Cathy Spencer's Blog, page 15
March 12, 2014
Suddenly, I'm Researching 2013 Shoe Fashions
These days I'm writing a contemporary romance with a Summer release called The Dating Do Over. It's about a thirty-one-year-old woman who is suddenly dumped on Valentine's Day by her live-in boyfriend of six years. This is new for me; I've never written a contemporary romance before. Suddenly, my characters are young women with disposable incomes living in Toronto and going out to clubs. They're interested in the trendiest fashions in dresses, shoes, and purses. Oh my!
If you don't know me, let me explain who I am. I am a fifty-five year old woman who wears orthotics in her flat lace-ups. I haven't worn a dress since I can hardly remember because my orthotics won't fit into high heels. Geez, I haven't even worn a heel for about fifteen years, and when I tried one on in a shoe store just for fun last year, I didn't remember how to walk in the darn thing. Also, I don't think they make stilettos in "E" widths.
Now, instead of researching carriages for my regency romances or bullet calibers for my mystery series, I'm researching the top ten shoe designers of 2013. The little beauty you see at the top, by the way, is from the Manolo Blahnik Spring 2013 collection. Pretty, isn't it? And when I'm trying to imagine what my heroine's corporate-ladder-climbing friend might wear to a fine restaurant, I bring up the runway fashions from Toronto or Paris for inspiration. I admit that it slows me down a bit, whiling away a half hour or so while I try to choose something to wear - I mean, for my characters to wear. Although it sure brightens up my day on a snowy March afternoon.
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
March 10, 2014
Author's Interview With Omnimystery News
I'm delighted to have an author's interview featured today with Omnimystery News, the website that is the portal to all you'd want to know about mystery books, movies, television shows, and games.
It was a really fun interview to do. Here's an excerpt:
Omnimystery News: On your last visit we introduced Town Haunts as a cozy mystery with romantic elements. Is that an accurate description?
Photo provided courtesy of
Cathy Spencer
Cathy Spencer: I would categorize my Anna Nolan mystery series as a cozy mystery, although I also label it as a romantic suspense on the e-retailer sites I use. My books are cross-over mysteries with romantic story lines, and I'm glad to be able to tap into the romance audience as well. The advantage to having a cross-over is that mystery and romance are currently the best-sellers of genre fiction. The disadvantage is that because the mystery and romance markets are so huge, it becomes harder for an author to be discovered. A nice little sub-genre in which you are one of a much smaller pool of authors ‒ mysteries thrillers where the police detective is a reincarnated Egyptian pharaoh, for example ‒ might ultimately result in more recognition and book sales. The problem for me is that I'm drawn to writing cozies with an amateur female sleuth who owns a dog, so, for this series at least, I'm a very small fish in a very big pond.
The other problem with being categorized by a genre is that you must play fair with the expectations of the readers. For example, in the second book of the series, Town Haunts, I was toying with two of the major characters having an important conversation during a sex scene. However, I polled readers on the Amazon and Goodreads sites and discovered that cozy mystery readers don't want sex scenes in their stories. Had I included that scene, I wouldn't in good conscience have been able to call that book a cozy, and since I didn't want to change genres mid-series, the dialogue was held over breakfast the next morning instead. So genres do impose restrictions on the author.
And here's the link to the rest of the interview: A Conversation with Mystery Author Cathy Spencer
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
March 8, 2014
Ode to a Winter Tree
A pastoral tree at sunrise, or sunset? Love the shadow on the snow.I'm passionate about trees; I love them. I like to run my hands over their corrugated bark and look up into their limbs with the wind riffling through them. Trees cheer me up when I'm sad.
Since it's winter, here are some pictures of snowy trees, just because they're so beautiful.
Isolated tree on a barren landscape, but a cheery sky
Magnificent frosted tree
There's something magical about the weight of the snow bending the branches and the glassiness of the frozen water surface. Very primal.
March 5, 2014
Startling Information About Calcium and Bone Health
If you're like me, you've been taking Calcium supplements to ensure you have good bone health and to ward off osteoporosis after you hit menopause. Well, yesterday I visited a new GP (due to my recent move to Hamilton,) and told her what vitamins I've been taking: a daily tablet of calcium (650 mg) with D3 (400 IU) for absorption, plus another vitamin D tablet (1,000 UI) to make up for my lack of sun exposure. I was startled to hear that I may be taking too much calcium, which is not good for my bones. Apparently, women my age (menopausal) should be ingesting 1,000 mg of calcium per day. With a daily cup of milk on my cereal (300 mg), I'm soon over the limit anytime I eat other calcium sources, such as spinach, salmon, tahini, almonds, or other dairy products.
What I should be upping to ensure good bone and health, however, is my daily intake of vitamin D. I should be ingesting 2,000 IU per day. With the 400 IU in my calcium tablet and a daily vitamin D tablet of 1,000 UI, I've been selling myself short by 600 IU per day. Of course, I've probably been eating foods that are sources of vitamin D, such as dairy, egg yolks, and many types of fish, but I'm going to start taking 2 vitamin D tablets per day (totalling 2,000 UI), and a calcium tablet every other day.
You may want to check your vitamin intake with your GP to ensure you have healthy bones and teeth as you mature.
Here's a link to calcium information from the Dieticians of Canada:
http://www.dietitians.ca/Nutrition-Resources-A-Z/Factsheets/Osteoporosis/Food-Sources-of-Calcium.aspx
and to vitamin D information:
http://www.dietitians.ca/Nutrition-Resources-A-Z/Factsheets/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-D.aspx
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
March 3, 2014
"Read an Ebook Week" Promotion March 2 - 8
Read an Ebook Week is an international celebration of ebooks from March 2 - 8 in which thousands of authors, publishers and retailers feature free and discounted ebooks to help promote the joys of e-reading to the world's readers. Each year, Smashwords authors are the most active participants, and their store features the largest selection of participating titles. Smashwords formats their books to make them readable for various ebook reading devices, including mobi for Kindle and epub for Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and most other devices. Customers will obtain their books using one of the special coupon codes, which they'll enter at checkout to receive the discount.
I'm offering all of my books at slashed prices or for free!
Free books (at checkout, enter code RW100)
Framed for Murder, the first book in the Anna Nolan mystery seriesTall Tales Twin-Pack, Mysteries, a short story collectionTall Tales Twin-Pack, Science Fiction and Fantasy, a short story collection75% off (at checkout, enter code REW75)Town Haunts, my brand new release and the 2nd Anna Nolan bookThe Affairs of Harriet Walters, Spinster, a sweet regency romanceTo find links to all of my books, visit my Smashwords Author's Page. To browse the discounted book catalogue, visit the Smashwords site.Enjoy!
March 1, 2014
eBookSoda Promotion for "Framed for Murder"
eBookSoda is a new UK website that brings readers the latest in great book deals. (Don't you love the floating bubbles in their banner?) Today they're promoting Framed for Murder, the first book in the Anna Nolan mystery series. It's a one-day sale, so don't wait. Buy it today for just $2.99; regular price $3.99.
Here's the link to their ad: http://www.ebooksoda.com/ebook-deals/framed-for-murder-by-cathy-spencer
Anna Nolan discovers her ex-husband, Jack, on a deserted country road one night ‒ dead, unfortunately. He could only have been in town to see Anna, unless Jack was looking for their son, Ben. At least, that’s how the tall, cool Brit leading the police investigation sees it. To divert suspicion away from her son and herself, Anna delves into Jack’s personal life, only to discover that the actor had been romancing three very different women on a nearby film set.
With some rather unorthodox ideas on how to conduct a murder investigation, Anna sets about meeting her ex-husband’s lovers, with harrowing results!
". . . a true 'chiller thriller' that I couldn't put down!" - Mysterynet.com
"I seldom give five stars for a book but in this case I don't have another possibility. It's an absolutely brilliant story." - Goodreads ReviewIf you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
"Town Haunts" Featured on Omnimystery News Today
Omnimystery News is the gateway to a family of websites dedicated to bringing mystery readers a tempting array of mystery in every format, from the latest books to television shows and movies, from games to books for children. It's a wonderful collection, and I am so pleased to have an excerpt from my new release, Town Haunts, the second installment of the Anna Nolan mystery series, featured on their site today. Here's the link; please check it out as well as all the sites on offer through Omnimystery News.
Omnimystery News Link
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
February 28, 2014
5 Reasons You Might Enjoy "Town Haunts"
Hurrah! Today is publication day for Town Haunts.
Here's 5 reasons why you might enjoy reading it:
The story is set in a small town with characters a little larger than life.Do you like ghost stories? How about a story with a gorgeous young witch with a bad attitude? Town Haunts has both!The heroine, Anna Nolan, is 40-years-old with a grown son, so she approaches life with a little more experience. "Still crazy after all these years."Do you like romance without explicit sex scenes and murder mysteries without the gore? You're in luck; this story is a cozy mystery/romantic suspense.Even a murder mystery should have its comic moments, and Town Haunts is no exception.Town Haunts is available for purchase as an e-book from Amazon, Smashwords, Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and other e-retailers, and as a paperback from Amazon and others.
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
February 27, 2014
"Any Duchess Will Do" A Fun Read
I just finished reading Tessa Dare's regency romance Any Duchess Will Do. It came to my attention because it had won an award, and now that I look at Ms. Dare's website, I see that it has several accolades. At any rate, it was fun, if a departure from my regular reading.
The premise of the story is that the impatient mother of a wayward duke promises that she can make any woman he chooses at a seaside retreat for unmarriageable young ladies into a duchess if he will promise to marry her. Looking to make an impossible challenge for his mother, he chooses a young serving woman from a pub. Of course, since this is a genre love story, there are many other obstacles in the path of this feisty couple, and the relationship they forge for themselves at the end is pretty unconventional, but it was an imaginative story with good character development, and I enjoyed it. I do confess that I skimmed through the rest of the sex scenes looking for salient plot points after having read the first, but since the story is 373 pages, there was still plenty for me to read.
If you like Avon regency romances with a bit of a plot twist, I suggest that you try this one.
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
February 25, 2014
"Framed for Murder" Sale Deal to Celebrate New Book!
To celebrate the February 28th release of Town Haunts, Framed for Murder, the popular first book in the Anna Nolan mystery series, will be on sale at Smashwords and Amazon Kindle until March 3rd. Don't wait! Buy it now for just $2.99.
If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.
