More About Dogs

Me?  Mention dogs? 

Of course!

I'm here at Killer Hobbies because my mysteries always contain dogs--not exactly my hobby, but part of my life and family.   If you read this blog much, or otherwise know anything about me, you already know that.

Even some of my romances contain canines--like my paranormal romances for Harlequin Nocturne about Alpha Force, a covert military unit of shapeshifters.

I also write for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and I've received some interest in an idea that will involve--you got it--dogs!

Because that would involve different aspects of dogs than I'm used to, I've started doing some fun research.  I don't want to get into any details now, not until the new miniseries becomes more of a certainty, but I'm talking to a lot of different people and learning all I can, partly so my stories will make sense, and partly because, if I take poetic license, I'll know some of the reality so I can still ensure that what I say sounds plausible.

Meantime--well, I'm currently working on my next Nocturne, although I had to set it aside for a few days to finish edits on my upcoming Superstition Mystery UNLUCKY CHARMS, to be published in October.  But before it's published my next Romantic Suspense novel COVERT ALLIANCE, which does not contain dogs, will be published--in August.

And in a couple of weeks I head to San Diego for the Romance Writers of America National Conference.

So... writing.  Dogs.  It's all fun!

Happy Thanksgiving

Yep, it's that time again.  Tomorrow is the big day. 

I mentioned last year that my Thanksgiving then would be a small event.  This year it's even smaller.  The neighbor who'd joined us last year has moved away, so this year it will just be my husband, younger son and I together on Thanksgiving.  Well, the dogs, too, but they don't sit at the table with us.  They stay on the floor and beg.  No human food for them, though, since both have health issues that mostly relegate them to doggy food and treats. 

But this Thanksgiving is a harbinger of things to come.  Lots of relatives will be with us soon, starting right around Christmas and continuing into January.  They include in-laws and our older son and his family--our d-i-l and two grandkids.  Plus, our d-i-l's delightful parents will be visiting for a short while, too!  It helps that we live in California while they all live in the Midwest.  No big El Nino presence here yet, but even if it arrives it's hopefully easier to live with than lots of cold and snow. 

So, there are lots of things to be thankful for tomorrow and beyond.  Meantime, I'm also thankful for a fun and fruitful writing year--three books published plus one e-published so far in 2015:  BITE THE BISCUIT, my first Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, CANADIAN WOLF, my seventh Alpha Force paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne, and KNOCK ON WOOD, my second Superstition Mystery, plus the Kindle version of ONCE A CAVALIER, a time travel romance. 

I'm working on my next book under deadline, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and will then head into the next Barkery book.  Next year is likely to be busy, too--another year to be thankful for. 

And you?  What are you up to this Thanksgiving?

Happy Halloween!

I know I'm a few days early, but Halloween is coming up.  And in case you're not aware of it, just check out stores and TV shows and online sites to see what oddball costumes are out there! 

When I most recently dressed up for Halloween, I enjoyed becoming a witch.  But these days, since we get no trick-or-treaters on our street and are empty nesters except for our dogs, I tend not to worry about a costume, and I have few treats available just in case. 

What is fun, though, is talking about my Superstition Mysteries around Halloween.  We all know superstitions about black cats, and they seem to show up a lot in shows about the holiday.  Did you know black cats are sometimes considered bad luck because they used to be considered witches' familiars? 

I've also blogged about other superstitions relating to Halloween, such as the origin of jack o'lanterns.  They actually used to be turnips, not pumpkins, derived from the legend of the soul of an evil man named Jack who was kicked out of heaven and forced to roam the earth.  He didn't want to be alone in the dark so he made a pact with the devil, who gave him an ember with a glow that would never go out.., which he inserted into a turnip. 

There are more related superstitions, too--and you can see from this how much fun I derive researching superstitions for my Superstition Mysteries. 

 

I'm not spending as much time as I was before promoting the new one, KNOCK ON WOOD, but I'm still up to other blogs and events.   

In any event, let me repeat it:  Happy Halloween!

More Book Promo and Loving It!

I've been writing here a lot lately about blogging and otherwise promoting my work, especially since I've had two new books published during the last two months. 

The most recent is KNOCK ON WOOD, my second Superstition Mystery.  It's a cozy mystery published by Midnight Ink, and it's starting to appear in bookstores.  In September it was CANADIAN WOLF, a Harlequin Nocturne, which sometimes appears in bookstores in a two-in-one version with another author's paranormal romance included, but I've yet to see any of them on shelves in Southern California, where I live. 

Last weekend, I took a trip with my husband to visit some dear friends who are currently living in La Jolla in an apartment on cliffs overlooking the water, a wonderful place with a great view, including kayakers and water boarders, cormorants, sea gulls, and an osprey they've named Ozzie who lives on a tree just beyond their balcony.  It was a totally delightful visit--and I used it partly for promotion, too!  Yes, I missed our dogs but our younger son stayed with them, and they love him so all was well. 

On our way to La Jolla, while we were there, and on our way home we managed to stop in nine bookstores, mostly Barnes & Nobles and related Bookstars, but also an independent mystery bookstore, the wonderful Mysterious Galaxy.  Not many had KNOCK ON WOOD yet but some had books from my backlist of mysteries.  I left bookmarks and promised to stop by again next time I was in the area--which, since my friends may be in that area for a while, might even be soon! 

This weekend, on Saturday, I'm participating in the Burbank Library Author's Showcase, where I'll bring books and swag to introduce myself to local booklovers whom I may not yet have met.  And on Friday I'll be interviewed for an online radio broadcast.

And, yes, I'm still in the middle of my blog tour.  It's always fun to see the posts appear--mine as well as the hosts' reviews of KNOCK ON WOOD.  Plus, I'm working on some related online magazine articles. 

Will this slow down?  Probably.  I don't have another book scheduled for publication until May 2016, when my second Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, TO CATCH A TREAT, will be released.   

On the other hand, if I can keep up even a portion of this pace, I'll do it--as long as I can soon dive in more deeply to my actual writing.  After all, I still have deadlines!

Chats and Writing

Since my website is now hosted by Writerspace, I'm having fun taking advantage of other things they do for writers and readers.  That includes online chats. 

Have you ever participated in one?  They can get wild and crazy, especially if there are a lot of participants and several different conversation threads happening at once. 

That's the way things were last Sunday, at the Writerspace Beach Party chat.  I was scheduled to be there for about half an hour, and I saw all the participants' names listed along one side of the page, both authors and others as well as the moderators.  It was enjoyable but hectic--especially when something happened on my computer and my comments stopped showing up on the screen.  I wound up having to get out of the chatroom and redo my participation, but I was able to return long enough to check things out and say goodbye. 

Then, last night, there was another chat for authors who have books out this month--as I do.  CANADIAN WOLF, my seventh Alpha Force paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne, is a September release.  Yes, my covert military unit of shapeshifters is back!  I'm letting the world know, and chatting about it was a fun way to do it.  This chat had fewer people but it still kept going fast.  I guess that's what chats do!

Next month, my second Superstition Mystery, KNOCK ON WOOD, will be released.  Will I chat about it?  Most likely. 

In the meantime, I'm finishing the manuscript for the third Superstition Mystery, tentatively called RABBIT'S FOOT REVENGE.    

By the way, I'm considered one of their new authors on the Writerspace home page, plus they've got information about me and my newest release and links to my website.  Seems like a fun place to be!

Finishing A First Draft

I'm almost there!  This week, I hope to finish the first draft of my third Superstition Mystery.  The final manuscript is due on October 1--right around when book #2 in the series, KNOCK ON WOOD, will be published.  This draft is rough and needs work, but that's the way I write: get something written roughly, then take some time polishing it.  I'll hopefully get feedback from some writer friends first, too. 

Once again, I'm in the middle of a busy time.  CANADIAN WOLF, my seventh Alpha Force paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne is a September release, and, as I mentioned, my next mystery is an October release.  I've already got a lot of events scheduled, both online and in person, as well as blogs and other promotion.   

 

One good thing is that it's all fun!  I sometimes stare at the computer screen when I'm working on that first draft until my hands stretch onto the keyboard on their own and start typing.  Well, not entirely on their own.  My subconscious is telling them what to do.  Consciously, I probably have an idea of what comes next generally, but the specifics are all inside.  And that first draft always needs the polishing I mentioned, where I can sit down and savor what I've already done and figure out, hopefully, what'll make it even better.

 

I'll keep this blog post relatively brief.  Why?  Well, guess what I'll be up to when I stop writing this.  Yes!  First draft, here I come... again.

It's August Already

... and L.A. feels rather like the weather I grew up with back east: hot and humid.  Only problem is that it's actually pretty dry here still despite the humidity in the air.  Hard to believe that a lot of us are looking forward to seeing whether El Nino really appears this winter and brings us some rain--even though it's not expected to end the drought.

I'm still not entirely back in my usual groove since returning from my trip to RWA National and to see grandkids.  I also gave a talk at the San Joaquin Sisters in Crime last weekend in Fresno, which took up a couple of days--for a very enjoyable reason.  Great group!

So now I should be back to writing, and I am--or at least editing the beginning of my third Superstition Mystery so I can finish the draft.  But at the same time I've been working on some administrative things that also occupy some time.  I have my possible new website maintainer narrowed down to a couple of final choices and believe I know who I'll choose. Plus, I need to finish the details necessary to get two more of my backlist books up as ebooks.

It's all good, though.  I did happen to recall that I hadn't opened my personal law email account for a while and wondered if I'd had any old contacts clamoring after me with projects.  When I opened it I had a lot of junk mail there, but not too many personal emails and none that made me regret having my law license officially inactive.  Being a full time writer--and all it entails--works fine for me.

Enough blogging for the moment.  I do have a blog tour and other blogs scheduled for the publication of my second Superstition Mystery, KNOCK ON WOOD, in October and also have my seventh Alpha Force book in my Harlequin Nocture paranormal romance series to publicize since CANADIAN WOLF--my fortieth published novel!--is a September release.  Plus, I've another regularly scheduled blog to post in a couple of days.

I think it's time now to return to my editing!

Topic Needed

Happy July, everyone! 

Yesterday, when I started plotting what I'd write here today, Tuesday felt like a weekend day.  Why?  I'm not sure--especially since, as a writer, I don't really get weekends or holidays off.  Even so, I let my mind swirl around possible blog topics for today--and really didn't zero in on one. 

I could have focused on my continuing project of baking some samples of the dog treats whose recipes I hope to include in my next Barkery & Biscuits Mystery.  But other things have kept me from working on that regularly.   

My class on Kiss Me or Kill Me: Writing Cozy Mysteries 101 for Romance Writers has been going well.  It has passed the halfway point, and I check for responses to homework assignments a couple of times a day.  Not everyone participates, but it's fun corresponding with those who do. 

I'm currently drafting my third Superstition Mystery, so plotting and writing remain in my schedule.  Then there've been some family and car related things going on that take up brain power and energy, so my writing progress is currently slower than I prefer. 

Plus, my long-time webmistress is retiring so I'm looking around for a replacement.  I have several leads but need to spend more time following up on this, too.  If you have any suggestions, please pass them along! 

We're making plans to hopefully be with friends for fireworks on the Fourth of July, but that may depend largely on traffic and parking that evening. 

And did you enjoy our leap second?   It occurred at 8 PM last night eastern time, so it was 5 PM here in LA.  It didn't change my schedule, though. 

So... I've done a lot of writing here about not having something to write about.

Anything you'd like to hear me blog about next time?

California Crime Writers Conference Retrospective

Last weekend I attended the California Crime Writers Conference 2015.  It's a conference jointly held by the Mystery Writers of America SoCal Chapter and Sisters in Crime LA, and it was great!

I commuted there both weekend days.  I'd been invited to participate in an event on Friday night that wasn't officially part of the conference but was nevertheless related, but I ultimately declined.  I didn't think a two minute reading of my work was worth the couple of hour commute I'd likely have to Culver City from the San Fernando Valley on a Friday evening in Los Angeles.  It was a demonstration of the differences between cozy mysteries and noir, and it did sound like a lot of fun.  But ultimately I figured I'd made the right decision.

I anticipated that traffic over the weekend would be a lot better and wasn't disappointed about that.  I arrived in plenty of time on Saturday morning to start attending the sessions I was most interested in, and Sunday's traffic was similarly light.

The conference was organized in tracks.  I mostly stuck to Marketing and Industry, since I'm at the stage of things in my writing career that marketing is vital, and it always helps to learn what's going on in the publishing industry.  The other two were Forensics and Craft.  Because I write cozy mysteries, my amateur sleuths and I don't get into a lot of detail about forensics matters so, as interesting as some sessions might be, they're not as helpful to me.  I especially avoided the session on the Forensics of Creepy Crawlers, presented by an entomologist.  I did, however, attend a session or two in the Craft track, including one on historical mysteries.

The panel I participated in was part of the Craft track: Mysteries of the Spirit.  It was a session dedicated mostly to paranormal or spiritual themes in mysteries and was definitely enjoyable.  I got to talk about my Alpha Force paranormal romances for Harlequin Nocturne that feature my covert military unit of shapeshifters.

I also talked about my Superstition Mysteries.  Are superstitions paranormal?  I really don't think so... but who knows?

The lunchtime keynote addresses were by Charlaine Harris and Anne Perry.  Amazing! And definitely inspirational.

Plus, I got to see authors who are long-time friends as well as make new friends among the writing community.  In addition, my delightful editor from Midnight Ink was present and I got the opportunity to chat with her now and then.

In case you can't tell, I really enjoyed CCWC!  It's a bi-annual conference... so I'll be looking forward to 2017.

My Next Project

I did it!

If you happen to have read my Monday post at InkSpot, the blog for Midnight Ink writers, you'll know that I met my June 1 deadline for the manuscript for my second Barkery & Biscuits Mystery.  I still have some odds and ends to accomplish with it, including providing an acknowledgment, dedication, and recipes.  I've already received some great-sounding recipes for dog treats from some online friends, but I want to give them a try before sending them along for publication.  In any event, with all I had going on last month I'm really pleased that I was able to meet that deadline.

Right now, I have a looming deadline for the edits for the second Superstition Mystery, KNOCK ON WOOD, but don't anticipate any problems with it.

And my next writing deadline after that?  It's for my third Superstition Mystery.  I started thinking about that one evening as I was finishing the Barkery manuscript and my subconscious mind, as usual, started its routine as I took a bath.  I came up with a plot idea I really liked and wrote it down on a notecard before I went to bed.

But the next morning I checked my computer files and I already had jotted down an idea for book number three.  I still loved my idea from the night before, but thought that the one I'd previously come up with would work better for this particular slot. 

So, I now have to flesh it out... then write the story. 

And that other new idea?  As I said, the next one I need to write is number three in the Superstition Mystery series and it's the last there's a current commitment for.  But with that fourth idea, now I've got yet another reason to cross my fingers that the series continues!

What are your fingers crossed about this week?

Valentine's Day Approaches

Today is February 11.  This year, Valentine's Day is on Saturday.  It's all about romance--and as you know, I write romances as well as mysteries.   

Since my mysteries include my Superstition Mystery series, I had to look up superstitions surrounding Valentine's Day.  There are a lot of them, including how you can meet your future spouse.  Supposedly, the first name you read in the newspaper or hear on TV or the radio will be the same as that of the person you will marry.  I don't recall that happening when I met my husband, though. 

If you find a glove on the sidewalk on Valentine's Day, your true love will be carrying its mate.  Of course here in L.A., where I live, not too many people are wearing gloves, but I know that a lot of you living elsewhere in the country are happy to have gloves on in the cold and snow. 

Watch out for birds.  The kind you see could help to predict the sort of person you'll marry, or so people have believed.  For example, goldfinches mean money, sparrows mean poverty yet happiness, and doves lead to peaceful, happy marriages. 

Should you happen to see a squirrel on Valentine's Day, you'll unfortunately marry a cheapskate who'll not spend money on you.  Good thing I'm already married to a wonderful guy, since we frequently have squirrels appear in our backyard.  Oh, and by the way, Valentine's Day is actually the anniversary of the day we got engaged, quite a few years ago now. 

But if any of those superstitions, or others, have come true for you, I'd love for you to let me know! 

Tomorrow night I'm moderating a panel of romance writers at the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada Flintridge, California.  It's at 7PM, so if you happen to be in the area be sure to drop in! 

So Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.  My fingers are crossed that you have, or will find, your true love in your life.

Bye, Bye, Bouchercon

In my blog last week I said I was back.  That was partly true.  I also mentioned that I was off to Bouchercon next.  So was I gone again?  Yes... and no. 

Again, as I mentioned, it was sort of in my backyard--Long Beach, California.  I did in fact take the L.A. Metro there but only once, the first day I attended.  That worked out fine, but since I had to change trains and they both were locals, it took 1-1/2 hours to get to Long Beach and another 1-1/2 hours to return that evening.  That was fine on Thursday since L.A. traffic would have taken me as long as that or even longer.  But I stayed overnight in a nearby hotel on Friday since I had a couple of parties to attend on Friday night and my panel on Saturday morning was at 8:30 AM.  Commuting didn't sound very feasible.   

I also decided to drive on Sunday, when traffic tends to be light.  It did in fact take me about half of the 1-1/2 hour commute time each way to get to and from Long Beach.  The conference panels started at 8:30 AM again so I didn't have to leave quite as early as if I'd taken the Metro, and I returned home sooner to start writing again after my second hiatus in a couple of weeks.   

My recap?  Loved it!  Got to see lots of writing and fan friends I seldom see as well as some locals.  My panel Must Love Dogs and Cats was tremendous fun, and we had a good turnout despite the early hour.   Got to sign lots of my books afterward, too. 

I also met with editors from my two mystery publishing houses, Midnight Ink and Berkley Prime Crime, as well as the Midnight Ink publicist.  I got to sign and give away galleys of my first upcoming Barkery and Biscuits Mystery BITE THE BISCUIT, which will be a May 2015 release.  Parties?  Yes!   And I even got to see my dogs during a couple of the event's evenings, when I didn't stay in Long Beach.  Oh, yes, I saw my younger son, too, upon my return one night.  He'd stayed with the dogs the prior night when I wasn't there. 

The panels I attended were fun, but I unfortunately missed one program that I'd been really hoping to see: the cadaver dog demo.  Sigh.  A friend sent me some photos, though, and I'll buy the narrative CD. 

Did I enjoy it?  Absolutely!  Will I go to next year's Bouchercon?  Unfortunately, probably not.  It's in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the opposite coast from me.  And since I'm already signed up for at least three conferences next year I suspect I'll be pretty much conferenced out by then. 

But maybe another one sometime in the future.  I'd look forward to it! 

How about you--do you attend conferences about books?  Which ones?

Launches of Fun

As I mentioned last week, my second physical launch party for my first Superstition Mystery LOST UNDER A LADDER was last weekend at the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada Flintridge, California.  The first one had been at Mystery Ink in Huntington Beach.  I had a lot of fun at both parties!  Why?  Because even though I went with a program in mind, including a reading, I really enjoyed interaction with my audience members both times. 

 

At my second one, the crowd wasn't huge either, but nearly all the attendees were friends whom I knew from different situations and for different reasons.  Some were writing friends but not all of them.  Some I'd met only recently and others I'd known for a while. 

And because the group wasn't too large I had an enjoyable discussion with them about my book and its theme and characters, and we talked a lot about superstitions. 

Many of the attendees bought copies of LOST UNDER A LADDER, and I had the fun of signing them. 

Afterward, most of us adjourned to the coffee shop that's part of the store and indulged in--what else?--coffee, as well as some pastries.  I happily treated.  After all, it was my book launch. 

Do I have any more launch parties planned?  No, but I still have a lot going on in addition to writing, including Bouchercon, some other event and library appearances, and more. 

And it's all fun!

Book Launch for Number One, New Title for Number Two

While I'm still having fun with the launch of my first Superstition Mystery Lost Under a Ladder, I'm about to send in the manuscript for the second in the series, which is due November 1.

 

Meanwhile, my publisher Midnight Ink has also been ensconced in preparing for number two despite the fact it won't come out for about a year.  They've already held a meeting to discuss the title and cover.  I won't tell you about either just yet, but I'm pleased. 

So what's next with the launch of number one?  My second physical launch party will be this weekend, on Sunday, November 3, at 3 PM at the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada Flintridge, California.  If you're in the area, be sure to stop in.  There'll be some good luck goodies given out, for one thing.  And I had a lot of fun at my first physical launch party last weekend at Mystery Ink, where I talked about a bunch of the superstitions that I used in my story.  I intend to do the same thing at the upcoming launch, too... and more. 

Will I remain busy after meeting this deadline?  Yeah!  In a good way.  For one thing, I have a couple of mystery conventions coming up, including Bouchercon--and a bunch more deadlines facing me after that.  Plus, Bite the Biscuit, my first Barkery and Biscuits mystery which launches in May, is already being publicized a bit by Mystery Ink. 

I'm just knocking on wood that people enjoy both my Superstition Mysteries and my Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries.  My fingers are crossed, too!

Dental Chair Ideas

Blogging rocks!

What am I blogging about here today?  I'm still not entirely sure, but thinking about it yesterday really helped me get through an unpleasant dental procedure.  Instead of focusing on what was happening to me, I brainstormed about what I'd blog about. 

And it wouldn't be that dental procedure. 

I thought about what I should be doing that day: continuing my final edits on the manuscript for my second Superstition Mystery, which is due on November 1. 

I thought about the promotion I've been doing for my first Superstition Mystery, which will include my Orange County, California, launch party this Saturday at 11 AM at Mystery Ink, in Huntington Beach.  And the article on superstitions that I just sent to Fresh Fiction, although I'm not sure when it'll be up on their website.  And the remaining blogs and articles that I've committed to write, although nothing like the volume I undertook for my wonderful Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. 

I thought about last weekend, when I attended the Birthday Bash of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America on Saturday, and the regular meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter on Sunday. 

I thought of my upcoming fun at Bouchercon, which will be in Long Beach next month and the wonderful questions I just received from the moderators of the panel I'll be on at 8:30 on that Saturday morning, "Must Love Dogs and Cats."  Very appropriate, don't you think? 

I told myself I should check to see if there were any superstitions about dentists when I got home, which I did.  I didn't find any, but there are quite a few about teeth.  For example, you can make a baby's teething process easier if you put bag of others' teeth around his neck.  And of course there's the tooth fairy, who leaves money under the pillows of a child in exchange for the baby teeth that fall out.   Oh, and it's good luck to have a gap between your front teeth.  I wonder if orthodontists know they could be ruining their patients' futures.  

Anyway, my procedure was soon over and I was able to leave--to head home and start writing this post! 

How about you--do you find ways to distract yourself in a dentist's chair?

Superstitions and Shapeshifters

My multiple personalities are still warring within my mind.

 

Well, not really.  I've still been doing a lot to let the world know about my new Superstition Mystery series, even though my blog tour is officially over.  That doesn't prevent me from doing more blogging, though.  And posting stuff on Facebook now that my official online launch party has occurred.  I've even linked there to my YouTube author teaser about my new mystery series.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbDRjUjBrfA   

Plus, I've been writing an article for Kings River Life Magazine on superstitions and Halloween, which should appear in the October 25 issue. 

 

The article has been fun to write, since Halloween is based on a lot of supernatural stuff and its celebration involves many superstitions. 

 

And speaking of supernatural, I'm now a bit more ensconced in writing my next Harlequin Nocturne about my covert military unit of shapeshifters.  I guess the different angles in my life do fit together now and then.

 

However, I also first saw a page just recently on the website of my current mystery publisher Midnight Ink about my upcoming Barkery and Biscuits mysteries.  They're related to the Superstition Mysteries by being cozies for the same publisher, but there's nothing particularly superstitious or supernatural about them.  The first in the series, Bite the Biscuit, is scheduled for publication in May 2015.  It's available for way-early preorder, including from Amazon.

 

Anyway, I need to return to my werewolves now, but it's been fun writing this Killer Hobbies post. 

 

So what's going on in your mind?

I'm Turning Upside Down

Today is the official launch date of LOST UNDER THE LADDER, my first Superstition Mystery!   

I think it's been available on Kindle and other e-sources before, and copies were sent out or made available as an online galley via NetGalley for reviews.  I received two print copies so far and hope my author's copies are on their way.  And I was especially excited to see a bunch of print copies at the Sisters in Crime Los Angeles Chapter meeting this weekend when I was on a panel.  They were brought by our usual bookseller, from Mystery Ink. 

As I'm sure you've no doubt, based on my other recent blogs here, I've been keeping quite busy promoting the new series, and that promo isn't ending anytime soon.

But meanwhile Book #2 in the Superstition Mysteries is due at the end of this month.  I've finished a reasonable draft and am letting it sit for a while, and then I'll conduct a final read before I send it off.

So what am I doing now?  As I said in the heading for this blog, I'm turning upside down!

Well, not literally.  But the next book for which I have a deadline is one of my Harlequin Nocturnes, about Alpha Force--a covert military unit of shapeshifters. 

 

 

My mind's been immersed in pet mysteries and superstitions for a while, so that's why it's needing to make a turn.  I'm rereading the proposal for the first of the two Nocturnes in my three-book Harlequin contract.  (The third is for another Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel.)  I'm also rereading some of my own Alpha Force books not only to put me in the shapeshifter mood but to remind me of the characters and tone of that series. 

The tone in the Harlequin books is different from my mysteries.  They're told in third person so I can get into the hero's and heroine's point of view--including when one of them has shapeshifted!  My mysteries are all first person in the female protagonist's point of view.  The mysteries are cozies so the murders are not graphic and any love scene is off the page.  I don't get into a lot of gory details in the Nocturnes, either... but they are romances and do contain love scenes. 

So, yes, I'm turning and switching and changing my mind so it goes in a different direction.   

But that's part of the fun of writing!

Happy October!

It's happy for me.  My Superstitions Mysteries launch month has begun! 

I believe that the actual availability date for LOST UNDER A LADDER is October 8.  Even so, I've started guest blogging places other than at Killer Hobbies, including my Great Escapes Virtual Tour.  A couple of those blogs have already been posted, with more to come. 

 

 

I wrote last week about some of the stuff I'm doing.  I feel immersed in it, along with my pending deadline.  But, hey, all that is part of having a writing career.  I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm enjoying it.

This weekend, I'll be on a panel at the local Sisters in Crime chapter talking about--what else?--cozy mysteries!  I'm really looking forward to it.  If you happen to be in the L.A. area, please join me. 

And in fact, if you happen to be in the L.A. area, why not join me at my official book launch on Sunday, November 2, at 3 PM at the Flintridge Bookstore? 

And if you're not in the L.A. area, my online launch is on Facebook on Sunday, Oct. 12, from 10-12 AM Pacific time, 1-3 PM Eastern time.  On Facebook: Lost Under A Ladder Release Party!    https://www.facebook.com/events/681148658644904/   

Of course you're more than welcome to do all three of them.   

And follow my blogs.  And read LOST UNDER A LADDER!  My fingers are crossed that reading the Superstition Mysteries will be good luck.  :) 

Okay, I know some of this is repetitious of what I posted last week, but it's what's been on my mind.  A lot.  You may see even more of it next week when LOST UNDER A LADDER is officially available. 

 

Okay, now back to writing Superstition Mystery #2.  And taking my demanding dogs outside.  Again.

Working on my Superstition Mysteries Launch!

            New series.  New publisher.  New craziness! 

            As I've said here before, my Superstition Mysteries will debut in October with LOST UNDER A LADDER.  I've been working on launching the series with parties and blogs and more. 

            Years ago, when I started getting books published, I did parties and signings and such to try to get the word out about my books.  But these days I've been learning a lot more by talking to and watching other people.  Or at least I'm attempting to. 

            I have a physical launch party scheduled at the Flintridge Bookstore in Flintridge, California, on Sunday, November 2, at 3 PM.  The book will have been available for a few weeks then but that was the best date and time I could work out, at a store where I attended a friend's launch party a while ago that I really loved.  If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area then, please drop in!  There'll be refreshments, plus a drawing for a basket containing some superstition-related swag. 

            I'm also doing an online launch party on Facebook on Sunday, October 12, at 1 PM Eastern time and 10 AM here in California.  Here's the link:  https://www.facebook.com/events/681148658644904/            There was initially a glitch about looking at it but I think it works just fine now.  Even so, if you're interested but can't join, post something on my Facebook page and I'll try to invite you.  And yes, there'll be giveaways resulting from that party, too--a couple of copies of LOST UNDER A LADDER plus more superstition-related swag. 

            I'm also blogging on some great blogsites, including participating in another Great Escapes blog tour. I'll be on local panels and non-local mystery festivals and more.

 

            Will it all work and help word get out there so people will know about, and hopefully buy, copies of LOST UNDER A LADDER?  I hope so.  And by the way, reading the Superstition Mysteries is good luck!  (I hope that's true, but I also hope people will recognize that as promotional hyperbole.  I certainly wish good luck for everyone but of course I can't guarantee it!)

            Anyway, as I said, LOST UNDER A LADDER is an October release.  The publisher is Midnight Ink.  Amazon says it's available on October 8, but of course it's available now for preorder.   

            Please wish me luck with it!