Barbara Townsend's Blog, page 4
June 3, 2013
Enter to win an Advance Review Copy paperback of my debut...
Enter to win an Advance Review Copy paperback of my debut novel BLOOD ATONEMENT, A PIONEER TRAIL MYSTERY on Goodreads.
The giveaway is open until July 2 for USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.
My novel will be released on August 22, 2013, by Writers AMuse Me Publishing. It’ll be available in epub and digital versions and paperback through WAMM’s site, Barnes & Noble, Kobobook, and Amazon.
BLOOD ATONEMENT’s back cover: Missouri Territory, 1846: Driven by angry mobs, thousands of Latter-day Saints flee their homes in the eastern United States. They gather west of the Missouri River to wait out the winter and hope they survive hunger and disease.
A church leader unveils a shocking, divine revelation to teenage sisters Aveline and Frances Bowmore: they must marry married men. The specter of polygamy promises heaven. Aveline and Frances feel compelled to obey. They become plural wives. The loss of each other’s support while faced with angry sister-wives and husbands they’d just met stretches their willpower to the breaking point.
Aveline’s world shatters when gentle Frances is brutally strangled. Grief-stricken, Aveline trusts the camp police chief to find the pious Mormon’s killer, but the chief stalls his investigation. She presses him and Frances’ husband for answers. Aveline’s husband orders her to cease—how dare she question men?
Time is running out to discover the truth about Frances’ murder. Spring approaches and the Saints prepare for the overland journey west to Zion. Aveline quietly defies her husband. She discovers secrets of powerful men—secrets they don’t want revealed.
Good luck and thank you!
May 16, 2013
Book Trailer for Blood Atonement is released!
The book trailer for my first novel, Blood Atonement; A Pioneer Trail Mystery, has been released by my publisher Writers AMuse Me Publishing. To watch the trailer on the publisher’s website, click here. For the trailer on YouTube, click here.
May 6, 2013
Congrats to award-winning authors!
My publishing house, Writers AMuse Me Publishing, was notified that two of its authors earned New Generation Indie Book Awards for 2013 from the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group!
Heartfelt congratulations to Writers AMuse Me Publishing and to:
- DeeJay Aren for his The View From A Rusty Train Car, which tied for first place in the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender category!
- Tony Walkden’s book With A Dying Breath tied for second place in the Nature/Science/Environment category!
I am so fortunate to be associated with authors of such extraordinary caliber and our publishing house with such high standards and vision!
Starting Novel #3!
For the past few days, I’ve reviewed all my notes for a third novel and have started sketching a very rough outline. This Work in Progress is a sequel to my second novel, Clear and Convincing Evidence; A Jennifer Roby Mystery. The working title for Jennifer’s latest adventure is Tarnished Gold.
Writers AMuse Me Publishing will release CACE in 2014.
I love–LOVE–this part of mystery writing: spinning ideas, which areas need more research, how all the red herrings and clues contradict or blend together, and who dies and how (ah, the power!). This segment of mystery suits my brain and how to make all the pieces fit and flow into a great story.
April 16, 2013
Hamiltons of the World
Here’s one of the most imaginative fund raisers I’ve ever heard of. A member of the Hamilton East Rotary Club, New Zealand, contacted me and asked me to write and submit an article for an anthology. This club had contacted folks all over the world who had an association with “Hamilton” in a local city, town, fort, or geological feature’s name. Our articles and photographs were grouped and published into an anthology entitled Hamiltons of the World. 
This Rotary Club sells this beautiful book as their fundraiser.
The club members did a beautiful job of the book. The informative text is enhanced by the superior quality of the photographs. And yes, my husband and I wrote an article and submitted photographs on the gold mining ghost town of Hamilton City, Wyoming, USA, more commonly known as Miner’s Delight.
To purchase this book and support the Rotarians, click on the book cover above or the link here to the book’s website: Hamiltons of the World. The ISBN is 978-0-473-21408-1.
March 19, 2013
Galley proofs editing complete
Whew! I just finished scrutinizing the galley proofs for Blood Atonement. As careful as I’ve been with its editing, it’s shocking to me how various methods of editing changes one’s perspective.
I’ve editing on the computer using various fonts and size, screen window widths and heights, hard copy, and even reviewed it on my Kindle. I’ve studied, skimmed, scanned, read aloud, and concentrated. Every version I find things I missed. When Editor Mary from Writers AMuse Me Publishing insisted I edit using the galley proofs and annotate any changes on another document, I thought “this won’t take long.” I finally finished a slow and comprehensive edit–close to 40 hours! As usual, she was right. Better word choices, notice of repetitions popped like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Of course, part of these hours were spent annotating incorrect italicized font sizes, but that turned out to be my Mac using “Preview” software. I’ve used Preview for viewing PDFs since I’ve had my Mac–more than four years–and it’s worked perfectly. This is the first time it let me down, and hard at that.
It’s stunning to me how incorrect word choices or errors pop out at various times. It’s like the subconscious reminds the writer “you’re not in charge here.”
March 8, 2013
Book Trailers at Writers AMuse Me Publishing
WAMM has book trailers for its released books, and will issue new trailers as new books near their release dates. The trailers spin a tale about each book, and each book varies in genre.
To view the video, click on the title. To purchase or read more about the book, click on the author’s name. I’ll add new trailers as they are developed.
- Show Me The Way by Shakey Smith
- They Ate Peaches by David Smith
– Never Again, Forever by Mary Cote
– The View From A Rusty Train Car by DeeJay Arens, a ForeWord Reviews 2012 Adult Fiction category finalist!
– Quick Fixes by Shakey Smith
– Green Gold; A Cabochon Incorporated Adventure, Book 2 by Mary Cote
– Cabochon; A Cabochon Incorporated Adventure, Book 1 by Mary Cote
– Six Hearts: Seven Stories by Shakey Smith
– Victoria Seacress…Headstones by Tom Bryde
– Saskatchewan by David Smith
– Fool Me Once by Honey Boudreaux
- Victoria Seacress… A Mystery by Tom Bryde
– The Red of Flowing Blood I See by Mary Cote
– Mad Cop’s Diary by David Smith
– Dashiel Waitflaker: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Opera by AmandaLyn Donogal
– Fruit Salad and Wings by Shakey Smith
– Redemption by Mary Cote
– Dashiel Waitflaker: Deer Hunter by AmandaLyn Donogal
– Puppet Shows by Michael Frissore
– Torture in the Garden of Eden by David Smith
- Trip Anderson, USMC; The Road Less Traveled by Mary Cote. Release May 27!
– A Dog of War by Heather Gregson
– BOOTS: An Unvarnished Memoir of Vietnam by Stephen Park
– With a Dying Breath by Tony Walkden
Thank you for reviewing the trailers!
February 25, 2013
Novel Number Two under contract!
I no longer have a novel being published by Writers AMuse Me Publishing. I have two!
WAMM accepted my second novel, Clear and Convincing Evidence, for publication! CACE is a contemporary murder mystery.
Here’s a taste: Jennifer Roby, a student newspaper reporter at Wyoming’s Colter College, covers the report of a charred skeleton found in a ceramics studio kiln. Jenn discovers the bones are real and unravels the crime as proof of a cover-up climbs higher in the college hierarchy. Jenn races to publish the exposé before administrators shut down the newspaper or make good on threats to her safety.
We don’t yet have a publication date or cover. That’ll come soon!
February 20, 2013
Release Date for Blood Atonement!
Writers AMuse Me Publishing has set the release date of my novel, Blood Atonement: August 22, 2013!
And I’m thrilled for the two other authors who will also have their books released that day: Heather Gregson’s Billy and the Gargoyles, and Steve Saari’s This Long Trip to Myself.
There’s nothing like a quick jolt of exciting news to jump-start one’s day!
February 11, 2013
Single malt Scotch whisky
I adore single malt Scotch whisky. The spirit’s vast range of aromas, flavors, and finishes fascinate me. Even standard expressions some distilleries bottle year after year, for example, a ten-year-old, are never the same. Factors such as weather, that barrel’s wood, and the cask’s location in the warehouse produce a different whisky from its predecessor. Scotch is always new, always changing.
My favorite part of Scotch has nothing to do with the alcohol, liquor, a buzz, or getting drunk. This divine spirit brings out conversation. Because this spirit is sipped–not slammed like cheap booze, its effect on folks is a joy to watch.
Some newcomers to Scotch, self-conscious of appearing ignorant beside those who know more, sip. As warmth spreads through their body and relaxation takes hold, they notice their neighbor. They compare notes. “I don’t like the peat smoke,” one says. The neighbor extends their snifter: “Try this one. It’s lightly peated,” or “Here, it’s not peated at all, and it’s finished in a port cask.” They swap glasses.
Before long, they’re discussing the latest books or solving the world’s problems like old friends. The world vanishes. The only things that matter are a dram of a beautiful whisky and the soul of another person.
