Courtney Lynn Mroch's Blog, page 21
September 3, 2015
The Great Thing About Dodging a Norovirus Outbreak
August 26, 2015
New Site Themes
August 18, 2015
Local Author Book Fair Appearance
Vacation and Cancer Crusading
July 9, 2015
Judy Blume Feels Insecure?
June 2, 2015
The Faces of Friends Stricken by America’s Healthcare Situation
June 1, 2015
Meet C. Le Mroch
April 9, 2015
The Mid Court Crisis Meme
Well, it’s that time of year again: Team Tennis Time Here in Middle Tennessee!
That means my life is nuts with NALTA and USTA leagues. The good thing is I get a lot of vitamin D and Fit Bit steps! (I love my little Fit Bit Zip. Keeps me honest about my activity!)
I’m the captain of my NALTA team. I’m not exactly sure what NALTA stands for, but I think it’s Nashville Area Ladies Tennis Association.
Most teams have names and if not matching outfits, coordinating ones. The past several seasons we’ve been green with black in Fall and green with white in Spring. (Usually a green top with black or white skirts.)
This year we decided to give our team a makeover. That included changing our name from the Servivors to Mid Court Crisis and scraping the green/white/black in favor of pink and yellow, the hotter the better.
Well, when we were the Servivors I’d come up with a Tennis Superpowers mantra for us…as well as a binder cover for my paperwork. A new team name deserved the same.
I found the perfect image to use from The Commons on flickr.
The hard part was matching it with just the right saying. Because I had a bunch that begged to go with it.
I ended up having a bit of fun pairing images with quotes and such, the result of which is this meme.
Which saying do you like best? (I ended up putting the Babe Ruth one on the binder cover.)
Disclaimer: In the interest of full disclosure, some of the above links are associated with one or more of my affiliate accounts. That means if you click through and buy anything, I receive a commission. For which this starving artist thanks you!
April 8, 2015
What Readers Are Saying About ‘The Ghost of Laurie Floyd’
Overall, The Ghost of Laurie Floyd seems to be stumping people. As in they can’t figure out whodunit and are pleasantly surprised by the ending.
Over and over again, whether it’s people sending me emails or texts or leaving me notes on Facebook, there’s a common theme: “Usually I can figure out who did it, but I had no idea this time. Great book. Page turner. You kept me guessing and wanting to keep reading!”
Well, considering I only set out to try and create a page turner, not a whodunit, I’m thrilled. People seem to really be enjoying my book and as any writer will tell you, that’s all we can hope for.
It’s been a lot of fun to see friends recommending it to their friends and people taking the time to let me know how much they liked it.
I’m of course biased. I loved writing it. I loved the characters. I didn’t want it to end. That’s another sentiment I’ve heard again and again.
Funny. I guess Robert Frost was right:
No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.
Every time I write anymore, his words echo in my brain. But Laurie Floyd was the first book where I really took those words to heart during the writing process.
Consequently, a lot of the reader response was how I felt. Even down to the whodunit. I actually didn’t know when I started out who had killed Laurie Floyd. It sort of just flowed out at the right time and came as a surprise to me too.
So thanks, Mr. Frost, for imparting some invaluable writing wisdom on me. It’s serving me well, and I will continue to keep this advice in mind as I go forth.
I’m also psyched because people have taken the time to leave reviews for The Ghost of Laurie Floyd on Amazon. I was only able to get three reviews for Beneath the Morvan Moon. Luckily they were all five stars but…that book wasn’t like this one.
It was, as I’ve said often before, a first effort. I learned a lot, but it needed more honing. This book…well, this one was a great experience. A light switched on. I think I get it now and know what I need to do going forward.
But for now I will continue to be tickled pink by the reception Laurie Floyd is getting, which has been much warmer than I could’ve ever hoped!
Disclaimer: In the interest of full disclosure, some of the above links are associated with my Amazon.com affiliate account. That means if you click through and buy anything, I receive a commission. For which this starving artist thanks you!
February 16, 2015
The Ghost of Laurie Floyd: Released and Finalist
I decided I liked being an independent author so much from my first experiment that I decided to take it a step further. I wanted to see how hard it would be to create a print product on CreateSpace in addition to releasing on Kindle.
The result?
It’s now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle. And also from CreateSpace.
It’s been very exciting. Marianne at Premade Ebook Cover Shop created the cover, which just stole my breath the first moment I saw it. It was not anything like what I’d initially envisioned but…it was just one of those things. I knew it was the “one” the moment I saw it.
And to feel the weight of the book in my hands and the texture? Oh, pure rapture!
I was proud of my first book (Beneath The Morvan Moon
), but…
It was a first book. I didn’t realize it at the time. It was a good first effort but with some strategic editing it could’ve been even better.
But I was in a hurry just to have something out. I wasn’t in as much of a hurry this time.
As much. There was still some urgency though.
You see, I did get tired of the rejections. I had a couple of major publishers interested. It was too much romance for one, not enough mystery. It was the exact opposite for the other.
Well, thanks to the cancer I don’t know how much time I have. I can continue to keep trying to submit and break in to a big publisher or…I can take matters into my own hands.
Yes, I’ve managed to make it six years in the clear, but I’m at high risk for developing new problems thanks a combination of the treatments that saved my life initially and family history. I don’t have time to send stuff out, wait six or more months to hear back, and on the off chance it does get accepted wait who knows how much longer for it to be published.
I know it’s good. It was a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest five years ago.
Granted, based on the last round of judging I made it through there and that judge’s comments, I did make some edits.
Maybe that’s why it’s an official finalist in the Chanticleer Book Reviews’ Mystery & Mayhem Awards 2014?
I don’t know, but I found out about it today and am over the moon I made it that far.
I have no delusions of winning. This may be my claim to fame for the moment. As I was going through the proof for Laurie Floyd, which is very nearly the same product I sent in to the Chanticleer contest, I found some typos and such.
I’m fairly sure only the flawless will survive through the four rounds of judging to come, but…The Ghost of Laurie Floyd was good enough to become a finalist and for me? That’s a huge victory.
So is having it out. I’m very proud of this book. I feel it’s a fun story and a quick read and I’m looking forward to hearing thoughts from readers.
If you read it, please leave a review on Amazon. It helps me in so many more ways than just sales. It helps me know if I’m on the right track or not. Plus, it lets other readers know what to expect and whether it’s something for them to spend their hard earned money on or not.
For now, I’ll push on with my marketing of Laurie Floyd while I work on releasing my next fiction book. Which will likely be my debut horror novel as C. Le Mroch, Shadyside.
However, I’ll also be releasing some more Haunt Jaunts Guides this year. Going to be busy, but fun and fulfilling!
