Guest Evelyn David AND a free book!

I welcome Evelyn David to my Travels today. Evelyn is, as you'll see below, a two-person team, writing the Brianna Sullivan cross-genre mysteries--8 of them now! They have just launched a new series, too. The new Maggie Brooks stuff keeps their humor, but without the paranormal of the Brianna books. Please leave a comment for a chance to get a free copy of Zoned for Murder!

Taking Risks

by Evelyn David

President Jimmy Carter once advised, "Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."

It's all about taking risks. The danger of failure is real; but the rewards of success are so sweet. And it's all a learning process in any case.

Neither half of Evelyn David was a mystery writer when we decided to pen, Murder Off the Books. We both were avid fans of the genre, but to actually write one; find an agent, a publisher; risk the heartache of rejection (or laughter) for our efforts? It was scarier than the memories of seventh grade dances and not being asked to cha-cha even once.

But the joy of selling the book; hearing from readers who liked (nay, even loved it) – and then writing the sequel, Murder Takes the Cake, emboldened us. We learned that we survived rejection – just like we had survived seventh grade. In fact, while we loved the characters of Mac Sullivan, Rachel Brenner, and Whiskey, the adorable wolfhound, we decided to create a whole new world – or maybe even two. So we invented the town of Lottawatah, Oklahoma, unexpected home to psychic/reluctant sleuth Brianna Sullivan, and cranky, digestively-challenged bulldog, Leon. And we developed an alternate universe, one in which Brianna can chat with ghosts who need her help to solve what is tethering them to this mortal world. The Brianna Sullivan mysteries were born, and we've just completed the eighth one!

Again, we were so thrilled that readers embraced this new series…that we were once more emboldened to try something new. Zoned for Murder is our newest whodunnit, the first in the Sound Shore Times series. It has the Evelyn David trademark humor, the right blend of romance and mystery, but the story is a little more serious than our earlier works. We're going out on that proverbial limb, but we're hoping that the fruits of success will be worth the risk. Early reviewers have loved the book, and once again, we're grinning from ear-to-ear (or ears) because we adore the feeling of creating a killer story that can capture a reader's imagination (and make them laugh too).

Here's the synopsis: Former Newsweek reporter Maggie Brooks has two kids, a dead husband, a mortgage to pay, and a lot of competition when she tries to get back into the shrinking newspaper business. Landing a job with a local paper, she's bored to tears covering bake sales and Little League games. But when a developer tries to build an outlet mall in a neighboring town, what starts out as potentially a great clip for her resume, suddenly turns dangerous and ugly. Someone will do anything to block the mall's construction. Dirty money, nasty politics, and shady land deals abound as Maggie pursues the scoop that might jumpstart her career. When murder is added to the mix, she realizes that meeting her deadline might be the last thing she ever does. Read Maggie's byline as she rebuilds her career, dips her toes into a shark-filled dating pool, and investigates a small New York town Zoned for Murder.

Climb out on that limb with us. Enjoy!

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Win a Free Copy - Leave a comment on this blog for a chance to win a free download of Zoned for Murder from Smashwords (all e-book formats are available there). One winner will be picked at random. Be sure to leave a contact email in your comment or drop us an email at evelyn@evelyndavid.com so we know how to send you the 100% off coupon code for the download.

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The author of Murder Off the Books, Murder Takes the Cake, Riley Come Home, Moonlighting at the Mall and The Brianna Sullivan Mysteries e-book series, Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.

Website – http://www.evelyndavid.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/evelyn.david1

I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries  

Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/psychicBS1

BN.com - http://tinyurl.com/psychicBSNook1

Murder Off the Books

Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/motb3

BN.com - http://tinyurl.com/MOTB3rdBN

Zoned for Murder

Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/ZonedK

BN.com – http://tinyurl.com/ZonedN

Smashwords - http://tinyurl.com/ZonedS

Malice Domestic, Here I Come!

On Friday I'm going to visit some family in the DC area, THEN I'm going to the Malice Domestic mystery convention! I'm not sure how many years I've been attending this one, but it's the one I've been to the most--at least 6 times. 

I worked on packing my clothes today and almost have that finished. But that's the easy part! Would you like to know what all is involved for my trip this year? I'm doing it up because of my nomination for an Agatha Award. (Like how I slipped that in--again?)

When the call came out to donate a basket for the charity auction, I contributed to one from the FISH TALES anthology group. Two of my fellow Guppies, Krista Davie and Daryl Gerber, are nominated for Agathas for their stories in that book. I'm also donating a basket with a CHOKE theme. Luckily, I mailed those things and don't have to pack them.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sisters in Crime, our chapter, the Guppies, wrote 25-word mystery stories. Yes, this can be done! Flash fiction at its best. A lot of Gups jumped into this project and the result is a whole bunch of these little gems. One Guppy, Theresa deValence, formatted the stories into a booklet which I volunteered to hand out for Guppy promotion at the conference. Those are being mailed, too, so I don't have to pack them.

However, I also volunteered (there are LOTS of things you can volunteer for at this conference) to host a table during the banquet. It's not necessary, but it's nice to give little table favors to the people who sign up to sit at your table. So I've been haunting the dollar store and other places and will have to pack those.

I'll also have to remember to pack my bookmarks--new ones made up with the five covers of my books: my novel, my short story collection, and three anthologies I have stories in. I had a very good year in 2011, getting my novel published AND those short story anthologies. I squeezed in a QRC (quick read code, I think). I wonder if anyone really uses those.

Can't forget my camera, my laptop, a flash stick with my latest projects on it, my e-reader loaded with some airplane reading. I won't need to bring other books, since I'll be given a bag full at Malice and won't be able to resist buying even more. A swimsuit? Maybe--oh sure, might as well. I'll also bring some copies of my collection, A PATCHWORK OF STORIES, to sell on consignment in the book dealer room where my novel will be on sale. The book dealer, Mystery Loves Company, has ordered those, so I won't have to deal with them either, unless there are problems with ordering. Fingers crossed!

I'll be back with a report (and pictures if I remember to take them) in May. Meanwhile, look for Evelyn David's guest blog on Friday, the 20th, and the chance to win a FREE BOOK! I'll check in here when my flight lands.

Book Review: The Vault by Boyd Morrison

I enjoyed “Rogue Wave,” an earlier thriller by Morrison, but haven’t read the first in this series featuring Tyler Locke, “The Ark.” In this book, we find a group of thieves robbing an auction house’s storage vault. There's no honor among these thieves, whatsoever! Jordan Orr, the ringleader, is after a woman’s hand made of pure gold, but he also pockets an ancient Greek document, unseen by his partners. Jordan doesn’t hesitate to kill off all three of his accomplices as soon as they’re not needed.

Jordan has fashioned an elaborate scheme that involves kidnapping Tyler Locke’s father to insure Tyler’s cooperation, and also nabbing the sister of a beautiful Greek scholar to force her to help him interpret arcane puzzle pieces. The chase leads from a bomb on a Seattle ferry to England to Italy and to Greece, and involves old radioactive power systems from abandoned Russian lighthouses. Along the way Locke and the Greek scholar must decipher puzzles originally set up by Archimedes to save the lives of the hostages. All this, Jordan hopes, will lead him to the secret of the fabled Midas touch and untold wealth.

Morrison writes with short chapters that make for a fast read, even though this thriller weighs in at over four hundred pages.

Reviewed for Suspense Magazine, fall of 2011 

Voting Time

No, the elections aren't for awhile yet. And the next primary is a couple of weeks away. But there's voting going on right now anyway!

You may (or may not) know that I do a group blog at All Things Writing (http://allthingswriting.blogspot.com/). We've entered our blog in a contest, through Goodreads, to win a trip to BookExpo America in June! All we ask is that you take a look at the blog. If you like what you see, consider clicking the link at the left on All Things Writing and give us a vote.

We don't promise to lower taxes (but remember to pay yours next week) or rebuild roads or fix the weather, but we do vow to keep bringing you topics we hope you get some good out of.

The blog has recently expanded to include guest bloggers and we have a bunch of them lined up, writers in varied genres, but all with something interesting to say.

Voting goes from April 10th to 23rd--vote now!

CHOKE has a lower price!

I've lowered the price of the ebook in anticipation of the Malice Domestic convention, where my mystery is in the running for an Agatha Award. If you don't have a copy yet, are attending Malice, and would like to read it before then, this is a good chance!

It has a 4 star rating on Amazon and some very nice reviews. Readers have said things like:

Choke is a dust devil of a ride through the Texas landscape of Immy's life. -Kate George

Overall, a funny, energetic, good natured read, particularly for young women who will relate to Immy's outlook on life. -Diana M. Hockley

 With an adorable cast including Imogene, her mother and her precious daughter and amusing dialogue, this pleasantly read story will have you yearning for more adventures with Imogene Duckworthy. -D. Love

The book was colorful, humorous, and a good tale.
Thank You, Ms. George, for a good time! -L. Rigod

With CHOKE, first-timer Kaye George has accomplished something special: an original mystery, an original Immy, and a novel that leaves readers laughing and wanting more. -Mary K. Waller

My only complaint is that the book is too short. I wanted more of all these characters. I hope there are many more Detective Duckworhty books in the future. -KB

Here's where you can get a copy in a matter of seconds.

http://www.amazon.com/Choke-ebook/dp/B0052BDE4Q/

If you get a copy and like it, I'd sure love to hear from you!

My final KDP results

Last month I offered my short story collection free for two days. I wasn't too disappointed with my results, reminding myself that this was a short story book and not a novel, but the numbers didn't impress me. 634 were downloaded, 590 in the US and 44 in the UK.

Afterwards, a few more sold and a couple were borrowed. A paperback sold, which is doesn't happen that often for this book. One of my single short stories also sold. CHOKE was doing well, but I attribute that to the Agatha nomination.

This time I offered A PATCHWORK OF STORIES for 3 days, and over a weekend. Last time was a Wednesday and Thursday, which someone had recommended somewhere. Much worse! In the US only 282 were downloaded, none bought, none borrowed, and 24 were downloaded in the UK. I did see sales of my single shorts, and CHOKE continued on its way, independently, I think.

I'm glad I tried the KDP Select program and glad I tried the free offers. If I hadn't, I'd never know if I should have or not. Since I only have one novel for sale, I was reluctant to take it out of the other markets for 90 days, which is what Kindle requires for this program. I'm glad now I didn't. When the 90 days are up, May 6th, I'll put PATCHWORK back on the other online sales sites.

The benefit is that 940 people downloaded my short stories. When they get around to reading them, I hope they like them. One happy reader posted an excellent review on Amazon--can't complain about that!

The exclusive thing is kinda silly, when you think about it. With Smashwords, you can make anything free at any time, and nothing is required other than for it to be loaded at Smashwords. Too bad that model isn't the norm!

So, now I know!

Travels with Camille

Please welcome, um, my friend to my blog today. You'll have to decide what to call today's guest. I usually call her Camille, but if you leave a comment WITH your email address you might win a copy of Ada's new book!

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As you can see, I love the name of Kaye's blog.  In fact, since I've been following Travels with Kaye, I've stolen quite a few ideas, like her Anti-Bucket list and other writing tips. Thanks for hosting me today anyway, Kaye!

As a writer, my travels have increased tremendously. For one thing, I've gone to conferences and book signings in places I'd never have visited otherwise, like Carmel, Indiana, where there's a wonderful dollhouse museum; and Winona, Minnesota, where a great indie bookstore had our names on a marquee and a reserved parking space in front. Oh, and an unnamed town near our southern border, where they told us not to leave the hotel alone after dark. But even that was interesting. Not so much the stolen luggage in a square state in the Midwest, but statistics tells me it had to happen at least once.

I've also traveled the alphabet through several different names. I guess Camille Minichino isn't long enough to support three series. So I made the trip to new IDs: Margaret Grace for the Miniature Mysteries and Ada Madison for the Academic Mysteries. I've submitted a proposal for a fourth series and can't wait to see to where in the alphabet I travel for that pen name.

For several novels, I've had to travel through time and research earlier centuries. One of my favorite trips was back to Galesburg, Illinois, 1858, to the Lincoln-Douglas debates. I was writing scenes where citizens of my fictional town of Lincoln Point, California (for the Miniature Mysteries) reenacted the debate, and I ended up reading the texts of all of the long debates, plus several other Lincoln books.

I never would have guessed the format for the Lincoln-Douglas debates: one candidate spoke for 60 minutes, then the other candidate spoke for 90 minutes, and then the first candidate was allowed a 30-minute rebuttal. A little different from our sound-bit political debates?

But my best travels are to people, with professions and hobbies wildly different from my own. Talking to people with passions outside my wheelhouse is a great pleasure and a never-ending source of information.

I've spent time with experts on a gun range and hours in a trailer that houses medevac pilots  and nurses. I've talked to race car drivers and equestrians. I've read veterinary magazines and watched tap-dancing videos. One source gave me his set of books on mortuary science and a cop gave me a entire "murder book."

For my latest release, "The Probability of Murder," I had to travel to stores that sell lottery tickets and got to meet the clerks who deal in such purchases. Eye-opening! And a character was born.

Whether they've been of the Please-Place-Your-Shoes-in-the-Tray kind, or the CyberCloud kind, I couldn't write without my travels.

***Tell us about your best or worst travel experience and win a chance for a copy of "The Probability of Murder" by A-is-for Ada Madison.

 Camille Minichino is a retired physicist turned writer.

As Camille Minichino, she's the author of the Periodic Table Mysteries. As Margaret Grace, she writes the Miniature Mysteries, based on her lifelong hobby. As Ada Madison, she writes an academic series, the Professor Sophie Knowles series.

Soon, every aspect of her life will be a mystery series. 

Camille has also published articles for popular magazines and teaches science and writing workshops in and around the Bay Area.Publish Post

Visit Camille (and all the others) at http://www.minichino.com/.