C. Lee McKenzie's Blog, page 36

#atozchallenge: A is for Hotel Ambros Mundos and Archaeology

Bonus A is for ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of Sign of the Green Dragon. I'm offering a free digital copy of my book in exchange for an honest review by August 1. I'll nudge everyone once before that date. Just ask for the ARC in your comment along with format you need & a way to contact you. 






Here's to a great AtoZ!

Join in the FUN. 



This year I traveled to Cuba. You know, it's that little island that's spitting distance from Florida and should not be visited without special dispensation. I wanted to see it before MacDonald's arrived. I'm so glad I did. I learned a lot and I met some wonderful people. It seems they like us. Now there's a change!

I'll add a short T/F quiz to each post the same as I did last year about Burma, and I'll post the answers to the questions the following day. 



A is for Hotel Ambros Mundos, which was built in 1929. It was Hemingway's first home in Cuba. Room 511 is a museum and the lobby is filled with pictures of Hemingway and his entourage. 






A is also for archeology.

This was one of the most interesting archeological museums I visited. It was in a cave where the early people of the island actually lived. Their remains and their artifacts are in situ and you have to climb up to it and risk life and limb while roaming inside the cave to see the exhibits.

I had the feeling these artifacts were fairly new.
These aboriginal people were called the Guanahatibibes by early writers  They lived by fishing, hunting or gathering and may have been on the island when Columbus arrived.

Your T/F Quiz for A
1.While Hemingway lived at the Hotel Ambros Mundos he worked on For Whom the Bell Tolls.
2.Columbus discovered Cuba in 1492.

Answers tomorrow.



Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Look Who's the Follower of the Month & Hats Off Corner Welcomes Yolanda Renee

Available on Amazon

Today I'm excited to host two writers. One is my first Follower of the Month. She's been a long-time writer friend and she was the first one to take me up on my offer in March's Email Connect. Welcome Beverly Stowe McClure. 

If you're featured I:

buy, read, and review your latest bookmark your book as AM READING on Goodreadsfeature you and your book(s) in my monthly EMAIL CONNECT emailtweet your book link(s) for 4 Wednesdays, 3 times a day during your monthpost one facebook post with a link to my reviewfeature you on The Write Game on your month (this month's an exception since the AtoZ Challenge starts, so I'm posting it a bit early)Pin and feature your latest book cover to my Pinterest Board, Book Covers that Catch my Eye.Congratulations, Beverly. And thanks for always being so supportive of others who write books.

Hats Off CornerAnd my second and very wonderful guest is Yolanda Renee! With her latest book.
Murder & ObsessionYolanda Renée
Published by Curiosity Quills Press, Murder & Obsession is the third book in the Detective Quaid Series.
Tagline:
Flames burn between a hardboiled cop and a gifted artist but soon extinguish as another man’s obsession ignites into an inferno of desire, driving him to destroy the object of his madness…


Unrequited Love
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines unrequited as "not reciprocated or returned in kind."

The plot of Murder & Obsession involves unrequited love and the act of killing to acquire and or retain that love. Remember Fatal Attraction?




Have you ever felt that deeply towards another individual that you couldn't let him or her go? I've always been of the mind that if he's not into me, move on. However, for some folks, it's not that easy. 

In Murder & Obsession, the antagonist is a man obsessed with a woman he can't have. Why murder the object of your love? That goes against everything that makes sense for most of us. Yet, the sad truth in this country is that death by a lover or spouse happens daily.

Statistics prove that on average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or lovers every day. Although, if you watch Snapped, you know life insurance seems to be a major factor too.

Blurb:
As wedding bells echo like the ring of toasting champagne glasses in the ice carved mountains of Anchorage Alaska, Detective Steven Quaid rehabs his grandfather’s cabin into a honeymoon cottage for his new bride. 

When he returns from a hunting trip, Steven’s faced with five police officers, who “Want to talk.” Plagued by two unsolved murders, the Department is searching for answers.

The conversation comes to a deafening halt as the team finds a bloody crime scene in the bridal suite. 

"Where's her body?" is a question Steven cannot fathom.  

Steven’s jaw clenches and his heart races. Images of Sarah streak through his mind. 

The silence breaks as an explosion of accusations vibrate through every fiber of his being. 
Steven bolts…

Although running is never the smart thing to do, Steven’s not thinking clearly and his escape into the wilderness of the Brooks Range proves almost fatal. 

This Steven Quaid mystery is both personal and heartbreaking.


Bio: Yolanda Renée
At one time adventure called to me and I answered. I learned to sleep under the midnight sun of Alaska, survive in below zero temperatures, and hike the Mountain Ranges. I've traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, and the memories are some of my most valued. The wonders, mysteries and incredible beauty that is Alaska has never left me and thus now influence my writing.

Despite my adventurous spirit, I achieved my educational goals, married, and I have two wonderful sons. Writing is now my focus, my newest adventure!


Read the 1st Chapter ~~ Goodreads ~~ Twitter ~~ Facebook ~~ Blog ~~ Pinterest ~~ Amazon ~~~~ BUY ~~


Quote of the Week: "Your friend is your needs answered. He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving." Kahlil Gibran
Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Be Strong. Be a Penguin. AND AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal, 2016

#InkRipples  is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and Kai Strand. They post on the first Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on their page, and link back to our their blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.

Here are the other topics coming up.

April - PoetryMay - MemoriesJune - MoviesJuly - InspirationAugust - Guilty PleasuresSeptember - Banned BooksOctober - MasksNovember - Heritage

December - Cookies




Be Strong. Be a PenguinIt was an activist era, those 1960s. People rose up against the war in Vietnam. People rebelled against the corporate coat and tie culture with musicals like Hair. And women burned their bras to signal they were tired of being denied top-level jobs with equal pay just because they were women. 
Good job people of the 1960s, but did you finish that job? No, but it’s not your fault. It’s because cultures are like icebergs—we only see a small portion of what’s happening, the rest is out of sight and mostly out of awareness. Any real change is often glacial. 
About fifty years have passed since the bra-burning protests, and today there are still studies that conclude: “On average, depending on the type of institution in which women are employed, it takes women from one year to three and a half years longer than men to attain the rank of professor. According to the survey, women at the rank of associate professor appear to be standing still in relation to men." (Standing Still: The Associate Professor Survey, 2009) This happens to be about the world of academia—the world I’m most familiar with, but if I were doing an in-depth article, I’m sure I’d find similar ones in other professions and occupations. 
Because I’m so fond of metaphor, bear with me while I extend this one about icebergs. I stumbled on a New York Times  article that prompted me to write on this aspect of feminism for #InkRipples. In it the author said there was , “. . . a recent report about several hundred thousand penguins trapped by a collapsed glacier in Antarctica. Thousands had died, but the ones that survived did so only through perseverance — regularly traveling some 40 miles across barren nothingness to reach the ocean.”


The author struck a perfect way to cheer on the women of today who continue to seek the equality of pay and position in their field of work. We should all strive to be those penguins who won’t let the icy waters of cultural tradition stop them. 




Quote of the Week:
"Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women." Nora Ephron, Commencement Ceremony Wellesley Class of 1996


AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal, 2016
Sign Up I'm not just going to TELL you. I'm going to SHOW you my theme. You guess.












And my AtoZ Blog Challenge Theme 2016 is? Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Hats Off Corner Welcomes Roland Yeoman

I have a bit of old business from last week before I turn everything over to Roland today. First, those amazing writers Jess and Steph, of Fairday Morrow fame, won a copy of Sudden Secrets for this meme. Just didn't want to leave them out of the winners' circle.
The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow



Hats Off Corner

And now start the drum roll. Hereeeeer comes Roland! Hope you'll start a dialog with this author and find out what his new adventure is all about.



“Hope is a waking dream.” - Aristotle
Fairy Girl on Dragonfly
See how she reaches for the light!

Roland Yeomans here:

Lee has let me slip into her “Hats Off Corner” on her blog in my “Don’t You Hate Book Tours?” Book Tour.
Lee asked what gave me the idea for my latest novel:


To talk of my dream and how it is working out.

How it is working out?  I haven’t sold a single copy.  Why continue writing then?
Let me go the side route on this:There is an older woman who has moved somewhere in my square of blocks.  Her back is permanently bent so she must walk always looking at her feet.On my way to work, I see her walking to the grocery store pushing her brightly painted red shopping cart (She cannot drive with her head pushed down.)She is always jauntily clothed in gaily colored garments done in impish style.  Her eyes may be forced to look at the dirt, but her mind is looking up into the clouds.
That is why I still write.  
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Our circumstances may force our eyes down, but our hearts can ride on the wings of dream, wonder, and hope always upward, always reaching out to touch the impossible.

Who knows?  One magic moment we may just make it.

Each of us are on that journey to the dream of becoming a self-supporting writer. We are at different stages of that adventure.  We wave at one another to rally each other.

Just that recognition lets us know we are not alone.


When I wrote Death in the House of Life, (my 1895 Egyptian Steampunk Adventure), I had Mark Twain speak of the voyage he made famous in his The Innocents Abroad. I thought: why not tell that tale?

The Not-So-Innocents Abroad is a 1867 Steampunk journey: the maiden voyage of the Xanadu, the first Air-Steamship where …
A man with the blood of death in his veins is embarking on a perilous journey of learning how to be married to an alien empress…
11 year old orphan, Nikola Tesla, finds himself mentored by Mark Twain who is as much a child as the boy …
An insane Abraham Lincoln and a crippled General Sherman ally themselves with monsters to enact revenge upon Samuel McCord only to find it is a journey leading to dark places …
The twin sister of the empress finds herself falling in love with the husband of her hated sister – the man who sees the hurt little girl bruised by living in the cold shadow of her regal twin.
A global war of vampire kingdoms is being waged unknown to the living …
The vampiric Abigail Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Empress Theodora circle one another, looking for weakness in their opponents, blind to their own.
A Being older than the creation of light is moving his pieces on the board of the world as he has for millennia …
Yet, like The Lord of the Rings (especially The Fellowship of the Ring), my novel is one of friendships won, lost, and regained, of how the darkness around us is not as important as the light we carry within us, and of how that light is born of two hearts hesitantly reaching out to one another and finding its soul-mate.The journey we start is never the one we finish.
Give my novel a chance.  Go to its Amazon Page and try the LOOK INSIDE feature:

I write to music.  Do you? Here is the selection that I am writing a scene in the sequel, The Not-So-Innocents at Large where the Sidhe fly their sky-boats to challenge the Empress Meilori Shinseen, flying over England.
Much to their regret, the Sidhe learn Meilori is, indeed, a star-child.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hguvzsLUD5E 


And there you have it folks! Want to give Roland a boost and venture over to good old Amazon? Take a look at what's he's created. And since Roland's already provided us with two great quotes, I'll let those be my quotes of the week. Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Winners! Ageism in PBs, Volume 3

Remember this little Meme Hop? Well, it turned out to be a lot of fun and easy to do. It wasn't easy to pick winners, however. Tara, Christine and I had a devil of a time. But here they are. All very funny. And I only am showing one of each entrant. Some had several. Way to go writers.



Thanks for playing everyone! Here were the book prizes. 



PepperWords won one of the $25. GC from Amazon. 



J.Lenni Dorner won an eBook of Double Negative. 

Junetta won a copy of Sudden Secrets



Check out the other winners on Tara and Christine's sites. They each offered copies of their books, and there was one more $25 GC. Were you one of the lucky meme-makers?


L.L. is one of my Newsletter followers and she just won a signed copy of A. Formento's Twigs. Congrats L.L. The book is on the way.My March Newsletter goes out next week. Hope you've signed up. I'm sending everyone a Marketing Checklist with examples of how I'm using it to improve my marketing. More about my marketing next month. There's also some news. Yes. I actually have NEWS. 




In case you're interested: My previous posts on AGEISM. Post 1 Post 2

David Wiesner is one of my favorite picture book writers, and I have three of his books. I decided to take a look and see 1) if he had any elderly characters and 2) if he treated them fairly or as stereotypes. Here's what I found. In one book there were zero elderly, even the animals were young. In another there was one picture of adults, however, I couldn't count them as elderly. They were reading while their son explored the beach. In the third book there were four characters that were pictured as elderly: round glasses, gray hair and facial lines. All were stern and, while not unkind,  they were stiff and all business. It didn't look as if being older was much fun.




A writer friend, Cynthia Jaynes Omolou published this PB, so I took a look at it again to see what she'd done with elderly characters. Hurray for Omolou. She not only had three elderly characters ( two men and a woman), but they were of varied ethnicity.





Quote of the Week:  "Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right." Theodore Roosevelt

Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

IWSG March Has Arrived!

And with March comes so much for writers, INSECURE  and otherwise. 
Brain Child of Alex J. Cavanaugh



The awesome co-hosts for the March 2 posting of the IWSG are 
Lauren Hennessy, Lisa Buie-Collard, Lidy, Christine Rains, and Mary Aalgaard! 


Since Tara Tyler and Christine Rains invited me to be a part of the MEME HOP, I've become besotted by memes. Here's my IWSG short story told in memes.
TODAY

Sign Up Now!



My little man's pointing to my email subscribe field at the top right of this post. My next email goes out mid-March, so hope you'll sign up because there's some good stuff this month and a surprise. Here's a list of what Special Offers have already gone out since I started my email list.
6 free books, some signed hardcopies2 $10 gift certificateslinks to free book offers by others1 free story




Brain Child of DL Hammons


You can send your entries, starting April 1-30. Then the contest starts May 18. Wish I could jump in, but I'm booked solid all spring. I'll be stopping by though to see what you guys are submitting. There are always great stories.


Arlee Bird and tons of others make this work!
Have you signed up? Get going. April's here before you know it. HERE's the link.

Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

More About Ageism in PBs & the Great Meme Hop

The reason I started posting about ageism in picture books is not that I write them, but that I love them. And, of course, because my interest has always been in the power of the word. 

The point in the studies I looked into last week wasn't that we see "old" differently as we ourselves age, but that if we present a negative view of aging to our young readers, that sends the very worst message to them. If old equates with sad and lonely, who in the hell can embrace aging? Not me.

Here's a great quote from Lindsey McDivitt's blog. 

"Many books for kids lead them to believe that old=bad. It’s not their natural inclination, it is us socializing them to believe it–by not showing them a more diverse older population."

Here's some good news. 

Although children are subjected to stereotypes of older people in their picture books, other mediums such as TV and films  still underrepresent and sometimes portray them in a negative light. So book writers aren't the only culprits here. Yay!There are some excellent PBs out there that depict older adults in a positive light. I'm finding them and buying them. I want the kids in my family to have a positive attitude about growing up and growing old. It's a natural and wonderful process, not something to fear.











My Very Own Meme!
If I can do it you can too.
Hope you're ready to jump on board our Blog Hop and have some MEME fun. If you're not sure how to create a meme, here's a quick and easy--also free--site for you. Imgflip Now go and make something amazing and win books and $$ to buy some.





Quote of the Week: “The thing is, you can’t see people as fully human if all you can feel for them is pity.” Uma Krishnaswami, picture book author.Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Teen Bookfest and Unintentional Ageism in PBs

Teen BookfestThis has been a Wowaful weekend. The Teen Bookfest organizers were fabulous, the readers we met equally so. And then there were the writers. I finally met Yvonne Ventresca, my long-time crit partner. And she's as great in person as she is on paper. Here she is at one of the Panels.


Beth Feldbaum and A. Formento at the book signings.



Our host state! It was delicious.










We read blogs and forums about disliking sexism and racism in literature, but I haven't read too much about ageism there. Did I miss it? Let me know. 

Anyway, I stumbled on an interesting study of picture books (Ansello, 1977) and how they included and depicted old people. Here's a quick summary of that study, which included 549 books.

Characters were classified "older" if they were described physically, verbally or occupationally as older. They had to have at least two of these mentions to be tabulated in the study. What they was that "older characters are only present in 16.03% of those 549 picture book. When "older " characters were included they were most likely White (66.1%). Blacks were  represented at 3.4%, Hispanics 1.7%, Native American's  0.8%. 

The thing that caught my eye in the 1977 data was that 75.5% of "older" characters were described by only three adjectives: old, little and ancient. 

Well, I thought, by now that's all different, so I searched Mr. Internet and found another study (Hurst 1981). This study included books made up of Caldecott Medal winners.  "Older" characters in this sample of picture books were only shown interacting with children 3% of the sample and 48% of the "older" characters were described as old. Still? Well, one book used nice and in two others wise. The rest of the adjectives were funny, small, little, grumpy, lonely, poor and weak. 

It seems "old" was used so frequently that in another study by Dodson and Hause, they concluded that "no other generation is so completely described by the use of a single word" (qtd. from McGuire, 1993).

Hmm. So I kept looking. There had to be a study that showed an enlightened change somewhere.

And I found one by Dellmann-Jenkins and Yang (1997). This study compared a total of 95 award winning books (1972–1983 and 1984–1995) for the presence of older people in main or secondary roles. They used 11 books and found that "older" characters appeared in 12%; however, the descriptions were now words like "clean, healthy, happy, good, caring and interactive with others." Also the illustrations had a much more positive depiction of these characters. 

Now I'm a bit happier, but I keep digging. I've found another study that was done even more recently. I'll read it carefully and let you know what that one says next week. 


Do you enjoy going to book events? Have you ever paid attention to how the elderly are depicted in young people's literature? 

Quote of the Week: "Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been." David Bowie

Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Corpus Christi and WEP-February Challenge

Check out their Website
I'm off to Corpus Christi, Texas in a few days to be at the Teen Bookfest By the Bay with a lot of other YA authors. Some writers from UnCommonYA. and of course, my fabulous crit partner, Yvonne Ventresca. I always get excited when I'm going to meet other writers, especially those I share my writing process with. Yvonne is the only crit partner I haven't met in person, so this is going to make the event very exciting. I'll post about it.



Now I've decided to jump into Yolanda and Denise's February WEP, Valentine's Lost and Found. This is a bit early, but hope it's okay because I'm still trying to stick with my Post On Mondays Only policy. 


Denise Covey and Yolanda Renee


Jolly was my first dog. He is still the dog that has my heart and always will. We grew up together. I remember when I got into serious trouble with my gram and Jolly would stand at my side while she scolded me—her corporal punishment was shaking her finger in my face until my eyes crossed. Then I had to go to my room for decades. Well, not decades, but at eight, the hour of confinement was long enough for world wars to be fought and won or lost. 
Jolly stuck with me during those decades. He’d say things like, “You’re my girl. You’ll be just fine, and all is going to be great in a short time. Besides, I’m here with you. Let’s just cuddle.”
So we did. 
Then when I was thirteen, my mom and gram decided I needed to visit the homeland. They shipped me off to Kansas where their roots were, but where I was the stranger in a strange land. I wrote and called home a lot—mostly about not being a fit for Kansas and missing Jolly. It wasn’t natural being away from home or him. 
In each conversation with Mom and Gram they said all was well, not to worry. 
“He’s a bit mopey, but gram and I are walking him."”Jolly’s fine, honey. Enjoy your visit.”“I brushed him today and told him you’ll be home in a couple of weeks.”
When I made my last call, the news wasn’t that cheery. Jolly had some problems. I begged to come home immediately, but my return airline ticket was already purchased. I could come back in a few days, just not that day. 
When I finally set foot on native soil again, I ran up the ramp and to my family. I fully expected they would smuggle Jolly into the airline terminal, but there were only two humans to greet me—two humans with grief all over their faces.
They didn’t have to tell me I’d never hold Jolly again, that he’d never curl up next me with warmth and encouragement. I knew. I also knew they’d done their best to save him, but I had this terrible gash inside me that none of my family could ever stitch up.
All I could think was that his girl hadn’t there when he needed her, and his girl has always regretted that. 
This is for Jolly, the dog I loved and lost. His name suited him. 




Quote of the Week: "A man is only as good as what he loves." Saul Bellow


Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew

Winners, Monday Meme, Hats Off Corner Welcomes Anna Simpson and #InkRipples Whew!

WinnersThanks to everyone who took the time to visit on IWSG Wednesday and asked for an eBook of Double Negative. I put your names in the hat and drew Alexa Winters and Bish Denham. They'll have their eBook ASAP.

Monday Meme
Don't forget to join Tara Tyler, Christine Rains, and me on this easy-peasy HOP. Post a MEME during the week (use your own pic or an easy meme maker app) - and if you can't think of anything, pass on encouraging words from one of your reviews, or an inspiring quote!
Visit others. That's it!Then the awesome hostesses will hop around and Ooo and Ahh and choose one entry each to win an ebook. AND two lucky random participants will win a $20 GC. Enter and spread some warmth!
Hats Off Corner Welcomes Anna Simpson
About the Mystery: 
Emma never dreamed of being a super-sleuth. In her mind, she’s more Scooby Doo than Nancy Drew and when her nosy neighbor, Mrs. Perkins, drags her to an anniversary party to solve a mystery, she rolls her eyes, buys a box of chocolates and hops in the car.
What’s a party without an attack on its host—or more accurately on the host’s grandson, sparking an allergic reaction and moving the party to the hospital waiting room. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. Emma and Mrs. Perkins, along with Great Aunt Alice (a spirit with boundary issues who keeps stepping into Emma’s body like a new dress and playing matchmaker), dive into an investigation that almost gets Emma killed along with the man they are trying to protect. With so many reasons to kill him and so much to be gained if he died, Emma and Mrs. Perkins must unravel the tenuous ties that point to every member of his family as potential killers.
Even if it means going back to the psych ward, Emma will protect her friend and this innocent man. What good is freedom if it’s haunted with guilt?


What Some Are Saying:
Sherry from fundinmental says:“I love writing that can pull emotions from me and White Light does that.”
Laura from Laura’s Ramblins and Reveiws says:“There’s lots to laugh at and some serious business to draw you deeper into the story.”
Mary from Goodreads says:“This is a great beach read with mystical elements. Simpson creates colorful characters, intriguing plot, and with her use of dialogue keeps the story moving along.”
About Anna: 
Anna Simpson lives near the Canadian-US border with her family. Even though she’s lived in several places in British Columbia, her free spirit wasn’t able to settle down until she moved back to her hometown.She is easy to find though, if you know the magic word — emaginette. Do an internet search using it and you’ll see what I mean. :-)
 You can connect with Anna here: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads
Want to see for yourself? Here’s an Excerpt: 
In a half acre of green sits one flowerbed, brimming with Lily of the Valley. I remember the first time I saw them over fifteen years ago. The delicate white bells could only be fairy hats. Today, the round base of cemented river stone is still full of waxy green spear tips. I don’t see fairy hats anymore. No, now I enjoy the effects of nature—its simple perfection.

Mrs. Perkins does it best. In fact, everything around Mrs. Perkins is perfectly cared for—her home, her yard, her car—all perfect.

But not today. A dark line sits between the jamb and the edge of the door.
A few inches of shadow drives my calm away and prickles the long blonde hairs at the nape of my neck. Butterflies in my stomach tell, no scratch that, demand I find my phone and go next door.


Available NowAmazon, Chapters/Indigo, B&N, iTunes, Google Play or Goodreads

Hope you'll check out Anna's book. 






And because I'm now MEME-CRAZED (Thank you Tara and Christine), I've joined these three other lovely peeps in #InkRipples. It's a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll. They post on the first Monday of every month (I know I'm late. Don't nag me, okay?) with a new topic. They're all authors, but you don’t have to be to participate.

The idea of #InkRipples is to toss a word, idea, image, whatever into the inkwell and see what kind of ripples it makes. They provide the topics and will be blogging about them on the first Monday of the month. You can spread your own ripples by blogging about the topic any day of the month that fits your schedule, just be sure to include links back to Katie, Kai, and Mary.
February--Chocolate (How could I not weigh in on this topic?)March – FeminismApril – PoetryMay – MemoriesJune – MoviesJuly – InspirationAugust – Guilty PleasuresSeptember – Banned BooksOctober – MasksNovember – HeritageDecember – Cookies
Or you can simply share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #InkRipples. You might simply comment on one of their posts to play along. Tag them and they’re always happy to share your posts and thoughts to keep those ripples going and intersecting.
There is no wrong way to do #InkRipples (with the exception of following basic human decency!). It’s about having a conversation, sharing ideas, and connecting. So if this sounds at all interesting, please do participate in whatever way you can. And feel free to use any of the meme’s images (created by the wonderful Mary Waibel).
Today my contribution to the #InkRipples topic is simply this! Babies Wearing Chocolate! How much fun is this? I want to play smash the chocolate cake, too. How about you? Don't you want to wear your food once in a while like you did when you were a baby? Read the quote of the week and then answer the question.  SEE MORE BABIES WEARING THEIR FOOD


Quote of the Week: "Normal is just a cycle on the washing machine." Whoopie Goldberg.Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew