Kate Collins's Blog, page 133

Cover story!

 BY VICTORIA ABBOTT AKA MARY JANE AND VICTORIA MAFFINI

This past week, we revealed our cover for the fifth book collector mystery, The Hammett Hex. We got a lot of great comments about the cover and, indeed, we love it.  Many of you have mentioned this on Facebook as well, but we know that not all of you are there.  So here goes:


Of course, we love the pug and the sense of mystery.  The broken window gives us the shivers.
While we were showing it off, some of our readers have asked where we get our covers done and we thought it might be fun to talk about that and about what makes a good cover.
First let us say that we have been very pleased with all the covers in the book collector series.  There have been two different cover artists, but they both totally 'got it'.  If you're interested in the process, the publisher commissions the artist to do a painting and  the artist tries to reflect concepts from the book.  
This painting is then turned into a cover design by the publisher through the art department.  Cover design is an art in itself, the colors, the placement of the words, the fonts – if there is a cover quote. An appealing cover is very good news for the author and for the reader.  The reader will draw some conclusions from the cover, such as ‘there will be a pug in it’, there will be a bookstore, and it will be a cozy mystery.  You may even draw a conclusion about where the book is set.  You could be right.
Publishing houses and difference sub-genres have their own style of cover and not every cover pleases the author, especially those where the cat or the dog is just plain wrong.
Cozy covers tell you, in their own gentle way, that there won’t be explicit sex, a lot of ‘language’ or graphic violence. They also suggest there will be a comfortable and interesting ‘everyday world’ for the protagonist and her (usually a her!) friends, family and pets. It may also give you an idea that the writer will woo your through your senses: the taste of cookies, the silkiness of a cat’s fur, the scent of a flowering bush.  You get the idea!

The big publishers rarely take cover suggestions from authors. Smaller ones may be willing to.  MJ was lucky enough to be able to suggest a cover to her Canadian publisher for her second Fiona Silk comic mystery, Too Hot to Handle. It was a painting by a certain  Victoria Maffini , who as you probably know is half of Victoria Abbott, with MJ being the other half.  MJ sent the image to the publisher and she agreed to use it for the book.  As many things catch fire in Too Hot to Handle, it seemed right.   


MJ tried to buy the painting itself, but before that could happen, the painting (which was part of an exhibit) was purchased and on its way to Nova Scotia with its new owner.  As we were both born in NS, that seemed not too bad. 
And now a walk on the strange side:  Speak Ill of the Dead, MJ's first Camilla MacPhee book featured a cover with a cat and tulips, both of which featured in the book. The book was translated into  Russian by a small publisher in Ukraine. We'll spare you the cover which featured a naked woman lying in a patch over her eyes, lying upside down in a pool of blood. The worst cover anywhere and NOT an image from the book. The publisher was so horrified that she called from home to apologize when she saw the cover.  Oddly enough, it sold very well in Russia.   Some of the chicks have fabulous indie books and even multiple indie series as you know. Indie authors are in charge of everything:  arranging for cover art and design as well as all the other editorial and production. They often end up with spectacular covers as well as creative control.  Who doesn’t love to be in charge of their own books? 
Here’s a great cover for Golden Girl from The Hollywood Nights Series, our own Mary Kennedy’s YA series.  Don't you get the sense of the book?   As you can see Mary is having fun writing this series and getting the word out.  I love the teaser too.

And can't you feel the romantic tension in the covers of Maggie Sefton's historical The Widow and the Rogue. series?  I love this cover too. It made me want to dive right in to find out what happened between them, and of course, the mystery too.


Our Lorraine Bartlett, as you know, has several series.  I do not believe she ever sleeps.  From her compelling Jeff Resnick mysteries (as L.L. Bartlett), here's what I think it a terrific cover and of course, I love Jeff!

As you can see, we all have a lot going on.  Hope you liked the cover talk. The Chicks have so many great covers, it was hard to narrow it down.  We may have to revisit this topic again.
We hope you will feel free to pop in and talk covers (what do you like?). Do you choose a book by its cover?  We want to know.  And by the way, if you have trouble posting comments here on the blog, perhaps try a different browser.    Don’t forget to join us here on the Cozy Chicks Blog every Saturday for Spotlight, a new Cozy Chicks feature when we each take a Saturday a month (and Duffy takes a Sunday) to introduce you to some of our characters with a bit more detail.  Get to know us better!  
I'll see you on Saturday when we'll spend a bit of time with Jordan Bingham from our book collector mysteries.  

Oh spring where art thou...

I’m not wishing my life away but when it’s cold and snowy I do tend to think about spring. I make a list of stuff that’s got to be done... clean out the garage, pressure was the fence, trim the bushes…
And I like to plan my garden. Nothing is more fun than thumbing through Burpee’s Catalog and picking out new flowers I’m putting in. I think of color schemes, blooming time, how often do I have to water these things. What to put in the containers, what to plant in the front of the house, the back, at the mailbox.
Consider the colors to use next year, maybe mix it up a little from last year.
The flowerpots are shade with elephant ears in the middle and impatients or begonias. I get sweet potato plant for filler and maybe toss in something that looks good at the nursery.
The front of the house has hydrangeas but I fill in with more begonias. I’m thinking the red with variegated leaves this year as my house is used brick.
And then there are the pots for the ends of the trellis. More shade. Yellow begonias are amazing and bloom like mad. More potato vines to trail down and sway in the breeze.
This year I’m adding herbs...at least the deer won’t eat them. Lord be praised!!
I have to spray the flowers…roses, hydrangeas and all the rest ever other week with Liquid Fence. It smells like rotten eggs, so gross. No wonder the deer don’t eat the stuff that it’s on.



So what about you? Are you dreaming of your garden? Making plans, salivating over the Burpee cataloge?

Enjoying Winter

by Maggie Sefton




It's January, and that's when Colorado normally gets some nice snowstorms and
several inches of snow.    Even thought it's cold in the Winter, our cold here in Colorado is a dry low humidity cold.    Consequently, we don't feel the cold that much.  At least, it doesn't feel like a deep freeze.   I've often told people  that 25 degrees in Colorado feels like 40+ degrees Back East with the humidity.  Now that cold Back East really, really felt cold.  It penetrated through all your clothes and into your bones.     Brrrrrrr!


When our family lived in Indiana where my husband was a professor at Purdue University (wonderful university, by the way), I thought I would freeze to death.  I've never been so cold.  There were periods of Below Zero wind chill.  I still remember---and shudder---the Indiana winter when we had regular days of 60 degrees below zero wind chill.  Yes. . . .you read that right.  It was 60 degrees BELOW ZERO wind chill.  And, brother. . . I can tell you, it felt that way.  I've never been so cold in my entire life.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!


They say (whoever in the world "They" are) that each person has an ability to tolerate either cold or heat.  One more than the other.  Not both.  I believe that.  I've always been able to tolerate heat.  And I have friends who simply suffer in the summer, especially Back East where it's humid.  Gee. . .years ago in----you guessed it-----Indiana.  There were some summers where the July temperatures would reach 108 degrees, 110 degrees, even 115 degrees one year.  WITH over 98% humidity!  Yikes!!   I still remember that summer.  :)  


Lots of marvelous old memories from our years in Indiana.   When my husband and I arrived in 1973 with two little girls (and we went on to have two more daughters while we lived there) the Hoosiers, as Indiana natives are called, told us that in Indiana  "If it was tall, it was corn.  If it was short, it was soybeans."  And, you know. . . they were right.  :)   Do any of you have weather memories from your states or "farming memories?"  Why not share them with the rest of us?  We'll enjoy them together.

BE SMART ABOUT YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

By Mary Kennedy
                               

Now that the fun and hoopla of celebrating is over, we're facing a whole New Year. That's a good thing, right? But what shall we do about those dreaded New Year's resolutions? Fess up. Have you made the same goals, year after year? I bet most of us have.                                                           
Did you know that 80% of people have abandoned their New Year's resolution by mid-February? Oh no! That's discouraging. What's the answer?                                                                                                                     
The answer is to be SMART when choosing your goals. When you think you have a goal, test it against the SMART model. Is it really a goal, or is it just a dream?
Here's how to test your goal. Ask yourself these questions. Suppose you say your goal is "I want to lose weight."
S = Specific. Is your goal specific? "I want to lose weight" isn't specific. It's doesn't mention how much, or how you will do it or when you will accomplish it.
M=Measurable.  How much weight do you want to lose? The goal as you've written it is too vague. Without a number, there is no way to tell if you've reached your goal or failed.
A = Action steps. The goal listed above doesn't include any action steps. Will you join a gym? Walk 3 miles a day? Take 10,000 steps every day and wear a pedometer to make sure you do? Without action steps, your goal is meaningless.
R=Realistic. Again, your goal is so vague, it's impossible to tell if it is realistic or not. Losing a pound or two is realistic. Losing 20 pounds in a month is not.
T= Time based. This is where most goals fail. There is no deadline and the goals are carried over from year to year. There has to be deadline, or you don't have a goal, you have a dream. Dreams are fun, but let's face it, they don't get you where you want to go.                                                       
So write out your goals, test them against the SMART model and good luck!
By Mary Kennedy

If you need a reason to celebrate ...

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

I must confess, that I haven't ever eaten a fresh apricot. They just don't seem to be available where I live (or if they, the grocery stores hide them from me), but I have eaten dried apricots.  (Yum!)  And here's a nice recipe you might want to make for a Happy Hour snack. I've included it in my cookbook, RECIPES TO DIE FOR: A Victoria Square Cookbook.

Bacon-Wrapped Apricots
Ingredients
1 package (14 ounces) dried apricots
½ cup whole almonds
1 pound sliced bacon
¼ cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons salt-reduced soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC, Gas Mark 5). Fold each apricot around an almond. Cut bacon strips into thirds. Wrap a strip around each apricot and secure it with a toothpick.  Place on two foil-lined ungreased baking trays. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until the bacon is crisp, turning once. In a small saucepan, combine the jelly and soy sauce and cook and stir over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove apricots from the baking pan and set on paper towels to drain. Serve with the sauce for dipping.
Yield:  Approximately 4 ½ dozen

Do you have a recipe using apricots you'd like to share?

On the Writing Road again!

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

Wow -- two weeks off and I almost forgot to write my blog post for today.  Why?  Because I'm WRITING AGAIN!

Over the holidays, one of my readers/Facebook friend suggested I listen to an a capella group called Straight, No Chaser.  Well, four albums later, there's a song that really makes me feel like I'm back to being WRITER ME.  Mind you, I've never been a huge Willie Nelson fan, but this version of On The Road Again/I Play The Road sort of gave me the confidence to get back to my real job: writer.  It's something I've done for over 40 years, but I really got stalled after my Mum's death (which she would not be happy about. She used to grill me: "Did you get your words today???")

Anyway, you can listen to a version of the song by clicking this link.

I'm working on a couple of projects. Laurie Cass and I are just finishing up the next Victoria Square book, Dead, Bath and Beyond (which will be released on December 6th -- and by the way, we're REALLY excited about the book.  I can tell you one thing, it's got a real-page turning ending, and few surprises. Click here to read more about it!)  We've seen a work-up of the cover and it is wonderful!  Here's just a snippet of it.

My agent tells me I might see the contract for the next (to me) Booktown Mystery soon, too!

I'm also working every day on the next Jeff Resnick Mystery, which is tentatively called Unfinished Business. I've made a graphic to inspire me, too.  (Still trying to figure out what a cover design might be.)  I'm hoping the book will be available this summer.

Of course, every book is different.  For Unfinished Business, I seem to be writing 99% of it longhand.  Hey, as long as the words keep flowing, I'm okay with that.

In the meantime, I'm just happy to be writing again.

Something New at the Chicks!

Hi Chicks! 
It’s a New Year and there’s something new going on here at the Chicks on the weekends.
The five of us are doing Spotlights where we talk about our books, characters, settings, how we come up with whodoneit, and our lives as writers. This will give you a chance to ask questions and get to know us... and we’ll get to know you.
We’re doing reader interviews. If you’re up to being interviewed email DuffyBrown@Brown.com. Meeting readers is the very best part of writing!
We’ll also post our fav recipes and hope you share some of yours.

To start things off... I’m spotlighting one of my characters, Auntie KiKi from my Consignment Shop series. Auntie KiKi is the auntie we should all have in our lives. She’s a family-first kind of Southern gal, auntie to Reagan the main character in the series. She’s a leap before she looks kind of gal getting herself and everyone into more trouble than they bargained for.



Auntie KiKi lives in a big Queen Ann next to Reagan house hat’s been in her husband’s family since before Sherman parked his unwelcome hide in Savannah. She teaches dancing so the young people of Savannah don’t look like idiots at their cotillion and so that the not so young can show off at their 50thanniversary party.  

Back in the day Kiki was a roadie for Cher and never quite left the tour. From time to time she spouts Cheri-isms such as… The trouble with women is that they get all excited about nothing then marry him. 
She started teaching dance to finance her husband through medical school. Uncle Putter…everyone calls him that because he carries around a putter, not that he’s obsessed with golf or anything…is now a top surgeon in Savanna but KiKi is still teaching dance lessons. Mostly it’s to finance her guilty pleasure of designer purses and it keeps her up on the Savannah gossip. She’s the biggest leaf on the kudzu vine. 
KiKi drives a BMW that she and Reagan call the Batmobile when they are out hunting down a killer and this happens more then normal. Seems as though Reagan has a dead body affliction where she stumbles across a lot of dead bodies. Her explanation for this is that when he divorced Hollis-the-horrible the god’s took one lifeless piece of crud from her life and are now determined to fill the gap with a whole lot more.

This gives you a little glimpse into the life of Auntie KiKi. I think she’s the wild side in all of us, the side we wish we had the guts to be all the time. She says things I wish I’d said to that creep at the party, the bully in the eighth grade who made fun of my braces, the waiter who gave me bad service, the neighbor who snubs me.  Next book maybe I’ll do in that neighbor. 
KiKi and Reagan often sit on Reagan’t front porch, swill martinis and discuss the case they are working on. Some times it’s a two olive case, some times a three olive case. 

If you have any question about KiKi, the series, Savannah, etc ask away. I’ll give away two Demise in Denim totes to kick things off.
Hugs, Duffy 
http://www.DuffyBrown.com  

Digging out in January!

BY MARY JANE MAFFINI aka Victoria Abbott 

I may be the only person who loves January.  I say that honestly even though I am tucked at my desk with giant wool socks and a blanket and a pair of warm dogs to keep me alive. Outside it is minus 15 F. with the wind chill.   Don’t ever let anyone tell you wind chill is not a real thing!
It looks like this from my window.  

But I am inside.  Christmas and New Year (and all the fun that the season brings) are over!  This year it seemed that every person we knew had at least one social event.  I am trying to disguise my four brand new pounds with layers of sweaters. 
Even so, I love January, because it is a clean slate, a time of new beginnings.  January is my one kick at the de-cluttering can.  I love it.  This year our recycle bin will win some kind of quantity prize, I’m sure.   The award for most useless paper pile goes to … MY NAME HERE.
First and most critical stop on the de-cluttering tour is my office. Since last January, every piece of paper and object in my office has either moved around or multiplied. Some have done both. Books have left their regular homes and migrated to the sofa, the floor, the stool and the chairs. Yes, there were some on the desk too.
In fifteen to thirty minutes a day this week, I have already found four missing books, six (!) misplaced memory sticks, hiding in a cute little decorative box and buried under books.  Three treasured recipe clippings and our family cookbook were located in a place they must have walked to, because there’s no other logical explanation. 
My two-pound wrist weights were hiding in the drawer with the small envelopes.  They’re now back where they belong.   And then there were the glass knitting needles … not sure where they should reside, but they’d make a good weapon for a book in future (note to self!). 

I am also still scratching my pointed little head over the discovery of two ‘cat hats’ (made for a particularly silly blog about the princess dachshunds trying to trick the cat next store into letting down its guard “Here Kitty Kitty”). Not sure how the hats ended up in the shelf with the file folders and printer paper.   

All kidding aside, but disorder breeds when there are multiple demands, deadlines and generally rushing about.  Drafts, edits and proof reading take a toll and the edits and page proofs often require very quick turnaround, meaning everything else goes on the back burner!  I have to work from printed paper so have to print things out. I miss too many errors on-screen.  So the mess is all mine and I can’t blame it on anyone else.  Lucky there are tools for the great dig-out.
There’s a shelf of organizing books in this office but the one I find most helpful is Death Loves a Messy Desk, one of my own from my Charlotte Adams series.  This month, I’ll use the tips at the top of each chapter in Death Loves a Messy Desk to help me conquer my own self-induced writer’s clutter.  

I’ll add this new tip: Stop clipping recipes and articles start saving links instead.  Note to self: Really, self, six month old recipes are so not appealing.  
My long-winded point is that this office clearing exercise is fun!  It’s indoor, calming and a half-hour a day will change my work world.  I could put on some Classic Rock if I wanted to pick up the pace. Or some Baroque music if I need to calm down.   Either would be lovely and in the end, I’ll have a calm and organized space, at least until the next edits.
How about you? Got any January tips or suggestions?  Maybe you’ve just decided to curl up and read and you'll offer that as advice.Let’s hear what you have to say!


 

Jeans…in or out

Do you wear jeans? Is there an age that you should not wear jeans?
I’ve asked myself this over and over. I’m getting to be a person of a certan age and should I still wear jeans? I know I know, wear what you want and live with it but there are times when one should hang it up.
Pants are so much easier to buy but jeans are a total pain. Not all jeans look good on every type.  Skinnies tend to emphasize a boyish shape. Well forget that my shape is now droopy,  I passed boy long time ago.
And the big question is...what kind of jeans? The average woman tries on 25 pair of jeans before she finds one she likes and here’s the reason…
Zippers on the sides give the illusion of curves. If there is one thing I do not need is more curves. I have curves where no woman should have curves. The zippers on jeans add an edgy feel. I’m way over edgy. Fact is I’ve fallen off edgy.
Dark wash and bootcut elongate your legs. Okay, I like this. I’m shrinking anything elongated is good.
Boyfriend styles are always tight. Not sure what a boyfriend jean is but I’m done with tight. 
Distressed jeans makes thighs look bigger. Lord knows I don’t need that."I've been battling muffin top since I had a baby and they say that a jeans that are higher waist helps keep it under control. I’m in with that! But if you are short-waisted high-rise cuts go up to your boob. With getting shorter I’m afraid of the boob thing.
There are jeans with hidden panels that sucks in my belly. That works as long as it’s not so tight I pass out.
Pockets are good but tilted pockets and exaggerate your backside. This is so not good. I like detailed pockets, but they give me more junk in my trunk. I do not need a trunk full of junk. I have enough junk, thank you very much. But slight distressing makes jeans look less blah but and subtle stitching stands out without adding bulk! I sure have enough of that.
I have found jeans at Chico that work pretty well. They are the Oh so lifting jeans. They lift all my sagging and those jeans sure have their work cut out for them.



So what about you. Jeans or no jeans? Is there an age when you should hang up the denim? Have you found a brand of jeans that you like?

Back on the Straight and Narrow

by Maggie Sefton





The Cozy Chicks are paying attention to comments from our readers on The Cozy Chicks Group Facebook page.   This week, I'm highlighting the two E-shorts I've written and which are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other E-book retailers.   The first is  "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?"  It's an in depth look at all of the characters in the Kelly Flynn Mystery series.  The second is  "Halloween Scare" which is a surprising and  dramatic episode with the Kelly Flynn characters which takes place between YARN OVER MURDER and this year's new release PURL UP AND DIE.   

                                                                                           



Oh, my.  Am I ready to have the holidays over.  I absolutely love this time of year with visits to family and friends and lots of yummy, yummy food surrounding everything.  And I DO mean everything.  Especially tempting are all those desserts and goodies.  Since I have a sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate, this is a fun, fabulous, but fattening time of year.


So----January has always been my lifeline.  I know that I can finally turn away from all those fattening treats.  First order of business:  DON'T KEEP THEM IN THE HOUSE!   Not in the fridge, not in the cabinets.  No, nein, nyet!   January is the time to get back on what I call the Straight and Narrow.  :)  Yes, I know that sounds weird.  But all it means is I go back to my normal healthy eating habits----Lean meat, chicken or fish, veggies, and lots of salads.  I adore fresh spinach so salads are easy for me to wolf down.  I always buy one of those big rectangular plastic tubs with Baby Spinach.


BTW, for the past several years (probably 8+), I've also made it a point to choose free range grass-fed beef,  cage-free chickens, and wild-caught fish.  And I make it a point to learn where the grocery stores supplies of veggies and fruits come from and who raised them.  Yes, that costs a little more, but it's really not much.


What methods do you folks use to attack/lose/get ride of  any "extra"weight gain from the holidays?

Our readers have also asked for more information about the other books and stories we are writing.  Therefore, you will see me mention more often the other fiction I write, apart from the Kelly Flynn Mysteries.