Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 15

9 Tips for a Great Whitewater Rafting Trip

As part of my promotion week activities to celebrate the release of Fatal Descent , the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger/rafting guide Mandy Tanner, I'm going to whet your appetite for whitewater rafting.

HERE is a link to an excellent article from The Breck Connection, a blog from the Breckenridge Resort Chamber with answers to questions often posed at The Breckenridge Welcome Center. I know the editor of the blog, Kimberly Nicoletti, and she's an excellent writer. The author of this article is Mark Hammer. Owner of The Adventure Company, he was a rafting guide for 16 years before purchasing the business in 2003, giving him 26 years of experience on the river.

Titled "9 Tips for a Great Colorado Whitewater Rafting Trip," the article gives you factors to consider when planning a trip, so it's a success for all involved. I removed "Colorado" from the title today's blog article, because the tips are general enough to apply to planning a whitewater rafting trip just about anywhere.

Advice that I give people who ask me about whitewater rafting, and that I would add to Mark's tips is: 1) you should be at least a beginner swimmer, who won't panic if pitched into the water and who can make some basic swimming strokes toward the raft or shore, and 2) you should be honest about your medical issues on the rafting company's registration form and take all essential medications on the raft with you. I still remember the story told to me by a rafting guide, with a haunted look in his eyes, of his first client death on the river. The older man with asthma and other health issues lied on his form and didn't bring his inhaler or medications on the trip, because he was afraid he wouldn't be allowed to go. After he was pitched into the cold river and pulled out by the guide, he could not get his breath and died in the guide's arms while they waited for the county's emergency medical crew to arrive.

I don't want to scare anyone from going whitewater rafting, but it is an adventurous outdoor activity with uncontrollable elements, and YOU are a vital factor in making sure you stay safe.

Mysteristas Interview and a FATAL DESCENT Excerpt

Today I am visiting the Mysteristas blog, where I answered their intriguing interview questions, such as "If your latest book were chocolate, what kind would it be and why?" I hope you stop by, read the interview, and leave a comment for me there!

Also, Criminal Element.com has posted the first chapter of my Fatal Descent release on their website, where you'll meet some of the customers who will ride along with Mandy and Rob on their Cataract Canyon whitewater rafting and climbing trip on the Colorado River in the Utah Canyonlands. Read the excerpt HERE.

Release Day for FATAL DESCENT!!

Today is the official release day for FATAL DESCENT , the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series starring whitewater river ranger/rafting guide Mandy Tanner. Follow the link for the book blurb, reviews, an excerpt, discussion questions, and "buy me" links. I hope you'll celebrate the release with me by lifting a glass of your favorite beverage and wishing me luck. Buying a copy for yourself wouldn't hurt either! ;-)

A Booksigning, A Review, and Two Interviews

Today I am at the Socrates' Book Review blog, where Yvonne reviewed my new release, Fatal Descent and interviewed me, posing some interesting questions. I hope you'll stop by there and leave a comment or a question of your own for me!

Also, a feature article/interview with me appears in Scene section of the Summit Daily News today. You might be able to read the article on-line as well as in the print newspaper.

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 8th, I will have my first book signing for Fatal Descent , the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger/rafting guide Mandy Tanner. The signing will be from 3 - 5 PM at the Next Page Bookstore, 409 Main Street, #101, Frisco, CO 80443. It will take place during the Ten Mile Creek whitewater races weekend and 10% of the proceeds will be donated to the Gore Range chapter of Trout Unlimited. I hope to see many readers there!

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Edith Maxwell

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Edith Maxwell is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Edith is running a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release, A Tine to Live, A Tine To Die, the cover art for which appears above. Edith will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow.

In the book, it's the start of the farming season in Westbury, Massachusetts, and geek-turned-novice farmer Cameron Flaherty hopes to make a killing selling organic produce. A colorful Locavore Club belongs to Cam's farm-share program. But when a killer strikes on her property, her first foray into the world of organic farming yields a bumper crop of locally sourced murder. To clear her name, Cam has to unearth secrets buried deep beneath the soil of Produce Plus Plus Farm. And when the police don't make progress in the case, she has to catch a murderer whose motto seems to be, “Eat Local. Kill Local.”


Sounds to me like Cameron will have to dig up some dirt! ;-) Below are Edith's answers to my interview questions.

1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?

I wrote lots of little stories and dozens of book reports as a child. When I was about ten, my mother said, “Edie, you're a good writer.” And I believed her! I read everything I could get my hands on, which at home included Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Poe, and Jules Verne, and from the library Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames Student Nurse, and more, so I had a real attraction to mysteries early on. As an adult I started writing my first mystery, an earlier version of A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die, twenty years ago when I was an organic farmer and my younger son had just gone off to kindergarten.

2. What tools and process do you use to “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?

With my first book, I interviewed my protagonist. I kept asking her questions: Who is in your family? What's your favorite food?  How do you relieve stress in your life? And I typed out her answers. I probably should do that for every main character in every book but haven't gotten around to it! I also keep a log of each character I use and salient information about them as I add it. I want to be sure Cam doesn't have green eyes in Chapter Two that mysteriously become blue in Chapter Fifteen.

3. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

I prefer to call it Writing Into the Headlights. Or, as I heard someone refer to it at Malice Domestic, Organic Writing. I pretty much follow the characters around and write down what they do. That means I have to go back and fix stuff later, but I'd rather do that. I'm afraid if I knew what was going to happen, I'd get bored with my own story.

4. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

I don't know! I just write the best story I can with characters developed as well as I can in a plot that keeps moving, that has surprises, and that gets all tidied up by the end.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

Well, I have very recently solved my biggest challenge. I resigned my nearly two-decade career as a full-time technical writer. It was very stressful to fit fiction writing in around the edges of a nine-hour day in the office and an hour's drive each way getting there and back. As of May 18 I am a full-time fiction writer, with part-time technical writing around the edges from home. And I am much happier!

6. What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?

I'm always up early, usually by six AM. I take up to an hour to check email and blogs and social media and have my coffee. Then I'm at my desk writing or revising until midday. I might go for a fast walk at eleven, then have lunch. I'm not as productive in the afternoons, which often include a nap, but I might use that time to write a blog post or do other promotional work.

7. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

Just write! Keep the butt in the chair and the fingers on the keyboard. Get a draft done. Print it out and self edit. Find a good critique group, either in person or online, and hone your craft. Take classes, workshops, go to writing conferences. But most of all, keep writing. You'll get better and better.

8. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet.

Although I have lived north of Boston for more than three decades, I grew up in southern California, so my favorite food is a slice of a perfectly ripe avocado with a little salt.

9. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

Right now I'm polishing the second Local Foods mystery, 'Til Dirt Do Us Part, which is due at the end of the month. Then I'll be working on the synopsis for the third book, which takes place on Cam Flaherty's farm in the winter months. I also want to finish the second Speaking of Mystery book, which features Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau solving the mystery of a body she finds in small-town Ashford during the summer months. And if you hear news of a new historical mystery series I want to write, don't be surprised!

10. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers?

Sure. I'd love to hear from you! I'm online everywhere. I love to go to book clubs and farms and garden clubs to talk about my books. I can Skype in if we're too far apart. Contact me and let's talk.

Besides my web page (and personal blog), you can find me on Facebook, on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Wattpad, at Wicked Cozy Authors, or at Barnes and Nobles.

Thanks, Edith! Now, who has a comment or question for Edith Maxwell? Good luck in the contest!    

Tomorrow's Guest: Edith Maxwell

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Edith Maxwell will guest on my blog. Also, Edith will run a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release, A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die.  She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

 Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries. A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die introduces organic farmer Cam Flaherty and a Locavore Club (Kensington Publishing, May 2013). Edith once owned and operated the smallest certified-organic farm in Essex County, Massachusetts. Edith also authored, under the pseudonym Tace Baker, Speaking of Murder (Barking Rain Press) featuring Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau. Edith holds a PhD in linguistics and is a long-time member of Amesbury Monthly Meeting of Friends. A mother and former technical writer, Edith is a fourth-generation Californian but lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and three cats.

In her guest post tomorrow, Edith answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Then, please leave a message for her or ask a question in the comments, and good luck in the contest!

Talking on Inkspot About Reviews and Visiting the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club

Today I am over at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, talking about book reviews. I provide links to some recent great reviews for my new release, Fatal Descent! I hope you'll visit me there and leave a comment about whether or not book reviews influence your book reading and purchasing decisions.

Also, all of this week I am a guest at the Barnes and Noble on-line mystery book club. If you're a mystery reader and aren't a member yet, I hope you'll consider joining. It's a great community! And, if you're already a member, I hope you'll say howdy on my discussion thread there and ask me a question or let me know what you think of my upcoming release of Fatal Descent.

Appearing on Gelati's Scoop GZONE!

Tonight at 7 PM Eastern time, 5 PM Mountain time, I will be interviewed by Giovanni Gelati, writer of the well-known Gelati's Scoop blog, on his blogtalkradio show, Gelati's Scoop GZONE. To listen to the show live, go HERE. You can also call in with a comment or question at 1-949-270-5955.

Preparing for a Book Signing

Fatal Descent, the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger/rafting guide Mandy Tanner, will be released on June 8th. I have scheduled eight book signings to occur in the six weeks after the release date. I have a busy summer coming up!

The first signing will actually be on Saturday, June 8th, at the Next Page Bookstore in Frisco, Colorado, from 3 to 5 PM. (Hint: if you want to order an autographed copy to be mailed to you, place an order with Next Page before the event or with Black Cat Books (click on the Fatal Descent link above for info), my official bookstore supplier for autographed copies.)

Scheduling a signing, though, is not all there is to it! First comes the selection of an ideal date and time for that venue. In the case of Next Page Bookstore, this signing will take place on the same weekend as the Ten Mile Creek whitewater kayaking events in Frisco, Colorado, including a One Mile Race, Rodeo, and Best Trick competitions. And, the signing is timed to end well before the first kayaking event. Coincidence? Nope!

Second task is inviting a whole gang of folks to come. In the case of this event, it will be a fundraiser for the Gore Range chapter of Trout Unlimited, with the store donating 10% of the proceeds to the chapter. That means the event will be included in the chapter newsletter going out to all of the members. Also, I will create a virtual event for the booksigning on Facebook and Goodreads and invite all of my virtual friends on those sites who live nearby to come. I'll also send a special mailing to my email newsletter subscribers who live nearby, asking them to come.

Third is arranging for local media coverage. Both a Trout Unlimited representative and I have contacted the local newspaper, the Summit Daily News, and the Midnight Ink publicist has mailed a review copy of the book to the Arts and Entertainment editor. A feature article to appear in the newspaper the day before the event is planned.

Fourth is doing whatever else you can to assure the success of the event. I will email an invite to my book club. Also, I've arranged for a copy of the book to be given out as a door prize at the Breckenridge Resort Chamber mixer tonight, and the details of the June 8th signing will be announced along with that.

So, you can see that a "simple" book signing is not as simple as it seems and actually entails a lot of work on many people's part!

Criminal Element and a Goodreads Giveaway

I've got two things to report today. First is an article I wrote for Criminal Element , "a community website featuring daily content for fans of the crime and mystery genres in all of their forms." The article is titled "Murder in the Great Outdoors." It is about the subgenre of mystery novels whose settings are in the outdoors, such as my RM Outdoor Adventures series. You can read the article HERE. It includes a summary of the series of some of my favorite authors in this genre, including Dana Stabenow. The cover art for Dana's latest release in her Kate Shugak series, Bad Blood , is shown below. Please leave a comment at the bottom of the article to let me know what you think of it and to tell me the name of YOUR favorite outdoor mysteries author.


The second thing to report is that I've started a Goodreads giveaway for two free copies of the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series, Fatal Descent , that will be released on June 8th. The cover art is shown below. If you are a Goodreads member, you can enter the giveaway by going HERE. Good luck!