Book Trailer for Buzz Off

My alter ego, Hannah Reed, has a trailer for the September 7th release of Buzz Off.

Reincarnation of a Mystery

One of the most exciting moments in my professional life came with a phone call. "We have an offer," my agent said. That was the beginning of a new career - 7 mysteries published traditionally so far with 3 more under contract.

When my first book went out of print, I went through all the classic stages of grief. But I'm lucky, because it happened in this publishing climate. These are exciting times for authors. We have so many choices. Readers have so many more choices.

Here's one of my reincarnations.
Goodbye Dolly went out of print. Patty G. Henderson designed a new cover. It's now available on Kindle for $2.99.
Check it out!

Where Has the Time Gone?

As you can see, I haven't been posting much. So many new opportunities (and old commitments) have keep me busy.

Murder Grins and Bears It is back in print with a cool new cover.
Here's the link to buy it.


And I'm still posting at Cozy Chicks every Wednesday.





But since I'm splitting my personality with Hannah Reed (for the Queen Bee mysteries), please stop by and friend her on facebook or like her Queen Bee page.

Or get to know the protagonist from Buzz Off, coming September 7th. Story Fischer posts at Killer Characters on the fourth of each month.

Or pre-order a copy of Buzz Off here.

Whew, and there's more. I turned in book 2 in the Queen Bee series, tenatively titled Mind Your Own Beeswax, I'm starting book 3, and working on a proposal for a new series (but it's top secret for now)

Have a great day!

Murder Grins and Bears It

I received my rights reversion letter today!! It's official. I own Murder Grins and Bears It, book 2 in the Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventure series. It has been a long haul. The book went out of print in February of 2009. Then, according to my contract, I had to wait 12 months to get rights back. So in February 2010, I waited and waited and emailed and wrote letters. And today, finally, it's all mine. I love my mailbox!

So here's the plan:

• I already have a fresh new cover for it designed by Patty G. Henderson. She does slick work.
• It's going up on Kindle, just as soon as I find my how-to notes.
• After that, Amazon's Createspace for a printable version, so I can order copies and readers can get it through Amazon.
• Finally, I'll format it for Smashwords for distribution to Barnes and Noble, Sony, and the iPad, among other distribution channels.

I did all that for Murder Passes the Buck. Only I don't remember how I did any of it. And some of the formatting instructions have changed since then, so here I go. Off to find my tech geek hat.

I'll unveil the new cover soon. I think you'll really like it.

Wikipedia, I Love You!

I use it all the time! It's a great asset to a writer. I can get lost in its pages for hours, following one link after another. Reading. Learning. Studying.

Last year, I decided to become a contributor, publish my first article right on Wikipedia. That's the beauty of the site - it's user driven. Anyone can edit an article. Anyone can write an article and publish it within certain guidelines.

For example, you can't write one about yourself. That's a big no-no and cause for deletion. Your subject matter has to be notable, per Wikipedia guidelines. Add a zillion more rules to it and you get the picture.

Anyway, I had a sandbox I was supposed to play in, which I did, then couldn't find it again. The instructions for each little entry item were 9 pages long. I got lost in loops. Became frustrated and...

I gave up.

But I really hate quitting, so I went at it again a few weeks ago. And went at it and went at it. Until I mastered the little bugger.

Check out my first published article, using my friend Sheila Connolly as my guinea pig.

Voila.

I'm proud of myself for mastering something new, for staying tough.

And just in case you think I'm not 'notable' enough to have a Wikipedia page, check this out.
But be quick about it, before they catch on to me and delete it!

The Ticking Clock

My first editor taught me the important of the ticking clock, that special something we mystery writers incorporate into our stories to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Batman had the right idea, only his was a ticking bomb! He may have 'carried' it a bit too far.

How to get your book into the iPad iBookstore

I have some very exciting news for all you self-published authors who are wondering how to break through the barrier into the next big eReading phenomena - The Apple iPad- which launches April 3rd.

It's so simple. Join Smashwords, an ebook publisher/distributor. Smashwords just closed a deal with Apple for distribution to the iBookstore!

If you're already publishing through Smashwords, make sure your book is in the premium catalog and that it's available in EPUB format.

Oh, and you need an ISBN. More good news. Smashwords made a deal with Bowker and will give you a free ISBN  (Smashwords will be listed as the publisher), or for $9.99 you get to be the publisher. I took the freebie for Murder Passes the Buck. Why not?

Now, if you aren't already working with Smashwords, you might not make the April 3rd launch, but that's okay, because Smashwords will continue to send ebooks to Apple as they arrive.

So why are you still here. Get cracking. Times flying.