Kaye George's Blog, page 5

The Job of a Writer

I’ve wanted to write this in the weeks leading up to this election, and now is the time, I believe. Fellow mystery writers who never venture into politics for fear of alienating readers are angry enough to venture out of that place and express themselves.

 

If you follow me on social media, or anywhere, you know that I’m not reticent about politics nowadays. That’s because the issue isn’t really political, not one of party or affiliation. It’s one of humanity, social justice, and basic decency. All of which are being stomped upon by the occupier of my White House. Our White House.

 

Most writers do, at some level, believe in giving voice to the voiceless. In advocating for equality and justice for every single person in the USA. That’s just the basis for being a human. We’re all in this together and our main job, as I’ve always seen it, is to help each other out in any way we can. What kind of person you are has no bearing on whether you deserve to be treated fairly and decently, and no differently than anyone else.

 

Fellow mystery writer Eve Fisher expressed this eloquently last week and I’d love to link you to her thoughts. They were prompted by the truly horrifying encouragement of a white hate terrorist group by the occupant of my White House. Even more terrifying, I realized when I read her thoughts and research, are the number of hateful people in this country who belong to groups that exist solely to exclude and do harm to others. I just never knew there were so many.

 

https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2020/10/stand-back-and-stand-by.html

 

Let’s hope that we can move forward. First, that we can rid our country of the cancer of hatred that has festered for four years unchecked by the other branches of government: The Senate, because they are either afraid or beholden to the occupant of my White House; the House of Representatives because their efforts have been systemically blocked, to the detriment of those the Senate is supposed to represent.

 

Let’s also hope that there’s a return to the ideals and ways of thinking that make it clear that publically elected officials are public servants, first and foremost.

 

Peace.

White House photos from Wikipedia 

 

Saving the Day

No, not like Superman, saving the day. Or was that Mighty Mouse? “Here I come to save the day!” I found a clip in case you’re nostalgic for Mighty Mouse.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJvM8eYcpL0

 

No, not like in a Save the Day evite, either.

 

 

Oops, that should be Save the Date, shouldn’t it?

 

So, the one I want to talk about is kind of both. Save the Day and Save the Date. I have an idea that’s helping me get through the isolation and loneliness of the pandemic. I’m not completely isolated. I see doctors and people taking my money at the grocery store and drug store. I even see some of my family, with masks on and distancing. But I don’t see the ones who would have to travel to get here. And I don’t see my writing friends at our writers’ groups, because we’re not meeting. Another big blow is not going to conferences and relaxing at the bar with my seldom-seen colleagues.

 

Colleagues like these fine people, my fellow Sprint Club members. That’s a group organized by Ramona DeFelice Long (on the right) to touch base once a day and post how our writing is going. The photo was taken at Malice Domestic in 2018.

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Or these fine people I did a short story panel with at Killer Nashville in 2014. See? It’s not all play, we work too!

 

 

I don’t know any other group I could tour a forensic anthropology lab with. This was at Mystery in the Midlands, 2019, in Columbia SC.

 

I even miss those hot, sweaty tents on the parking lots, selling our books with the local Authors’ Guild of TN.

 

What I really, really miss, is traveling! I want to see my people in Sweden and Italy again. I want to see my brother Don and his wife Donna. I NEED to see my kids in Virginia and Austin.

 

I’ll finish with a picture of me and Karen Maslowski closing up the bar after the banquet at Magna Cum Murder in Indianapolis in 2018.

 

So I’m saving up those dates. I’m listing people I will see and places I will go, things I will do, when it’s feasible again.

What do you want to do, when you can? 2021, 2022, whenever that day comes. 

 

 

Save the Date and luggage photos by pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

One More Time #giveaway

 

 

Due to the generosity of my publisher, Lyrical Press, I have more free audiobooks of my second Vintage Sweets mystery, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH. You can get one without signing up for the Audible program if I pick you as a winner!

 

If you’d like to hear a sample of this book, I have that, too!

http://tinyurl.com/y3mhojl6

 

The blurb for this book online goes like this:

 

Vintage sweets, a deadly surprise, and a mischievous Maine Coon cat—Deadly Sweet Tooth is the delightful cozy mystery you’ve been waiting for!

 

In a darling tourist town like Fredericksburg, Texas, a vintage sweet shop offering delicious old-fashioned favorites is a perfect fit—until someone decides to debut a recipe that’s lusciously lethal…

 

With Tally’s Old Tyme Sweets finally—well, almost—turning a profit, Tally Holt is taking one busy Saturday off to host a grand party for her parents, traveling performers who spend most of their time on the road. Tally’s counting on the publicity and free treats to attract new customers. And the event is a sweet success—at least until Fran Abraham, the town’s foul-tempered theater director, drops dead after a bitter confrontation with Tally’s mother.

 

Murder was definitely not on Tally’s menu, but it’s clear that Fran’s death wasn’t natural. The list of possible culprits includes not just Tally’s mom, but her protective dad too. Relying on Yolanda Bella, her best friend and the proprietor of Bella’s Baskets next door, for help, Tally will need to unwrap the sticky pasts and unsavory presents of everyone from her own parents to her new hires before Fran’s death sours everybody on her fledgling shop….

 

Recipe included! And this one promises not to kill…

JUST COMMENT, BELOW, FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS!

OR, VISIT COZY TOWN SLEUTHS AND ENTER THERE!

https://www.facebook.com/shares/view/?av=1317370777

 

PS If you’re a member of Audible already, here’s a link to pick this one up:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/

 

 

photos by pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

Audio #giveaway this week!

My second Vintage Sweets mystery, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH, is now out as an audio book! (Also paperback and e-book, of course.) It sounds great, if I do say so myself.

I know a lot of people listen to audio books around the house, as well as when we used to go on the road. Remember those days? I always took a few in the car for road trips.

My publisher is letting me give some away, and I’d LOVE to give one away here. I’ll leave this open until  the end of week, then pick a winner from the comment section.

Let me know if you’d like to be entered!

PS If you’re a member of the online audio deal where you get free audio books, here’s a link to pick this one up: https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/

PPS Here’s a sample!

http://tinyurl.com/y3mhojl6

 

Stuff to Get You Through

My last post here, at the end of August, was about coping with these times. Writers cope, of course, by writing. And we hope that everyone else copes by reading what we write.

How was that as an introduction to telling you what I have for you to read?

 

Three new things!

 

First, the third book in my Vintage Sweets cozy mystery series doesn’t come out until March 9th, 2021, and doesn’t even have a cover. BUT, you can pre-order it! How’s that for getting there early?

 

 

It’s available only as an e-book for this. There are ordering links on

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Hereafter-Vintage-Sweets-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08B475PJV/

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/into-the-sweet-hereafter

B&N Nook

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/into-the-sweet-hereafter-kaye-george/1137171727?

And Google Play, of all places

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kaye_George_Into_the_Sweet_Hereafter?id=NVLrDwAAQBAJ

I admit, I’m not quite sure what Google Play is, but I think I pay for it.

 

 

Next, I need to tell you that I sold a short story to Living Springs Publishers, which puts out an annual anthology.

https://livingspringspublishers.com/index.php/stories-through-the-ages-baby-boomers-plus-2020/

 

 

I love the editorial description of my story so much!

 

Fins Fatal Flop: Kaye George’s characters are so well crafted you can feel the tension in crisis and share the emotion in tragedy. This story takes place in a strip-tease bar but there is nothing shabby about the people who care for each other and do whatever it takes to protect themselves from the bad guys. Great entertainment, good reading.

 

 

This is my third story with these characters. I hope to gather all three together in a volume in the future. Meanwhile, I can’t wait for my copy to get here so I can read all of these stories!

 

 

 

Lastly, there is a new audio book of the second in my series, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH, from Lyrical Press. Don’t you love the cover?

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/

 

My Mantras

A few years ago, when the phrase “YOU CAN DO IT” was used by Nike and repeated by lots of others, I decided to adopt it for my own. I know, a mantra is supposed to be “OHM” and to be chanted in the Lotus position. I cannot achieve that asana, haven’t been able to since my knee surgery several years ago. I still do it, but a modified version. However, my own personal Yoga session just involves deep breathing and an attempt at mind-clearing, no mantra.
A jade Buddha my husband brought home from Korea

So where did I use YOU CAN DO IT? At the end of each journal entry. I call them my Daily Pages, which I got from…somewhere. I do them M-F so I don’t feel like I have to write them every day. It’s my log book, part diary, part what I’ve accomplished in the last day (or weekend), and what I hope to get done that day. It’s the first thing I do in my work day, so the exhortation at the end of my writing serves to propel me into and through the day.
Laughing Buddha also from Korea (he squeaks when you push his belly)

This mantra served me well when I went through a period where I thought I might not be able to do it. During my husband’s decline and after his death, it helped to tell myself that every day.
Prayer stick my son and daughter-in-law left for my husband in Thailand









The temple in Thailand

Before that, I used things like PERSIST and ONWARD. I started YCDI in 2010, actually, and kept it for a long time. Intermittently I used DON’T QUIT NOW, YOU'RE ON THE WAY, GOING GOOD, LET'S GO! In 2014, I used OFF TO THE RACES, since that was the Year of the Horse. I used some others for the Chinese years, coming back to YCDI.
In 2019 I used these two: KEEP GOING. DO NOT STOP. DO NOT HURRY.BREATHE. REST, RECOVER, REFLECT
Full moon in May

This year I’m using: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
And this one from, which my friend Daryl Wood Gerber tells me a lot:BREATHE
My tea in a cup from a trip to see my cousin in Seattle

I know, that’s not really what a mantra is, but it’s mine and I call it that.
What do you do to encourage yourself? To get you through the day?
All photos are mine.

What Woman Doesn’t Like Jewelry or a #giveaway

INTRO and ANNOUNCEMENT: I've blogged happily on the Killer Characters site since 2015, right after my first Fat Cat books came out, written by me as Janet Cantrell. I switched to promoting the Vintage Sweets series when that one started recently. This week, the decision was made to disband the Killer Character group as a dot com blog, sadly. We're all so sorry to see it go! I had prepared this giveaway to post there on my regular day, the 4th of the month. Instead, please see the message there today. https://www.killercharacters.com/

And read on for my farewell Killer Character post:

by Dorella Diggs 

from INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER, #3 in the ##VintageSweetsMysteries by Kaye George

 

I’m not sure what’s going on around here. Fredericksburg has always been such a friendly, peaceful town. Tally, my boss at Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets, has been talking about a string of break-ins and thefts. Into houses, no less. The local crime watch group, Crime Fritzers, has something to do, at last. My new boyfriend, Ira Mann, is helping with the watch group. I’m so proud of him. I’m also a little star struck, since he isthe mayor’s son.

He really treats me well, too. A few days ago he gave me this gorgeous pink sapphire ring. Okay, it’s just a pinky ring, so it can’t be an engagement ring. Or even a promise ring. It’s nice to date someone with money to spare, though, I can tell you. And now he gave me this string of pearls. Not what I would choose, but they had to cost a bundle.

 

Wait, why is everyone getting so excited? I just came into the shop to show them my new necklace. Surely they don’t believe that nasty customer? The woman who said my sapphire ring was hers? Ira bought these for me. I know he did.  

 

My author wants you to know that INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER is available for pre-order right now! E-book now, paperback later (coming March 9th). Links to preorder: https://kayegeorge.wixsite.com/kaye-george/buy-links-for-vintage-sweets

 

Author here: Leave a comment with your email (disguised as MyEmail at server dot com if you wish) and I’ll pick a winner on August 6th, Monday night, to receive a paperback of the #2 in this series, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH!

 

You can always follow me here, at my personal blog: http://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com/

and on the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/killercharacters/

I’d also love it if you’d sign up for my newsletter at my webpage: http://kayegeorge.com/

 

pearl photo from https://morguefile.com/photos/morguefile/2/pearl%20necklace/pop by EmmiP

 

I love this publisher!

How great is this? A spotlight in Woman’s World!



Lyrical Press has done so much good publicity for my Vintage Sweets series. Lots of giveaways. (HINT: I still have some e-book giveaways for DEADLY SWEET TOOTH. I’d love to give them to readers who will consider giving the book a review on Amazon or Goodreads or both.)
Please email me at kayegeorge at gmail dot com and I’ll hand them out to the first comers. I’m not only grateful for this publisher, but also my wonderful fans and readers!

Here's How It Works for Me

Falling and Getting Uporiginally posted at https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/2020/05/falling-and-getting-up.html

I’ve had a few life-altering experiences, as I’m sure most of us have. The most devastating ones have made me feel like the floor has been yanked out from under me. There was no stable place to walk. The earth beneath my feet had opened up and shown me a deep, dark abyss. Nothing was familiar.






That’s what it feels like when I go into depression. When I come out, I realize that there are still colors, and sounds—like birdsong and tree frogs, and bright things—like fireflies, stars, even a moon.









What has often gotten me through depression is the lists I’ve made, at the advice of my therapists. They are lists of what is good in my life.
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Okay, so this plague has robbed us, stolen our lives. We are now living in a different historical era than we were a few short months ago. We’re in an unimaginable place. Unfamiliar. Hostile even. For me, I can clearly see that this intruder is out to kill me. I’m in the high-risk age group, and the bad-lung group, plus some mitochondrial stuff that doesn’t help. So I’m on the defensive. Many people don’t have to be so careful, or they think they don’t have to. Some healthy, young people have been fatally stricken, to everyone’s surprise.


Meanwhile, we’re learning to live in this alien landscape. We avoid crowds, or even, my case, most people. We pay attention and make sure everything is clean. We buy or make masks to protect each other (if we’re good people).
[image error]


And that list? It’s still there. I still have many of the good things I’ve always had.
I have these.
-The love of my family, scattered across the country and even across the globe, into Europe. -Many phone calls and other communication.-The warm camaraderie of my writing colleagues online.-An occupation I love, goals that keep me occupied, even when I can’t do everything I want to.-Shelter, food, clothing, heat and AC, trash pickup.-Doctors at my beck and call by phone or video, or even face to face if I need to do that.-The daily newspaper. (I know, that seems trivial, but I love the comics and puzzles.)-So many books I haven’t yet read.--New books coming out all the time.-My music, which I’ve neglected lately and am going back to in a small way.-A spectacular yard, with roses and irises now, after a progression for the last couple of months, although those plants are really kicking up my allergies.-Good neighbors who all keep track of each other.---NEW: Social distancing walks with my local family, me on one side of the street, them on the other.
I don’t have these any longer:
-New episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!-The news, which I used to watch, but no longer can.-Dinner out with my kids and grandkids, and eating together at our houses.-The joy of driving my grandkids to lessons and classes.-Their hugs.
BUT, most of the items in the second list will come back in due time. And that first list is a lot longer.
What do you miss? What do you take joy in now? What are you looking forward to getting back…some day?


Images from Pixabay.com, Morguefile.com; roses are mine—aren’t they gorgeous?

ARE YOU LISTENING?

How are you coping through our disaster? Are you bingeing TV shows? Movies? Reading lots of books? Are you listening to audio books?


If you’re doing audio books, I have an offer for you!
The publisher of my new Vintage Sweets cozy mystery series has given me a bunch of audio books (6) to give away, lucky you! The book is REVENGE IS SWEET. Here’s a little bit about it. *****In the picturesque tourist town of Fredericksburg, Texas, Tally Holt has opened a new candy store with a vintage twist . . .but there’s no sugar-coating a nasty case of murder . . .

Tally Holt has poured her heart, soul, and bank account into Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets, specializing in her grandmother’s delicious recipes. Tally’s homemade Mallomars, Twinkies, fudges, and taffy are a hit with visiting tourists—and with Yolanda Bella, the flamboyant owner of Bella’s Baskets next door. But both shops encounter a sour surprise when local handyman Gene Faust is found dead in Tally’s kitchen, stabbed with Yolanda’s scissors.

The mayor’s adopted son, Gene was a handsome Casanova with a bad habit of borrowing money from the women he wooed. It’s a sticky situation for Yolanda, who was one of his marks. There are plenty of other likely culprits among Fredericksburg’s female population, and even among Gene’s family. But unless Tally can figure out who finally had their fill of Gene’s sweet-talking ways, Yolanda—and both their fledgling businesses—may be destined for a bitter end . . .
*****
Interested? Here’s how to enter—it’s easy. Just post a comment here, including your email address so I can contact you if you win.