A little love ... or murder?

Yesterday I showed you my latest cover from my NY publisher.  How about my latest cover from my favorite publisher -- me!

It's a new title.  Well, the title is new, but the stories inside this collection of stories may not be new to some of you.  If cost has been an issue for you NOT to read my short stories, fear not.  Now you can read 7 for the price of 3.  (Such a deal!)

This one comes out under my Lorraine and LL Bartlett names because ... well, there're stories from both those names.  The tome is called LOVE & MURDER and I'd be very happy if you'd give it a try.


Why LOVE & MURDER? Because the stories are mostly sweet romances or murder mysteries. Read the story descriptions and see if they don't light your fire.

Abused: A Daughter’s Story:  Emily Miller knew her life was about to change forever the day her mother said, "I'm pregnant." She'd hear those words again and again--and with every pregnancy Emily's father changed from bad to worse. For years the Miller family suffered through his rages. It took a terrible loss for the family to regroup, and all the love Emily can muster to save her siblings.

Cold Case . . . the short story that inspired the 4th Jeff Resnick book, BOUND BY SUGGESTION. Psychic Jeff Resnick has no expectations when investigating the disappearance of a four-year-old, until he confronts the mind responsible--a shattering experience for all involved.

An Unconditional Love:  A one-night stand changes Leslie Turner's life forever when she discovers she's pregnant. Keeping the child means losing her business. Even more devastating, the baby is born with a disfiguring birth defect. Her carefully planned life falls apart . . . until years later when she once again meets her baby's father. Can they ever be a family?

We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert:  The Nichols family is all in a tizzy when it's discovered their penny-pinching Uncle Albert is worth millions, and decide he has overstayed his worldly welcome. But can they bump off the old man and get away with it?

Love Heals:  It's the most romantic night of the year and Diana Mason is alone.  She broke up with her boyfriend because he wanted a playmate not a soul mate, but it's someone else who haunts her thoughts on the most romantic of holidays.  Is there a chance he's thinking of her, too?

Prisoner of Love:  Rhonda Roberts went looking for love in all the wrong places, and found it through an ad in the personals section of her local newspaper. Family and friends think she's crazy when she becomes engaged to a convicted felon, and the lengths she'll go to see him set free.

Blue Christmas: Christmas used to be a joyous time for Judi Straub, but that was before her parents passed away and her siblings became too busy to socialize with their old maid sister. Holidays spent with friends were a nightmare. Then one late December Judi won an all-expense-paid trip to Puerto Rico where Harry Powell swept her off her feet. But her fantasy of happily-ever-after was quickly derailed. Would Judi always have a Blue Christmas?

Should you be eager to purchase this delightful box set (not in a box) you can find it:

Kindle | Kobo | Nook | Smashwords (and coming soon to iBook and Sony)

Stay tuned:  Tomorrow I'll be telling you about my next release, which comes out Christmas Day!  (Another new cover!)  Don't miss it!  And Thursday, E.J. Copperman has another pet peeve to share.
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Holiday stories to put you in a festive mood

Are you having a tough time getting into the holiday spirit?  Well, have I got some great holiday stories for you.  Okay, two of them are mine -- but a lot more are by my friends at the Incredible Indie Authors. (We're all traditionally published authors who have backlist and new titles available as ebooks.)

Mine are:

Bah! Humbug (which really won't make much sense unless you've just read my 4th Jeff Resnick mystery, Cheated by Death).  It’s Christmas Day, and Jeff and Maggie spend Christmas dinner with Maggie’s family, who are not receptive to her new significant other. It’ll be a Christmas to remember . . . but who wants to?

and

We're So Sorry, Uncle Albert:  The Nichols family finds that their stingy Uncle Albert, who’s been mooching off of the family for years, is actually quite wealthy.  Naturally they aren’t at all that happy about it and decide that Uncle Albert has overstayed his worldly welcome.  What to do?  They plot to get rid of him–just in time for Christmas.  It’s a jolly holiday all right!

Both are just 99 cents.  Such a deal!

They have a Facebook page (please LIKE us!), and a Pinterest account.  Here's the link to our Christmas stories (in many genres--and even a few audio books),and here's the link to our regular Pinterest page.

Please come and visit!
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ROOM AT THE INN: now available

It's official, my (now 3rd of 5) new Jeff Resnick mystery, ROOM AT THE INN, is available from the following e-tailers:

Amazon (Trade paperback)
Kindle
Nook
Kobo
Smashwords (all e formats)

(It'll take a couple of weeks, but the paperback will be available at Barnes & Noble, and on the other big e-tailer sites (iTunes, Sony E Reader, Diesel, etc.).

Here's the blurb:  Jeff Resnick is definitely out of his element when he and Maggie take a working vacation at a quaint Vermont inn. For most people, the chance to spend time with a beautiful woman in a romantic, isolated setting would be a plus, but the moment Jeff crosses the Sugar Maple Inn’s threshold, his sixth sense warns him that someone is about to meet a violent death.

His anxiety intensifies when he travels on one of the local roads and he is nearly overwhelmed by feelings of impending doom. Ultimately, Jeff can only find respite in his brother Richard’s presence and it is only after one of the inn’s guests is murdered that Richard reluctantly becomes a third wheel on Jeff and Maggie’s trip. With their own lives at stake, Jeff, Maggie, and Richard must use all their wits and skill to bring a ruthless killer to justice. And if they don’t, one of them might just become the next victim.

Hope you enjoy it!
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A new to you Jeff Resnick Mystery?

What do you do with a perfectly good manuscript that's sitting on the shelf?

These days, you publish it, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

The problem?  Way back in the day (we're talking 2004), I sent the 2nd Jeff Resnick book to my agent.  She read the first three chapter and told me, "I won't represent this.  It's a cozy."  PIty she didn't read the rest of the book. It does have a cozy setting (a country inn in Stowe, Vermont), but it's still a Jeff Resnick book, and that means it's gritter than my Booktown or Victoria Square books.

She went on to say, "Write another book.  You have lots of ideas."  The problem was, I was working full time, I was running my own little business, and I didn't have lots of ideas or time.  I started the book and then lost my job, which did give me the time to write and finish it (record time, I might add). I decided to set Dead In Red three months after the first book (where the original second book happened six months after the first), and I borrowed elements from that book and incorporated them into Dead In Red. I will admit, Dead in Red is a lot grittier and violent than the original 2nd Jeff Resnick book.  But man, what an exciting ending to the original book.

I finished Dead in Red, was in the midst of polishing it, when I got a note from my agent.  Surprise!  I'm retiring!  And she did, I had no representation, and that was it.  I was not a happy camper.  I felt abandoned, and I'm sure I could have sold that original book to Five Star (where the first one ended up) without a blink of an eye.

So, the original 2nd book has been sitting on a shelf for the past eight years, gathering dust.  The problem was ... I'd already finished the first four books when I wrote Dead in Red.  I hadn't figured out how to remedy the stolen storylines.  But ... now I have.

When will the new book come out?  Sometime this fall.  I have to work on my contracted books first.  (And since I don't know which one will be due first, I'm juggling Victoria Square #4 and Booktown #8.)  I'm giving myself weekends to rewrite the original 2nd Jeff Resnick book.  I'm giving myself firm daily writing quotas and if I don't meet them, I can't "play" with Jeff.  (Although, my ideas to "rescue" it really aren't all that extensive after all.  Go figure!)  So ...  if you'll indulge me bringing out a new book that's plunked down at the series (so far) halfway point, there will be a "new to you" Jeff Resnick book sometimes this fall.

The name?  Room at the Inn.  (And it'll be available as an e book and a Trade Paperback.)

Do you think you'd be interested?
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A Little Market Research -- and you get to help!

On Saturday, I posted on the Cozy Chicks Blog about how I'm updating my covers.  (AGAIN!  And you can see the first two there.)  As it turns out, I'm getting a teensy bit better at being an art director.  And Mr. L is getting a LOT better at doing the covers for my indie books.

Essentially, we decided (and mostly thanks to my pal Shelly Thacker) that my covers needed a more uniformed look.  I was more or less happy with some of the stock photography, but not with the fonts.  I'd also had a discussion about fonts and type size a month or so ago with my good friend Pat Ryan, who is great at covers.  (She did the covers for my Jeff Resnick novels).

So, rather than go into more detail, why don't I just show you the results?

Abused -- A Daughter's Story:



Are You Lonely Tonight?
 


An Unconditional Love
 


Prisoner Of Love
 


And so, for a little market research.  (You guys get to play my focus group.)  So, what do you think of the changes?  Would you be more inclined to buy the stories with these new covers?
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Turn on the oven and let's start baking!

For those who don't know, I'm a member of the Cozy Chicks blog and I post on Saturdays.

We're like-minded cozy mystery writers who've banded together to talk about our lives, our writing, and ... food.  As it happens, we all love to eat (and it shows more on some of us than others).  With that in mind, we decided to put together The Cozy Chicks Kitchen, a collection of killer recipes.

We had such fun picking out a title, a cover picture, and collecting more than 100 recipes--some written by us, some "written" by our characters--and let me tell you, mouthwatering?  You better believe it!

In fact, that's just how Julie Hyzy, author of the White House Chef and the Manor House Mysteries put it.  She said:  "THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN is chock full of mouthwatering gems. Everything is here: main dishes, desserts, salads, soups, drinks, and did I mention desserts? Don’t miss this fabulous collection. I’ve got both the ebook version and a hardcopy. Get yours today!"

The ebook edition is now available, but fear not--the trade paperback is in the works and will be ready in the next 2-3 weeks.  I'll let you know when it comes out.  But for now, if you've got an e reader you can find it for:

Kindle  ~  Nook  ~ and for all other ereaders at Smashwords.

We hope you enjoy meeting and eating with us and our characters!
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I auto sign my E autograph

One of the complaints I've heard about e books is that authors can't sign them for readers.

Well, forget that one, because someone has figured out a way to do it.  (It was only a matter of time.)

Like a bunch of my author pals (Deb Baker, Doranna Durgin, Tonya Thomas, Becky Barker, Michele Hauf, and more), I've registered at Kindlegraph and with all three of my names:  Lorraine Bartlett, Lorna Barrett and L.L. Bartlett.

What's Kindlegraph?  A website where readers can request an electronic (pseudo) autograph from their favorite authors. (Well, the one's who've registered, anyway.)  It's quick, it's easy, and it's free!
Can an author REALLY autograph an ebook?

Well, not exactly.  Instead, the author can personalize a message to a reader.  What you get is a PDF file with a copy of the book's cover and a message from the author.  (Remember to include your name in your request if you want the autograph"personalized".)  You can then attach the file to the e copy of the book.  And although the name of the site has Kindle in it, these PDF files can be attached to the files for e books on just about every other e platform. (Think Nook, Sony E Reader, Kobo, etc.)

So, what do you think of this latest e innovation?

OR

Substitutes

I love to bake, but I don't like the calories.  So when I bake, I often substitute the oil in a recipe with unsweetened applesauce.  (And just WHY would anyone WANT to sweeten applesauce?  It's already sweet!!!)

For Thanksgiving, I baked a very rich carrot cake.  Because it was the first time I used that recipe, I decided to make it as directed--with a full cup of oil.  It was pretty darn good.  For Christmas, I made the same cake, only this time I substituted the oil with applesauce.


How did it turn out?

Pretty good.  A bit moister, but other than that it was still a very good cake.

I noticed that my local grocery store is now selling a prune mixture, which can be used as a substitute for oil, and I'm going to buy some and try that in a recipe some time soon.  (While I contemplate going on a diet and putting all baking on hold for some time.)

What ingredient have you substituted in a recipe?
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You could think of him as Tricia's stepbrother . . .

You might be surprised to find out that writers/authors actually fall in love with their characters.  Not the same way we fall in love with our significant others ... but they can become as precious to us as our pets and maybe even children.  (Um, I don't have kids, so I can't verify the last bit of that statement.)  We love them, care about them, and want them to do well.

I wish I could say that Jeff, Richard, Brenda, and Maggie have done well.  The honest truth is they haven't yet.  But, I still have hope they're going to find a new audience via e-books.

Between books, I've "played" with Jeff many times.  In fact, I have a whole notebook of short stories that explored his background and his rocky relationship with his brother Richard.  Because these stories are not mysteries, I decided not to share them with readers.  Well, except for one.

I wanted to bridge the gap between Cheated By Death (the third Jeff Resnick mystery) and Bound By Suggestion (the fourth, which I have not yet released).  So I wrote a story that lays the groundwork for one of the subplots in Bound By Suggestion in a little story called BAH! HUMBUG -- and it just so happens to be a Christmas story.  It's available from Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's NOOK, and for other e-readers such as Sony and via Kobo, Apple (iPad) and Diesel--and of course via Smashwords.

BAH! HUMBUG takes place on Christmas Day--the day after the end of Cheated By Death.  Jeff and Maggie spend Christmas dinner with Maggie's relatives.  It's a Christmas to remember ... but who wants to?

Don't have an e reader?  You can download free software from Amazon and Barnes & Noble to read ebooks (or short stories) on your computer and other electronic devices.

By the way, you can try a free sample of the story via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords and then decide if you want to purchase it.

Why not give Jeff a try?