A sad farewell

 5 31 2023

 

Not really THAT sad. This blog has been a good thing for me for quite a few years. I’ve been blogging here since January 2010 on my writing journey. It’s been a long one, that’s for sure. I queried forever, and ended up getting 15 novels published, soon to be 16. Two are out of print, but about to go back into print, thanks to Untreed Reads picking them up. (I’m writing a third in that series now.)

 

 

What have I accomplished over these years, 13 of them? (That’s my lucky number, luckily.)

 

 

***Imogene Duckworthy series, 4 novels: CHOKE, SMOKE, BROKE, STROKE. Maybe more to come there. I do love writing these.

 

 

***Cressa Carraway Musical Mysteries: published with the titles EINE KLEINE MURDER, REQUIEM IN RED. To be republished with the titles I wanted originally, SONG OF DEATH, REQUIEM FOR RED, and the third which is being written now, SWAN SONG.

 

 

***Prehistory, People of the Wind series: DEATH IN THE TIME OF ICE, DEATH ON THE TREK, DEATH IN THE NEW LAND.

 

 

***First cozy series, Fat Cat: FAT CAT AT LARGE, FAT CAT SPREADS OUT, FAT CAT TAKES THE CAKE.

 

 

***Second cozy series: REVENGE IS SWEET, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH, INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER.

 

 

***A Neanderthal recipe for mammoth jerky in COZY FOOD recipe book.

 

 

***About 50 short stories in anthologies, magazines, etc. And I’ve published and helped publish a few anthologies myself.

 

 

***Helped found the East TN Sister in Crime chapter, Smoking Guns.

 

 

 

***Was treasurer, then president for the awesome online chapter of Sister in Crime, Guppies.

 

 

Not too bad, I think! BUT, I haven’t been maintaining this blog, and don’t seem to need it anymore. There aren’t many followers since the following software got all messed up.

 

 

SO, it’s time to leave. The post will remain here forever, or until the planet burns or drowns.

 

 

Meanwhile, I have grandkids to enjoy, a few more travels to do, and books and stories to write. Thank you, everyone who stuck with this!

 

 

I mostly keep this page up, if you want to follow something. I’m also on some social media, links at the bottom of the page.

​http://kayegeorge.com/

 

 

NEW BOOK and a GIVEAWAY

 4 18 2023

 

 

A special day!

This is the release day of my brand new novel, STROKE!

 

 

If you were wise enough to pre-order, they should start going out today. If you forgot to do it, you can order it anyway! (HOW TO WIN A COPY IS BELOW)

 

I shall kindly give you the links. You’re welcome. E-book should be out soon, but the paperback is ready now.

 

 

Untreed Reads

https://www.untreedreads.com/product/stroke-an-imogene-duckworthy-mystery-4-by-kaye-george/

 

 

Amazon paperback and e-book pre-order

https://www.amazon.com/Stroke-Imogene-Duckworthy-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B0BZ243FTP/

 

 

Apple iBook

https://books.apple.com/us/book/stroke/id6446504526

 

 

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/stroke-47?

 

 

HOWEVER, I would very much like to give away a copy to a fan of this series.

The Imogene Duckworthy series features a mostly clueless inept detective who solves crimes, in spite of doing everything wrong. The first three books are CHOKE, SMOKE, and BROKE. A pet pig named Marshmallow makes an entrance part way through the series, and a goat named Babalu shows up in this book. Along with a dead groom on the morning of his wedding.

 

 

If you’ve read the first three, you can comment below to win the new 4^th book. If you haven’t read all or any of them, you’ll have a chance to win whichever one you pick. 

Can You Hear Me?

 

 

I have to tell you something! Remember I posted about 4 new books upcoming? There are actually two more! Untreed Reads is doing audio books of the 2^nd and 3^rd Neanderthal mysteries!

 

Jay Hartman gave me two sample readings and I preferred the same voice he did, so it’s underway. No date on this, but it won’t be too long. If you prefer listening to your Neanderthal mysteries, you won’t have to wait much long.

 

If you want other audio books of my works, you can find them on the web page:

​http://kayegeorge.com/

 

Photo from pixabay.com

 

New contract!

 I received the completed contract last night for 4 projects! I'm very excited about this!! I believe a celebration is called for.

Untreed Reads will re-issue my first two Cressa Carraway musical mysteries and I'm writing a third to go with them. They will also publish my just-completed STROKE, the 4th Imogene Duckworthy novel. I loved getting together with all the characters from both of these series!

There are details in my newsletter, but I wanted to post that here, too, in case this is the only place you look. Thank you for being a reader and a fan!

Newsletter sign up is on my webpage:

​http://kayegeorge.com/

How are you holding up?

 

12 7 2022

 

The holidays are a joyful time for many and extremely difficult for others.

 

 

For those who have a hard time, people can give you a lot of recommendations, can’t they? Get into the spirit! Decorating will make you feel better! And lots of others. I happen to get benefit from being with other people. I love holiday crowds. But I’m not everyone!

 

 

I found this article in Psychology Today about why meditation doesn’t work for everyone. It impressed me. It lists 5 conditions that make meditation difficult, even harmful. Take a look if you’ve found no benefits from medication.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/202212/why-meditation-doesn-t-work-everyone

 

 

One this those of us with depression are good at is hiding it behind a smile. You never can tell what a person is thinking or feeling, just by looking.

 

 

The end is the part I like: finding your own form of meditation. Like the guy who lost himself in his carving, I can lose myself in my fiction. I never realized it before, but writing is my meditation. I mean, I’ve always known that I’m in better mental health when I’m writing, but I’ve never put it that way. I know some people exercise to stay sane. Do you have anything similar?

 

 

I expect to have a very good Christmas. There will be 5 grandchildren present. That’s a formula for happiness!

 

***I’ll note that this is being posted on Pearl Harbor Day. I don’t want to ignore it.

The illustrations are all from pixabay.com

 

 

Just a note FYI

 10 24 2022 

 

Amazon—for writers, we can’t really live without it today. But it’s darn hard to live WITH it.

 

The newest glitch/innovation/mess is that you will NOT see all of my books when you google my name there, NOR when you go to my author page.

 

My google, that pulled up 8 total books.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kaye+george&crid=S2LZDIWD20AY&sprefix=kaye+george%2Caps%2C141&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

My author page, that is missing the first book in two of the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Kaye-George/e/B004CFRJ76?

 

According to messages to various authors, this is a mess-up and will be corrected OR it’s a new policy to do…something they think they should do.

 

At any rate, IF you want to see my books and my short stories, you can see them on my own page.

https://kayegeorge.wixsite.com/kaye-george

 

A Trip with James Jackson to Greenland!

 I've known Jim for many years through our writing, the Guppies, and even meeting in person. He's a good friend and a wonderful writer! Here's his bio:

James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these domestic thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. August 2022 saw publication of the 7^th novel in the series, Granite Oath. (Click here for information and purchase links.)

Jim splits his time between the wilds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the city life in Madison, WI. You can find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com or contact him via email.

And now, what you're waiting for, a trip to Greenland, starting with a view of their tourboat cruising past a glacier!

A few facts to put Greenland into perspective with wherever you live. Its total area is about 150% of Alaska’s (220% of Texas), but an ice sheet covers 80% of it, forcing the population to its seaside edges. The ice sheet at its thickest is over 12,000 feet. The massive weight has compressed the land underneath to below sea level. Most people live in the south and west. The total population is 56,500, of whom 14,800 live in the capital, Nuuk. Eric the Red named the island Greenland to lure settlers from Iceland!

Fjords carve Greenland’s coastline. Glaciers head many of the fjords, but they are retreating. Many glaciers now “hang,” meaning they no longer reach the ocean. We had many memorable experiences, and at the top of the list was meeting a pod of feeding Humpback Whales.

 

We rode small boats to explore the Illulissat Icefjord, where the Greenland icecap calves enormous icebergs into Disko Bay. I spotted the first Humpback in a cove created by icebergs. The boat idled in, and we discovered eight together. Humpbacks are 45-50 feet long (which is huge, but only half the size of the blue whales we saw earlier off the coast of Iceland). They can live up to 50 years.

In the pictures below you can see three feeding together, a dripping tail just before the whale dove and the underside of another’s fluke. I sent that picture to HappyWhale.com, and they identified that individual as HW-MN0102358, which was first recorded on July 31, 2018 in the same general area (and spotted again by someone else a few days after my encounter). Humpbacks have two nostrils. The spout you see is water vaporized when they exhale.

We enjoyed their company for twenty minutes. When one swam underneath our boat, turned around, and swam underneath again before surfacing, we wondered who was entertaining whom. Our time was up, but as we were leaving, two other boats arrived to witness the magic.

Kaye and others have asked if they can expect to find my fictional sleuth, Seamus McCree, on a cruise. Never say never, but it’s unlikely. Seamus doesn’t have to travel to find trouble, and he’s turning into a homebody. Given his preference (and I usually listen to him), he’ll remain at his place in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (where the most recent Seamus McCree novel, Granite Oath, takes place.)