Dazed and Confused

Big favor to ask

Tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 22nd, I'll be guest blogging on The Lipstick Chronicles.  This is one of THE biggest mystery reader blogs on the Internet, and I was absolutely THRILLED to be invited.

The favor part?  Please, please, PLEASE go over and check out my post.  If enough of my readers check it out, there's a chance they'll invite me back when the next book comes out next August.  (And as I'll be in deadline hell and not doing much/any face-to-face promotion, it would be a very big deal.)

So, if you haven't already checked out The Lipstick Chronicles (go ahead, spend a couple of hours reading their older posts, you'll probably enjoy them as much as I do), please do so tomorrow.

(P.S.  I'm writing about my one-star review on Amazon--hopefully it's an amusing take.  And please feel free to leave comments!)

Hot Topics

Before TV went totally digital back in June, I had a little television in my kitchen.  I would somehow often find an excuse to be in the kitchen at 11 a.m. on weekdays and -- oh my! -- the TV would magically come on and I'd have to stand there and watch The View.  (I'm a big Whoopi fan, so when she took over as moderator I ended up in front of the tube even more.)  I'd walk in place and pretend I was doing my exercise of the day so that no one could accuse me of totally wasting my time.

My favorite part of the show was the "Hot Topics" segment.  I was good for half an hour of exercise on any given day, and more so if they devoted the whole show to the subject.

Then TV ceased to be analog and not only did I stop watching The View, but I stopped walking in place for half an hour.  Okay, I have a TV with cable, so it's not like I went cold turkey, but it's just not the same.

And I'm not half as well informed as I was.  I mean, what are they saying about Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston these days?  Beats me.  I have no clue who's Dancing With The Stars (like I ever cared) or is on American Idol--which isn't even on right now, is it?  How would I know.  When they cut out analog TV there went my access to, well, Access Hollywood AND Entertainment Tonight.  (Surely they've dragged Anna Nichol out of mothballs what with her attorney and doctor set for trial, right?  Hey, I read the newspaper, so it's not like I'm totally cut off.)

My husband trolls the Internet for world updates, and if anything's breaking, he'll yell out important news, like what Tyler Florence is cooking on AOL Food.  (Hey, we have our priorities in this house.)

But I miss the Hot Topics.  Still, I've found that my world has not stopped revolving.  I have more time to goof off on the Internet and, oh yes! actually write.  (Okay, I'm goofing off more than working on my next novel--but part of that goofing off also includes blog entries.)

I can't be the only one who's not up to speed on who's who or who's in whose bedrooms, etc.  Anybody else as uninformed as me?

Pet Peeve Thursday--"Can I Get It From The Library?"

by guest blogger Kate Flora

Pet peeves--you want pet peeves?  How about people you've known for years who still begin conversations with, "How's the book doing? I haven't read you, but...."  Or who ask about your books and then say, "Can I get them at the library?"

I learned, when people ask that to say, "You can get it at the bookstore." And I learned (I hesitate to share this, but it is important) to end my library and bookstore talks with the following:

I've been in this business since 1994, and over the years, I have seen a lot of really good writers get dropped by their publishers and disappear, so their books can no longer be read. A lot of readers don't realize that the way we survive is by our book sales. Our publishers may like it that we're good writers and good speakers, but for them, it's the bottom line that counts: If we don't sell books, we don't continue to get published.

If I'm in a library, I will often say...I know we're in a library and you can read the book for free, but if you don't support the less well-known authors, your own choices get more limited.

In a bookstore, I often point out that the bookstore is going out of their way to support this event for their readers, and that they, too, survive on their book sales.

Occasionally I'll get a question that makes me go the whole nine yards, and explain that our publishers expect us to do all the marketing, event arranging, publicity, write our own newsletters, print our own postcards, etc. Readers are often shocked by this.

A paperback costs no more than a few cups of Starbucks coffee. A hardback a little more, but it gives many more hours of pleasure. When you're done, you can share it with a friend or give it to your library. So please, seriously consider buying a book. If you don't buy mine, please give your support to some other author. And help keep us published.

Once readers understand how critical book sales are, some of them really go the whole nine yards themselves. Kind readers have made my books, especially the anthologies, hostess gifts or holiday gifts, or sponsored my books at their libraries by buying and donating a copy. These are such painless ways to support an author. And how about this? An apple pie or apple cake and a copy of one of Sheila Connolly's Apple Orchard mysteries? A small, bow-tied packet of Lorna Barrett's Bookstown Mysteries in a basket with cookies and good cocoa? Wed your creativity to ours, and everyone wins.

So what's bugging you today?
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Kate Flora is not only a terrific author, but she's also co-editor of the new anthology, Quarry, stories of crime in New England from Level Best Books.  Don't miss Kate's 7th Thea Kozak novel, Stalking Death, soon to be available in soft cover.

I like to say it with cake!

Does the picture on the left tell you anything?

Sunday, November 22nd, BOOKPLATE SPECIAL will debut on the New York Times Bestsellers list for mass market paperbacks at #20. (Bookmarked for Death only made it to #30.)

Can you say:  "YEEEEE HAAAA!!!!"

What?  You still haven't bought your copy?  Well, come on -- help me move up the list to #19 -- or even (heaven forbid) #15!!!

I'm pretty chuffed about all this, but that doesn't mean I can slack off.  I'm working, Working, STILL WORKING on the first Victoria Square mystery (yipe! the deadline is next week!!!) and will jump right into the next Booktown Mystery (which doesn't yet have a title).

So I'll be busy, Busy, BUSY for quite a while.

But I did want to say thank you to everyone who has already bought the book.

From The Heart Of The Home

Okay, Thanksgiving is still more than a week away, and maybe I do rush the Christmas season--but, hey, the happiest times of most children's lives is Christmas.  The anticipation is monumental.  Was it just greed or was it the absolute joy of everything about Christmas that made a kid's heart soar?

For me, as an adult, getting into the Christmas season means two things:  music and -- surprise! --books.

I have a lot of Christmas (coffee-table) books, but my all-time-favorite is the very first I ever got. It was a gift from my Mum, which makes it even more special.  It's Susan Branch's "Christmas From The Heart Of The Home." Unfortunately, it's out of print (Yes, YOU MISSED IT) -- but Susan's "keepsake" version "Christmas Joy" is still available. (Hey, and just to name drop, Susan is now my friend on Twitter.  She has ACTUALLY tweeted TO me, how amazingly COOL is that???)

Usually my Mum signs the books she gives to me (for birthdays and Christmas), but for some reason she forgot to do that with this one (and with my very favorite decorating book, The Romance of County Inns by Gail Grecco).  I can't tell you how many times I've read Christmas From The Heart Of The Home--not just glanced at the pretty pages (Susan illustrates all her books with charming watercolors), but READ THE ENTIRE BOOK--ALL THE RECIPES and everything!!!  At least three or four times every Christmas season for at least ten, if not fifteen, years.  (I've made quite a few of the recipes, too!)  I love the art.  I love the recipes--but most of all, I love the suggestions on celebrating.

But one of the things I love most is that Susan wrote about Christmas on Martha's Vineyard.  I love new England, and one of the things on my "bucket list" is the Nantucket Stroll."  Since I first read Susan's books, I've longed to visit both Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket--off season.  (Have I mentioned how much I hate crowds?) 

It will probably never happen, so maybe one holiday I'll spend the holiday at my family's summer cottage.  To do that, the place would have to be winterized.  Our neighbor, who winterized a summer cottage to make a year-round home said it was THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF HIS LIFE, and in retrospect wished he'd razed the place and started from scratch.  There's so much of my Dad in that place (he gutted it and did a total remodel and addition), that I don't think I could do that.

So, as in years before, I will (okay, already have) delve into my copy of Christmas From The Heart Of The Home and dream about spending the holiday on the shore. (And maybe down a couple of "Peach Cream" drinks--recipe on page 31...just in case you'd like to join me.)

Gad--a major mistake!

So there I was, corking in the changes on the new manuscript and came across a note I'd made to myself:  Check time line to make sure what day the funeral was on.

My time line is kind of a fluid thing.  I usually end up writing MOST of it at rewrite time, so I can figure out where the holes in the story are.   I was working on Chapter 13, and I needed to check something in Chapter 10.  So back to the time line I went, to see what happened on what day and OHMYGOD -- I had an extra day in the week!!!!  That can't happen.  I've read this story about a gazillion times, there's no way I could've made that kind of error!

So I started shuffling papers, and wondering how the heck I can fix a mistake this honking big with only two weeks left to go before the manuscript is due.

Can you say:  PANIC ATTACK???

So back I went, trying to figure out where I'd made my mistake, my stomach churning, tears close to falling when all of a sudden I saw it.  The mistake was in the TIME LINE not the manuscript.

Whew!  What a relief.

Pass the Mylanta, will you? 

Ever have one of those day?

Pet Peeve Thursday--A Bad Day At The Grocery Store

My friend, and fellow author, Kate Flora has had a bad time at the grocery store.  Here's a few of her peeves:

• People in grocery stores who let their kids eat stuff and leave the empty package in the grocery cart. Nasty! Often they also leave dirty napkins behind, too.
  
• Grocery store checkers who put the milk on top of the bread, so the loaf comes out squashed flat. They also bruise the pears, smash the chips, mangle cookies and put the salad in sideways so it spills lettuce and oil all over the other stuff.
  
• Grocery store checkers who think you have to cram as much as possible into a bag, so when you try to carry it inside, the bag splits and everything falls on the cement garage floor.
  
• Grocery store checkers who persist in carrying on a conversation with someone else the whole time they're ringing up your order.

And what's bugging YOU today?
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Kate Flora is not only a terrific author, but she's also co-editor of the new anthology, Quarry, stories of crime in New England from Level Best Books.  Don't miss Kate's novel, Stalking Death, soon to be available in soft cover.

Let me eat cake!

Yesterday my Mum went to her monthly knitting group.  It was her turn to take dessert.  With all the chaos that's been part of our lives for the past four months, her knitting friends weren't sure she'd make the meeting, so someone else baked.  That meant leftovers.

Guess who was the happy recipient of said leftovers?  (Her initials are L.B.)

It so happens, that my mother had purchased one of Wegmans' ULTIMATE WHITE CAKEs.  They're pretty yummy.  I think they could go with a little less sugar in the frosting, but that's just my opinion. (And I could be wrong.  They've already had--and addressed--some complaints about there being too much frosting, but can you EVER get too much frosting?)

We ate the cake for breakfast.

What?  For breakfast?

Yeah, who says you HAVE to eat two eggs and a side of bacon.  (Although you could probably entice me to do so if YOU do the cooking.)  Or a bowl of steaming oatmeal (about as inviting as catching a cold while in Hawaii).  Kids get fed bowls of sugar in disguise as breakfast cereal, so why not cake for breakfast?

I remember once I took a visiting friend to the cafeteria at Kodak for a hearty breakfast.  This cafeteria was feeding guys who'd been working the night shift and they were hungry.  We feasted on pork chops and scalloped potatoes at 8:15 a.m. and it was absolutely delicious.  (And we didn't need a big lunch, either.)

I think people (including myself) should feel free to eat whatever they want at any meal.  So why don't I?  Maybe it's all those commercials I've been subjected to over the years about eating a "good breakfast."   If it's the most important meal of the day, shouldn't we be eating the biggest meal then  (or at least a bigger portion of the daily intake and then slack off at night so we can digest in peace)?

From now on, I'm going to eat whatever I like for breakfast.

Maybe.

How about you?

Today's stop on the blog tour . . .

Today I'm visiting the Conscious Cat blog, talking about -- what else -- my cats, including Miss Marple.

I hope you'll check it out.  Just click here!

Pet Peeve Thursday--Whatever happened to "throw the bums out?"

This past Tuesday was election day.  For most of the summer the local newspaper has been awash with letters from disgruntled voters, complaining about the problems both in Albany (our state capital) and here in the Rochester area.  It costs more to live in New York than even parts of California.  (We're running neck and neck.)  For all our tax dollars spent we still have roads and bridges that are falling apart, school children graduating with reading skills at the elementary level (if they even achieve that), and jobs evaporating like a puddle on a hot day in July.

The problem?  Too many of our elected officials would rather listen to the voices of special interests than listen to the problems of their constituents.  They seem to spend their years in office scheming how to STAY in office and raising war chests of loot to keep themselves in office, so they can continue to line their pockets from the lobbying of special interest groups.

The answer?  Vote them all out and start fresh.  That's the only way to clean house with new people to change the way our government is run.

And what does the voting population do?  They vote these politicians (who are mostly white and male) in again and again and again.  And then months from now those same voters will be complaining that nothing ever changes, that our tax money is wasted, and we're taxed to death, and still they won't see that they are part of the problem.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

But on a happier note, I've jumped off my soap box and am the guest today at Lori's Reading Corner blog (talking about old cookbooks).  Not only that, but I just had enough time to stop by the Jungle Red Writers blog, too.  (Those women know how to party!)  Hope you'll check them out!

But before you do:  What's Bugging YOU Today?