Kay Nimitz Smith's Blog, page 5
October 12, 2019
The proof is out! The proof is out!!!
It's been ordered!!!
Holy Moly Macramony!!
My proof is out!!!
I'm so very excited!
Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
It will arrive in 5 days, and I can hardly stand it.
Holy moly!
You should see the grin on my face. It hasn't been this ginormous since I fed Adele, the elephant. Or when I saw a monkey crawl all over Harry. Or when I sat in the Indian Ocean and dreamt of this day.
BIG FAT GRIN DAY!!!
Super happy!
And just to share my happy with you, please enjoy a
mini version of the copy of the cover.
Squeeeeeee!!
So if you haven't yet read the first one, you should go read it now.
And if you HAVE read the first one, you should go and re-read it now, just to get a fresh reminder of what Jack Diamond and all the gang from the Investigations Unit were up to in the last book.
I'm so excited!!!!
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
Holy Moly Macramony!!
My proof is out!!!
I'm so very excited!
Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
It will arrive in 5 days, and I can hardly stand it.
Holy moly!
You should see the grin on my face. It hasn't been this ginormous since I fed Adele, the elephant. Or when I saw a monkey crawl all over Harry. Or when I sat in the Indian Ocean and dreamt of this day.
BIG FAT GRIN DAY!!!
Super happy!
And just to share my happy with you, please enjoy a
mini version of the copy of the cover.
Squeeeeeee!!
So if you haven't yet read the first one, you should go read it now.
And if you HAVE read the first one, you should go and re-read it now, just to get a fresh reminder of what Jack Diamond and all the gang from the Investigations Unit were up to in the last book.
I'm so excited!!!!
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
September 3, 2019
Writing the infamous back cover blurb
Writing the infamous back cover blurb
When I started writing my first manuscript, which is currently gathering a rather extensive collection of dust bunnies under my bed (and is not, for those of you who are wondering, the first book in my Jack Diamond Mystery series), my deepest fear was that I would never finish. Writing a manuscript from start to finish is a marathon hike up Mt. Everest, an immense challenge that can get derailed at the slightest whisper.
And once you get past the hurdle of the complete first draft, you have to slug through the immense displeasure of the editing stages.
And if you get past that hurdle, you have to edit the book for letter spacing and word spacing and creating a chapter index, and proofing the printed version and making last minute revisions, and second proof, and on and on and on.
But even when all of those items are finished, there is still the most tedious task of writing the blurb for the back cover.
The blurb has to be good enough to hook a potential reader into wanting to read more. To convince the reader into opening up the front cover, to lure them into reading the first few pages, to entice them into turning the page again and again and again, and finally, to convince them to spend an inordinate amount of money for a paperback -- or kindle version -- of your book.
All so that you, the writer, who has slaved over this sucker for three years, can earn mere pennies per copy.
It's a wonder that books ever get printed in the first place.
So here I find myself, at the back blurb cover portion of my tortuous experience, trying desperately to write -- and rewrite -- and write again an enticing, luring sentence or two to hook my potential readers.
sigh
My first draft is fine, but is not good enough. It reads something like this:
Marjorie Governman is married, has a son, and a full-time job.
She disappears for six weeks.
And no one noticed.
I'll let you know when I finally have a sufficient, satisfactory replacement.
Dangle a deadline or two over my head, along with family commitments, taking care of a puppy, and an unexpected international trip coming up in a few weeks and my oh my, do you have yourself a puddle of stress right there, eating up at my belly.
Double sigh.
I'll let you know how it goes.
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
When I started writing my first manuscript, which is currently gathering a rather extensive collection of dust bunnies under my bed (and is not, for those of you who are wondering, the first book in my Jack Diamond Mystery series), my deepest fear was that I would never finish. Writing a manuscript from start to finish is a marathon hike up Mt. Everest, an immense challenge that can get derailed at the slightest whisper.
And once you get past the hurdle of the complete first draft, you have to slug through the immense displeasure of the editing stages.
And if you get past that hurdle, you have to edit the book for letter spacing and word spacing and creating a chapter index, and proofing the printed version and making last minute revisions, and second proof, and on and on and on.
But even when all of those items are finished, there is still the most tedious task of writing the blurb for the back cover.
The blurb has to be good enough to hook a potential reader into wanting to read more. To convince the reader into opening up the front cover, to lure them into reading the first few pages, to entice them into turning the page again and again and again, and finally, to convince them to spend an inordinate amount of money for a paperback -- or kindle version -- of your book.
All so that you, the writer, who has slaved over this sucker for three years, can earn mere pennies per copy.
It's a wonder that books ever get printed in the first place.
So here I find myself, at the back blurb cover portion of my tortuous experience, trying desperately to write -- and rewrite -- and write again an enticing, luring sentence or two to hook my potential readers.
sigh
My first draft is fine, but is not good enough. It reads something like this:
Marjorie Governman is married, has a son, and a full-time job.
She disappears for six weeks.
And no one noticed.
I'll let you know when I finally have a sufficient, satisfactory replacement.
Dangle a deadline or two over my head, along with family commitments, taking care of a puppy, and an unexpected international trip coming up in a few weeks and my oh my, do you have yourself a puddle of stress right there, eating up at my belly.
Double sigh.
I'll let you know how it goes.
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
August 24, 2019
Choosing a Book Cover for No One Noticed
Choosing a book cover
The next stages of getting No One Noticed out onto the shelves involves a flurry of activity, making me feel quite frantic at the thought.
Next up: choosing and finalizing the book cover.
Several book cover photos made the final cut (I've posted pics of them below), but I believe the final cover will look something like this:
Nitty Gritty:
There are multitudes of things I adore about this photo.
One, at first glance, the lake looks serene and lovely. The kind of place upon which one might want to kayak, or ride a paddle board (both of which I witnessed when the photo was taken). Or, perhaps, go fishing. Like Randall Strait.
The photo was taken on a beautiful day. The sky is blue. The trees are green. The lake seems quite placid.
But then, as your eye moves toward the bottom of the photo, one notices the log. And the cement tube.
And the darkness of the photo begins to settle in. Leaving the viewer with a slight sense of nervousness -- an unsettling discomfort.
Stepping back to look at the entire photo once again, the viewer's eyes are drawn to the photo's edges. The way the leaves frame the picture helps draw the eyes in toward the center. And then down. The feeling of being slightly unsettled nags at the back of one's mind.
Those are just a few of the reasons why I adore this cover photo.
For those of you who read Diamonds for Diamond, you'll note that I used a photo of Horsetail Falls, just outside of Portland, Oregon for the cover for that book.
For complete and utter spoilers, in the first novel, Jack Diamond recovers the body of one of his serial killer victims in the pool at the bottom of this waterfall.
So the picture has significance.
Spoiler alert: If you don't want to know anything more about No One Noticed, you need not read any further.
If, however, you have an insatiable curiosity about spoiler alerts, please, read on.
Are you sure?
Okey dokey.
You asked for it.
It's just a wee one. So not a BIG jump into the pool of spoiler alerts.
Here goes:
One might make an assumption that Jack Diamond will make a similar such discovery at the location pictured on the cover for the novel No One Noticed.
For now, I'm keeping all other such spoilers to myself.
For those of you who want to frolic about in the midst of all things Jack Diamond, here are the 'rejects' for alternative cover photos. After the photos I briefly discuss why I liked each one, and mention why the photo was finally rejected.
Each of the book covers above had something I loved about it.
The first one: I loved the sinister darkness about the photo. It seemed to have a similar color pallet that Diamonds for Diamond had. But it also seemed a bit bland, and didn't have that 'look' about it I was searching for.
The middle photo (from left to right) is still one of my all time favorites. I love the cement tube in the photo. It most accurately represents the feeling and the look of what I was aiming for. I don't remember why I chose to go with something slightly different -- it may have been that the back cover of the book would not have worked if I had used this photo? I honestly can't remember. I am trying not to second guess myself here, folks. I kinda want to switch back to this photo now. Hmmm.
The third cover had that lovely dark photo again I adore. And you can see the lake peeking through the trees, which I also love. But again, it didn't have that certain something I was looking for. Not quite sinister enough.
Cover four (first one on the left of the second row) looked amazing to me. I love the starkness of the trees with the lake contrasting behind it. It reminds me a great deal of a photo I took off the deck of my cabin in the San Juan Islands in the early 1990's when I was a camp counselor teaching a fishing class. For reals. Sigh. Nostalgia.
Cover five, easily my third favorite, and a very close winner. The logs in the water gave the cover exactly what I had been looking for. But frankly, I loved that cement tube! I just couldn't get over it, and the simple logs lost out.
Finally, cover six. A nice, generic cover. But it lacked something. So it's a loser.
The amazing thing about these photos is that they were all taken within 15 feet or so of each other. Same lake. Different angles. It's amazing how just focusing on something slightly different can give you a vastly different feel.
I wish I could say that there were just six final photos to choose from. The 200 gajillion that we started with took multiple hours, and much angst to weed through. I don't think I've ever realized just how much work goes into picking just the right book cover. The front of the book as well as the back of the book both have to be taken into consideration. Font size, shape, color, shading...
The list is vast and endless.
These final three photos are truly lovely and can give you a better idea of the total view.
That's it for the teasers for today.
Next up: choosing the wording for the back cover. Ugh.
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
The next stages of getting No One Noticed out onto the shelves involves a flurry of activity, making me feel quite frantic at the thought.
Next up: choosing and finalizing the book cover.
Several book cover photos made the final cut (I've posted pics of them below), but I believe the final cover will look something like this:
Nitty Gritty:
There are multitudes of things I adore about this photo.
One, at first glance, the lake looks serene and lovely. The kind of place upon which one might want to kayak, or ride a paddle board (both of which I witnessed when the photo was taken). Or, perhaps, go fishing. Like Randall Strait.
The photo was taken on a beautiful day. The sky is blue. The trees are green. The lake seems quite placid.
But then, as your eye moves toward the bottom of the photo, one notices the log. And the cement tube.
And the darkness of the photo begins to settle in. Leaving the viewer with a slight sense of nervousness -- an unsettling discomfort.
Stepping back to look at the entire photo once again, the viewer's eyes are drawn to the photo's edges. The way the leaves frame the picture helps draw the eyes in toward the center. And then down. The feeling of being slightly unsettled nags at the back of one's mind.
Those are just a few of the reasons why I adore this cover photo.
For those of you who read Diamonds for Diamond, you'll note that I used a photo of Horsetail Falls, just outside of Portland, Oregon for the cover for that book.
For complete and utter spoilers, in the first novel, Jack Diamond recovers the body of one of his serial killer victims in the pool at the bottom of this waterfall.
So the picture has significance.
Spoiler alert: If you don't want to know anything more about No One Noticed, you need not read any further.
If, however, you have an insatiable curiosity about spoiler alerts, please, read on.
Are you sure?
Okey dokey.
You asked for it.
It's just a wee one. So not a BIG jump into the pool of spoiler alerts.
Here goes:
One might make an assumption that Jack Diamond will make a similar such discovery at the location pictured on the cover for the novel No One Noticed.
For now, I'm keeping all other such spoilers to myself.
For those of you who want to frolic about in the midst of all things Jack Diamond, here are the 'rejects' for alternative cover photos. After the photos I briefly discuss why I liked each one, and mention why the photo was finally rejected.
Each of the book covers above had something I loved about it.
The first one: I loved the sinister darkness about the photo. It seemed to have a similar color pallet that Diamonds for Diamond had. But it also seemed a bit bland, and didn't have that 'look' about it I was searching for.
The middle photo (from left to right) is still one of my all time favorites. I love the cement tube in the photo. It most accurately represents the feeling and the look of what I was aiming for. I don't remember why I chose to go with something slightly different -- it may have been that the back cover of the book would not have worked if I had used this photo? I honestly can't remember. I am trying not to second guess myself here, folks. I kinda want to switch back to this photo now. Hmmm.
The third cover had that lovely dark photo again I adore. And you can see the lake peeking through the trees, which I also love. But again, it didn't have that certain something I was looking for. Not quite sinister enough.
Cover four (first one on the left of the second row) looked amazing to me. I love the starkness of the trees with the lake contrasting behind it. It reminds me a great deal of a photo I took off the deck of my cabin in the San Juan Islands in the early 1990's when I was a camp counselor teaching a fishing class. For reals. Sigh. Nostalgia.
Cover five, easily my third favorite, and a very close winner. The logs in the water gave the cover exactly what I had been looking for. But frankly, I loved that cement tube! I just couldn't get over it, and the simple logs lost out.
Finally, cover six. A nice, generic cover. But it lacked something. So it's a loser.
The amazing thing about these photos is that they were all taken within 15 feet or so of each other. Same lake. Different angles. It's amazing how just focusing on something slightly different can give you a vastly different feel.
I wish I could say that there were just six final photos to choose from. The 200 gajillion that we started with took multiple hours, and much angst to weed through. I don't think I've ever realized just how much work goes into picking just the right book cover. The front of the book as well as the back of the book both have to be taken into consideration. Font size, shape, color, shading...
The list is vast and endless.
These final three photos are truly lovely and can give you a better idea of the total view.
That's it for the teasers for today.
Next up: choosing the wording for the back cover. Ugh.
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
August 22, 2019
We judge books by their covers
Choosing the wording for the book cover
We Judge Books By their CoversI can't tell you how many books I have chosen to read, or slid back onto the shelves, after having read the book cover.
It's amazing to me how easy it is to actually judge a book by its cover.
We've been advised against it since we were wee tots.
And yet we do.
We judge books by their covers.
In your mind's eye, envision the cover for a romance novel. I'm sure at some point you've seen one of their covers. A half naked man, hair flowing wildly, swooping over a woman who is flopped over his arms.
Or a bodice ripper book, where the cover focuses mainly on a woman's cleavage, her ample bosoms heaving -- perhaps even a wee damp bit of sweat beading strategically.
Western covers usually evoke memories of the vastness of Montana, or a horse meandering along with the Grand Canyon somewhere nearby.
Murder Mysteries inevitably have pictures of knives, bright red blood oozing off the tip. Or pictures of a city skyline, making the reader think of the darker, seedier side of urban life.
Or perhaps the cover has something like a graphically designed bird that, although not immediately clear as to its meaning, will somehow evoke feelings of satisfaction once the reader makes the connection three quarters of the way through the novel.
Matt Damon's face inside a space helmet helped the movie version of the novel the Martian fly off the shelves. The book cover is an eye-grabbing orangy-red, immediately evoking feelings of Mars. To top things off, the book cover also has an astronaut sort of bouncing -- arms in front, feet off the ground -- as if the astronaut is struggling on the planet. Perfection.
Add in Matt Damon's face and you've got yourself another winner.
We judge books by their covers.
If one is lucky enough to have a zinger of a cover to entice the potential reader to pick up our book from amongst the gajillions out there on the shelves, or on the Amazon lists or the Goodreads recommended book lists, one then has to have a wowzer of a back cover paragraph. The clincher. The hook.
We judge books by their covers.
Right now, I am facing that mountain. Trying to write the hook, the clincher, the paragraph that will hopefully entice the reader to pick my book off the shelf and tuck it under their arm, taking it to the register and smiling, thinking of the lovely afternoon they will spend tucked into a blanket, reading my book. Or sitting on the back deck, sunglasses perched upon the bridge of their noses, sipping 'drinkies,' reading with delight as Jack Diamond discovers who the bad guy is.
I have an initial idea for my hook.
But perfecting it is my next task.
Wish me luck!
Next up: choosing the picture for the back cover.
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
We Judge Books By their CoversI can't tell you how many books I have chosen to read, or slid back onto the shelves, after having read the book cover.
It's amazing to me how easy it is to actually judge a book by its cover.
We've been advised against it since we were wee tots.
And yet we do.
We judge books by their covers.
In your mind's eye, envision the cover for a romance novel. I'm sure at some point you've seen one of their covers. A half naked man, hair flowing wildly, swooping over a woman who is flopped over his arms.
Or a bodice ripper book, where the cover focuses mainly on a woman's cleavage, her ample bosoms heaving -- perhaps even a wee damp bit of sweat beading strategically.
Western covers usually evoke memories of the vastness of Montana, or a horse meandering along with the Grand Canyon somewhere nearby.
Murder Mysteries inevitably have pictures of knives, bright red blood oozing off the tip. Or pictures of a city skyline, making the reader think of the darker, seedier side of urban life.
Or perhaps the cover has something like a graphically designed bird that, although not immediately clear as to its meaning, will somehow evoke feelings of satisfaction once the reader makes the connection three quarters of the way through the novel.
Matt Damon's face inside a space helmet helped the movie version of the novel the Martian fly off the shelves. The book cover is an eye-grabbing orangy-red, immediately evoking feelings of Mars. To top things off, the book cover also has an astronaut sort of bouncing -- arms in front, feet off the ground -- as if the astronaut is struggling on the planet. Perfection.
Add in Matt Damon's face and you've got yourself another winner.
We judge books by their covers.
If one is lucky enough to have a zinger of a cover to entice the potential reader to pick up our book from amongst the gajillions out there on the shelves, or on the Amazon lists or the Goodreads recommended book lists, one then has to have a wowzer of a back cover paragraph. The clincher. The hook.
We judge books by their covers.
Right now, I am facing that mountain. Trying to write the hook, the clincher, the paragraph that will hopefully entice the reader to pick my book off the shelf and tuck it under their arm, taking it to the register and smiling, thinking of the lovely afternoon they will spend tucked into a blanket, reading my book. Or sitting on the back deck, sunglasses perched upon the bridge of their noses, sipping 'drinkies,' reading with delight as Jack Diamond discovers who the bad guy is.
I have an initial idea for my hook.
But perfecting it is my next task.
Wish me luck!
Next up: choosing the picture for the back cover.
* * * * *
Diamonds for Diamond (the first book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) can be bought by clicking on the picture or the link below.
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
No One Noticed (the second book in the Jack Diamond Mystery series) will be available shortly!
* * * * *
August 18, 2019
Final stages
Hello all!
As we move into the final stages of No One Noticed, book two in the Jack Diamond Murder Mystery series, I sit around twiddling my thumbs with absolutely nothing to do (cough cough). One of my friends sent this to me from Prague, and I thought I should share.
Turns out the name Granini is Czech for STRAWBERRY!!
Since strawberries are my most favorite fruit, I thought that the news seemed most appealing.
After all, Granini could have been Czech for something like, oh, say lima beans.
* * * * *
I wrote a murder mystery! Here is the link so you can buy it:
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
* * * * *
July 24, 2019
Happy news!
Hello all!
Super excited to let you know the final proofs are going out on Saturday!!! Hopefully when I'm in Alaska again next week, they'll be finalized, and No One Noticed will be out for sale in August!!
Unbelievably excited.
Here's a picture of JUST how excited I am...
His name is Charlie.That's it for today's update.
Hopefully I'll have happy news for you when I get back from Alaska!!
Until then, have a great day!
* * * * *
I wrote a murder mystery! Here is the link so you can buy it:
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
* * * * *
July 17, 2019
Update for the month of July. Eeeps!
Hello all!
I'm back from Alaska and it's a mad dash to the finish line to get Jack Diamond book number two, No One Noticed, out the door and off for final proofs. I have two solid weeks to try to finish this beast before I head back to Alaska, so, of course, my brain is completely mush.
I am currently struggling with the final draft. We're fighting, the two of us. This draft of mine and I are currently not on speaking terms. I tried to explain this hiccup to a couple of folks who have been begging for me to finally finish. I explained to them that it's like going down a hallway, and getting that eerie feeling that something isn't right. And when you go back through the hallway to grab something ten minutes later, you notice a ginormous spider just chillin on the hallway wall, trying to decide whether or not it's going to launch itself upon your neck and begin gnawing at your jugular. Creepy.
Something is nagging at me regarding this (second to the last) final draft, and I can't figure out what it is.
This afternoon I went back through the middle section of the manuscript, and started writing down what happens in each chapter. Piece by piece, chapter by chapter.
I did discover that I took an enormously long time with one particular section. So perhaps it needs revision. I also noticed that another section has a bit of a hmmmmm to it. So I have to go back and review that too. And then one last final section seemed a bit odd. So maybe I have three big sections to go through before putting out the final proofs for final edits.
And then doubt starts to nag at the back of my mind, and I start wondering if something is actually wrong with my manuscript. Or, and more likely, perhaps my perfectionism is getting the best of me, messing with my mind, making me doubt myself.
I hate struggling with insecurity when it comes to my writing. I know this is a good book. It's a great book, actually. And I quite like it. Almost even more so than my first Jack Diamond mystery. The story is awesome. Character development is top notch. So what's eating at me? What's gnawing at my conscious? What kind of big hairy spider is awaiting me, perched upon the walls of my mind's hallways, ready to pounce?
Well, I don't really know the answers to these questions. But I do know that I will get a better night's sleep tonight, and I will be up and about first thing in the morning to crack this nut.
Meanwhile, I'm off to go play with cover proofs and occupy myself with other such nonsense.
Apologies once again for the long delays. It's going to come out soon, folks. I promise.
Pinky swear.
That's it for today's update.
Hopefully I'll have more for you soon.
Until then, have a great day!
* * * * *
I wrote a murder mystery! Here is the link so you can buy it:
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
* * * * *
May 13, 2019
So things have taken a wee detour...
Hello all. I'm sorry for the terribly long lag in blogging updates.
Things have taken a wee detour.
Here are the updates:
A quick update on No One Noticed, which is book number 2 in the Jack Diamond Mysteries.
My editor assures me that my book is coming back this week!!!
YAY! One step closer to publication! WHOO HOO!
Of course, there is a whole pile o' stuff to do between editing and publication, but we'll just set that aside for now, and be grateful that I'm just one step closer, now shall we?
The second quick update is that Book number 3, Yet To Be Titled, got a big boost when I met two awesome guys who have given me their blessing to be the stars of the book. One is going to be the "bad guy," the other is going to be a "good guy," and Jack Diamond comes in to save the day. The funny thing is, that after talking with them, it makes me wonder if the "bad guy" is really all that bad. And is the "good guy" really a good guy? Hmmm. Those are quite fun things to ponder.
This whole thing happened a couple weeks ago (the meeting of the two guys part), but I've been crazy busy, and haven't gotten around to updating all y'all yet. Motives are now starting to churn away inside my noggin, visual descriptions of the main two characters have come to life, SUPER EXCITING. The book is inspired by and loosely based on a real story (and by loosely I mean I once heard a true story and I've forgotten all the real details, so I'm going to fictionalize the whole thing, but go back through my notes and find the real heroes of the original story so I can thank them for their inspiration). I'm really looking forward to writing this one! I know it's a bit of a teaser to share such a wee bit of news, and not share the plot line and such with all y'all, but let's get book number 2 out first, okay?
LASTLY,
On to a completely different topic...
My first book in the Granini and Me series is starting to take shape!!
For those of you who need a slight refresher, the main character of my book is named Jack Diamond. He's a kickass detective for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, and he's also the lead for the MCSO Dive Rescue and Recovery Team. In my fictional world, Jack was raised by his grandmother, who we affectionately call "Granini" (pronounced gruh-nee-nee). Granini, in the Jack Diamond fictional land, is a famous author who writes children's books. She also likes to bake and cook a lot.
So in the REAL world, I've posted recipes on this blog and attributed them to Granini. I originally started posting the recipes for my niece, who at the time lived in Colorado and called frequently for my recipes. The blog made things easier for her. Then, as I traveled, having my recipes online made things easier for me when I needed to make something while away from home.
BUT
back to writing
I decided along the way, whilst writing the Jack Diamond Mysteries, that I should, in the real world, write the Granini and Me series of children's books. I've written dozens of VERY short children's stories over the years, most of which were well-received, but have never published any of them. For the Granini and Me series, I was waiting for a wisp of inspiration for something fresh and innovative. This weekend, my amazing daughter and I had a lovely conversation which sparked an idea. A lovely idea. An idea worthy of that wonderful grin on the Grinch's face.
Chuck Jones' GrinchAnd so it begins.
And for those of you who are wondering, why did I choose to call them Granini and Me and not Granini and I, well, it's because the stories are for Granini and Me. That way you and I can read the stories for Granini and Me. In case you were worried about my grammar.
Plus it rhymes.
That's it for today's update.
Hopefully I'll have more for you soon.
Until then, have a great day!
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I wrote a murder mystery! Here is the link so you can buy it:
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
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February 19, 2019
No One Noticed -- another update
I've been getting daily requests for updates on my book, so I thought I'd post another update to appease the masses. Okay, so they're weeeee masses. But still.
No One Noticed is coming along swimmingly!
As of this afternoon I have just finished editing 20 chapters!!! Yay!!!
But then I made the wretched mistake of looking at the whole manuscript and realizing, well, rats. That's only 1/3 of the way through.
Sigh.
The nice thing about the process, however, is that my writing improves greatly from the beginning to the end, (according to my editor, and well, to be honest, I just happen to agree,) so the editing should move through a lot more smoothly as I go along.
The sad thing is that I still have 2/3 of the way to make it through before handing off the entire manuscript to editor #2.
So. Alas.
Patience!!
I have already resigned to the fact that I will need to edit the major dates in the book to accommodate 2019 rather than 2018. And that's a big bummer. Not too much of a pain, though, but I dearly hoped the book would be out before the end of the summer last year, and that obviously didn't happen.
One cannot rush a genius at work here, folks!!
(pause for guffawed laughter)
Anywhooooo... that's it for the updates. I'll send up another flare when I reach the half way through mark.
Until then, may you learn the art of patience! And distraction! And amusement!
Can I interest you in a digression?
Go listen to Ologies, a FANTASTIC podcast by Alie Ward. She is currently my most fav podcast I've ever listened to. Absolutely fascinating, insightful, amusing, and just wow.
Go to this link here: Ologies on Itunes
Or perhaps you can go and look up large African snails that have bunny faces?
(picture has a link)Just get out there, learn something interesting, and get up your giddyup in excitement and anticipation for book number two in the Jack Diamond Murder Mysteries!
* * * * *
I wrote a murder mystery! Here is the link so you can buy it:
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
* * * * *
February 12, 2019
Granini's Valentine's Day Cookies
Granini's Valentine's Day Cookies
As I was packaging up all my Valentine's Day Care Boxes to send to my loved ones far far away, I was inspired by these little cuties from my childhood to try something a wee bit out-of-the ordinary for Valentine's Day. Something non-chocolate.
They bring back such happy memories for me!
There was plenty of chocolate in their boxes, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's nice to have a wee bit of something else in their boxes too.
So here's my recipe for shortbread sugar cookies (which, is frankly THE best), and I just frosted using tub-o-frosting that I colored accordingly. Yes, I use tub-o-frosting. Yes, sometimes on occasion I will also make buttercream frosting from scratch. But frankly, most of the folks I know and love adore and love tub-o-frosting, and it's easy peasy. Scoff if you must. But I have yet to have someone tell me my cookies weren't darned tootin' tasty. So there.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Ingredients
3/4 cup margarine1 cup sugar2 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla2 1/2 cups flour1 teaspoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Sift together the dry ingredients.Mix the margarine and sugar together until creamy.Add a large spoon full of the dry ingredients to the margarine/sugar mixture.Add in the eggs, one at a time, until fully blended together. Add in the vanilla. Then slowly add into the wet ingredients a little at a time until fully incorporated.Put plastic wrap over your dough and chill for at least an hour.Using 1/3 of the dough at a time, roll dough out about 1/4 inch thick onto a heavily floured surface. Don't roll the dough out too thinly. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on parchment paper - lined cookie sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes.Cool on a rack until completely cooled. Then frost!
Enjoy!
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For those of you who like updates on my books, editing for book number 2 is well under way.
No news is, erm, well, no news. hahaha. Hopefully the Florida sun has recharged my batteries sufficiently so that I can get right back to work!!!
* * * * *
I wrote a murder mystery! Here is the link so you can buy it:
You can buy my book in both e-book and paperback on Amazon here:
Diamonds for Diamond by Kay Nimitz Smith
* * * * *
