartment to cover up the crime and it doesn't help matters when she finds a stranger's dead body in her new home. This is the first of what will be several mysteries featuring the Harmony family in Peyton, so cross your fingers that my editor likes it.

On the novella front, I wrote a sweet Regency novella last spring and submitted it to my editor at Highland Press, as well as my first sweet Western romance novella. I hope she likes at least one of them and decides to include it in one of the upcoming Highland Press anthologies.

Finally, my paranormal romance, A Fall of Silver, is on sale for one more week at $.99 so if you are interested, you might want to jump on it now before it goes back to its normal price.

That's all the news and I hope to write another blog soon on the craft of writing, as well as keeping up better on my progress with the art of writing.

Enjoy the summer!

Malice Domestic 2013

I recently returned from the Malice Domestic 25 conference in Bethesda, MD, and I had a super time. My sister and I both love mysteries, so we can get a chance to visit, do a little sight-seeing around the Virginia, Maryland, DC area, and generally have a good time. One of the best features, of course, is that we each get a bag full of books, many of which are from authors new to us so we get to sample new authors while going to interesting talks and generally schmoozing with the authors. If you haven't gone, I highly recommend this conference as it is on the small side and everyone is fantastically nice.

Harlan Coben and yours truly, Amy Corwin

In fact, during the author signing, Harlan Coben came over and spoke to several of us, which was really sweet of him considering that I (in particular) am generally unknown in the Mystery Author Stars firmament.

Exotic Locales Session with Dina Willner (moderator), Lucy Burdette, Aaron Elkins, Marie Moore, and Michael Stanley

One of the best sessions was about the use of exotic locales in fiction and all four authors were fascinating in their views of how the locale influences the book. I picked up several new books where the stories are set in distant lands since I have always loved to read stores set in other places. One of the authors, Aaron Elkins, really drew in the crowds and I loved to hear him talk about his process. He visits the places where he sets his stories and takes notes on everything, including local eateries (including their menus) and street views. I almost asked him if he had any relatives in NC since we are friends with a family with the last name and there is even a crossroads (Elkton) named after the Elkins. It would be really funny if they were related (I really don't think they are).

Maria Hudgins (Left)

I also got to catch up with several of my friends, including fellow Five Star author, Maria Hudgins, and Sandra Parshall who was the main editor of the Fairfax Audubon Society newsletter where I was a "grunt" typist eons ago.

Sandra Parshall (right)

While at the conference, I got to participate in the fun (but exhausting) Malice-Go-Round, which was like speed dating for authors. There were twenty tables set up with ten or so folks at each table and we authors got to run around to each table and "pitch" our books for 2.5 minutes. Whew. By the time I reached table 18, I was pretty well "voice-less" but I certainly got my pitch for my latest mystery, Whacked!, down-pat. (An overworked gal goes to house-sit for her aunt and uncle, only to find her uncle sharing a smoke with a dead man. It's up to her to prove her uncle is not crazy and did not kill the man at the bottom of the garden. LOL) Right now, Whacked! is only out in hardcover, but there should be an ebook version out next year (crossing fingers).

Liz Lipperman (right)

For fans of my historical mysteries, the second Pru & Knighton book (Second Sons Inquiry Agency mystery series) should be out by the end of June or early July. I still don't have a title for it, but it's coming! If you want to catch up on the first book where Pru Barnard is accused of murdering her host at a seance, you can grab a copy of The Vital Principle.

I hope mystery fans will check out Malice Domestic and maybe make a trip next year for the conference. It really was a lot of fun and there is so much to do in that neck of the woods. It is well worth the trip!

Aaron Elkins at book signing

Guest Author: Kaye George

Author Kaye George joins us today to talk about writing mysteries. For writers, there are a lot of great tips and ones which I have also taken advantage of. If you haven't taken an online writing class with Mary Buckham or Margie Lawson, I highly recommend them. They are a wealth of information.

One of the things which has always struck me about writers is their generosity and Kaye is no exception. I don't know a lot of fields where folks are so willing to help each other out with whatever tidbits they've gleaned over the years to help make their books a success. Readers may also find this information illuminating, even if they never intend to write a book of their own. There's a lot of work that goes into even the shortest of short stories, but when you think about it, that's true of every job out there. If you want to do a good job, it requires learning. And sharing what you've learned has surprising benefits. Try it sometime. I think you'll go to bed happy that night.

So here's Kaye!

Kaye George

Why did you decide to write?
This was not really a decision. I've actually had to seek therapy when I'm not writing. It's my pressure valve, the thing that keeps me sane. So, not a decision, a necessity. Another thing that contributes to a writers' sanity is keeping company with other writers. Writing a short story anthology together with my regular writing partners has been a blast.
How much research do you do?
That depends on what I'm writing. I do like to get all the details right, so I'll look up the times of sunset and sunrise in the area I'm using as a setting so that I'll have it getting dark at the right hour for that time of year. I've been writing a lot of rodeo-related stuff lately for a novel and have had to look up videos so my descriptions won't be wrong.

What’s your favorite method for researching?
The most intense research I've had to do is for a mystery series that takes place thirty thousand years ago, among Neanderthals. Don't ask me why I'm writing this, I just feel I have to! I've ordered textbooks and saved every clipping on new discoveries, especially the insights being gained with DNA analysis. I'll admit I do look a lot of things up on the internet. But if I want to go into any degree of depth, I'll order a book on the subject.

I sometimes do almost as much research for a short story if there are details I want to get right. I love to set short stories in places I haven't been, so I need to research that. One of the short stories in our anthology has a colorist as a character. That's a career I read about in an airline magazine, *American Way* if I remember correctly. I saved the article. Didn't use much of it, but did use the occupation.

Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
I want my readers to have fun, to be entertained, and, if they have something going wrong in their lives, to able to escape for a few hours. With my short stories, my main goal is entertainment. I like to startle my readers with unexpected endings, maybe because I like to be startled that way myself. For the Neanderthal series (which is unpublished as yet), I want the reader to feel about them as I do, that they've gotten a bad rap for many years and were pretty interesting people. In my mystery, "Choke," I want to make people laugh, to take their minds off whatever their troubles are.

When do you write/what is your writing day like?
I'm not a morning person, so I usually go through emails, write blogs, pay bills, that sort of thing, in the morning. More times than I like, I have to do grocery shopping, errands, laundry, that sort of thing, in the afternoons. So evenings are for writing. Unless I have a writers' group meeting. I'll sometimes write after meetings, though, late into the night. Sleep is a waste of time!
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?
Best advice: persist. The difference between a published writer and an unpublished one is that the published one didn't quit.

Worst advice? I guess the poetry class I took from Stephen Spender years ago was my worst writing experience. I didn't get any advice, but sure got shot down. We had one-on-one consultations at the end of the course. His comment was, "Why are you writing poetry?" I answered something, maybe that I liked doing it. He repeated his comment twice more and I walked out. I didn't write poetry for years. Still don't do it much.

How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
I've gotten a system together, cobbled from many courses I've taken from Mary Buckham, Margie Lawson, Kris Neri, and Pat Kay.

First I fill out the plotting templates I got from Mary Buckham on the main characters (protagonist, antagonist, and villain) and main plot points. I get my opening and my ending (which, of course, is subject to change) from this.

Then, per Kris Neri, I write a blurb of what I think the book will be about. After that I write out the background necessary for the crime, the backstory and what she called the root story. This means I'm telling the story (to myself) from the villain's point of view before I start writing the book. These are all just a few paragraphs.

I then put some plot points on a spreadsheet in a loose three-act structure. A good number is 24, but for the project I'm on now, I just have 9. I'll write in the direction of the next plot point, but will veer off course sometimes as new things crop up.

After I've started writing some of it, maybe one or two chapters, I'll stop and make some notes to myself on who the characters are. I don't really know them until then.

Short stories are an entirely different matter. They often come to me fully formed. They're much easier for me.

How do you develop your characters?
As implied above, they develop as I'm writing them, especially the secondary characters (who sometimes move to the forefront unexpectedly). But my starting point is the name. If I don't have the name right, but character doesn't come alive for me. If the character is lying flat on the page, I fool around with the name and, when I've found a good one, that guy or gal will pop.

Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
That's a very hard question! Ann Rule is my favorite true crime author. I like lots of different mystery authors in lots of different sub-genres. I like to read biographies and autobiographies and history, as well as mainstream and literary fiction (although I'm not certain of the difference between those last two). I love humor, such as P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Addams, David Sedaris, and Carl Hiaasen.

What makes a great book in your opinion?
To call a book great, it has to be something that stays with me long after I've put it down and after I've read a lot more books in the meantime. Sandra Parshall's mysteries are like that.
 Amy's note: I'm so glad to hear you mention Sandra Parshall. She's a fabulous writer and a long-time friend. I first met Sandra when I volunteered to work on the local Audubon Society newsletter. She was the editor and did an absolutely unbelievable job. She is a skilled writer and I agree with Kaye, her books are wonderful. And so are Kaye's.

If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
Oh gosh, maybe a feeling that they hadn't wasted their time and money. You know how insecure we writers are! A feeling that they had fun reading the book. The stories are all dark, but in varied genres since we three all write in different genres.

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Don't give up. Take some courses. If what is taught doesn't resonate with you, toss it and take another course. Try to find a community of writers, either in person or online, that you're comfortable with. That will make a big difference.

Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I hope to have published the two sequels to "Choke" and to have published lots more short stories. I'd like to have gotten another series into publication by then, too. Maybe two more.

Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry?
That's up for grabs, isn't it? I'd like to do at least one more anthology with Mary Ann and Steve, and publish more mysteries with my present small press, Mainly Murder Press. I'd love to move up to a larger press eventually if things hold together at all in the industry. If not, I'll strike out on my own and self-publish, hoping the following I have will, well, keep following.

Contact Info
My webpage: http://kayegeorge.com/
My solo blog: http://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com/
My group blog: http://allthingswriting.blogspot.com/
Website for our anthology http://allthingswriting.blogspot.com/p/all-things-dark-and-dastardly-website.html

ALL THINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY

Thirteen horror, mystery, and urban fantasy short stories by Austin authors with a distinctly dark side.

"Keep an eye on these authors. You'll be seeing their names for a long time to come." --AJ Hayes, featured author in the noir anthology, PULP INK.

Guest Author: Robert P. Bennett

Mystery writer Robert Bennett joins us today to share his experiences as a writer. I'm particularly happy to have him as his most recent book features an agricultural pathologist and a computer geek, two professions that fascinate me. In fact, by day, I'm a computer geek.

So, here's Robert!

Why did you decide to write?

I’ve wanted to write all my life. When I was younger I kept lizards as pets. As I learned more about them I wanted to write a book about them. Unfortunately that never materialized, but the dream of being a writer stayed with me. Then, fate gave me the opportunity when I was 28 yrs old. I had a car accident, which eventually paralyzed my legs. While I was recuperating and learning to deal with my new body limits I took the opportunity to learn how to develop my passion for writing. I started with nonfiction articles about disability issues but then moved on to fiction.

How much research do you do?

I’ve always believed that the old adage ‘write what you know’ really should be ‘write what you can find out about’. That philosophy came in handy while I was doing journalism. As a freelancer I was writing articles about a wide variety of subjects, for a diverse audience. I had to learn about the subjects I was asked to write about. That required research, a lot of it. I learned to use the internet. I learned to conduct interviews. Now, when I write fiction, I research every aspect of my stories, from where the characters come from (their dialects and cultural mannerisms) to settings (my stories have and will continue to be set in places I’ve traveled to). I’ve researched archeology, architecture, music, poisons, virtual reality and adaptive technologies.

What’s your favorite method for researching?

I’m not sure I have a favorite method, though I almost never start writing until I’ve at least scoured the internet for tidbits of information related to the kinds of story I want to write. From there I collect resource articles and the names of experts I’ll contact either by phone or email to interview later.

Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?

I’ve always had a soft spot for the disenfranchised masses, those that society ignores or mistreats. Before my accident I was working as a social worker in a group home for mentally challenged men. That gave me some outsider’s understanding about how a certain group of people with disabilities might think and interact with the world. After my accident, and with a newly-minted wheelchair-user’s perspective on the world, I began to write about what it was like to have a disability. In my fiction, my protagonist is a blind man. I endeavor to show that disability is not something one accepts but rather something that one learns to deal with. I try to show that people are people who have to find ways to get on with their day to day lives.

What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?

My writing mentor taught me that everyone has a story that is authentic to them and that only that person has the authority to write that story. There is no such thing as fiction. You can fictionalize a story, but in its bare essence everything comes from pieces of who we are and what we have experienced.

How do you develop your characters?

You know that little voice you sometimes hear in the back of your mind? In my opinion it is the voice of instinct talking to you, but it is also a character. I believe we all have such characters living within us. I once wrote a short story (sadly, unpublished) about the voices inside the mind of a person who was undergoing surgery. In it each voice took the shape of a ‘physical’ being. He had to listen to each of the characters that he met along his journey in order to recovery from that surgery. In the same way when I am developing a story I let my characters tell me their experiences and how they want to proceed from the beginning to the end of the story I am writing through them.

What makes a great book in your opinion?

That is the age-old question, isn’t it? Is a great story character-driven or plot-driven? Does the setting take you to a far off place where you can successfully suspend disbelief? My father didn’t have much patience for weeding through overly developed settings. He wanted to get to the meat of the story, the action. My mother would say it’s the emotion of the characters that is compelling to her, and the complexity of their lives that drives her to read further. For me, it’s all of that and more. A great story, which is a rare and difficult thing to find, has to first put me into a world I’m interested in seeing. It has to show me things I either haven’t seen in my daily life or that I’ve wanted to know more about. Perhaps that is why I use the places I’ve visited as backdrops for my stories. And, perhaps it is why I throw a lot of technology into my stories. Then, of course, I throw in the people and cultures that have always fascinated me. Who are they? Where do they come from? What emotions, philosophies and desires drive them to do the things they do? I don’t know if I’ve written a great book though. That is for my readers to decide, isn’t it? My mentor used to say he is an expert in the creation of his stories, but not in what they mean.

If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?

Everyone has a disability, whether it is visible or not. We each struggle to overcome our own shortcomings. We each struggle to do the best we can with the life we are given. Some manage to do better than others in pursuit of that goal. In the end, it is the act of living that matters, not the manner or the adaptive tools we use in order to succeed in that life. My protagonist uses a GPS and a sonic cane to navigate his world. Someone in the “real world” uses a hearing aide. What does it matter as long as their life is a successful one?

Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?

My Blind Traveler mystery series explores the life of a blind man as he manages to navigate through his world. Thus far each story has focused on the use of one of his remaining physical senses as a tool to solving the crime he is presented with. I have several senses left to explore. I also have several challenges I’d like to present to my character, and I invite my readers to suggest challenges they think a blind man who solves crimes should be presented with.

Bio

Robert Bennett, a former social worker turned writer, lives in the house he grew up in with his mother, one of his two brothers, two dogs that don’t get along, and a turtle. His lifelong focus has been a concern for the needs of society’s disenfranchised. His articles span a wide range of topics from sports to technology and from politics to social justice. His fiction is grounded in real world events and technologies as well as his own philosophical concerns. "It is the act of truly living and believing in yourself that is important, not the manner in which that action is undertaken." Mr. Bennett has spoken to groups of physical therapy students, church members and senior citizens, and has appeared on several radio programs. Contact Mr. Bennett through his website at http://www.enablingwords.com/ .

Book Blurb

The year is 2021. Natural forces have changed our world. As the Earth's magnetic poles have shifted, pressure on the planet’s mantle layer is building. The bottom line…earthquakes now wreak havoc in areas they have never occurred before.

In Mexico, members of an archaeological team investigate the remains of an ancient village uncovered by a quake; racing to prove their theories about the civilization that once lived there. But, disaster strikes when the accidental destruction of an artifact unleashes a worldwide agricultural plague.

Halfway across the continent, Douglas Abledan, a blind computer technologist, embarks on a long anticipated vacation. On the plane to Chicago, he meets world-renowned agricultural pathologist Cara Cordelia. Little do either of them know she has been targeted for murder.

In this stand-alone sequel to his critically acclaimed "Blind Traveler Down a Dark River," author Robert P. Bennett continues to bring us suspense and intrigue while exploring a world of the not too distant future. While society struggles with the impact of natural changes, the advancement of new technology enables a blind man to investigate a murder.

* * * * *
Thank you for joining us!

Guest Author: Wendy Gager

We continue our series on mystery authors with Wendy Gager, who was gracious enough to agree to appear here and talk about creating a sense of place. I have to say it is gratifying to find another author who shares my view that sometimes a locale or place can be a character in its own right. So thanks, Wendy!

A Sense of Place

Creating a sense of place is important in a book. Many times the place can act like a character. When it comes to setting, I consider myself a minimalist. I’ve always hated reading a book and getting to a long passage of description which I would always skip. I prefer layering in descriptions little bits at a time and letting the reader use their imagination and what they know to create their own image. This same scenario surprised me because it is true for how I create places as well. Let me explain…


When I write, I usually have my own idea of the setting based on places I’ve been or lived. The Mitch Malone Mysteries are set in Grand River which I’ve fictionalized from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I fictionalized it because cities change and grow and I didn’t want to be inaccurate. (In the first book, A

 CASE OF INFATUATION, I wanted the police station to be where is used to be and not in its current location.) Grand River has really taken shape as a large urban center filled with crime, interesting characters and stories.

That has worked well so far but IN A CASE OF HOMETOWN BLUES Mitch goes back to the small town where he grew up. I called it Flatville based on the river in my hometown of Greenville, Michigan. To fictionalize them I usually interchange the river with the city and vice versa. That is just my twisted and ironic way of knowing where I am when I write and a bit of playing with words which I enjoy. But enough of that, I’m straying from my point.

In this book, Flatville becomes less like a setting and more like a character as Mitch sees the whole town against him from memories of his youth. In the book I thought I was using the layout of the first town I worked in as a reporter. It had a town square, a colonial courthouse with white pillars, and a pub that I frequently visited. Funny thing is when I went searching for photos of the courthouse, I found a very modern structure. Seems the courthouse I had in my mind doesn’t exist. What I painted was either the hospital in Coldwater or the old courthouse in White Cloud when I first covered trials there. It was torn down in the early 1990s.

As I was writing I thought I channeled my first job setting. Instead it is an amalgamation of several places. It has only been when I went looking for a photo for this blog that I realized how fictional it had become. See if you can help me figure it out.

In A CASE FOR HOMETOWN BLUES my crime sleuth reporter Mitch Malone is going to turn himself in. This is his description as he looks at it from being a wanted man.

“My concern mounted when I could see the courthouse and jail behind the office looming like a monolith. The courthouse oozed Southern charm with three-story, white pillars flanking the front entrance surrounded by lush green grass and flower beds comprising the city’s center square. It was the community’s figurehead, a beacon of welcome as espoused by the Chamber of Commerce unusual for a small community so far north of the Mason-Dixon Line.”

I’ve included photos of the Branch County Community Health Center and the Newaygo County Courthouse. Which was I channeling? It could even be a different building I saw in my imagination. Writing is very freeing and that freedom allows our subconscious to come up with so much more than possible. The same things happen in my books in that the characters take over and things happened that I never imagined making the book much better. Which building do you think I pictured in my brain? I’m not sure. Do you ever think you are describing one thing and it morphs into something completely different?

A Case of Hometown Blues” Synopsis

When Pulitzer-winning reporter Mitch Malone's editor presses him for a favor, Malone breaks his vow to never return to his hometown. It seemed simple enough--lead a seminar for Flatville, MI's newspaper, keep a low profile and get back to the city post haste. But memories of his parents' death swarm him, and, to avoid solitude, he stops for a beer. In the crowded bar, Mitch is dismayed to see many of his former classmates--including the still-lovely Homecoming Queen, Trudy. Once the object of his teenage crush, Trudy joins Mitch. He quickly realizes she is upset and inebriated. Always the gentleman, Mitch sees her safely home, and returns to his B&B, still trying to shake memories of his parents' sad demise. The next day, he is stunned to learn Trudy was murdered and he is the prime suspect. The locals treat the murder charge as a slam dunk, and Mitch realizes he must track down the real killer to keep his butt out of jail. As he investigates, facts he thought he knew about his family unravel, and danger ratchets up. Can Mitch discover the truth that will allow his parents to rest in peace, or will he be resting with them?

Author Bio

W.S. Gager has lived in Michigan for most of her life except when she was interviewing race car drivers or professional woman's golfers. She enjoyed the fast-paced life of a newspaper reporter until deciding to settle down and realized babies didn't adapt well to running down story details on deadline. Since then she honed her skills on other forms of writing before deciding to do what she always wanted with her life and that was to write mystery novels. Her main character is Mitch Malone who is an edgy crime-beat reporter always on the hunt for the next Pulitzer and won't let anyone stop him, supposedly.

W.S. Gager

Author of Humorous Whodunits

A Case of Infatuation & A Case of Accidental Intersection-Now Available

A Case of Hometown Blues - Coming this summer!

http://www.wsgager.com/

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Thank you, Wendy!

Interview with Randy Rawls

Today, I interview author Randy Rawls. He writes mysteries featuring detective Ace Edwards and most recently, a mystery/suspense, called "Thorns on Roses". I can't resist a book that has the word "rose" in the title as I grow roses. Thankfully, Randy agreed to an interview, so here he is.

What prompted you to write THORNS ON ROSES?
I'd written six Ace Edwards, Dallas PI, mysteries, which I'm told are cozies. I wondered if I could write a thriller, something with a harder edge. When I saw Tom Jeffries entering a morgue to identify a body, I knew it was what I had been looking for. THORNS ON ROSES was born.

Why did you decide to write?
Wow, tough question. Kind of like asking why I chose a career in the Army. I just did. That's the best answer I have. I didn't sit down and weigh all the pros and cons, ups and downs, or any of the other measurement tools we're taught to use. I enjoyed my time in the Army so I stayed in. I enjoy writing so I write.

How much research do you do?
I do enough research to make sure my facts are correct. If I choose to use a particular weapon, I research that weapon and make sure I use it correctly. It drives me nuts to read about a safety on a revolver—ain't no such thing. Same with a cylinder or a clip on a semi-automatic pistol.

Research today is made simple by the vast amount of information on the Internet. Unfortunately, some of it is not accurate. A writer owes it to his reader to make doubly-dang sure that what he writes is correct.

What’s your favorite method for researching?
Consult an expert. If I happen to know an expert on a subject, I pick his or her brain. If not, I go to the Internet and find one or more.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
Yes. Read, read, read. There are so many wonderful writers in the marketplace today that deserve to be read. Find them and read them.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
When the story grabs me, I am absorbed by it. I am so intent on getting it on my hard drive I ignore everything around me. This is not always good since My Honey might say, "Dinner's ready," and I completely miss it. If that happens, she is not pleased.

What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?
Best advice. Write what you like to read. Yeah, that might seem simple, but I know people who attempt to write what is popular, whether they like it or not. Vampires are hot—they write a vampire story. Werewolves—yep, a werewolf story. However, the downside is they never write a good story, only what they think the reader will want to read. And they don't enjoy their writing experiences as much as I do.

Worst advice. Just write it, the Agent/Editor will fix it. I still hear this from would-be writers. Horrible advice that should never be repeated. I've never heard this from a published writer.

How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
An opening. I see an opening and let the story take me where it will. For example, I just started a new book, another thriller. I saw a confrontation in an alley between the protagonist and two thugs intent on molesting a teenage girl. Not real sure where the story will take me, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the ride.

Outlines. Bah humbug! I still shudder at the thought of outlining. A thousand or so years ago when I was a student, the teacher would insist I turn in an outline with my paper. I did it by writing the paper, then writing the outline. I hope no one ever asks me for an outline again.

How do you develop your characters?
Basically, I see them and see the actions they're involved in. That's good for me, but not always good for my readers. I've been told I don't describe my characters enough—you know, height, weight, hair color, etc. However, I always hope my words cause the reader to create their own visions of the characters.

Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
Too many to list. I just read John Hart's new book, IRON HOUSE. He is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, wordsmith in the business today. Definitely high on my list of favorites. P.J. Parrish, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, Ken Follett, Bill Crider and many other NY-published authors. Then there are many small press authors that I enjoy. I'm an avid reader, never go anywhere without book. To get on my list of favorites, all an author has to do is write a good story.

Every book I read influences my work. I'm always looking for what makes this author so good, how does he/she express him/herself? I'm a firm believer in learning from the best, and that's what I try to do as I read.

What makes a great book in your opinion?
One criteria: Good writing. I can tolerate a weak story if the writing is good. I cannot and will not bother with any book that is poorly written, no matter how wonderful the plot might be. And that includes those books whose authors try to impress me with how much gutter language they can put on the page.

If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
That I love to write, and that I take my writing seriously.

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Yes, one tip that will never lead you astray. Read, read, read, and learn from what you read. Then read, read, read some more.

Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
Not much different from today. I've accepted that NY is never going to gobble up one of my books and turn me into an instant millionaire. I'll keep writing and keep working with small publishers to turn out the best books we can.

Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry?
A year ago, I would have said the ease of publishing ebooks would cause the influence of the big publishers to wane and the huge conglomerates that control the industry might well break up. The role of Agents would also shrink. That was last year.

This year, I'm not so sure. The explosion of self-published ebooks threatens to kill the golden goose. The marketplace is suffering from a plethora of bad, bad ebooks. With no gatekeeper to screen what is published, "writers" are putting out manuscripts that aren't ready—far from ready.

This is fine for the writer's ego, but what about the reader? The reader now finds himself having to search through a ton of books, all with wonderful "reviews" to find something worthy of reading. Some of those readers, and I am one, will not waste the time required to find that one gem in a dumpster filled with broken glass. This will result in the reader returning to the tried and true, published by real publishers, large and small. So, instead of seeing the demise of publishers and agents, they will maintain their influence in the marketplace. This last year of unbridled self-epublishing has proven that gatekeepers are a necessary evil.

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Thank you, Randy. I was particularly fascinated with your views on where the industry is headed. It is a time of vast changes, both good and bad, but in the end, I think readers will find they have more choices than they used to have and can find those gems, despite the broken glass.

Author Interview: Dennis Collins

Today we are privileged to have Dennis Collins with us, and I'm flinging some questions at him that he's been patient enough to answer.

An Interview with Dennis Collins

Why did you decide to write?


I’ve always enjoyed making up and telling stories so I consider myself more of a storyteller than a writer. I have lots of stories running around in my head so I began writing them down so that I wouldn’t forget them. I suppose that’s where it all began.

How much research do you do and what’s your favorite method?

It always bothered me to find a mistake in a book and so I decided that my books would always be thoroughly researched. I sometimes probably go farther than I need to but there is just so much information available on the internet, I get carried away. But when it comes to a setting for a story, nothing is better than a personal visit to get the real feel for the location. You might find that the place has magnificent sunsets or hectic traffic or possibly a unique smell. You can’t find that stuff on the internet.

Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?

I wouldn’t call it a message but my writing does have a personality. I like my characters to carry a strong sense of right and wrong and to be responsible and accountable. Of course the bad guys have none of these qualities.

When do you write/what is your writing day like?

I’m one of those fortunate few not tied to a day job so I can write whenever the urge hits. Sometimes it takes a little discipline to keep from getting lazy so I set daily writing quotas. Some mornings I wake up feeling inspired and so I begin before breakfast and other times I find myself working around lunchtime. On rare occasions I can be productive in the evenings. As long as I can get somewhere around two thousand words, I consider it a day’s work. Sometimes it’s only a couple of hours and other times it takes all day.

What is the best advice someone has given you about writing?

It’s a message I’ve heard over and over from successful authors, from editors, and just about every keynote speaker at every conference I’ve ever attended. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t let rejection letters bother you. Don’t give up!

How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?

All of my books have been inspired by one small thought or some seemingly insignificant event. The idea for my first book came from an obituary in a newspaper. Another book was the result of a discovery I made about my own family. I start with a very small seed and begin to build a story around it. I never use an outline. One of the adventures of writing this way is that I have to keep going in order to see where my story ends up.

How do you develop your characters?

Basically I give my characters a personality and then throw them into situations. Their personality controls how they react to conditions and gives them a chance to grow. So I’d say that my characters are developed by the challenges they face.

Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?

There have been some authors whose work is so dynamic and captivating that I’ve looked long and hard at their writing to see what made them stand out so dramatically. Hemingway comes to mind as a man who could convey great emotion with very few words. Herman Wouk is a magnificent story teller and Mario Puzo was able to take a cold blooded murderer and turn him into a folk hero. These authors shared the same knack for being able to mesmerize their readers.

What makes a great book in your opinion?

Books are a subjective thing. As a reviewer I’ve seen a few books that I didn’t care for draw glowing reviews from other readers. I personally judge a book on whether or not the story appeals to me and ease of reading. I like something that flows well, follows logic, and entertains me.

If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?

My main message has always been that good triumphs over evil but life is not always fair. The good guys will win but there will be victims.

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

Don’t give up!

Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?

My current goal is to publish two titles a year so I’m hoping to have a large enough list of books to actually get noticed.

Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry?

This is the most interesting question of the bunch. I don’t think that anybody knows what lies in the future for the publishing industry. The recent explosion in e-book sales is exciting but I’m sure that there are a few yet to be exposed growing pains lurking in the swamp. The situation is even more unpredictable because the portion of the industry that produced e-readers is in an unprecedented growing spurt as well. We’re not only dealing with a culture change among readers, we’re at the mercy of the electronic geeks who provide the venue. As for me, I’ll probably always be somewhat behind the curve but I’ll keep a close eye on what the leaders are up to and do my best to adjust on the fly,

The First Domino Blurb

Joe Pellerito thought he could murder his way into the mob. The son of a high powered Mafia lawyer and negotiator, he assumed that he’d be welcomed into the Family. When Joe’s father died of cancer he waited anxiously for the invitation to join the ranks. But the call never came. Feeling shunned, Joe devised a plan to show his dedication and fearlessness. From a list of Detroit cops who have been problems for the syndicate Joe chose three candidates and pulled off a string of three brutal murders in less than two hours on a bright spring morning.


The philosophy of the mob has moved into the new millennium and has all but abandoned confrontations with law enforcement. Joe’s actions threaten to undo the progress that took two decades to build. The problem of Joe Pellerito must be addressed.

With a price on his head, Joe is forced to flee and tries to hide in Italy where he attempts to gain a whole new identity.

The diligence of Detroit Police detectives Otis Springfield and Albert McCoy helps them sniff out Joe’s trail but the mob has its resources as well and soon the race is on to see who can get their hands on Joe first.

All of the books in the McCoy series are attractively priced in Kindle and Nook formats. See more at: http://www.theunrealmccoy.com/ .

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Thank you for joining us, Dennis! I was really interested in hearing about the direction you thought the publishing industry might take in the next few years. It's definitely a period of change for all of us, but I firmly believe it will result in more opportunities for everyone and a richer landscape for readers. I'm looking forward to it.

Vintage Murder - Real or Research?

Vintage Murder - Real or Research?

A Look Behind the Scenes

William S. Shepard, http://www.diplomaticmysteries.com/

The first book in my series of Diplomatic Mysteries is Vintage Murder (http://tinyurl.com/3unnas5 ). It is set largely in Bordeaux, where I lived for several years, and in Paris. Much of the detail depends upon my research and memory of the days that I lived there, as Consul General.

Here are some examples, The meetings described in the book that take place at the Embassy in Paris are quite genuine in tone, and mirror actual meetings of American diplomats who were assigned to diplomatic missions around France. The Bordeaux vineyards are also real, and most of them (except where blackmailing episodes take place) are amongst the most famous and pricey wine estates of that storied region. So, unfortunately, are the activities of the Basque ETA, a terrorist organization whose stated purpose is Basque nationhood.

My idea was to combine these elements. Now, fortunately, the ETA seems exhausted (although we have seen that before), and its fortunes at a low ebb. But what if they were to revive, motivated by the desire to be a real player, with large sums of money at their disposal rather than the small amounts of “taxes” which they extort from local Basque businessmen? That led me to the creation of my first character, a young Basque of keen intelligence and a burning desire for revenge. Here I inserted into his background an actual event, the formation of paramilitary hit squads by Spanish authorities, who crossed the border and carried out murders in France. Unfortunately, they fairly often hit the wrong targets and murdered innocent people. That was the case with the father of my main Basque character. (I don’t like cardboard villains very much. I like to understand their motivation and to the extent possible, make them three dimensional.)

Having invented this character, I had the idea of having him be a keen student. Why not have him with an American MBA? That would do several things – he would think of the ETA terrorists as a group with a failing business model. To have any chance of success (specifically, liberating the hundreds of their members in prison) they would need a great deal of money and weapons. And there, in Bordeaux, just a few hours away from the coastline, are world famous vineyards, some bottles of which sell for enormous prices. It would be a tempting blackmail prospect.

My American diplomat, Robbie Cutler, is the Consul at the same mission where I served. He surely knows some of the same people, and of course is enjoying their wines! But when he is contacted by a wine estate owner who claims that he is being blackmailed, the action takes an official turn for Cutler. Add to that the sign paingted on the door of the American Consulate General, “Death to the American Consul,” signed by the ETA!

Robbie is on his second assignment. His father was also a career diplomat, so living overseas is natural for Robbie. He has long since paid all of his official calls, so that when help is needed, he already knows the key players in the French police and intelligence services. He also has that rare quality that Napoleon is said to have demanded of his generals – he is lucky! And luck is presented in the person of the beautiful Sylvie Marceau, a features newspaper writer for the local regional newspaper, Sudouest. He is logical she is intuitive. She also discovers the first wine estate owner to be murdered by the ETA!

Robbie and Sylvie ramble through the most famous vineyards of Bordeaux, in St. Emilion, Pomerol, and the Médoc, where they attend a reception at storied Château Margaux. Their detection becomes a love story, and on a visit to Bordeaux, Robbie’s sister Evalyn tells her brother that now he is the lucky one – Sylvie is far too good for the likes of him!

Since this is the first book of a series, Robbie Cutler and Sylvie Marceau become continuing characters, as do several of their diplomatic colleagues. Cutler is reassigned from Bordeaux to Budapest at the end of Vintage Murder, during the second book in the series, Murder On The Danube, but he and Sylvie keep in touch, and become engaged. Their honeymoon, in Murder In Dordogne, gives Sylvie a chance to play detective as well, and she solves a murder plot of which her husband was totally unaware! Finally, the American Ambassador in Paris in Vintage Murder is so well connected politically that at the start of the fourth book in the series, The Saladin Affair, he is named Secretary of State, and Robbie becomes his Special Assistant, responsible for planning his trips overseas. Here his diplomatic duties are compounded by a murder investigation, and the repeated attempts of Al Qaida to murder the Secretary of State.

Shepard’s Guide to Mastering French Wines (http://tinyurl.com/6eldhbn )

My years in Bordeaux also led me to a second career in wine writing, as the Wine Editor of the travel group, French Wine Explorers. My latest column, published last week, concerns the wonderful 2009 Beaujolais vintage. (http://tinyurl.com/3exy47g ).

My Kindle book on French wines, revised and enlarged for this 2011 edition, introduces you to the wines and wine regions of France. With dozens of hyperlinks, the reader can click back and forth between the book and the actual websites of the great regions of Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy. The 2009 and 2010 vintages are assessed, and there are many tips on quality wines that are reasonable priced. For the cost of a single glass of wine, here is your well-researched guide to the pleasures of French wines. Read this, and you’ll wonder why you ever relied on a point score rather than your own good taste!

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Thank you so much! My husband and I are just starting our efforts to learn about wine, so this was wonderfully serendipity to get a blog about this fascinating topic. We can't wait to learn more, and I, personally, can't resist a mystery with such an interesting premise as Vintage Murders.

Guest Author: Dara England

Please welcome Dara England! I had the temerity to ask her if she would write a blog after I found her books and downloaded every single one of the to my Kindle. I loved her writing and really wanted a chance to host her.

She graciously agreed, and not only that, she is sponsoring a contest. If you stop by and leave a comment here, Dara and I will pick a winner. You'll receive an ebook by Dara, and I'll tell you, if I hadn't already bought all her books, I'd be tempted to cheat and keep the book for myself.
So here she is!

Dara England

Many thanks to Amy for agreeing to have me as a guest on her lovely blog.

Something I’m often asked lately is why I’m pursuing indie publishing after having been previously published in more traditional forms. There’s no short answer to this so I’m going to go with a long one. That’s right, get comfy because this girl is going to share her entire publishing background, such as it is.

In The Beginning …

After years of writing fiction in the hope of getting published “someday” I finally got up the nerve to start submitting my work. Only to small webzines and print magazines no one had ever heard of but at least it was a start. Seeing my work up on the web and knowing other people were reading it was fun and it gave me confidence, as well as the chance to hone my skills.

But that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t the real dream, just the smallest taste of it. I learned about the possibilities opening up in the e-publishing world and, although the idea of e-books took some getting used to at first, decided to give it a try. I submitted to a number of digital first presses and was eventually picked up by an up and coming small press called Lyrical Press Inc.

I still knew very little about the small press world and hadn’t had the sense to do much research before submitting. But I got lucky this time and LPI turned out to be a great first home for me and my books. They were professional, easy to work with, paid on time, and I didn’t have to deal with any of the nightmares it’s so easy for a first-timer to get sucked into.

Oh, Sweet Rapture!

But my dream was still traditional publication. Or legacy publishing. Or New York publication. It goes by many different names but you know what I mean. I wanted to see my books in stores and libraries. So when I heard of an opportunity to submit for a Running Press anthology, I jumped at it. And shockingly, at least to me, they wanted my story!

My experience with this second publication was a good one and seeing the Mammoth Book of Irish Romance in bookstores everywhere was beyond awesome. Whenever I stumbled across it someplace new I’d stop and pick up a copy and hug it. Or just stroke the cover. Let’s just say I probably looked like a crazy person to all the bookstore employees and the shoppers around me.

The Depths Of Despair

But New York, alas, still didn’t throw it’s gates open wide for me. I wrote a new book, sent it on the agent rounds and got a lot of interest. One agent even agreed to send me a contract but shortly thereafter her agency closed its doors and I was left still unrepresented. I was tired and frustrated at the endless rounds of queries, submissions, partials, fulls, rejections… Everywhere I went agents and editors talked about the tough market and all our communications ended the same way. They just weren’t confident enough that they could sell my book.

I returned to publishing with digital first presses but I kept an ear to the wind. And about this time I began to hear whispers of the potential for success in the self-publishing arena. Well, this was nothing new. I’d been hearing this kind of talk for years and had always dismissed it as nonsense. Everybody knew what self-publishing was, right? Just hand-selling a few copies of your little book to family and friends and anybody else you could beg or guilt into buying a copy. Self-publishers were largely derided and I was one of the persecutors. Just call me the Biblical Saul/Paul.

What’s This Indie Thing About?

But then something changed. Several authors I knew began to come out and “admit” to trying their hands at self-publishing e-books. These were “real” authors, people whose business sense I respected. They were New York published, for heaven’s sake! And yet, they were finding indie-publishing on the side lucrative. They kept their New York contracts and they continued to write for digital first publishers like Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Carina Press, Spice Briefs, Red Sage, etc. But they were also finding time to put out some indie works and were reporting impressive sells numbers.

Cue inspirational music. This was the moment a light bulb went off over my head and I realized I could be building a reader base with indie publishing and pursuing New York at the same time. It wasn’t an either-or situation. What was more, thanks to the lower cost of producing an e-book versus a print book I could experiment with this whole indie thing at little expense.

Testing The Waters

Ok, I’d wised up and it was time to dip my toe into the water. I wrote something new, something I hadn’t tried before. A historical mystery novella set in Victorian England. I titled in Accomplished In Murder. I had always enjoyed detective stories but this was the first time I’d had the nerve to write one. Previously I had written things I thought would sell well, mostly paranormal romance. But it was time to break out and write something my heart was in, something I actually enjoyed for its own sake.

Thanks to my major obsession with hanging out on writers’ forums all these years I’d made a lot of connections with people involved in the publishing industry. I knew a number of formatters, editors, cover designers, etc. I hired Lauren Dee of Daisy Cakes Creative to edit my manuscript because she came highly recommend by other writers I trusted. Also she was reasonably priced and I didn’t have a huge budget. I lined up Lucinda Campbell of L.K. E-Book Formatting to format my e-book because I didn’t trust myself to do it properly and I was determined my first effort at an indie book would look professional.

The Big Experiment

With surprising ease, I uploaded my e-book to the usual venders and sat back expecting to watch the dismal numbers creep in at snail speed. Instead they…well, not exactly rushed in, but came in at a respectable and sedate pace. I had studied other’s statistics and was prepared for the long haul. I thought, “I’ll sell five copies the first month, ten copies the next, and wait for the snowball effect everybody talks about”. Instead, I easily surpassed my meager expectations on the first day my book was available for purchase.

At this moment, about a month out from my first indie release, I’m sitting in Amazon’s Top 100 list of best-sellers in the Historical Mystery Category. I’m also respectably situated on the Women Sleuths list. I have no idea how long this good fortune will last but I’m enjoying the ride.

As to the big question, will I be doing it again? Heck, yes!
Dara England
http://www.daraenglandauthor.com/

Accomplished in Murder


Murder was never so refined…

When her holiday on the coast of Cornwall takes a deadly turn, it is up to Drucilla Winterbourne to uncover the dangerous secrets the inhabitants of Blackridge House will do anything to conceal. But can a proper young lady from London society comprehend the dark motives of a killer?

Accomplished In Murder is the first in a series of historical mystery novellas featuring intrepid Victorian heroines up to their bustles in crime. These works are only loosely connected and can be read in any order.

Length: 17,000 word novella.
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Contest
Please be sure to leave a comment to win a free copy of the ebook, Accomplished In Murder.