Writerly announcements

Believe it or not, some of my best friends are writers.

April Moore, for instance, is very excited to announce her book, Folsom's 93: The Lives and Crimes of Folsom Prison's Executed Men, is now shipping to those who pre-ordered. It will be available for Kindles on July 1st.

I believe this photo was taken by a mysterious friend of April's who just happened to receive a review copy of the book before April even received her author copies. I picked the photo off April's blog without even asking permission, so I might be in double trouble with her and with the photographer.

You can obtain your own print copy of Folsom's 93 from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. And to learn more about April and this excellent biographical history of the men executed at Folsom Prison, visit the Folsom's 93 website and blog. April will be my guest blogger on Thursday, July 11th.

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Mike Befeler's fifth Paul Jacobson geezer lit mystery, Care Homes are Murder, will be released on June 19th. “A Hawaiian vacation goes awry for memory-challenged Paul when a death at an assisted-living facility seems suspicious. Enjoy the laughs as he tackles his fifth case.”—Library Journal

Mike will be my guest blogger on Thursday, June 27th.

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And I hope you'll stop by tomorrow so I can introduce Colby Marshall, author of the thriller, Chain of Command. She has written a great blog post about how to write a crappy blog post. You bloggers won't want to miss this one.

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Just a side note about unplugging from the television news. It's not as hard as I thought it would be. Recording the broadcast and then fast-forwarding to the weather worked just fine. Skipping over the news headlines on my computer was easy. And I have my good old print newspaper to scan for the really important stuff.

Shut off the television, shut off the radio, and read

When I first got to know my mother-in-law back in the mid-80s, I thought her outlook on life and world events a bit self-centered, even isolationist if humans can be called that. I loved Meg dearly, but we talked mostly about books and writing, about inconsequential family things, movies, and fun excursions. In other words, pleasant things.

I saw her more often in her later years, and still couldn't get her point of view. She was in her late 80s and early 90s by then, but she knew very little about world events, never watched the news, never discussed politics, simply had no clue that life consisted of anything but the joys in which she indulged: taking walks with her husband around Leisure World where she lived in Orange County in Southern California, reading fiction, eating out with friends after a short cocktail hour, and enjoying her family as long as they did nothing to upset her happy life.

I didn't understand, especially when she was able to pretend 9/11 didn't happen.

Lately, however, I've come around to Meg's way of thinking. I can't bear the newscasts where reporters jam a microphone into the face of someone who's just lost a family member or watched their house burn down. I'm appalled and disgusted by politicians and the business-as-usual way they run the country. And I can't believe the number of people who parrot everything they hear on television and radio and read in papers and online as though it had to be true. Disasters like Newtown and Aurora break my heart. And there's absolutely nothing I can do about these things.

Why don't all of us have PTSD?

Or maybe we do...

I need to shrink my world to a manageable size, focus on the individuals around me, work on projects where I can actually have an impact and/or see results, and...

escape into good books.

Right now I'm about 3/4 of the way through 11/22/63 by Stephen King, the master storyteller.  It's better than taking medicine, and it's sure better than watching the news.

You all stay fully informed and stressed out if you want.

Me? I'm going to watch the weather, then turn off the TV and read a good book. If you have a great story to recommend, please let me know in the comments. I'll finish 11/22/63 by the end of the week.

The Ghost Hold Cover Reveal from Ripley Patton

As many of you know, Ripley Patton's first novel, Ghost Hand, is also the first book in a series known as The PSS Chronicles. While Ghost Hand has been getting rave reviews on Amazon and was recently chosen as the June Book of the Month for a Goodreads Book Club with over 1300 members, Ripley has been hard at work writing the second book, Ghost Hold.

Ghost Hold is in the final stages of publication, which will ultimately be funded through the GHOST HOLD KICKSTARTER PROJECT, just as Ghost Hand was funded last year. The current Ghost Hold Kickstarter project was 41% funded in the first week, and when it reaches the halfway mark of $1250, Ripley is going to release the first chapter of the new book to all backers, with more chapters to come later as funding builds.

So, in order to celebrate, and perhaps entice you to back the project and help make Ghost Hold a reality, Ripley is revealing the cover of Ghost Hold this weekend here and all over the internet.

AND HERE IT IS!

This compelling cover, featuring main characters from the book, Olivia Black, Marcus Jordan, and Passion Wainwright, was designed by Scarlett Rugers Designs of Australia.

Curious to know what the book is about? Here's the blurb:

Olivia Black is back.

Only this time she's not the one in need of rescue.

Samantha James, rich, popular, and an award-winning composer at age seventeen, is the next target on the CAMFers' list. And in order to convince Samantha to come with them, Olivia and Passion must pose as cousins, blend into the most affluent high school in Indianapolis, and infiltrate a mysterious cult known as The Hold.

Olivia doesn't expect it to be easy, even with the PSS guys backing them up. But what she discovers over the course of the mission will call into question everything she ever believed about herself, her ghost hand, and especially about Marcus, the guy she is undoubtedly falling in love with.

Be sure and visit Ripley's Kickstarter Project and let her know what you think of the cover there, or here in the comments. But don't delay. The project ends July 1st and is the only way to pre-order the book before its September release.

Haven't read the first book, Ghost Hand, yet? Well you're in luck. Ripley's gift to you, 6/14/2013-6/18/2013, Ghost Hand is FREE for Kindle, so please go grab a copy.

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You can learn lots more about Ripley and her novels, starting right here. Her guest post January 10th was called Teen Romance: Reality versus Fantasy. Also visit her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Edith as Farmer by Mystery Author Edith Maxwell

Locavore Edith Maxwell's Local Foods mysteries published by Kensington let her relive her days as an organic farmer in Massachusetts, although murder in the greenhouse is new. A Tine to Live A Tine to Die is her new book release, available in print and e-book.

A fourth-generation Californian, she has also published short stories of murderous revenge, most recently in the Fish Nets and Thin Ice anthologies. Edith Maxwell's pseudonym Tace Baker authored Speaking of Murder, which features Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau and campus intrigue after her sexy star student is killed. Edith is a long-time Quaker and holds a long-unused doctorate in linguistics.

A mother and former technical writer, Edith lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and three cats.

Welcome, Edith.


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Edith as Farmer by Mystery Author Edith Maxwell

Did you know I was a farmer in a past life? My (now ex-) husband and I owned the Five Star Organic Farm in West Newbury, Massachusetts. I was the farmer, and he supplied occasional muscle work like turning the compost or shoveling manure.

I'd been a gardener since college days in the early 70s, and when the chance came to not only buy a property north of Boston that had been an engineer's hobby garden but also leave my day job while our sons were young, we snapped it up. Our one-acre farm was already planted with blueberries, apple and pear trees, and grapes. The previous owner signed an affidavit stating that he had not used chemicals on the sizable vegetable plot, so I was able to get a head start on gaining organic certification from the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA).

I sold vegetables and fruits at the nascent Newburyport Farmers' Market. I started a Community Supported Agriculture program when most people hadn't even heard of the concept. I sold from an honors-system table in front of our house on busy Main Street.

So when it came time to list my credentials in my proposal for the Local Foods Mystery series, it was no stretch to write, "The language and tensions of a farmer like Cam are rooted in my own life." It was a great life for a while. I was home with my children most of the time. I grew healthy organic food for my family and for others, and I was good at it. I communed in old clothes with the birds and the weather, and my commute was a two-minute walk. I even won an award for my Gold Cherry tomatoes at the county fair one year.

So why didn't I stay a farmer? Lots of reasons. Farming is hard work and it's drudge work. You walk around bending over and hauling heavy loads; you never get your heart rate up. It's financially non-lucrative work on the level our farm was. To really make some money, I would have needed to immerse myself more heavily in marketing, when all I really wanted to do was grow vegetables. And I looked ahead in my life and realized I needed to get back into the paid work force before I lost some of my skills and the recency of my experience in the hi-tech world.

During the last winter between farming seasons, I wrote more than half a murder mystery set on - guess where? - a small organic farm. I'm using some of the fictional world I set up then, and several of the main characters, including farmer Cam Flaherty, in this new book. I'm so happy I can now reimmerse myself in that world without having to do all that heavy physical work, which, frankly, my body isn't quite up to any more.

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Edith, thanks so much for being my guest today. I love the idea of farming because I grew up on a farm, but I've downsized my garden to four 4x4 raised beds and find that's plenty of work for me.

More about A Tine to Live A Tine to Die:

It's farming season in Westbury, Massachusetts, and geek-turned-novice farmer Cameron Flaherty hopes to make a killing selling organic produce. A quirky Locavore Club belongs to Cam's farm-share program. But when a killer strikes on her property, her first foray into the world of organic farming yields a bumper crop of locally sourced murder.

To clear her name, Cam has to dig up secrets buried deep beneath the soil of Produce Plus Plus Farm. And when the police don't make progress in the case, she has to catch a murderer whose motto seems to be, “Eat Local. Kill Local.”

To learn more about Edith and her books, visit her website and blog. She also contributes to the Wicked Cozy Authors blog. You can find her on Twitter (@edithmaxwell) and on Facebook.  

Treasures Tucked Away in Boxes

Last month I spent a couple of weeks getting my mom moved from the apartment where she'd lived over ten years into an assisted living apartment. It was quite a job, physically and emotionally, but mixed in with the exhaustion and the tedious sorting, shredding, and packing chores were quite a few delightful experiences.

One of them included finding a cloth-on-cardboard bound autobiography my father wrote for school when he was twelve years old. It's dated May 23, 1933. The first thing I noticed when I opened the book was his beautiful penmanship. It was written in cursive, with ink.

The spelling and grammar are pretty darned good too.

Chapter One consists of a list of the names and birthdates of his four brothers, his parents' names, and the tidbit that he was born at home on the farm.

Here's Chapter Two: First Thing I Remember

"The first thing I remember was when we lived out on the farm. I had a brother who was four years old while I was only three. Our father bought a barrel of salt for the cows and to use making ice cream.

One day he went to town. My brother and I dumped the barrel over and strung the salt all over the barn Gee, the barn was a sight, and we had a peck of fun! But when our father came home it wasn't as much fun as we thought[t]."

I learned a few things in that little book that I'd never known about my dad and his childhood, including the names of their pony (Fury) and their dog (Jiggs). Now I wonder how many other great stories I missed because Dad wasn't much of a talker...or because I failed to ask.

Luckily, my mom has been very good about verbally sharing her life story over the years. During the big move, however, I discovered she's also a closet writer. I found stories and personal essays and bits of memoir in some of the strangest places, including a folder full of old financial papers. I brought all that I could find home with me for typing and sharing with family. I hope I can convince her to write down more. I left a whole stack of pads and pens in a drawer not far from her favorite chair, just in case.

We can't all count on these little treasures tucked away in boxes. We need to get together with our parents and grandparents when they're young enough to remember and old enough to have time to reminisce. Treasures tucked away in aging minds may be lost by the time we think to ask the questions.

I Sure Would Like to Write About Writing, But...

The truth is, I haven't managed to write a word for weeks. Bopping around the country (mostly between Colorado and Illinois and Colorado and California) certainly put a few obstacles in my "get things done at home and in my office" plan. However, I did accomplish a few good things over the last few months, and I do seem to be recovering from my strep throat infection okay.

Taking it easy for a few days helps.

And what do I do when I decide to take it easy?

I take longer than usual naps.

I whine when my dear husband suggests I go to the store or do some laundry so he will feel sorry for me and do it himself.

I fix easy meals (like tonight's big salad with lettuce and spinach from my own garden). I add sliced carrots, cherry tomatoes, chicken pieces browned in apricot jam, Newman's Own Poppy Seed Dressing, blue cheese crumbles, and sunflower seeds.

I read. Last night I started Stephen King's 11/22/63 with the firm commitment to finish it in one week. That means I have a commitment to a lot of down time because this is a really big book.

What's Next?

Blogging. It's time to get back to a real schedule. My guest this coming Thursday is mystery writer Edith Maxwell, author of A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die. It's a local food mystery.

I owe my critique group three critiques, and I need to send out my next submission by Tuesday. It's time to get serious about writing again...and then maybe I can write about getting back into the swing of writing.

Book reviews. I have finished four of those five books I want to review. Honestly, if you haven't read the first three Gary Reilly Asphalt Warrior books, I can only ask, "Why not?" I love Murph the Denver cab driver so much. Detailed reviews coming soon.

And yes, I have more trips to take, and I'll usually be without access to the Internet when I'm gone. It's just the way 2013 has rolled out for me.  I must go with the flow.

After this bout of strep, however, I will be way more wary of germs when I'm in airports and airplanes from now on. If you see a gray-haired lady in jeans wiping down doorknobs, tables, and nearby passengers at DIA, SJC, SFO, or BMI with antibacterial wipes, it will probably be me.

Down for the count

I give up.

Someone is sticking pins into a little doll that looks just like me.

This time they got me in the right tonsil with a strep infection.

I think I'm on the road to recovery, so maybe I'll even have a real post by Sunday.

Maybe.