Barbara Ross's Blog, page 5

Social Media for Readers and Authors

by Barb on a chilly May day in Maine

A couple of weeks ago Edith and I were on a panel at Malice Domestic with Amanda Flower, S.C. Perkins, and Cheryl Hollon, moderated by Dru Ann Love. The topic was “Writing a Series: Keeping it Fresh.”

From left: Dru Ann Love, Amanda Flower, Cheryl Hollon, Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day, Barbara Ross, S.C. Perkins/Celeste Connally

Most of the questions and discussion were about the character and story decisions authors make when writing long-running series, and the craft required to execute them. However, one question about marketing brought about some interesting responses.

Dru Ann asked (paraphrasing): How do you market differently now than you did with earlier books?

The most basic answer to the question is–at this point in our series, all of us have fans. In the beginning, we didn’t.

But there was also a wide-ranging discussion about how authors communicate with fans, and how they find new readers. Honestly, authors have no better answers to this than readers do, or publishers, or anyone else. So I thought I would throw it out to you, dear readers.

Two basic types of communication

There are two basic types of marketing communication between authors and readers.

Book discoverability–finding new readersFan interaction–letting fans know what is new with the author and series, including, in the best of circumstances, (and very, very occasionally in the worst), having meaningful interactions and building relationships.Newsletters

One thing beginning authors rarely have, unless they are public figures in some other field, is an email list. This is a list of fans who have proactively signed up to receive news from the author. These fans are precious and important.

Authors take different approaches to their newsletters. Some send them regularly, others only when they have news. Some newsletters are chatty and personal. Others are “just the facts.” Some offer contests and giveaways. Others do not.

I kind of split it down the middle. I only write when I have news, but I do include a personal note with every mailing. There’s a giveaway when I have something to give, like Advance Reader Copies and the like, and not when I don’t.

You can sign up for my newsletter here.

You can sign up for the Wickeds’ newsletter here.

Facebook

One common way that writers interact with readers is via a Facebook fan page. A fan page differs from a personal profile in that it’s a public place where people you don’t know can find out what you’re up to. My Facebook fan page is here.

This form of communication is exactly what it says it is. It’s for interaction with and between fans. It’s not a good forum for discoverability.

There are also Facebook groups. Unlike fan pages, you must ask to be admitted to the group. I don’t have one, but the Wickeds collectively do. It’s here. One Wicked Author leads a discussion there every day except Sunday.

I also have a personal profile on Facebook, and since many fans and fellow authors become friends, if you can find it, I’ll probably accept your friend request. Unless you are legitimately a widowed foreign general. In that case, I will assume you are fake and send you off into oblivion. I think being a general’s wife must be much more dangerous than being a general, since they are all widowers.

Instagram

Instagram is another way authors keep in touch with fans. I find it’s less about interaction with followers and more about transmitting information via graphics, but that may just be me.

My Instagram page is here.

The Wickeds’ Instagram page is here.

Twitter

Some authors use Twitter heavily and well. It’s not so much a place for either discoverability or communication with fans, though it may serve as either. It is a place to find lively discussions about the business of fiction writing, publishing, and so on.

My Twitter account is here.

The Wickeds’ Twitter account is here.

Pinterest

Pinterest is like a personal digital scrapbook. Readers use it to display book covers, or photos of people who look like the characters or locations in a book. People with similar reading interests do find each via Pinterest.

I use it mostly to collect images associated with each book and to communicate them to my publisher and cover artist. If you want to see how that goes and what the resulting cover looks like you can check it out. You can follow the whole account or a particular board to see what gets added.

My Pinterest profile is here.

TikTok

Along with the social media plan from my publisher for Muddled Through came information about TikTok, and most particularly, the corner of TikTok known as BookTok. I had pretty much decided to sit this one out. I don’t want to see videos of me, and I’m sure you don’t either. And while it may help new readers to find me, I’m not sure the people hanging out there are my target audience.

I hate to be that Old Fogey who refuses to try new things. Especially now that I’m deeply in the Old Fogey age group. But really, enough is a lot.

Goodreads

Goodreads is a place (owned by Amazon) where readers hang out. They review and comment on books, make recommendations and enter giveaways. I always tell new writers to claim their author profile on Goodreads. The readers are going to be there whether you are or not. And, we’re very lucky that the cozy, traditional, and historical mystery subgenres seem to attract far fewer trolls than some others. Both Goodreads and my publisher would like me to be more active on Goodreads–posting reviews, engaging readers with questions, etc. I’m not going to do those things. I think Goodreads is much more a place for readers to engage with each other. But I am there and will answer questions when asked.

My Goodreads page is here. My publisher, Kensington is doing a giveaway right now of 100 ebook copies of Muddled Through.

BookBub

Unlike everything we’ve talked about so far, BookBub is about discoverability. It informs interested readers about deep discounts on ebooks, mostly via a regular daily email about sales in your selected genres. You can also sign up to follow authors to be particularly informed about discounts on their works. And you can follow other members to be informed when there are discounts on books they recommend.

This an an expensive service for publishers, especially in crime fiction where BookBub has its biggest lists of readers. There is also a service called Chirp for discounts on digital audiobooks.

My BookBub profile is here.

You can follow me on Chirp here.

NetGalley

NetGalley is a service that provides readers who frequently write reviews for publications, blogs, retailers, and social media with access to ebooks prior to release. You must request the book and the publisher must approve you. You need to demonstrate that you are posting reviews in order to remain in good standing.

You can see Muddled Through on NetGalley here.

Websites

I often tell new authors your website is your house. It is where you keep your stuff. People will rarely come there unless you invite them or they are specifically looking for you. (Unless you’re a big celebrity in which case busloads full of tourists will drive past your house–to stretch a metaphor to the breaking point.)

When people come to your house, you want to show off your stuff to its best advantage, you want them to be able to find their way around, and you want the plumbing to work.

The main different between new authors and people who’ve been publishing longer is we have a lot more stuff.

I don’t know about you, but when I take the trouble to seek out an author’s website and it seems like a deserted western mining town with tumble weeds blowing down the streets, if the latest books aren’t listed and there’s a tour from 2014 under the Appearances tab, it annoys the heck out of me.

Keep your website up-to-date, authors.

You can visit my website here.

Blogs

I have been incredibly privileged to be part of this blog for nine years. The Wickeds have had unusual longevity and a stable group of authors. We work hard AND we are lucky. This is a multi-author blog for writers and readers who have a common interest in related subgenres and in crime fiction in general. It is mostly for fans, though there is no question fans of one of us often become fans of all of us.

Another type of blog is one like Dru Ann Love’s Dru’s Book Musings. This blog includes reviews as well as features like cover reveals, Day in the Life character studies, author interviews and so on. It’s a great place to discover new authors in crime fiction, especially, but not exclusively, cozy and traditional authors.

With a Little Help

How do you get all this done and still write books?

One thing new authors don’t usually have, because it rarely makes financial sense (unless their advance is HUGE, in which case more power to them), is any help with all of this. The Wickeds are very lucky to share a virtual assistant named Jen. (To be clear, Jen is a real person, not a virtual person. We work with her virtually.)

For me, Jen does my Facebook fan page posts, my Instagram posts and my Wicked group posts. (However, I’m still there. If I’ve liked or replied to a comment or question you’ve left, that’s really me.) She also does special projects, for example the massive mailing of Busman’s Harbor maps last year, which would not have been possible without her.

I do my own newsletter, manage my own website, Pinterest boards, do my tweets and retweets, and mail books and bookmarks to giveaway winners. But other Wicked Authors divide the work completely differently, depending on their likes, time, and skills.

Jen also produces the Wickeds newsletter with a different Wicked acting as managing editor every month.

At this point, I would hate to contemplate a writerly life without her.

So Readers

I said I would throw it to you. How do you get news from authors? How do you discover new authors and books? Which of the many avenues listed above do you use? Do I have to do TikTok? Let us know in the comments. And writers, tell us where you focus your efforts. We really appreciate it.

Malice Domestic- Time Capsule Edition

Jessie: In New Hampshire, where the first magnolia buds have opened!

Edith’s temporary teapot

Since I thought that perhaps Liz and I aren’t the only ones missing Malice this year it seemed like a perfect time to revisit posts from previous years. I’ve included links to each of the years the Wickeds have attended Malice since we started in 2013. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through our archive to find these posts and hope that you like them too!

2013- Julie asks us all about our first Malice together.

2014- Barb interviews the Agatha Short Story nominees

2015- Sherry asks about our favorite Malice moments

2016-Jessie polls the Wickeds for tips on how to get the most out of a conference

2017-Liz does a roundup of highlights including a fun event at a bookstore and the banquet

2018-Liz talks about missing Malice and visiting on a stick.

2019-Edith presents some of her favorite Malice photos and memories

2020- The Wickeds share Edith’s excitement for her Agatha win!

2021-Sherry toasts her fellow Best Contemporary Agatha nominees.

Readers, do you like looking back through old photo albums, scrapbooks, or other sorts of memorabilia? Writers, are you attending Malice this year? If so, let everyone know where and when to find you!

Novellas, Novellas, Novellas, Novellas

by Barb, first post of 2022 from Portland, Maine

Happy spring! I am back from Key West with some novella news.

As regular readers know, in addition to the Maine Clambake novels, I’ve been lucky enough to have four published novellas, with two more under contract, all part of the Maine Clambake series. The novellas are themed around holidays and are packaged in hardcover and then mass market paperback, along with novellas by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis.

I love writing these stories. For one thing, there’s the holiday theme. So far the holidays–two novellas related to Christmas, two related to Halloween, and (coming) one related to Saint Patrick’s Day and one to Easter–all take place in the off-season, when the Snowden Family Clambake isn’t open. The novellas give me a chance to check in on the Snowdens and find out what’s up with them when they’re not so busy with tourists. In the fall-winter-spring there’s more time for family and friends and definitely more time for sleuthing.

The novellas are 25,000 to 30,000 words long, between a third and a half the length of a typical Maine Clambake novel. They may be structured like a traditional whodunnit, or may use a different type of structure, more like a short story.

Kensington recently announced that two of the novellas, originally published in anthologies, will be released this year as standalone ebooks. Another collection will released in mass market paperback format this year, and still another is brand new for next year.

Here’s a brief review of the novellas, including news about the upcoming standalones, and the new release.

Nogged Off

Nogged Off is the first novella I wrote. In the Maine Clambake canon, it falls between Fogged Inn and Iced Under. Nogged Off has been available as a standalone ebook since 2019. In anthology form, Eggnog Murder is available in hardcover, mass market paperback, trade paperback, ebook, large print, and audiobook, so something for everyone. In Nogged Off, the subtenant in Julia’s New York apartment, Imogen Geinkes, takes the entire Snowden family on a wild Christmas ride. When I wrote it, I had no idea if I would ever be asked to write a Christmas story again, so I threw the kitchen sink at it–every Christmas tradition from my little Maine town and a few more.

Logged On

Logged On is the second Christmas novella. It appears in the anthology Yule Log Murder and will be published as a standalone ebook on September 27, 2022. No cover yet for the standalone, but the ebook is up for pre-order on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Apple, and Google Play. In other words, the usual suspects. This story falls between Stowed Away and Steamed Open, though I had a lively discussion with a reader on Goodreads, who insisted it was misnumbered and came between Steamed Open and Sealed Off. I admit that since I had to write this story out of sequence, I was completely flummoxed as to the chronology. I’m not convinced, though, that moving it as the reader suggested solves the entire problem. The assignment was to write a mystery around a Bûche de Noël. Not being a cake baker, I was immediately out of my depth. Then I studied Bûche de Noël recipes and completely freaked out. But, in a silver lining. that very complex process of baking, filling, rolling, icing, and decorating the cake became the structure for the story.

Hallowed Out

This is the cover reveal for the standalone ebook Hallowed Out, which will be released on July 26, 2022. This novella, originally published in the anthology Haunted House Murder, begins before the events in Sealed Off and largely takes place after them, (which I thought was a pretty neat trick). I was initially skeptical when I moved from Christmas to Halloween. I love the Christmas season and I hate, hate Halloween. (Though life has conspired, primarily by the production of children and grandchildren, to keep sucking me back in.) I ended up really enjoying the research this novella got me to do about Maine during Prohibition, when places like Busman’s Harbor were primary sites for smuggling hard liquor from Canada.

Scared Off

No news on a standalone version of “Scared Off,” (nor would I expect there to be), but the mass market paperback of the anthology it appears in, Halloween Party Murder, will be released on August 23, 2022. This novella falls in the timeline between Shucked Apart, and the next Maine Clambake Mystery to be released on June 28, 2022, Muddled Through. This novella about a preteen party run amok, a ghost, and a mysterious bookkeeper was really fun to write.

Perked Up

This is the cover reveal and announcement for the next novella collection from Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and me, Irish Coffee Murder, to be released in February, 2023. It’s not up for pre-order yet, but don’t worry. I’ll let you know when it is, probably here and in a thousand other places. Since my stories are always in the third position in these books, I figured poisoning someone with Irish coffee would already have been done. Instead, I came up with a group of friends and family, gathered around a fire on St. Patrick’s night, during a blackout, drinking Irish coffee and talking about an historical murder, with each storyteller offering a different theory of the case and and a different killer. What really happened? Of course, Julia has to find out. “Perked Up” takes place in March, after the events of Muddled Through and before Maine Clambake #11, as yet not officially titled.

So that’s the (rather long, apologies) novella update from me.

Readers: Do you enjoy these peeks at what characters are doing between books? Yay or nay? Let me know in the comments.

Populating My Cozy Town and a #giveaway

by Barb, still in Key West

At the end of the blog, I’ve included instructions for how to enter a giveaway for one of 15 Advance Readers Copies of Muddled Through, Maine Clambake Mystery #10, which releases on June 28, 2022. Scroll down for that information.

A year ago I blogged about how I worked with an artist to create a map of Busman’s Harbor, the town in Midcoast Maine where my Maine Clambake Mysteries take place. A later blog post explained how the artist and I came up with the buildings on the map.

Today I’m writing about how I populated my little town.

The major characters in the Maine Clambake Mysteries go back to the original series proposal. Julia Snowden, her mother Jacqueline, sister Livvie, brother-in-law Sonny, and niece Page were there from the start. As was Julia’s middle-school crush Chris Durand, and the newest member of the Busman’s Harbor Police Force, Jamie Dawes. Restaurant proprietor Gus Farnham was also in the original proposal.

State police detectives Lieutenant Jerry Binder and Sergeant Tom Flynn appear in the first book Clammed Up, and are in the series ever after (except for a couple of the novellas). This is not in the least surprising, since in Maine only the Portland and Bangor police departments are large enough to have detectives. The rest of the municipalities (including at least one fictional one) rely on the state police to investigate major crimes. Faulty research on my part led them to have inflated titles and once they existed out in the universe there was no way to demote them. Also, I wrote at least three books before I realized I had created the detecting team of Tom and Jerry.

The Snugg sisters, Fee and Vee, who run the B&B across the street from Julia’s mother’s house, appear in Clammed Up and almost every book since, as well as most of the novellas. The Snowden Family Clambake’s silent investor, Quentin Tupper, also makes his first appearance in Clammed Up. He’s only in residence in the summer, so he appears in the books that take place then. Captain George, who pilots the boat that takes the tourists out to Morrow Island for the Snowden Family Clambake, also appears in the books that take place during the summer.

On Main Street

Since Clammed Up, the town of Busman’s Harbor has grown and grown. I’ve added shops to Main Street as I’ve need them to tell the stories. Gordon’s Jewelry and its proprietor Mr. Gordon first appear in the Christmas novella, “Nogged Off.” He plays a central role in the fifth book in the series, Iced Under, when he tells Julia the value of the black diamond necklace her mother has received in the mail. He returns again in the sixth book, Stowed Away, and in the novella “Scared Off.” He must have a first name, but he’s an older gentleman and Julia always calls him “Mr.” His wife, Alicia, has sadly suffered from worsening dementia through the series.

Al Gleason runs Gleason’s Hardware, a family business so old there’s a post in front of it where customers once tied up their horses. Gleason’s is a pivotal location in Clammed Up, but we don’t meet Al until the novella “Scared Off.” He turns up again in the novella “Perked Up,” that I just turned in. It will be published in Irish Coffee Murder in the spring of 2023. Barry Walker of Walker Frames and Art Supplies is a major character in the fourth book in the series, Fogged Inn. He also reappears in “Scared Off.” To this cast of Main Street characters, I’ve added a new one in Muddled Through. Zoey Butterfield is the owner of Lupine Design, a pottery studio and retail shop at the far end of the commercial part of Main Street. Livvie works there in the off-season. Zoey reappears in “Perked Up.”

The Townspeople

Mark Hayman works in the Town Enforcement Office and has access to records about everyone’s property, who owns it, where the tax bill goes. He helps Julia out the seventh book, Steamed Open and again in Muddled Through. Floradale Thayer runs the historical society. She helps Julia understand her mother’s family history in Iced Under, and also in Sealed Off. She appears again in “Perked Up.” Chief Beaupre is the Chief of Police in Busman’s Harbor. You’d think he’d be more important, what with all the murders, but since Binder and Flynn rush in and take over, and Julia gets all her info from Jamie Dawes, the chief isn’t as much of a presence. He doesn’t even get a name until Steamed Open. Bud Barbour has a boat repair shop and we often find him whiling away his late afternoons at Gus’s restaurant. He plays a big role in Boiled Over, a smaller one in Musseled Out, and comes back in Muddled Through. Clarice Kemp is the town gossip. In Clammed Up she works as the receptionist at Lighthouse Inn, a Busman’s Harbor crossroads. I really had high hopes for her as a character, but she doesn’t appear again until “Scared Off.” By that time she’s retired and is applying her considerable skills and strong personality to the annual auction for the Star of the Sea Catholic Church. Sonny’s father, Bard Ramsey, a lobsterman, a major character in Musseled Out, appears again in Fogged Inn and in Sealed Off.

The Pets

I never intended to have a cat in the series. Then I went to the real Cabbage Island Clambake and saw what an unbelievably cushy life a cat has on an island with no cars or natural predators and where mountains of seafood are served everyday. Le Roi, the Maine Coon cat belongs to the island caretakers in Clammed Up. Then he moves in with Julia, but spends his summers on Morrow Island with Livvie’s family. Finally, he takes up permanent residence in Julia’s mother’s house, the perfect place, since he gets to see Julia every day when she works in the clambake office there. Fee Snugg’s dog, Mackie, is one of a long line of Scottish terriers that Fee loves more than people. It takes a special dog to live in a B&B, where strangers are constantly coming and going, but Mackie handles it with aplomb. Bud Barbour’s dog, Morgan, a black lab, is a youngster, but so well-behaved Gus allows him to doze in the restaurant while he and Bud jawbone.

In or Out?

I’m fine with telling characters, “You’re not in this book.” I dislike series that bring everyone we’ve ever met forward into each new book. I’ve given some up because of this. But it’s nice, now that I’m writing book eleven, to know I have characters I can call upon to play roles, large or small, and I don’t have to make everyone up from scratch.

Readers: How do you feel about secondary and tertiary characters in series? Do you like to see them reappear or would you as soon forget them when the book is done?

The Giveaway

If you can’t wait until June 28th to find out what happens next to Julia and the gang, you can enter to win one of 15 Advance Reader Copies of Muddled Through by clicking the link below and filling out the form. The giveaway ends on March 18th and entries will be accepted from any country.

Enter the giveaway here.

Thanks so much for entering and good luck!

Other Formats, Other Covers

by Barb in Key West, where I can’t complain (because everyone would jump on me if I did.)

One thing I haven’t been good about publicizing is the covers, some of them so well done, that are created for my books when they come out in other formats, like audio books or large print. When these alternative formats are released simultaneous with the print and ebook editions, I tend to use the print covers for publicity. When the other formats come out subsequent to a book’s initial publication, I don’t usually mark the release in any particular way.

So I’m going to make up for that now in one swell foop.

Sometimes the covers of all the formats are the same. For example for the novella collection Eggnog Murder.

Eggnog Murder Hardcover Eggnog Murder Trade Paperback Eggnog Murder Audio Book

Sometimes the covers are different.

Halloween Party Murder Hardcover Halloween Party Murder Mass Max Paperback, coming August 23, 2022 Halloween Party Murder Large Print

For Halloween Part Murder, the publisher, Kensingon, has changed the color of the lettering from the hardcover for the mass max paperback. They did this once before (with Yule Log Murder). I suspect it may be because the original color didn’t show up sufficiently in the smaller format, but I don’t really know. I kind of like the large print cover from Thorndike Press.

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody Mass Market Paperback Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody Audio Book Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody Large Print, coming March 9, 2022

I really like the audio book and large print covers for Jane Darrowfield, Professonal Busybody. Of course, it’s weird to talk about covers for ebook and audio book downloads because they’re not physical objects and therefore can’t be “covered.” I suppose “cover” is better than “image by which we identify a specific collection of ones and zeros.”

Madwoman Next Door Mass Max Paperback Madwoman Next Door Audio Book Madwoman Next Door Large Print coming April 6, 2022

On the other hand, yikes! What is going on here? They’re all terrible and way too busy considering the amount of text required by the title, Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door. (Which is entirely my fault. My editor tried to warn me.) Sorry about the small size of the large print cover. That’s all that’s currently available

Steamed Open Large Print Stowed Away Large Print Shucked Apart Large Print, coming March 6, 2022

Large print covers are generally big and blocky with bright colors for the same reason the text is large–so people with low vision can see them. However, the publisher has gone a whole new way with the cover for Shucked Apart. I have no idea if it’s across the board change or particular to the Maine Clambake Mysteries.

New Clammed Up Audio Book Cover from Tantor Media New Boiled Over Audio Book Cover from Tantor Media Fogged Inn Audio Book Cover from Audible

The rights to the audio books for Clammed Up and Boiled Over, the first two books in the Maine Clambake Mystery series, recently reverted from Audible. Tantor Media picked them up. Tantor kept the same recordings, but gave the audio versions spiffy new covers, which match the rest of their line. The audio books are selling better since the move, if my most recent royalty check is any indication. It’s probably not because of the covers. Tantor owns the rights to books five through ten, so it’s in their interest to get people started on the series. I hope they pick up the rights for Musseled Out and Fogged Inn when they become available.

Readers: What do you think? Any particular covers catch your eye? Do you hate any of them? Let me know in the comments.

A Visit to the Biltmore Estate

by Barb, first post of 2022, first post from Key West

Hi All. Bill and I enjoyed a meandering trip to Key West this year. We planned to spend Christmas in southern Virginia with our son’s in-laws in their brand new house. (So new they had only slept there for four days before we arrived. Now that’s brave.)

The timing meant we would need to kill a few days before we could get into our rental in Key West. Plus it was late in the year to be making plans. We couldn’t commit until we knew if the house where we were spending Christmas would actually be done in time. Plus, you know, omicron, holiday traffic, the whole deal.

Bill took the planning in hand and we decided to spend a few days in Asheville, NC. We had a beautiful day at the Biltmore estate and I am sharing Bill’s photos below.

We began our day with a tour of the gardens, fallow now for winter of course. But it was a gorgeous day, perfect for strolling, and the greenhouse was amazing.

A replica of the greenhouse in the greenhouseA bed of…not roses…but…?Biltmore House, the largest private home in the United StatesThe mountains beyond. The estate once encompassed 125,000 acres. Now it is about 8,000. Frederick Law Olmsted designed the grounds, which are full of gardens, water features and winding roads. (More on that later.)

After the gardens we went to see the interactive Van Gogh show which was in an big open auditorium on another part of the estate.

Bill took a lot of photos of these shadows. I am trying to persuade him to publish a whole series.

in Van Gogh’s bedroom as he painted it.

We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant in the stables on the grounds and then a nighttime tour of the house, which was fully decorated for Christmas.

The two-story library. There’s a door on the second story which leads to the third floor rooms where guests like Edith Wharton and Henry James stayed and were encouraged to find books to enjoy during their stays.Formal dining roomChandelier in the main stairway with a four story dropGingerbread replica of the house in the main kitchen. The tour included the upstairs and downstairs, which was very like Downton Abbey. Or should I say Downton Abbey is very like it?

We had a perfect day. And then, as we drove the miles of dark, meandering roads out of the park, our check engine light came on and the car threw about seven error messages.

Dun-dun-DUN.

And our perfect day turned into a horror movie.

No, not really. But we did spend the next two days at a creative and friendly Volkswagon dealership in Spartanburg, South Carolina. And, despite it all, we stayed on schedule for the trip and arrived in Key West on January 1.

Readers: Tell us about a trip that didn’t go as you expected.

Two New Releases for the Wickeds!

Hi. It’s Barb and Liz here today with two releases: the brand new Witch Trial by Cate Conte (Liz) and the wide release of Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door by Barbara Ross.

Witch Trial Here’s the blurb

In the second installment of Cate Conte’s charming new series featuring crystal shop owner and witch Violet Mooney, the murder of one of her customers launches her into a case that conjures up both supernatural and mortal enemies…

Double, double toil and trouble,
A witch’s life is quite a muddle.
 
The Full Moon crystal shop in North Harbor, Connecticut, offers healing stones for all sorts of ailments. Unfortunately, there’s nothing among the gems that can help owner Violet Mooney learn how to wield the magick she inherited from both sides of her family—the legendary Ravenstar and Moonstone clans. As if being an apprentice witch weren’t difficult enough, Violet’s tutors are her estranged mother Fiona, a sister she never knew she had named Zoe, and a familiar in the form of a black cat, Xander.
 
Between learning spells, Violet is being investigated by the Magickal Council. A reporter out to debunk spiritualists was “genied”—her soul imprisoned inside a bottle—in Violet’s shop, and she can’t prove she didn’t do it. Meanwhile, her non-magickal life has become complicated when one of her crystal shop customers, Nicole St. James, goes missing and turns up dead, a victim of murder.
 
Determined to solve both crimes, Violet taps into powers she doesn’t understand, much less control—and finds herself conjuring up both supernatural and mortal enemies…

Cate says…

I’m so happy this book is finally out! It’s been a while since Witch Hunt debuted, and I’m so excited for this next installment to be out in the world. Violet is knee-deep in both mortal and non-mortal mysteries in this one, and it’s been so much fun to write. I hope you all enjoy!

Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door The blurb

Jane Darrowfield is using her retirement years to work as a professional busybody, with most of her business coming from her West Cambridge, Massachusetts, community. This time her client is right next door . . .

Megan, who’s purchased the house next to Jane’s, needs some help from her snooping neighbor. Megan’s been having blackouts, hearing voices—and feeling like someone’s following her. Are these symptoms of an illness—or signs that she’s in danger?

Considering the extensive security system in Megan’s house, it seems like she should be safe—yet she soon vanishes into thin air. Some think she’s run away, but would this ambitious young lawyer on the partner track really miss a meeting with an important client? And where’s Megan’s cat?

The mystery is about to deepen when the cat is finally located in a hidden panic room—and as Jane and the police look into Megan’s friends, family, and past, it may be time to sound the alarm . .

Barb says

Jane Darrowfield began the professional busybody phase of her life as a Barnes & Noble exclusive, available only in the U.S. and only in print. I am so excited that Jane will now reach a wider audience. I’ve loved writing these books and hope you enjoy Jane’s adventures.

Readers: Thank you to all the faithful readers of the Wicked Authors. We hope you had a great year in reading. Is there a book you’re particularly excited about digging into in the new year?

This and that…and a #giveaway

by Barb in Maine, baking, shopping, wrapping, addressing cards and packing for Key West

A research trip

Last week my husband and I went on a research trip to central Maine. Normally, I’m writing about the Maine coast, but in the next Maine Clambake novella, coming in 2023, Julia and company take a research trip to central Maine, and for various reasons I decided Google and Wikipedia weren’t going to do it. There were things I needed to see for myself.

We started out from Portland the day after our first sticking snow. The sun was shining, which was important to the enterprise, since part of what I needed to see was the view. We drove along routes 295 and then 95, north and east, two hours to Bangor and then an hour more. I can’t tell you exactly where we went, because that would be a spoiler. I don’t expect any of you to remember the spoiler until March of 2023, but you know, once something is on the Web, it’s there forever.

We passed through Bangor, and Orono, home of the main campus of the University of Maine, and later past the signs for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, then past the exit for the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and Baxter State Park. And kept going.

There’s a place on Route 95 where you come around a curve and across a lake, there she is: Mount Katahdin. I know our eastern mountains don’t impress our western readers, but she really is a beauty. 5269 feet, solid-looking as the granite she’s formed from, Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, just beyond the part of the trail know as the Hundred Mile Wilderness.

View of Katahdin from our secret location

I found exactly what I needed and, our mission accomplished, we had a lovely lunch at a local diner and headed home again. We were a lot closer to New Brunswick than we were to Portland at that point, but if we’d turned north toward Fort Kent, there would have been a whole lot of Maine left to go. It’s a big state by New England standards.

The giveaway

In case you missed it in my newsletter, I’m giving away one copy each of Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, and Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door to ten lucky winners.

The giveaway ends tomorrow, so enter here. (US only, sorry. I could drive your prize to parts of Canada more cheaply than I can send it.)

If you prefer ebooks to print, or if you want a sure thing, Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody is on sale for $1.99 today only.

Have you signed up for my newsletter? You can do so here. You will receive very occasional news from me. The next thing will probably be a giveaway of Muddled Through Advance Reader Copies sometime in the spring.

Readers: Do you enjoy author newsletters? What do you like to see in them? Are you signed up for the Wickeds group newsletter? Let us know in the comments below.

One year later…

by Barb, in Portland, Maine, where we’ve finally had our first frost

I turned in the manuscript for “Scared Off,” my novella in the anthology, Halloween Party Murder, on November 1, last year. The tale starts with a wild party. Julia Snowden’s thirteen-year-old niece, Page, is attending a sleepover at a new friend’s house. When one of the three girls there sends a misguided text, word spreads and before they know it every teenager in town, and a few from out-of-town, show up. The uninvited guests arrive with cases of beer and raid the family liquor cabinet. Before long they are are puking in the bathroom, making out in the bedrooms, and having fights on the lawn. And, the elderly third-floor tenant who had been left in charge of the girls is nowhere to be found.

We don’t include Acknowledgements in these novella collections, but each author is encouraged to write a letter to readers at the end of the story. Here’s some of what I wrote.

“It doesn’t happen often, but I got to write this tale of mayhem and murder in the season in which it is set. The lead-up to Halloween in 2020 was a decidedly scary time as parents debated whether trick-or-treating was safe. If their wild party had broken out this year, Page, Vanessa, and Talia would have been in even bigger trouble.

“I hope that, as you read this story in a future I can barely imagine, you are preparing for hordes of children dressed in costumes to come to your door and then donning your own costume to go out to a party. If not, I wish for you a glass of warm cider, a plate of Vee’s delicious pumpkin cookies, and a good book.”

Last October, Bill and I rented a house on a lake in Virginia for the month because it was fifteen minutes away from my son, Rob, my daughter-in-law, Sunny, and my granddaughter, Viola’s home. When we made the plan I had visions of supporting a family dealing, as everyone was, with balancing work and remote school. But it turned out, with months to prepare, instead of days as it had been the previous semester, remote second grade was a pretty well-oiled machine and Viola was more than equal to it.

What we were able to provide for a little family, who had been as isolated as all the rest of us, was another set of people to see, another place to go, and new activities to explore. Viola was still young enough to think her grandparents were terrific and it turned into a very special time, the “during the pandemic” memory I treasure the most.

Viola and I with the dollhouse I hauled all the way down from Maine because I knew she loved playing with it and who knew how long that would last? She is a great spinner of fictional scenarios. One of her rules for the imaginary village the dollhouse occupied was “no covid.”

As Halloween approached, I was feeling stressed. Everywhere parents were debating what was safe. Viola’s school and neighborhood had already announced they’d be skipping Halloween. Which, to most, just seemed like one more loss in a lost year.

The stress I felt was because Viola loves, loves Halloween. From the time she was two she had been spinning out ideas not just for her costume, but for entire tableaux, assigning costumes to everyone in the family. As the only member of her generation on our side for four-and-a-half long years, she was able to persuade every grown-up to participate.

The Halloween that started it all. Viola as Ariel, the Little Mermaid, Auntie Kate as Sebastian, Uncle Luke as Prince Eric. (He wasn’t even a member of the family yet, so I think this shows him as an extra good sport. He must have thought it was some form of hazing.) Sunny as Flounder, Rob as King TritonAt the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. Viola as Princess Aurora, Kate as the Green Fairy, Luke as Samson the Horse, Rob as King Stefan, Sunny as Queen Leah, me as the Red Fairy, Bill as the Blue Fairy. (I still have the hats.)Blue Fairy and Samson the Horse check in on the Patriots-Bills game. They’re dedicated, but they’re not crazy.Bill as Batman, Sunny as Hippolyta (Wonder Woman’s mother, of course), Kate as Superwoman, Rob as Superman, Viola as Wonder Woman.The Scooby Gang; Viola’s “other” grandmother, Joy, as Scooby, Viola as Daphne, Sunny as Velma, Rob as Shaggy (dedicated beard work there) and “other” grandfather, Tom, as Fred. (I told you she got everyone in on the act.)

Viola had had 2020’s theme planned for months–Harry Potter, of course, her current, most fervent passion. The house we rented was on a little cul-de-sac with lots of kids. It appeared they were doing some kind of a pod. Finally, as the day approached, I screwed up my courage and did something I am very, very bad at–I approached a stranger for help. I asked the mom next door what the story was for Halloween. She explained that because there were no streetlights, the street only ever attracted kids from the neighborhood. The plan was to put tables of treats at the ends of the driveways and have the kids go around to them. She told me the time and how much candy we would need.

So that’s what we did.

Rob as Harry, me as Professor McGonagall, Viola as Hermione, Sunny as a Hufflepuff student, possibly Hannah AbbottBill as Ron

And it was fine. Viola was a little intimidated by all the kids and houses she didn’t know. But like me, she screwed up her courage, and she went to just the right number of tables to get just the right amount of candy. Everyone was lovely and encouraging.

I cried when I said good-bye to her that night, something I’d vowed not to do, and she did, too. I assured her we’d see her at Christmas, but that, alas, was not to be.

This year WAS better…

Viola got to trick-or-treat with a friend in her own neighborhood. I think the pandemic actually prolonged these family tableaux, put off by one year her going around with kids her own age and losing interest in corralling all of us.

But old habits hang on.

Bill is still Ron, his wig lost to time. Viola is still Hermione, but she’s taken polyjuice and turned partially into a cat, and Sunny has on my old McGonagall gear.Meanwhile, in another state, another crew gets started…

Etta wanted to be a ghost for months, but at the last minute switched it up.

Etta as the pink monster, Luke as the green monster, Sylvie as the furry monster, Kate as the polka dot monster

Readers: As the year turns, do you find yourself, as I do, comparing last year’s landmarks to this one’s? What strikes you as different or the same?

Maine Clambake #10, Title, Release Date, Cover Reveal

by Barb, just back from a lovely week in Virginia, visiting family, touristing in Williamsburg, and seeing Sherry Harris!

At long last, I am excited to announce the release of Maine Clambake Mystery #10!

Release Date: June 28, 2022. Yes it’s a long wait, sixteen months from the last one. I’m not sure about the timing. I think there were some covid-related delays in contracting and signing. And, Kensington may have wanted to move publication away from the wide release of Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door on December 28, 2021. I’m happy to have a release date in the summer, which I think suits the series better than the late December date the Clambake books had for many years. I’m thinking, if this ^&*# virus is mostly behind us, maybe even some personal appearances to celebrate the release, which were never possible in the crazy time between Christmas and New Year’s.

Title: The title of the book is Muddled Through. My editor was initially skeptical about it and I understand why. It doesn’t scream cozy or food. And I can see some hot-take reviews. “I muddled through this miserable mess of a manuscript.” BUT I love this title because the book a) takes place during mud season (roughly mid-March to the end of April in Maine), b) is about pottery and local Maine clay, and 3) “muddling through” accurately describes Julia’s emotional state during the period this book covers.

The winner of the title suggestion contest in my newsletter is Lorna Doran. Lorna will be included in the acknowledgements and will receive an Advance Reader Copy as soon as I get them. (I am thinking around March-ish.) Thank you to everyone for your suggestions! There were some excellent ones that may yet get used later in the series.

Cover: Here you go.

It’s different right? No food for one thing. (Never fear, there are recipes in the book.) Weirdly, it’s exactly what I asked for and not at all what I expected. (Though maybe that’s not weird. It happens a lot.) As per usual, I sent a long a link to a Pinterest board to my editor during our cover discussions. Check it out to compare.

Here’s the blurb

Mud season takes on a whole new meaning in the coastal town of Busman’s Harbor, Maine, when local business owners sling dirt at one another in a heated feud over a proposed pedestrian mall. Vandalism is one thing, but murder means Julia Snowden of the Snowden Family Clambake steps in to clean up the case . . .
 
When Julia spots police cars in front of Lupine Design, she races over. Her sister Livvie works there as a potter. Livvie is unharmed but surrounded by smashed up pottery. The police find the owner Zoey Butterfield digging clay by a nearby bay, but she has no idea who would target her store. Zoey is a vocal advocate for turning four blocks of Main Street into a pedestrian mall on summer weekends. Other shop owners, including her next-door neighbor, are vehemently opposed. Could a small-town fight provoke such destruction? When a murder follows the break-in, it’s up to Julia to dig through the secrets and lies to uncover the truth . . .

Where to pre-order

Don’t miss out on Muddled Through. For some reason, Amazon has been super-slow getting the mass max paperback up along with the cover image, but the Kindle pre-order link is there. And the book is available from most other retailers.

AmazonBarnes & nobleKoBoChapters/indigoAN independent bookstore

Readers: What do you think? Cover? Title? Release date? Let me know in the comments.