It's surreal on National Cereal Day!

Aw, rats. It's National Cereal Day and I had (revolting) green juice for breakfast. What did you have? (My favorite cereal is wither Cheerios or plain corn flakes.)

A surprise in the mail

I went to the mailbox expecting junk mail and bills (and I wasn't wrong) but found a box inside. (Did I mention I have a BIG rural mailbox, and my mailman loves me for it.)  A friend of mine (author Lee Rowan) had sent me a gift.  Isn't it adorable?




It's going to sit on my desk in a place of pride ... right next to my waving Queen Elizabeth II.  (A gift from another writer friend.)

Do I have the best friends in the world?

Yummy! It's National Bagel Day.

Angelica can make any sandwich you like on a bagel at Booked For Lunch. How would you like YOURS?

bit.ly/1KLLIem

What's Santa reading?

Santa could be reading the Naughty-Nice list ... but I prefer to think he's reading a Booktown Mystery. What do you think he's reading?

It's National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day!

I never had one until this year ... I inherited my Mum's ugly Christmas sweater. Oddly enough ... I don't think it had ever been worn. :

And now for something completely different ...

Now, just was this Mom thinking? Was she having a Scarlett O'Hara moment or what?

Available today!

Out today ... The Jeff Resnick Mystery Collection--at a bargain price, too.

Yup, all six novels (so far) and all the short stories.  (Well, sort of.  Since the stories in Evolution aren't mysteries, they aren't included in this collection.)

They're in order, too.

Murder on the Mind
Dead in Red
When The Spirit Moves You
Room At The Inn
Cheated By Death
Bah! Humbug
Bound By Suggestion
Dark Waters
Spooked
Crybaby
Eyewitness

Get it from Kobo and Nook!  (Coming soon to iBooks!) 

Got a Kindle?  You can use a Free Nook or Kobo app!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's hoping you and yours have a safe, happy day/weekend with family and friends.

Cheers from my pub

Most of the stuff on the backbar was presents from friends and family.

When Mr. L and I moved into our house, he thought he might like to have a pub in the finished basement.  I was fine with that. Building the bar was a family affair.  Mr. L designed it, and my Dad and brother built it. Mr. L researched the brass rails (the most expensive part of the bar, which also sports a thick, solid oak top) to replicate something he'd seen on a trip we'd taken to Dublin.

On our travels, we've picked up stuff to decorate the bar, which is an eclectic mix of things from the Southwest, and a LOT of stuff from England.  (Yup, I found the cricket bat at a boot sale.)

We've got pictures of the Queen (including one Mr. L took of her in her limo many years ago in Toronto), horse brass, pictures of Scotland; pictures of England; a dart board, a whiskey poster from Dublin, stuff from Portsmouth Dockyard, a souvenir from our visit to the Queen's (former) royal yacht, the Britannia, and other cool stuff.

You can't live in Western New York without having some kind of shrine to the Buffalo Bills.  Not only does Mr. L hail from Buffalo, but so does my character, Jeff Resnick.

When the cold wind blows and the snow is drifting outside, we spend our winter/weekend evenings in our cozy pub.

This week, I did an update down there. While cleaning out my Mum's house, I found a lot of cool pictures and other stuff to add to our collection of things, including a picture of my Dad with the band he played in before he married my Mum. I thought these pictures (that I knew no one else would want) would look nice down there. (BTW, That's Mr. L with Michael Jordan at the 21 Club many years ago.)  I even hung my parents' wedding picture, which used to hang in their bedroom. On top of the china cabinet is a small selection of my collection of elephants. The china cabinet holds Mr. L's collection of cocktail shakers.  All in all, it looks pretty darn nice.  And, BTW, the barn wood walls were made from the previous owner's grandfather's actual barn, which had been dismantled from somewhere up near Malone, NY.  We opted not to change it.

We like it. I hope you do, too.

If you need something to celebrate...

A sandwich without a pickle? No way! What kind of sandwich do YOU like with your pickle?

Victoria Square Returns!

GOOD NEWS! The next Victoria Square Mystery has a publication date. December 6, 2016. (I'll share more news as I have it!)

This is my concept of what the cover should look like. What do you think?

(Who knows what marketing will come up with. There will probably be a cat on the cover, which will bear no resemblance to the cats in the book.  That's been the trend so far.)

Bring on the cupcakes!

Hey, it's National Vanilla Cupcake Day.  I like vanilla -- it's my favorite flavor, but not the only one.  What other flavor cupcake would you vote to have its own day?

Lots to Celebrate Today!

LOL -- all Lucy needs now is a BIG cake to celebrate her day.

Meanwhile, the Cozy Chicks are celebrating the publication of our latest group project, Tea Time With The Cozy Chicks at a virtual party on Facebook.

You can find the event by clicking this link.

There'll be prizes, too ... like tea bag holders, teas, and eight lucky attendees will receive a bone china teacup, handmade doily, and silver spoon.  (Here's just one of the cups.  Isn't it beautiful?)

You can get your own copy of Tea Time With The Cozy Chicks from:

Trade Paperback | Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide

Kobo | iBooks | Nook | Smashwords

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends, family, and readers!

Look twice for motorcycles!

Today is National Ride a Motorcycle Day.

My character, Noreen Darby, used to ride on a regular basis, but she doesn't have time now that she's part owner of the Bay Bar on Beautiful Lotus Bay.  She wants everyone to remember to stay safe by wearing their helmets and leather -- and for motorists to look twice for motorcycles.
Here's a little cheesecake shot from the good old days!

And I'm Smiling Again!

I've been hinting about it ... but the truth is I've had a hard time writing the next Booktown Mystery. It wasn't that my characters weren't cooperating, it was just that I had so much on my plate that writing wasn't my top priority for the past nine or ten months.

I feel terrible that I turned in my book six months late, but my editor is a terrific guy. I assured him that I would have it to him in a time frame that would still work and he trusted me to deliver it.

I sent the book in last week, and I anticipate feedback and/or a copy edit in December.

The second piece of good news is that Title Wave won't  be coming out with "the pack" on the first Tuesday in June, but a week later on June 14th.  What does that mean?  Maybe nothing ... maybe something good. I'll just have to wait to see how it flies. But I love the story and I've seen the pencil sketch of the cover and I have a very good feeling about this book.  (And I hope you will, too.)

I'll share the cover as soon as I get it.

Raise your pinky and join the Cozy Chicks for afternoon tea!

The Cozy Chicks spent the summer working on a treat for our readers ....

The Cozy Chicks realized that tea was such a perfect complement to cozy mysteries that we decided to write a book about it. Not only does Tea Time with the Cozy Chicks have delicious recipes, but it also includes themed tea menus, fascinating articles, fun facts, curious quotes, and helpful hints on how to host the most memorable tea parties ever! And for an extra treat, a few of us have included excerpts of our work as well! Read, cook, drink tea, savor, and most of all enjoy!

Trade Paperback  |  Kindle US  |  Kindle Worldwide

Kobo  |  Nook  |  iBooks  | Smashworks

A little bit about my audio narrator ... Steven Barnett

I'm very happy to announce that my second Tales of Telenia book, JOURNEY, is now available as an audiobook. (You can listen to a sample of it here--just click the link.)

I thought it might be interesting for readers (hey, and me, too!) to find out a little bit about what it is to be a spoken-voice performer.  Let me introduce you to Steven Barnett. He has read not only the Telenia books, but also is the voice of my character Jeff Resnick.  (At least for the last 6 titles.  We'll be re-recording the first three in the not-too-distant future.)

Steven and I recently talked and here's a portion of our conversation.

How does one becomes a voice artist?
I'm not sure there is one generic way to become a voice artist. I started as a vocalist in college, learning to sing opera, but I've always been a talented mimic. I loved to imitate cartoons, famous people, anything I could for a laugh. I did voice-over work when I was in film and tv work and kind of just branched off from there.

Do you read the whole book first?
It depends on the length and type of the book. If the book is fairly short, say on the order of 80-90000 words, I will generally not read beforehand and just work things out in recording. If the book is longer, or has a large number of speaking characters and voices and things, then I'll read the book first and try to get a sense of the characterization beforehand, especially if the book has alien or foreign characters and languages.

Is the dialog the hardest because you have to switch voices?  How do you know which voice to use?  Do you color code them on your script?
For me, dialog between males isn't so difficult, mostly because I'm used to imitating character dialogue. What's hardest for me is dialog between a male and a female. Doing a feminized voice requires a lot of tuning in the musculature of the mouth and vocal folds and it's difficult sometimes to switch between them rapidly. One of my earlier projects involved two main characters, one of whom was a teenaged boy from modern-day Philadelphia and the other was a teenaged girl from 18th century Scotland. That was terribly difficult at first.

What's the hardest part about narrating a book?
The hardest part is consistency. Making sure that when you flub a line, you go back and re-read that line precisely as you read it before. Making sure that if you're recording a book and it's going to take more than a day, that your mic placement and your settings are all the same as they were when you started. Making sure your editing process is smooth and that each chapter matches the others in timbre, volume, and emotion is also a big part of that.

How did you get into this kind of work?  
By accident, like many others have, I'm sure. One of my good friends is an author and he stumbled across the Audiobook Creation Exchange website, or ACX, where authors and narrators of audiobooks can come together. He sent me the link and off I went.

What kinds of stories have you narrated?
I've narrated quite a few kinds: cozies, sci-fi fantasy, superhero stories, erotic fiction (boy, are THOSE difficult to read...), romance... I have a preferred genre I like to read personally, but I'm pretty much a mercenary when it comes to recording. I don't like to limit myself to one genre or another just because it's not what I'd read at home on my own time. In fact, one of my favorite books I've done is a book I'd never have read on my own in a million years-- a Southern romance story with some erotic scenes. It's a sweet love story and I highly enjoyed doing all the characters.

Do you have a favorite genre to read? 
I prefer to read genres where there are lots of distinct characters, so typically fantasy and sci-fi novels. I'm a huge fan of urban fantasy, so I tend to want to get those novels more, but the more and more I work, the more into mysteries I am becoming.

What are your future plans? 
Right now, my plan is to keep doing what I'm doing, but more of it, you know? More titles under my belt, more recognition. I'm working toward being named an Audible-certified Producer, which is a certification that tells authors and producers that I am a narrator of high-quality and able to deal with more expensive, high-level projects. It opens more professional level doors, let's say. But I'll work with anyone, regardless of budget, if the book is quality. In the future, my goal is to broaden my voice skills and perhaps do cartoons. I love character voices and comedy, so cartoons are right in my wheelhouse. I'm a huge voice-acting nerd, so it would be a thrill to work with guys like Rob Paulsen, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Laura Bailey, Grey DeLisle, Jennifer Hale... the list goes on. That's my future.

Where can we find you online? 
Well, I don't have a professional website yet. Too busy to make one, I suppose, though I'm working on it. Right now you can find me on Twitter @PlasmatixUltra. I also have a Facebook page for me as a professional, and you can find that at http://www.facebook.com/letmetellyouastory .  I can also be reached via email at stevenrichardbarnett@gmail.com and a list of the books I've narrated is available on Audible.com .  Just click this link. And, of course, you can always find me at your favorite audiobook retailers: Audible, Amazon, and iTunes!

Hey, it's National Taco Day.

You can celebrate National Taco Day by making Angelica's recipe from Booktown #4, CHAPTER &  HEARSE.

Just click this link!

It's frustrating when characters scream in your ear ...

And so I have FINALLY (after about a bazillion years) finished the next Booktown Mystery (just working on the recipes before I hand it in) and I need to start writing either a Jeff Resnick or Lotus Bay book ... but my Tales of Telenia characters are SCREAMING at me to work on their story.  I've been putting it off for over two years, and they've just about had enough.

I lost a lot of sleep during the last months of my mother's life and would lie in bed during the wee hours distracting myself from thoughts of death by plotting the story.  Yesterday I wrote most of the first chapter longhand (while engaged in another pursuit), Of course, then I remembered that I'd already WRITTEN part of the first chapter back in August.  So now I've got to merge the two because they're both pretty good.

I love these characters.  I love the stories and yet THEY DO NOT SELL, and I have not been able to convince my cozy readers to give them a try.

It's not smart to write something that doesn't bring in income, because let's face it:  writing is my job. I couldn't afford to take time away from a day job to do something like this.  So I guess I'll have to make it a hobby piece that can only be worked on AFTER I write something that brings in grocery money. (Did I mention I had to have my brakes replaced last week???)

It's okay, Mandy ... I haven't abandoned you (and Dohmas). It's just going to take a while longer until I can tell the rest of your story, even if only I and a handful of your followers ever read it..

Gotta love this new cover!

One of the best things about being an indie author is you can change things up.  I decided to change the cover on Recipes to Die for. I wanted it to reflect Katie's dream of opening the English Ivy Inn ... something that probably will never happen. Still, this is what she would have wanted.

Katie Bonner and the rest of the locals from Victoria Square invite you into their kitchens to share tantalizing recipes and intimate stories about food, family, and life. So tie on your apron and sharpen your knives, because Recipes To Die For is chock full of culinary treasures such as Andy Rust's Cinnamon Rolls, Vance Ingram’s Barbequed Ribs, and Sweet Sue’s Toffee Squares. And you don't want to miss Aunt Lizzie’s Cream Scones.

They're to die for:

Trade Paperback

Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide

Kobo | Nook | iBooks

Smashwords

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. When my Mum died in June, I told the funeral director that I wanted a Thumbie. That's a cast pendant of one of your loved one's fingerprints. He assured me that he had taken her fingerprints and that it wouldn't be a problem.

You see, after my Dad died almost six years ago, I went to the same funeral home with my Mum to make arrangements and learned about Thumbies. I wanted one and my mother bought one for me, saying it would be my Dad's last gift to me, making it that much more special. It came just before Christmas and I've worn it ever since. So when my Mum passed, I REPEATEDLY told the funeral diector that I wanted a matching Thumbie. No problem! Except ... he was new to the job and had never ordered one.  And so, he called in an associate who walked him through the process.

And I waited for my Thumbie to arrive.

And I waited. And waited. And waited.

It was supposed to come in 4-6 weeks.

At week 9, I stopped by the funeral home to inquire about my Thumbie.  The very  nice woman at the reception desk asked me to wait while she tried to find out what happened.

So I waited. And waited. And waited.

Sometime later, the woman (quite sheepishly) approached me and and said, "We can't find a record of the order."  Uh-oh!  She said, "We'll contact you as soon as we have any information." I took that to mean that the order had never been placed. I wasn't happy but, hey, mistakes happen.  So I went home to await a call.

The call came the next morning, and not from the young funeral director I had dealt with, but the Big Guy in charge who apologized profusely. Not only had the order NOT been made, but they could not find my mother's fingerprints--no matter where they looked. There was to be no Thumbie.

I cried.

The New Comer Manager, John, very kindly offered me a replacement piece of jewelry.  This was to be a piece of jewelry that would hold a tiny portion of my Mum's cremains.

Mum wouldn't be Mum without her glasses.

So a few days later, I grabbed my Mum from off the entertainment center in my living room where her ashes had been residing, packed her off in the passenger seat of my mini van, and she rode shotgun for her second trip to the funeral home this summer.  On the way, I told her all about the changes in our little suburb.  (Holy cow, there've been a lot of them in just a short span of time.)

John wasn't at the home, but the woman I'd spoken to the week before sat me down in the same room where Mum and I had made my Dad's arrangements and let me pick out a piece of jewelry.  It was a toss up between a dragonfly (my Mum had a pretty dragonfly pin that she wore on her favorite sweater) or a hummingbird.  (Every summer she hung a hummingbird feeder and delighted in watching those tiny birds have dogfights over who got the nectar.)  Since a dragonfly is a bug, and I'm not really a bug fan, I chose the hummingbird.

They took some of Mum's cremains and said the hummingbird would arrive within the week.  When they returned Mum to me, they'd put her "temporary" box (my brother is going to make a more permanent box for me for Christmas) inside a purple velveteen bag.  I laughed when I saw it, and told the woman, "Hey, Mama's got a brand new bag."  (I think she may have been too young to remember the song Papa's Got A Brand New Bag.)  So, Mum rode shotgun all the way home, wearing her new "dress."  (And I kept singing over and over again that phrase from the song Try A Little Tenderness.  "Women do get weary ... wearing the same old shabby dress."  (My Dad used to always call out "then buy her a new shabby dress" which always made me laugh.))

Less than a week later, the hummingbird arrived.  John called and asked me to bring Mum back because they had more cremains than they needed.  So, back in the velveteen bag she went, she rode shotgun again for her third trip in less than three months to the funeral home.

John and the whole staff at New Comer have always been very kind. Not only didn't they charge me for the Thumbie, they credited my brother's credit card, and gave me the hummingbird for free.  I'm impressed by their integrity. They could have just lied and said, "Oh, we found her fingerprints" and faked a Thumbie, but they didn't.  And they made it right.

The Thumbie is approximately the same size as a dime.

 Of course ... maybe I should have gone for the dragonfly after all.  Sometimes Mr. Hummingbird's wings jab me in the throat.  Mum's neighbor, Amy, said, "I'll bet your Mom's trying to get your attention."  My Mum would never hurt me, but I laughed at the idea, and now if the wings jab me I said, "Okay, what do you want me to do, Mum?"

So, Mum and Dad are together again on my entertainment center.  It would be much better if they were really here, of course, but thanks to my Thumbie and hummingbird charm, they're close to my heart every day.

Dad didn't want to be left out of the story.

What should I do with the plants?

It's been a difficult summer. Losing my mother was just the beginning. Clearing out her house has been a monumental task. And what do I do about her plants?

This little guy is blooming again right now.

When Mum went to hospice, I asked her if she wanted to take any of her plants.  She said no.  I took one anyway. A little African violet that was blooming its heart out.  Sometimes the volunteers would water it, but usually I'd find it pretty dry and water it.  After my mother died, I went to the hospice house to pick up her things and saw the plant sitting outside and looking very unhappy.  I took it home with me and it has lived on my kitchen counter next to my cactus.

Early this summer, I gave five or six of Mum's houseplants that could live outside to her neighbor. Amy was very happy to get them, immediately planted them outside, and most of them are doing well. But what do I do with the rest of them?

My Mum had a green thumb. Me? Not so much. But I try.  In fact, I've been taking care of the rest of her houseplants and, so far--so good.  But what do I do with them?  I already have my own houseplants.  Mum left behind two more African violets and at least seven orchids.  After she died, one of the violets exploded with blooms.  Two of the orchids have bloomed (one just last week, and another is going to bloom soon--she had wonderful luck with orchids).  They like the eastern sun exposure, I guess.  But I already have five orchids of my own.  My brother doesn't want them. Mr. L doesn't want to feel like he's living in a conservatory, and I can't bear to throw out a living plant that hasn't every hurt anybody.

So, what should I do with her plants?

New to you!

My friend Mary Kennedy and I are celebrating because we've both got new books out.  As this is my blog (tee hee), I'll go with mine first.

My readers asked for it,  and I've delivered.  A Jeff Resnick Six Pack features all six Jeff Resnick "short" stories.  (Some are a lot longer than others.)

This collection of short stories bridges the gaps between the Jeff Resnick novels of suspense and intrigue.

When The Spirit Moves You: Does Jeff believe in ghosts?
Bah! Humbug: Christmas with his girlfriend Maggie’s family is anything but merry.
Cold Case: A small boy is missing. Can Jeff find him?
Spooked!: A malevolent spirit visits for Halloween.
Crybaby: Have diaper bag—will travel!
Eyewitness: Jeff can’t move ahead in live until he finds out who murdered his wife.

Trade paperback | Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide

Kobo | iBooks | Nook   Coming soon to audio!


And second in the Hollywood Nights series from Mary Kennedy ... MOVIE STAR!

Jessie Phillips and her friend, Tracy, go Hollywood when a film company chooses Fairmont Academy as the setting for a sizzling thriller. Sparks fly off and on the set as the teens become embroiled in a mystery fit for the big screen, and things heat up for Jessie when the film’s star Shane Rockett takes a shine to her. Will Jessie score more than her fifteen-minutes of fame?

(This novel won an award and grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for "artistic excellence in literary fiction.”)

Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide

Kobo | iBooks | Nook | Smashwords

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Happy Book Day to my Cozy Chicks pals!

With Baited Breath Now Available in Audio!

New from my friend Victoria Abbott!

YAY -- Today the 4th Book Collector Mystery, THE MARSH MADNESS, by my pal Victoria Abbott, is available in ebook, paperback, and audio.

The national bestselling author of The Wolfe Widow presents another spine-tingling mystery featuring rare book collector Jordan Bingham and some Ngaio Marsh first editions worth killing for…

Jordan works hard to improve Vera Van Alst’s collection of classic detective stories. So when Chadwick Kauffman—heir to the Kauffman fortune—offers a very good price on a fine collection of Ngaio Marsh first editions owned by his recently deceased stepfather, she is thrilled to meet with him at his fabled summer estate, Summerlea.

The next day, Jordan and Vera are shocked to read that Chadwick has died in a fall from the grand staircase at Summerlea. But when the picture in the paper is of a different man, it becomes clear that the ladies are victims of a scam. And they’ll have to unmask the imposter fast, because someone is trying to frame them for murder…

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Chapters
Kindle | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | iBooks
In audio:  Audible | Amazon | iTunes | Tandor Media (on CD)

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Happy Book Day to my Cozy Chicks pals!