Barnes and Noble Mystery Discussion Group

What was the June selection for the Barnes and Noble Mystery Discussion Group? It was my novel Frankly My Dear I'm Dead. Mystery Reader posted a little about it here.

Review of The Vampire Affair.

Check out Craig Clarke's blog Somebody Dies for a review of The Vampire Affair. Thanks Craig for the kind words.

Kim Harrison’s Black Magic Sanction

In New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison's most complex and nuanced adventure yet, bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan fights a deadly battle—mind, body, and soul

Black Magic Sanction

Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.

It takes a witch to catch a witch, but survival bears a heavy price.

I discovered the Kim Harrison books when James and I went to his Uncle Sidney’s 80th birthday party. We stopped at a bookstore before we left Brownwood and I picked up one of her paperbacks. I searched all the Half Price bookstores in our area for the others, but didn’t have a lot of luck. Thank goodness for the internet. James bought the rest of the series for me for Christmas and he gave me the hardback of this book as a late birthday present. If you like paranormal novels, this series is a must read.

Review of Huckleberry FInished

There is a nice review of the second Delilah Dickinson Literary Tour Mystery, Huckleberry Finished here. Thanks Dennis for the kind words.

Just Relax Already

I’ve discovered a breathing technique I like to use when my mind won’t slow down at the end of the day. You breathe in one nostril while holding the other closed, and switch the nostril you’re holding closed and breathe out for ten deep breaths, then switch. Was that clear? Breathe in the left nostril, out the right 10 times, switch and breathe in the right and out the left 10 times. This isn’t something you can do in public; since it looks very silly switching back and forth holding a nostril closed, but it is relaxing. It clears all the crazy book deadlines, plot twist that aren’t coming together, taxes that need figuring, etc, the pure panic of how I can possibly get it all done, by keeping the mind busy remembering what number you’re on and what nostril you’re holding. If you don’t believe it works, try it. It also works better than counting sheep at bedtime.

A New Review of A Peach Of A Murder

Clean Cozy Mysteries has written a nice review of the first book in my Fresh Baked mystery series.

I enjoyed the book. I did figure out the ending, something I almost never do, before the heroine did, but it was still an unexpected and unusual ending. I was satisfied with how it ended and how the story developed.

Check here to read more.

Do You Write from the Heart or For the Bucks?

I like to think it’s possible to do both. For instance while working on the plot for my next paranormal romance I discovered that books with vampires or werewolves sell better. My book was about shape shifters, but not werewolves. I wondered if I should try to come up with a different plot, but then it dawned on me. With just a little twist the book could be even better and the titled changed from Shifting Affections, to Enemy of the Wolf. Fingers crossed that the editor likes the changes, because she liked the original idea.

If you’re going to get published today, I think you have to think about the money, too. For example what are the chances of selling a gothic novel today? Slim. Writers have to keep up with the market in order to keep selling. This is the reason James and I have been able to continue writing for thirty years. We’ve written in many different genres over the years and have had a ball doing it. I wouldn’t think it would be fun to write one type of book for thirty years. So, keep an eye on the market, it’ll be changing again.