Stacy Verdick Case's Blog, page 16

We Have Audio!

I am so excited! I just approved the final edits on the audio book version of A Grand Murder.

This project was so important to me, because my mother has macular degeneration. As I wrote in an earlier post, my Mom was probably the single biggest influence on me becoming a writer. She certainly was the biggest influence on me becoming a reader.  The thought of her not being able to enjoy what I write was heartbreaking to me.

I lobbied hard for an audio book and in a short time all that hard work will pay off!

I am so proud that people with vision problems, people whose reading time is their commute, or people who just like to listen to book instead of reading them will have access to A Grand Murder.

Today is another day of gratitude for me. I am so thankful.

 

All Grand (Murder) Tours Must Come To An End.

Alas, it is the final leg of our Grand (Murder) Tour.  It's been a lot of fun and I am so excited to be part of Roseanne Dowell's blog for the final day of the tour!

Stop by Roseanne Dowell's blog by clicking here to read my guest post of the dreaded writers block (gasp!).

Thank you to everyone who followed along on the Grand (Murder) Tour!

Wanted One Editor Who Can Think Beyond Their Last Best Seller

I was on a job board recently looking at writing jobs when I came across an ad from a freelance writer, who is now working on a novel,  who is seeking a publisher. I had to read it twice to make sure I hadn't read it wrong. While I celebrate the optimism with which this person posted the ad, I don't think it's going to work.

I'm imagining a bunch of editors, and agents, sitting around with empty desk cruising job posting boards going, "There has to be someone who needs me!" Although, with the new wave of self-publishing successes, this could become a reality.

I am still mystified by the foot dragging that went on at major publishing houses when eBooks came to be a reality. You would have thought they would've contacted everyone they'd ever published to try to secure the electronic rights to their back lists. Nope, they let authors jump into those waters themselves where many found a much more lucrative home than they ever did through traditional publishing.

After publishers screamed, "we want a fresh voice!" and then rejected everything innovative that came across their desk, writers decided to take the matter into their own hands. Writers who were told there was no place for their stories in the market have proven publishers wrong and carved out their own markets.

Artist in the music industry have been doing this for years. Take for instance Joan Jett, after the Runaway's broke up no one would give her a record deal, so she created Blackheart Records and released the MONSTER hit I Love Rock-N-Roll. Look at Jay-Z. He couldn't get a record deal so he started his own record company too, and now he's a music mogul.

Publishers scoffed at self-published authors, now they're throwing huge deals at them. After all, the work of finding a market and creating a following was already done, so why not.

So maybe the person who posted the ad looking for a publisher  didn't have it too far wrong. Maybe it will be publishers and editors searching job board looking writers willing to take them on,  instead of the other way around.

Viva La Revolucion!

Day 4 on the Blog Tour & We Are Rocking!

Today's fantastic host for the A Grand Murder blog tour is Typos and All (again a great name for a blog – wish I'd thought of that)!

Find out my answers to the Five Fun Facts, Three Questions, & One Sentence by clicking here to visit Typos and All. This really was a fun interview and I am so grateful to Keena Kincaid from Typos and All for hosting this the 4th day of our tour!

Rolling on Day 3 of the Grand Tour!

We just keep cruising along on the Grand (Murder) Tour! Today my gracious blog host is Beyond the Elements of Style.

Join me today at Beyond the Elements of Style by clicking here and learn how to find more Time to Write (because we can all use that).

Roseanne Dowell Guest Post & Excerpt from Secrets, Lies, & Love

Hi, I'm Meghan Shelby. My parents moved away from Littleton when I was seventeen, but now, here it is ten years later, I'm back.

I inherited the family home, a Queen Anne Victorian from my Aunt Beth. I always loved that house, so needless to say I was excited when I received the letter from my aunt's attorney. Not that my aunt passed away, I was very sad about that, but coming back to Littleton after all this time was exciting.

I'm not sure why we moved away in the first place. It was all kind of sudden and we never came back. Not once in all those years, not even when Gran passed away. I never knew why. Every time I asked, the question went ignored. Eventually, I quit asking.

Anyway, here I was back in the town I loved, standing in front of a dilapidated, rundown home that used to be one of the most elegant in town. Shutters hung by one hinge, windows broken, the porch floor rotted and the back door lock didn't work.

How had Aunt Beth allowed this to happen? I was half afraid to go inside, but curiosity got the best of me and I ventured in. What a mess. It was going to take a lot of money to get this place back to its glory days. And the stench was almost unbearable. Well, no wonder, I discovered a dead body in the living room.

Who he was, or why he was there in my house, I had no idea. For some reason, the sheriff wasn't convinced. To top it all off, he caught me in the arms of my new boss, the principal of the elementary school and the guy I had a crush on all those years ago. Oh, I was hired as school secretary, guess you need to know that.

Needless to say, I was the main topic of conversation around town the next day. Gossipmongers in Littleton were having a ball at my expense.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the next day several eighth grade boys caught the principal kissing me in his office. I'd never live it down. Not that I minded being kissed, especially by Patrick. I just didn't need it spread all over town.

Once I hired a handyman to fix the windows and change the locks, I rolled up my sleeves and got busy scrubbing the place inside so we could paint. I hired high school kids for that job. There was only so much I could do with working full time. But at least I was able to move in.

That's when more trouble started. Someone broke in and I received phone calls warning me to leave. Obviously, someone didn't want me here. If you want to know more, you're going to have to read the book.

Secrets, Lies, & Love is available from Amazon. http://amzn.to/zZznVG

Excerpt:

Meghan loved this time of year, though a little too hot to start school in her opinion. Why they felt the need to go back in August was beyond her. She remembered her mother complaining about it years ago. "What was wrong with starting after Labor Day like they did in my day?" Her mother used to rant and rave for weeks before school started. Even got on the School Board. Not that it changed anything. School still started the last week in August. Meghan smiled at the memory.

Now that she thought about it, it was silly. Like they took the last week of vacation away from the kids. Bet the teachers didn't like it either.

Meghan pulled into the school parking lot. Not much had changed here either. New landscaping, new windows, but that was about it. The old building looked pretty much the same.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty hall. She'd never been in the school when it was empty before. The strong odor of wax and other cleaning products prickled her nostrils. The clean smell lingered through the first few days of school.

It had been a long time since she'd been to the principal's office and she stopped outside, took a deep breath and held it. Here goes nothing. Mr. Duncan said look for Mr. Mac.  He must be new in town. It wasn't a name she remembered. So what was the worse he could say? Letting out her breath, she hurried inside, before her nerve left her. A man stood with his back to her, unpacking a box of books.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for Mr. Mac."

"I'm Mr. Mac." He turned toward her.

Meghan's breath caught in her throat. "Patrick!" The word slipped out of her mouth, before she could stop it. The love of her life stood in front of her, even better looking and sexier than she remembered. Her heart skipped a beat, her legs turned to jelly, and she grabbed the edge of the desk to steady herself.

Patrick smiled at her. That easy smile she remembered from long ago. The smile she used to love. It lit up his eyes.

"Little Meghan Shelby. Not so little anymore I see."

Heat burned her cheeks as Patrick looked her up and down, apparently taking in every inch of her. He remembered her. After all this time he knew who she was. Would wonders never cease?

"Uh, um…" Oh crap. Now wasn't the time to get tongue tied. "You're the principal here?" Lord, could she work for him. See him every day?

"Yes, I am. I heard you were back in town. Are you staying then? Do you want to register your child?"

"Huh?" Her child, was he nuts? "Uh no I'm here about the secretarial position. Mr. Duncan was supposed to call you."

"Really? You want the job?"

"Yes, didn't Mr. Duncan call? He told me to come right over."

"If he did I didn't hear the phone. I've been in and out of the office." He nodded toward the stack of books. "Too busy around here this time of year." Patrick grinned and motioned her into his office. "So tell me about yourself. What qualifies you for the job?"

Qualifications? Think damn it. What was the matter with her? She'd lost all train of thought. "Well, I'm computer proficient. I'm good with math. And I love children." What more could he want?

"I see. So why do you want the position? Tell me about your education."

His deep voice sent shivers down her spine. Meghan couldn't take her gaze from him. All sense of reason flew out the window. She had the most God awful urge to reach up and push his dark hair out of his eyes. "I'm a former Math major, have two years of college. I'm a quick learner." Finally, she looked away.

Website: www.roseannedowell.com

Blog: http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com

Sad and Disappointed

I'm sad and disappointed to have to post that there is a delay in the audio book version of A Grand Murder. The producer who agreed to the project failed to deliver last Friday, said it would be ready by this Friday, and once again I'm left waiting. No word on why the delay, which I think is the most frustrating part.

The blog tour I scheduled was meant to promote the audio book so I have to apologize that I added and now in audio to my tags. Hopefully soon.

The Tour Continues on Day 2!

Today's stop on the Grand Murder Tour brings me to The Gladiator's Pen (what a great name for a blog)! I'm so excited to do a Q&A and a giveaway of A Grand Murder. Click here to hop over to The Gladiator's Pen and find out the three little known facts about me!

Thank you, Gladiator's Pen for hosting me!

Stacy On A Grand (Murder) Tour!

I'm going on tour! A Blog tour that is. I am so excited to be a part of  Marilyn Wiggelsworth's blog today for the first leg of my journey. Please pop over  to Mare's Place by clicking here and discover the "Write" question every beginning writer should be asking.

Up, up and away on the Grand tour or at least the A Grand Murder tour!

I Dreamed A Dream

Susan Boyle is one of my many heroes. I remember when I first saw the video that went viral of Britain's Got Talent. Here was a totally guileless, 40-ish woman in desperate need of a makeover who took the stage and to be honest I wanted to stop the video. I thought it would be one of those awful performers everyone mocks, and I hate that base humor. Audience members sneered (literally watch the video), mocked, and laughed at her, which she seemed oblivious to.  She was there to sing.

Sing she did.

I lost my breath and tears sprang to my eyes at the beauty of her voice. I watched the video three times back to back because I was so in love with not just her voice, but what she had accomplished.

How many of us at Susan's age would be brave enough to take the stage the way she did? Could you?

Is there something that you've held back from doing because you were too afraid of the sneering faces and cutting looks? Because you thought you were too old to try? Something you said you would do . . . someday?

The beauty of a new year is a chance for new possibilities. Someday is now. Write that novel you always talked about. Start that business. Change careers. As William Shakespeare so aptly wrote, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." Now is the time to take the stage and show the world that dreams can and do come true.

Be brave. I'm right here with you.

New Year Blessing to all of you. Thank you for blessing my life.