Kate Collins's Blog, page 268

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly -- and the Beautiful

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

[image error] I recently sent out a letter to the readers on my newsletter list outlining my good and bad fortune.  You see, the good was that my publisher paid to have my most recent book, The Walled Flower, get special placement in Barnes & Noble in February when it debuted.  (In the "step" displays at the front of the store.)

The bad?  That despite their best efforts, the book did not sell as well as it might have.  After all, most of my readers know me as Lorna Barrett NOT Lorraine Bartlett (which happens to be my real name).   It was the 2nd book in the series, while the next Booktown Mystery, Murder On The Half Shelf, will be #6 in the series.  I've had far more time to build readership in that name.  (And have had a terrible time trying to let those readers know that Lorraine and Lorna are one and the same.)

The ugly?  The books that didn't sell were likely to be stripped.  Stripped means the booksellers rip off the covers, throw the books into their Dumpsters, and then return the covers for FULL CREDIT.  Meanwhile, the author is (financially) penalized for the books that didn't sell. 

[image error] I went to every Barnes & Noble store I could and signed all the copies they had in hopes that the books would have a second chance at selling, simply because they were autographed.  But there's just one of me, and I only managed to hit 10-12 stores.

Thankfully, many of my readers around the country came to my rescue.  They went out and bought extra copies of the book from their local Barnes & Noble.  In fact, one of my readers, her sister and mother, bought FIFTEEN COPIES and gave them to friends.

FIFTEEN COPIES.  And gave them to friends.

I cannot fathom the kindness (and the financial sacrifice) behind such a generous act.

I am very, very grateful for the loyalty of my readers.

[image error] If you liked the first book and are still on the fence about buying the second, I hope you'll take the opportunity to do so soon.  Thank you for all who stepped up to rescue my book.  You will never know how your kindness has affected me, and I promise I will pay it forward.

Meanwhile, if you bought a copy of The Walled Flower and would like an autographed bookplate, I would be very happy to send one to you.  Just send your request to me at LLB(AT)LLBartlett(DOT)com, along with your snail mail address, and I'll pop one (and a few bookmarks) in the mail.

Thank you!


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May All Your Weeds Be Wildflowers

By Heather


May all your weeds be wildflowers...
That’s an inscription I use when I autograph some of my Nina Quinn books (A Hoe Lot of Trouble, et al), and I love the connotation behind it. That one should look deeper than what’s on the surface and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Plenty of metaphors to be had for life, for love, for friendships.
That being said, when it comes to the actual garden...I’m not all that fond of weeds. We have some prickly weeds that have the most tenacious root system I’ve ever come across. And chickweed. Ugh. It's everywhere. And then there are the dandelions, with their flirty white puffs. Love them in the wild. Hate them in my garden beds.
Every year, I tend to add more perennials to my garden. Some survive, some don’t. The thing is, I can never remember what I planted and where. So come spring, it’s quite the conundrum trying to figure out if what is sprouting is a weed or a perennial.
So, I let them grow. And grow. And grow. And sometimes what blooms is a beautiful flowering plant (like this year’s lobelia), and sometimes...it’s obvious it’s a weed. But even when it’s obvious it’s a weed, I let it keep growing.
Because sometimes weeds are wildflowers in disguise.
I was rewarded this year. The two-foot tall weed that grew produced delicate yellow flowers (no idea what the weed is). For a while, that yellow was the only color in the garden and never failed to brighten my day. It didn’t take long, however, for the weed to start to wither and flop over. I pulled it out, but you can bet that next year at this time I’ll be looking for it again.
The chickweed, however, is a goner.
How about you? Do you ever let your weeds grow?
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Picking Ourselves Apart

Two weeks ago while I was scrambling to get ready for the Malice Domestic Conference, I seemed to come up with a list a mile long of the things I needed to take care of before I left. First of all, my toenails looked awful. The polish was chipped and my big toenail was uneven.
My fingernails were in worse shape.
My eyebrows seemed way overgrown. Surely, someone would notice that they needed a serious wax job.
Oh, and that drew my eye to my hair. What were all of those gray roots sprouting up from my part? I had to get my color touched up.
And my teeth? Too yellow. They needed to be bleached with my at-home kit right quick!
Suddenly, I had too many wrinkles, my skin was too pale, and I didn’t like the outfits I’d picked out to wear.
Why do we women do this to ourselves?  We make ourselves crazy when in truth, no one would notice my roots or my eyebrows or my nails. They’d notice whether I smiled or laughed or seemed happy. They’d listen to my stories and accept my hugs and sit in panels or at restaurants with me. That helped me relax a little (though I still got my roots done!)
When you have a big event coming up, what crazy things do you obsess about?
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Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest - Answer

Here's your answer! Lots of correct guesses this time, but this month's $10 ecard goes to Karen Allen.

Congrats!
Tune in next month for another contest and thanks for playing![image error]

Mystery Dogs

I've known Tom Schreck since the beginning of my publishing career when we were both newbies. He's compassionate, funny, as loyal to his friends as Al, and a great writer. Make sure you read the small print at the end of his post. You might win a Kindle Fire! Deb

What’s a dog’s job in a mystery?

Allah King, my mystery series’ Black Muslim basset hound (often shortened to “Al”) was important enough to be featured on the cover of my first four books. He returns in my fourth, The Vegas Knockout and once again plays a significant role.

Dogs do a variety of things in plots. Sometimes they are, well, merely pets that accompany their humans occasionally or curl up on the couch with the protag at the end of the day. On the other extreme we’ve seen dogs as first person narrators like the series that features a basset hound that believes he’s Elvis Presley incarnate.

Al falls somewhere in the middle. He stays very true to the basset form and, trust me, I’ve done a dozen years of research on this aspect of my books. He’s obstinate, disobedient, self-absorbed and flatulent…and he also has some negative qualities. He barks loudly early in the morning, he indiscriminately fornicates, sometimes with inanimate objects and he distrusts people with headphones.

He’s been known to dis my main character Duffy frequently and on those odd occasions when Duff is about to get lucky, he’s injected his own effective birth control method christened basset-interruptus. He’s also fiercely loyal and when needed he has come up big more than once.

When he comes up big it is open to the readers’ interpretation just like dog behavior is often up to the interpretation of the owner. When Al plays with the vicious pit bull, teasing him to chase him and then quickly ducks underneath a stone bench so the pit konks his head, we are left to wonder if he was just recreating the game he plays every morning that results in Duffy cracking a shin. Or was he setting up a bully to get his comeuppance?

Well, maybe we don’t have to wonder too much.

When Al comforts kids and growls at bad guys I don’t ever feel as a writer I’m jumping any sharks. My bassets are therapy dogs that go to work with me at my day gig where I work in a school for kids with autism. My first hound Buddy would threaten the water delivery man’s life every time that interloper had the nerve to deliver H20 but when a kid who might have a loud tic, Tourette’s or poor coordination would come into the office Bud would lay down and offer his belly.

Bud died way too soon, right around the time I was trying my hand at this mystery writing thing. I made a promise to him that I’d always have a rescue hound and if the damn manuscript ever got published I’d kick in some of the money to basset rescue. That was seven years ago and now my wife and I tour the basset rescue circuit selling books, auctioning off character names (human and canine) and getting drooled on. Last year I’m proud to say we went over the $20,000 mark for donations.

No one has to convince me of the magic that comes with hounds and I think it explains why so many waddle their way into the pages of mysteries. Personally, I don’t want them to have super powers. I like it when, as a reader, I have to wonder a little bit about the dog’s intention and the role of coincidence. That’s what it’s like in real life.

Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not so sure. Sometimes when I write something I get a little twinge in my gut. I heard Stephen King once say that you can write anything as long as it is “true.” He wasn’t talking about fiction and non-fiction. I think he was talking about that twinge I get in my gut.

I’m thinking back to Bud’s visits to school, to nursing homes and to the VA and how people smiled, kids calmed and old folks perked up.

I don’t wonder about Bud’s intentions.

Nor do I wonder if he had super powers.
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Tom Schreck writes the Duffy Dombrowski Mysteries and his newest release The Vegas Knockout, will be available on May 15. Visit www.tomschreck.com and “like” his fan page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DuffyDombrowski for a chance to win a Kindle Fire. [image error]

Writers Write Lots of Books

by Maggie Sefton

Hi, Everyone!  Today I promised to tell you about my latest E-book which has just been published by Barnes & Noble's NookFirst program.  Some of you may have discovered my first pubbed amateur sleuth mystery, DYING TO SELL, which was E-pubbed in late January.  DYING TO SELL is available on Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Apple's iPad and other formats. 

This new E-book, however, is not a mystery. ABILENE GAMBLER is a Historical Western Romance.  But----there are mysteries layered throughout the story.  It seems I can't help but put a mystery in everything I write. All of my historicals, in fact, had mysteries woven throughout them---whether they were medievals or 1800's American settings.

[image error] ABILENE GAMBLER is an old-fashioned Western.  It's got villains to hiss and heroes to cheer.  The heroine, Samantha Winchester, is a Confederate widow who's literally selling the roof over their heads to protect what's left of her family in Savannah, GA.  She's gambling everything on a new life in the rough and ready cowtown of Abilene, Kansas.  The hero, Jack Barnett, is a former Union officer who is trying to restore his name after being unjustly accused and imprisoned during the War.  Believe me, both these characters have a LOT of baggage---which makes it great fun for the author.  :) 

There's also two bossy maiden aunts, Samantha's cute little son Davy, her sweet younger sister Becky, a cowardly deputy sheriff named Clyde who served with Jack during the War, and a handsome young Texan named Cody Barnes (who takes a shine to Becky).  There are also evil villains to make life difficult for everyone.  An embezzler is robbing the Army blind in Abilene, and Jack Barnett has agreed to find him and bring him to justice.  Little does Jack know, by doing so he'll risk both his life as well as Samantha's. 

Sparks fly between these two, of course.  Did I mention it was a romance?    That means there are, oh my goodness. . .real love scenes.  We cozy mystery authors can't give readers "real" love scenes.  :)  But, romance writers do.  But. . .don't worry.  If love scenes aren't your cup of tea, simply skip over them.  :)  There are only two real love scenes in the entire novel (lots of story going on).  So, it shouldn't be a problem.

If you're interested and want a "change of pace" from the cozy mysteries, go over to http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ and check under Maggie Sefton.  You'll see it listed there.  It will be available only on Barnes and Noble's Nook until the end of May.  Then, ABILENE GAMBLE will also be available on Amazon's Kindle, Apple's iPad, and other formats.  Enjoy! 
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Is That a Wrap?

by Kate Collins

“Will that be to go?”
I’m the one in the restaurant who always answers "yes." Well, let’s qualify that. Unless the food is bad, I’m the lady with the leftovers.
I love leftovers and I’m not ashamed to ask for them to be wrapped. If I enjoy what I’m eating, I can’t wait to eat it again the next day. And now that I’m alone, those leftovers mean I don’t have to scrounge for something to eat, because I don’t usually cook for myself.
When family comes in, however, I pull out the pots and pans and get out my old favorite recipes and cook up a storm. And being a woman of the “cook once, eat three times” generation, boy do I have leftovers.
My favorites for reheating are: spaghetti, chili, beef stew made with a wine sauce, and Italian meatballs. (In case you’re interested, three of those recipes can be found in our brand new “Cozy Chicks Kitchen” recipe book.
How about you? Do you clean your plate (also my generation) or are you like me, a leftover fan? Do you cook extra meals and freeze them? What are your favorites to reheat?[image error]

Southern Charm

by Leann

Last week I had fun traveling to Bethesda and the Malice Domestic Conference. It was so great to meet up with writer and reader friends face-to-face. My panel assignment was "Southern Mysteries" and during our discussion I reflected on why a woman born in New York writes about the South.

Moving to Texas was pure culture shock for me thirty-seven years ago. I honestly had trouble understanding what people said--and more often what they really meant. You will hardly ever hear a Southerner say "no" to anything. If they don't want to do something, the route they take to tell you so is circuitous, to say the least. In Niagara Falls, where I grew up, we didn't have a simple "no" either. More like "hell, no!"

Why write about the South, then? Because I have been a student of this culture and the learning curve is gigantic. I find it fascinating and most often, pleasant. Truly, I was surprised the first time I went to the grocery store and people nodded and smiled and said hello to this stranger. Nice. There seem to be more secrets in this part of the country, too. What better way to build a mystery than to explore one of them?

My knowledge of the culture came to fruition while at the airport on my return from my trip. The luggage carousal with my suitcase chugged by and I was so very tired. I saw three men in cowboy hats a few feet to my right and I pointed and called, "Could one of y'all grab my suitcase?"

"Yes, ma'am," came their unison reply. The biggest man took over, hefted it off the conveyor. And believe me, he did have to heft. With a smile, he pushed it my way. Then, in pure Texas fashion, he said, "Ma'am, you've been on quite a shopping trip."

Yup. That's Southern charm in action.[image error]

Autographs, anyone?

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

As most of you know, the Cozy Chicks have published our first joint effort--The Cozy Chicks Kitchen, filled with recipes from our own lives and those of our characters.  So far, readers seem to like it.  (Whew!)

The folks who picked up the trade paperback edition of the cookbook at the Malice Domestic mystery conference last weekend received a copy that was autographed by all seven of the Chicks.  Guess what, if you bought the paperback edition, you too can enjoy the same perk.  The Cozy Chicks are offering--and for free--a signed bookplate to anyone who purchases the book. All you have to do is send us an email at cozychicks(at)gmail(dot)com and include your snail mail address.  No strings attached.

Even better--if you review the cookbook on either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, we'll send you Cozy Chicks swag.  (Which includes bookmarks from all the Chicks, plus a bonus recipe card and an incredibly cute teapot cookie cutter.)

How can you miss?
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Good News

By Heather
The first bit of good news is announcing the winner of the Malice goodies. My daughter chose a random number between 1-24 (the # of comments on last week's post) and the winner is...Breaunna Miller. Congratulations, Breaunna! Send me your snail mail address, and I'll send you some cool Malice swag.

The second bit of news is that I just heard that Absolutely, Positively, the third book in my Lucy Valentine series won best mystery of 2011 by Romance Reviews Today. I'm beyond thrilled! A big THANK YOU to RRT. They've always been so supportive of my books, and this is just icing on the cake. Click for a list of all the winners.
And the third bit of news, which is more interesting than good, is that I received a Google alert yesterday telling me that I have a Wikipedia page. Not sure who set it up, but thank you to whoever did. It's very well done! I need to add a couple of books, but other than that, it's fairly complete.
Have you had any good news lately?