Tag: writing

Mourning a Fictional Character

The sixth installment in my Happy Valley series went live yesterday. Greed at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort is the first book in which I killed off a character, and I struggled with that, even though the death affects a minor character and takes place off the page.

When the final scene was written, I contemplated a total rewrite before sending the manuscript to my editor. Even after she’d made her recommendations, I came close to scrapping half the book. In the end, though, I left it.

But I’m not sure I’ll ever do it again. Fictional deaths take a lot out of me, even when I’m the one orchestrating them. Can we have a moment of silence?

Peace, people.

Heard it in a Love Song

Yesterday, on my Facebook author page, I solicited love songs to be included in my current work in progress, Greed at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort. Since copyright laws prevent me from using much more than just the title, I suggested that the song be easily recognizable and might be enough to bring out all sorts of lovey dovey emotions.

I gave participants a lot of leeway when it came to the era in which the song was released. I’ve kept the timeline for the Happy Valley series fairly vague so as not to have to deal with politics or COVID or any other unpleasant topics. These are primarily feel good books. With occasional crimes. Maybe a murder in the one I’m working on. 😳

When suggestions began pouring in, I was delighted. So many great song titles! And a few odd ones—Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys, for one. Spoiler: It didn’t win.

In the end, I picked two song titles because I couldn’t decide on just one: Amazed by LoneStar and I Love How You Love Me by Bobby Darrin. The names of those who submitted these suggestions will be featured in the Acknowledgements section of Greed and I’ll send them a signed copy of the book.

I’ve held similar contests for my previous books, and never been disappointed in the results. Thank goodness for my little army of devoted readers.

Peace, people!

Book Five is Live. Achoo!

I published book five in the Happy Valley series this week. Second Chances at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort is live on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback form

Now my heart and mind wanted to celebrate the occasion with a nice glass of wine and dinner at a favorite restaurant, but my body had other ideas and came down with a summer cold. So I took to my bed and went through a couple of boxes of Kleenex.

Still, the book doesn’t care that I’m feeling low. It’s selling well and I’m excited. My sneezes are all enthusiastic ones. And that glass of wine will still be there when I’m through coughing.

Check out Second Chances and if you enjoy the book, please leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Your reviews mean a lot!

Peace, people!

Piped-In Music

Yesterday I attended a book signing. It was absolutely marvelous. My friend and fellow water aerobics enthusiast, Paula Walborsky, signed copies of her first book, Unpacking Paula, Volume One, at a local indie bookstore. Again, MARVELOUS. I can’t stress this enough.

Friends from every facet of Paula’s life showed up at My Favorite Books. Members of her family came all the way from Tennessee to Tallahassee to support her. Our water aerobics group, The Clownfish Asylum, was there in full force, including a surprise visit from a member who “escaped” from a hospital to be there. Tears were shed and shared. Dare I say it again? Marvelous.

I’m not sure how many books Paula sold, but I do know her husband made more than one trip to their car to fetch more copies. And then Paula read selected essays from her book and we laughed and cried and nodded along. As a former NPR commentator, Paula has that voice—calm and clear and measured. Everything mine is not.

But as she read, I found myself becoming annoyed at the piped-in music. Often, from my little corner, I couldn’t make out what Paula was saying because the music was a little too loud and it seemed to be emanating from the stack of books on the bookshelf where I’d placed my purse.

“Interesting place for a speaker,” I thought. “And it’s hidden cleverly. Not even any telltale wires.”

I contemplated finding a bookstore employee to have them turn the volume down or perhaps completely off. “That’s just what I’ll do!”

So I gathered my purse and walked down a side aisle. The music followed me. As I turned a corner, the music followed me. As I approached the counter, it followed me. And that’s when I knew that I was the source of the “piped-in” music.

Somehow I’d activated the sleep song track I have downloaded onto my phone, and it was providing background music for my friend’s event. My hope is that only a few folks in my immediate vicinity heard my musical accompaniment and were bothered by it.

And I’m so thankful the music I use as inspiration for writing steamy scenes wasn’t queued up. This might’ve been an entirely different kind of tale.

Paula’s book is available on Amazon, by the way. It’s, well, MARVELOUS!

A Thousand!

My first novel, Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, just gained its one thousandth review on Amazon. Even better, the book has managed to maintain a 4.5 rating.

It’s not a perfect book. I often tell people that I wrote it with my training wheels on. But I’ve been fortunate to find readers who’ve embraced my baby, warts and all.

I’m still learning. There are now four books in the Happy Valley series with another in the works. With each book I’ve learned something new, gotten better at the craft, but there’s still much to learn.

I appreciate everyone who’s come along on the journey—even those few reviewers who’ve been less than impressed have contributed to my growth and helped make each book better than the one before.

Tomorrow, Valentines Day, 2023, Mayhem will be featured as an Amazon Daily Deal for a mere $1.99 on Kindle. So, if you haven’t yet read it, it might be the perfect time. And if you do, I’d love your feedback.

Peace, people!

Close Call in Alexandria

As I embarked on my journey to Hemphill, Texas, I had this brilliant idea: I was going to take copies of my first novel, Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, and place them in Little Free Libraries as I neared my destination. Since the series is set in that part of the country I could picture readers being excited to find a book about a fictional campground on Lake Toledo Bend.

So, when I drove through Alexandria, Louisiana, near the Texas state line, I googled the nearest Little Free Library and headed to that address.

The route took me away from the interstate and into a neighborhood that grew less and less savory with every turn.

I told myself I wouldn’t get out of the car if I didn’t trust my surroundings. Sure enough, when I found the right place, the little library was sitting well back on the property—near the front door, and it didn’t appear to have any books inside at all. So I pulled over to the curb and reset my GPS. When I looked up, there were three law enforcement vehicles there with me. 😳

My heart kind of stuttered for a moment, but they didn’t have their lights on, and no one approached my car, so I kind of waved and drove away. As I headed down the interstate I kept glancing in my rear view mirror wondering when they were going to come after me.

I wonder if they’d have accepted a book or two in exchange for a ticket? Guess we’ll never know.

Peace, people!

Angst

I wonder if I’m too old or too dumb to understand all the stuff I need to know to get my author website up and running. The website is there, it’s just missing important stuff and even after a thorough and wonderful tutorial from one of the smartest guys I know, I feel like I’m trying to put together a 500 piece puzzle in which more than half the pieces are missing.

Things I need:

1) A Reader Magnet—that’s a free story offered to folks who sign up for my newsletter.

2) An Automated Onboarding Process—these are the emails that are generated automatically when someone signs up to receive my newsletter.

3) A Newsletter—exclusive information about my books delivered at regular intervals to those subscribing.

Now, I can write that darned newsletter, but I’m struggling with the reader magnet and the onboarding process. The reader magnet needs to be a peek inside my stories. Maybe a tale told from the perspective of a character other than my main protagonist. Or maybe a prequel to the whole series, say, perhaps a look back at my characters during their teenaged years. I’m told it can even be an outtake—a scene I cut from the published book. I’m wrestling with this mightily, y’all.

And once I have it written, then what? Do I save it as a word document? Do I publish it and make it available for free to my subscribers? Do I send up smoke signals? At this point, option three sounds simplest, and I’d need to learn how to make smoke signals.

But that’s nothing compared to my angst over the automated onboarding. I took copious notes during a tutorial session. I’ve watched multiple YouTube videos. And yet, I’ve still got next to nothing. I am clueless; hear me sob. I think I need to hire someone to come sit beside me as I learn how to complete the task.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue working on that reader magnet. Maybe Paula and Cassie as cave people? Circus performers? Heh. Maybe not. But just in case you’re wondering who Paula and Cassie are, check out my Happy Valley series on Amazon.

Peace, people.

About Last Night

James Patterson and Mike Lupica stopped by Tallahassee to promote their newest collaboration, House of Wolves, last night. And even on a cold, blustery January evening, folks left the comfort of their homes to hear what these two accomplished gentlemen had to say.

I think it’s safe to note that most were there because of Mr. Patterson’s hugely popular body of work. The woman beside me had talked her unenthusiastic husband into bringing her from Orange Beach to Tallahassee for her birthday so she could see her favorite author in person. I told her husband he’d gained sainthood and set a new bar for all spouses.

Now, as a long time fan of the ESPN show, The Sports Reporters, I was equally excited to see Mike Lupica in person. His wit and wisdom on that talk show always made it a favorite for me. I cried when it ended in 2017.

He and Patterson were terrific last night. Lupica is hilarious and Patterson has a dry delivery that makes them the perfect duo.

When it was over I turned to the saintly husband and asked what he’d thought. “I didn’t realize Mike Lupica was going to be here! He’s great!”

I imagine there were quite a few pleasantly surprised husbands in the audience.

Peace, people!

Cost of Doing Business

I’m an author. I write and sell books for fun and profit. And while I may never get rich from my endeavors, I’m doing okay. Really. It surprises me, too.

But some days I’m floored by the way things work. You see, I went to buy some cards—birthday and Christmas greetings for friends and relatives, and when I averaged the cost of a card it came to just slightly more than the cost of my books on kindle. And not a great deal less than the paperback versions.

Maybe I’m in the wrong business. But then again, I’m just not witty enough or sentimental enough to make a living creating Happy Birthday cards. I guess I’ll keep plugging along.

Peace, people.

Just in Time for the Holidays

My newest book, Christmas at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, is live on Amazon!

Book four in the Happy Valley series finds Paula Arnett feeling a little humbug-ish as the Yuletide holiday rolls around. Her heart is in for a few surprises as the season unfolds. And not all of them come tied up in red ribbons and bows.

The books are best read in order, with Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort the first offering in the series. I hope you’ll consider joining the Happy Valley family. We’re a fun bunch.

Look for the books on Amazon!