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Archive for the ‘Book Cover’ Category

BB&B front cover croppedI’m thrilled to announce that the 3rd story in the Gwen Andrews series is finally published!

In ‘Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail’, Gwen arrives at the Harbor Falls B&B expecting an evening of food and fun at the garden club’s Christmas party. What she learns is that their resident ghost is wreaking havoc. Next she overhears a blackmail threat. And then one of the prickly club members falls down the back servant steps. Gwen is enlisted to determine whether mortal or spectral hands were responsible, all the while juggling her personal life as one man exits and another enters.

A parallel cold case, a detective besotted with Gwen, and the spirit of her deceased husband intensify the hunt. As Gwen moves ever closer toward the culprit, her biggest challenge may be her own survival.

‘Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail’ is available on Amazon as both softcover and eBook.

Happy reading!

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The 3rd story in my 4-book series is approaching the final scenes. I expect to turn it over to Riverhaven Books for editing after the holidays and subsequent publication in 2019. This installment in the Gwen Andrews mystery series is titled ‘Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail’.
Without giving away the plot, I’ll simply tell you that this third story occurs just before Christmas and is centered around the fictional Harbor Falls Bed & Breakfast. Of course, Gwen will again become entangled in a police investigation, but this time with a twist!
During the research phase, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was indeed a B&B type of establishment across from the Norton Common in my town. It was called ‘Wheaton Inn’ and served as a hotel for many years before being torn down in the 1960s.
Blackington Inn threeAs the author, I developed my B&B replacement based on a 3-floor center hall colonial design. I’m thrilled that the Colonel Blackinton Inn has given me permission to use a photo I snapped of their establishment to represent my B&B in the cover photo. My publisher will adjust the sign to read ‘Harbor Falls Bed & Breakfast.’
If you’ve never tried your hand at writing fiction, I’ll just share with you that it’s a wonderful way to keep your imagination active!

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imagesA few months ago, I was contacted by the host of “Be My Guest”, an interview show on the Upton local cable station and scheduled for May.

The show’s host … Jan Miller … is a delightful woman who asked pertinent questions about the creation of my two published mysteries, ‘The Uninvited Guest’ and ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’. Jan also asked about my writing process and work in progress, which is titled ‘Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail’. In addition, she touched on my volunteer effort as an audio book narrator for Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.

The half hour flew by, and we said goodbye much too soon. She invited me to come back when my third story is published.

A delightful activity, and one that every author should pursue. Here is the link if you’d like to have a listen to the interview:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A_Woman_Reading_Papers_At_Her_DeskAfter two years of sharing my writing journey with audiences in New England, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Florida, I received a return invitation from the friends group of my local senior center to speak to them again about the current status of my writing life.

My first author talk to these volunteers explained the ins and outs of creating my debut mystery The Uninvited Guest.’ Now that I’ve published my second story, ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’, my author talk needed to focus on the challenges of writing a series. My talking points had to be updated.

To this end, I pulled out my crib notes for the original talk, opened a new file titled ‘Author Talk, The Sequel’ and updated each step of the process from the viewpoint of the second story.

  • The fictitious seaside town of Harbor Falls remains
  • My amateur sleuth Gwen Andrews again solves the mystery
  • Creating Characters becomes ‘Who Stays, Who Goes’
  • The season switches from autumn to spring
  • The location within the town switches to the local bookstore
  • The plot has to be totally unique… no repetition from the first story
  • Research and local experts change as needed to support the new storyline
  • Decision to omit expensive outside editor
  • Cover creation based on new storyline
  • Publication remains with same independent house
  • Marketing is adjusted during approach to previous venues for follow-up talk

After I share this new Author Talk the first time, I’m sure I’ll find sub-topics that need to be tweaked, but that is simply the nature of a presentation.

My writers life in my retirement years remains a fulfilling activity.  I continue to meet new and interesting people, keep my brain active, and hopefully provide enticing stories to my readers and ever-expanding base of fans.

 

 

 

 

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So excited! My second story ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble‘ was submitted a few weeks ago to my publisher Riverhaven Books in Whitman, Massachusetts.

In addition to editing and formatting, Stephanie has already created the cover, which I’m showing you here. She suggested a continuation of the 3-word title to coordinate with my debut mystery ‘The Uninvited Guest’. After consulting several trusted readers, I tend to agree. The full title will probably be spelled out on the inside cover and tops of the story pages.

I still owe Stephanie the map of Harbor Falls, the acknowledgements list, and the back cover blurb. All are in the works and simply need some fine-tuning before I send them along.

Fingers are crossed that the finished book will be available this September as scheduled.

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If you live in southeastern Massachusetts, and are looking for something to do this evening, join me at the Boyden Library, 10 Bird Street, Foxboro, MA. Let me share with you my writing journey as I created my debut mystery ‘The Uninvited Guest’.
From inspiration to character building, through writers groups and publication, I’ll include some amusing anecdotes that happened along the way.
This event is free… hope to see you there!

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If you have never visited the Blackstone Public Library in Blackstone, MA, come on over the evening of Thursday, March 30, and listen while I share my writing journey as I developed the characters, setting, and story that became ‘The Uninvited Guest’. Autographed copies of my book will be available.

This event is free, but requires registration by calling 508-883-1931.

Hope to see you there!

 

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scaredy-catDuring the Cape Cod Writers Conference, I attended a class to learn about various Social Media as they relate to writers. One such outlet is an Author Page on Facebook.

Back home, I managed to register my author portrait and also a collage of the book cover from ‘The Uninvited Guest’ as the header image. But I need more content before I ask my regular FB ‘friends’ to like my new page.

The instructor emailed the link to my Amazon page, but I have yet to attempt the registration of the link.

All right, I admit it… I’m a Scaredy-Cat!

Fortunately, I discovered that the Ames Free Library in Easton, MA, offers one-on-one workshops with patrons who are seeking a comfort zone for FaceBook. I’ve signed up for a session next Thursday, and hope to come away with enough confidence to complete the set-up and release my Author Page to the world.

 

 

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TUG Front Cover OnlyOn Tuesday, July 12, at 6:30 pm, come join me in the clubhouse ballroom at the Oak Point Active Adult Community in Middleboro, MA.

The evening’s event is my author talk titled ‘The Ins and Outs of Writing My Debut Mystery’. I will share my writing adventure, from research to writing groups to publication.

I hope to make you laugh at the funny things that happened along the way.

After a short reading from my story ‘The Uninvited Guest’, I’ll answer questions from the audience, and gladly autograph copies of my book.

If you or any of your relatives live in this complex, please stop by, say hello, and stay a while!

 

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images…when your next speaking engagement will pop up!

The past few months have been filled with author talks at libraries, senior centers, and retirement communities, both here in Massachusetts, plus my home state of Delaware, nearby Maryland and Pennsylvania.. As the schedule thins out, I’ve pulled out my file of venues contacted, but unresolved, to stir the pot for additional speaking opportunities.

What I’ve found as I’ve been regaling audiences about my journey as a first-time author, is that invariably, one of them approaches me afterwards, and suggests another group that might be interested in hearing about my writing adventure.

Just the other day, after speaking at the senior center one town over, a lady came up to me and mentioned that the Red Hats meet in that same room the last Tuesday of every month, and might be interested in hearing my author talk. This lady was reluctant to actively pursue the idea on my behalf, so I approached one of the COA administrators, and she has agreed to pass along my contact information to the Red Hats leader during their meeting at the end of this month.

To that end, I’ve created a new flyer with an image of my front cover plus author photo, a description of my author talk, plus both email address and cell phone number. I’ve printed off several to carry with me.

When the next person makes a suggestion for a new venue, I will hand her…or him…a copy of this flyer plus my bookmark that teases a potential reader about my story.

Who says marketing has to be a chore?

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