Talking about polls by Dru Ann Love

It's that time again when I have to come up with a post. I struggle to find something readerly to talk about that hasn't been done. I talked about the reader conventions I attended. I talked about the book signings I've gone too. I talked about subject matters that interested me.

So I ask, what do you want this avid reader/blogger on a writer's blog to talk about?

Recently, I introduced weekly reading poll on my dru's book musings Facebook page. Below are some of the results.


Do you like to have a snack or a drink while reading?

• Yes (68%)
• Sometimes (24%)
• No (8%)

What should the central focus of a story be?

• Character (49%)
• Character/Setting/Plot (44%)
• Plot (27%)

If you were a writer, what genre would you write?

• mystery (44%)
• cozy (25%)
• suspense, thriller (13%)
• paranormal (9%)
• romance (9%)
• historical (6%)
• romantic suspense (4%)

Have you ever cried or shed a tear or two while reading a book?

• Yes (98%)
• No (2%)

Romance in your mysteries?

• Yes (83%)
• No (17%)

Type of book you bring when traveling?

• E-book (74%)
• Print (49%)
• Audio (9%)

Do you review the books that you read?

• Yes (46%)
• Sometimes (46%)
• No (8%)

Are there any questions you would like to know from my readers?

Are you surprised at these results?

A Simple, Life-Changing Thought by T.K. Thorne

Writer, humanist,
          dog-mom, horse servant and cat-slave,
       Lover of solitude
          and the company of good friends,
        New places, new ideas
           and old wisdom.






Have you ever tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep because your mind was wildly bouncing from thought to thought? One of those thoughts being, Why can’t I stop thinking? What an interesting thought, your mind says. How can “I” stop thinking? Am I not my thoughts?
I’ll skip to the answer:  No. “You” are not your thoughts.

The way to that conclusion is deceptively simple, yet life changing.

I wonder if the whole practice of meditation came about because of some woman’s difficulty sleeping thousands of years ago. Yes, I know men take credit, but, according to the latest science, women’s brains are more active than men’s. Women multitask and use more parts of the brain, leading, interestingly enough, to the fact that they need more sleep than men. Their brains get more tired.
They can also get stuck in thought buzz-land. Men too, of course.

Meditation is a practice of being still physically and watching mentally. It is becoming deliberately aware of the “I” observing the thoughts. Each time one arises, you recognize it and put it aside. You are not so much stilling the thoughts as finding the Watcher. She is elusive. If you stop paying attention, she slips away and seems to loose herself in the thought, to become the thought.

What is the point?

Just as in sports, you train muscles, in meditation practice, you are training the muscle of your mind. Don’t get me wrong. The thoughts that arise are not unimportant. Your subconscious is a power house that you can channel, something I wrote about in 3 Steps To Engage The Secret Smartest Part of Your Brain. What arises from your subconscious can be significant and powerful or it can be trivial. It can be contradictory, emotionally loaded, or an idle worry. Your subconscious is as much a part of you as your lungs or heart, but a thought is its product. It is not “you” the watcher, you the decider. It is not “thinking” that distinguishes us from most of the other life on this planet, it is the awareness of thinking.

In our culture, we are not taught to distinguish between the thought and the watcher-decider.

"It is not “thinking” that distinguishes us from most of the other life on this planet, it is the awareness of thinking."

So what?

Here’s what. If we think—I am the worst wife/mother/sister that ever was—and make no distinction between the thought and the watcher-decider, we give that thought en ormous power. It is just a thought! You could have also have thought—I am a big banana.

What is the difference?

Vive la différence, my friend. You are not a big banana. Or a little one, for that matter. Thoughts populate for many reasons. There is a lot of electrical activity going on in the brain. Our brain developed, not to be the most precise or effective instrument for many tasks, but to be creative. Our success in survival is an outgrowth of that ability:

Nut in hard shell=no food. Nut + stone + smash=food.

The possibility of creativity (which meant survival in evolutionary terms) arises when two or multiple disparate ideas collide, i.e., our subconscious brain is designed to be a high-energy-let’s-try-this-and-that-together, kind of place. It is such a wild environment (pay attention to your dreams if you don’t believe this) that an “I” monitor arose to make decisions. This “I” can get in the way sometimes. It is not needed so much when a tiger appears. Decision to Get Out of Dodge is made on a more basic level. The being who stops to ponder about tigers and life gets eaten.

But the “I”-monitor/watcher-decider, plays an extraordinarily important role. As a writer, what I do with a creative idea is as critical as having one. Some ideas need to be discarded. An idea is not sacred. A thought is not necessarily true. You are not a big banana. You are probably not the worst person on the planet either. It is just a thought and you are free to have another one, such as, I am the best that I can be at the moment. Or I made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world. Or I wonder why I am beating myself up over something stupid?

You can let go of anger because you can have angry (or whatever) thoughts, but you don’t have to keep them. You can even change them, because they are not “you.” They are just thoughts. This tiny, subtle distinction can literally change your life.

And maybe help you sleep.

T.K. Thorne’s childhood passion for storytelling deepened when she became a police officer in Birmingham, Alabama.  “It was a crash course in life and what motivated and mattered to people.” In her newest novel, HOUSE OF ROSE, murder and mayhem mix with a little magic when a police officer discovers she’s a witch.

Both her award-winning debut historical novels, NOAH’S WIFE and ANGELS AT THE GATE, tell the stories of unknown women in famous biblical tales—the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. Her first non-fiction book, LAST CHANCE FOR JUSTICE, the inside story of the investigation and trials of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, was featured on the New York Post’s “Books You Should Be Reading” list.


T.K. loves traveling and speaking about her books and life lessons. She writes at her mountaintop home near Birmingham, often with a dog and a cat vying for her lap.


More info at TKThorne.com. Join her private newsletter email list and receive a two free short stories at “TK’s Korner.”

The Second Shot Release Day!

by Bethany Maines

Have you ever seen one of those Looney Tunes characters just runs around screaming?  That feels like me today.  I mean, I’m trying to keep it contained, but… inside I look like this.

My latest novel, The Second Shot, is now available to the public and that means that people will (hopefully) buy it and then (ack!) read it.  Today is the day that we see if all of my writing, marketing, and general daydreaming has paid off. I’ll be celebrating the release with on-line “take-over” parties and giveaways.

GIVEAWAYS:

Enter to win 1 of 10 print copies on Goodreads – giveaway ends 10/26 – CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Enter to win a $40 Amazon card and a signed copy on Facebook - CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Meet me online and maybe get more free stuff!

October 25: Take-Over of Next Steps PR Facebook Page

October 30: BestStellars BestSellers Release Party (stay tuned for who’s partying!) 

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY:

The Second Shot is a thriller/mystery dished up with a heavy side of romance. Think that sounds like you’re cup of tea, but aren’t quite ready to commit?  Read the first chapter at: bethanymaines.com/the-second-shot-chapter-1 

WHAT ITS ABOUT:

A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshal Maxwell Ames the affection of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem—someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Dominique Deveraux never expected Max to reappear in her life, let alone apologize, but as Dominique investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family Max quickly becomes far more than her one time college classmate. Now, Max and Dominique must dodge mercenaries and bullets as they try to make sure that they’re the only ones who get a second shot.

Buy on all platforms: https://books2read.com/The-Second-Shot

National Hispanic Awareness Month by Juliana Aragon Fatula

Dear Reader,

My godparents and my little sister, Lynette's godparents
 circa 1959,  Southern Colorado

Cast of Su Teatro production of 1995 Intro to Chicano History 101
written by Anthony J. Garcia

In October1995, I travelled to Sicily, los Azores, the UAE, and the island of Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean with the Latin Locomotions for the Department of Defense to entertain the troops for Hispanic Awareness Month. 

I graduated from Colorado State University Pueblo in 2008. I was 50. During that time I travelled to San Antonio with las mujeres unidas de CSU Pueblo to a HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) conference for Hispanic Awareness Month and met lots of mi gente and fell in love with San Anton. 

Here I am all these years later I'm a member of the Macondo Writers Foundation based in San Antonio, I'm a published writer and have friends through out the country who are writers. 

I don't consider myself Hispanic, that is a government label given to Latinos. I'm Chicana and I despise the term Hispanic but since it's Hispanic Awareness Month let's just use it for now. Maybe someday we'll get to use a different label, Latinx Awareness Month. 

So here are a list of Latinx writers in no particular order that have inspired me to become a master writer. 

Denise Chavez
Sandra Cisneros
Lucha Corpi
Gloria Anzaldüa
Adela Najarro
Ana Castillo
Brenda Cardenas
Carmen Tafolla
Cherrie L. Moraga
Emmy Perez
Evalina Fernandez
Francisco Aragon
Fred Arroyo
Jessica Helen Lopez
Lisa Chavez
Manuel Ramos
Mario Acevedo
Norma Elia Cantu
Pat Alderete
Reyna Grande
Rodney Gomez
Sheryl Luna
Tim Z. Hernandez
Liz Gonzalez
Lorna Dee Cervantes
and Aimée Medina Carr's novel, River of Love with Homebound Publications. 

Please consider reading some of these Latinx writers during the month of October and tell them Juliana, the Crazy Chicana in Catholic City, sent you. 

And if I forgot to mention your name in my list, I'll catch you next year. 

The Joys of Getting Out!

By Lynn McPherson

On Saturday, I had a book launch for my third book, The Girls Dressed For Murder. Accomplished and hilarious author, Melodie Campbell, shared the stage with me. We did short readings and answered questions by talented artist and reviewer, Don Graves. It was at our local independent bookstore and had an excellent turnout—made up of local authors, supporters, and readers. It was a wonderful afternoon and reminded me of the fun that can be had by doing something different.

It is often hard to tear myself away from the laptop. Other than my regular procrastination hobbies, such as tidying and organizing my writing area (nothing too in depth, of course!), I have been known to be somewhat of a homebody. Today I want to talk about fun stuff to do outside of the comforts of home--things to get us moving past the front door. I'm going to share my top picks. Hopefully, this will serve as a good reminder to you, as it has for me, that there's a lot going on out there--and some of it is truly worthwhile. Maybe you'll have a few ideas to add. I'm always looking for suggestions!

First of all, there’s nature. The natural beauty of the outdoors is unparalleled. Venture into it and look around--take in the red, orange, and yellow hues mixed in with the never-changing coniferous trees that fall has to offer. It is a great reminder that the magic Mother Nature provides us deserves our attention--even a jaunt in an urban park will give people a glimpse of the colours and crispness of the season.

There is also the importance of socializing. Friend time is not just for the young. It is important to take time out of our busy lives to connect with our favourite people and have a laugh. It has been proven to lower stress and cause spontaneous moments of joy!

The last reason is for all the writers out there—inspiration! How can someone write about life when they are shut away? Lone dogs may make for a mysterious character, but if a writer isn’t out and about, how can they accurately portray the way people interact and behave on a daily basis? Connection is key.

So there you have it, folks. A gentle reminder to dust off the old walking shoes (or stilettos!) and get out of the house—you’ll be glad you did.

Lynn McPherson has worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, ran a small business, and taught English across the globe. She has travelled the world solo where her daring spirit has led her to jump out of airplanes, dive with sharks, and learn she would never master a surfboard. She now channels her lifelong love of adventure and history into her writing, where she is free to go anywhere, anytime. Her cozy series has three books out: The Girls' Weekend Murder and The Girls Whispered Murder, and The Girls Dressed For Murder.  

[Lynn's Author Site] - [Buy Lynn's Book]

Experiencing Noir at the Bar

by Paula Gail Benson

When I think about writing or film described as “noir,” the words bleak, cynical, dark, and fatalistic come to mind. I’m immediately reminded of black and white movies, usually produced during the 1930s or 1940s and often featuring Humphrey Bogart. In a list of Bogart’s top 31 films, 13 of them are identified as noir.

Lawrence Block

In Noir at the Bar: An Oral History, written by Keith Rawson in 2014, a more recent phenomenon of crime authors reading their noir short stories or passages from longer works, originated in 2008 in Philadelphia, then spread to St. Louis and Los Angeles. Events often take place in conjunction with a mystery conference, but may be “stand alone” evenings organized by local writers groups.

Dr. Warren Moore

Noir at the Bar arrived in Newberry, South Carolina, a small college town near the center of the state known for its famous Opera House, on October 10 when Dr. Warren Moore, an excellent author and Professor of English at Newberry College, organized an event at Bar Figaro. He selected the perfect location. Bar Figaro offered a tiffany domed, brick walled, atmospheric backdrop for readings by professors Dr. Moore and Dr. David Rachels; former students Kasey Stuart-Schroer and Karina Tarbell; and invited guests, including Lawrence Block, who was spending a semester at the college as Gerding Writer-in-Residence; Block’s daughter, Jill D. Block; North Carolina author and filmmaker Eryk Pruitt; and S.A. Cosby, who read his Anthony nominated story, “The Grass Beneath My Feet.”

Each author captivated the audience with somber, evocative works in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe. Their presentations offered the perfect entertainment for an October evening. And, the door prizes given between readings added to the fun and the introduction of readers to new authors.

Dr. Moore promises that more events will be planned for the future. I’m delighted this program has made its way to our community and look forward to attending more Noir at the Bar.

Why I Love Writing About a Food Blogger

Special Guest Post by Debra Sennefelder

I’m so excited to be here today to share with you the three reasons why I love writing about a food blogger. There’s a piece of advice that new writers hear repeatedly and that is to write what you know. It makes sense on so many levels, and when I sat down to write the first Food Blogger mystery, I knew I wanted it to be culinary-themed, but I wasn’t sure what Hope’s job would be. Then it hit me – she’s a food blogger. Now, three books later, there’s no doubt in my mind that I chose the right career for Hope.

So why did I chose to make Hope a food blogger?

The first reason is that I know the job inside and out. Nine years ago, I launched a food blog with a handful of recipes, a few cookbooks I loved and wanted to review and a desire to do something different.

I found a community of bloggers, spent my nights and weekends cooking, baking, and photographing. It was a lot of work, especially since I had no photography skills. But I loved the blog, and whenever I got a new comment, I was so excited. Fast forward to 2015 when I sat down to write the first Food Blogger mystery. I understood what Hope would be juggling, how she had to balance her personal life with her public life on her blog, and how she had to hustle to earn money. Back when she started her blog, ads were her primary income producer. Now she has created her own e-products to sell to her readers, and she’s doing sponsored posts for brands, plus some other things to earn her living.

The next reason I love writing about a food blogger is the behind-the-scenes tasks that go on when writing the book. Keeping up to date on all things blogging is fun, but what’s crazy fun is developing the recipes for the books. This is a perk I love because the kitchen is my favorite room in our home and I get to whip up yummy meals and desserts all in the name of writing. By the way, my neighbors and friends love it when I’m working on recipes for upcoming books.

 Another reason why I enjoy writing these books is that I get to explore the relationship between Hope and her readers/followers, and it intrigues me. I don’t want to say too much about this because I intend to explore this dynamic in a future book. However, what I can say today is that I’m fascinated by the new relationships we’re developing online. Hope has thousands of followers, and because with each post/recipe, she shares her life, her home and her loved ones (with their permission of course) her readers feel like they know her. Now, not every reader will love her, but maybe a few may love her too much. Either way, it’s a fascinating dynamic to explore.

One of the great things about the cozy genre is that we get to learn about different careers and hobbies through those books. With my background, I’m able to sprinkle little details about Hope’s job and hopefully give readers a glimpse of what it looks like to have a food blog.

Bio:

Debra Sennefelder loves to read - mystery books being her biggest passion. When she is not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and is a former food blogger. Born and raised in New York City, she now resides in Connecticut with her family. She is the author of the Food Blogger and Resale Boutique Mystery Series.

Links:

WEBSITE: Debra Sennefelder

FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE: Debra Sennefelder Author Page

About THREE WIDOWS AND A CORPSE: Third book in the Food Blogger Mystery series available on October 29, 2019.

Food blogger Hope Early finds one item not on her scavenger hunt list—a dead husband . . .

Between developing her food blog, Hope at Home, and choosing low-cal recipes for a feature in Cooking Now! magazine, Hope has a full plate. Still, she’s never too busy to compete in a Jefferson, Connecticut, tradition—the town’s annual scavenger hunt.

But as she races with her team to check off the next item, Hope discovers a grisly surprise—the body of shady real estate developer Lionel Whitcomb, shot in a parking lot. His wife Elaine, who’s also in the hunt, gasps and nearly faints. But two other women on the scene cry out that their husband is dead.

It turns out this louse of a spouse was more than a little lax in legally divorcing his former wives. Did one of them put a bullet in the bigamist? Number one suspect and number three wife Elaine begs Hope to investigate. Now Hope is on a new kind of hunt—for a cold-hearted killer and triple widow-maker . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

Question for Readers: What was the career/hobby that you’ve read about in a cozy mystery that unexpectedly piqued your interest and you wanted to learn more about it?

Only a Pawn in Their Game (Bullet Books Speed Reads #7)

by Kay Kendall

 My fellow Texan Manning Wolfe—friend, author, ace lawyer—has launched an exciting new series called Bullet Books Speed Reads.  

BULLET BOOKS! ON A PLANE… ON A TRAIN…FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET!
Bullet Books are speed reads for the busy traveler, commuter, and beach-goer. All are new original crime fiction stories that can be read in two to three hours. Gripping cinematic mysteries and thrillers by your favorite authors! Page turners for fans who want to escape into a good read. ALL ABOARD!

Manning asked me to write for her project, but there was a snag. She didn’t want historical mysteries, and that's what I write. Luckily, we compromised and settled on a time that was old enough for me but not too long ago for her.

That means ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME is set in the tense summer of 1989. The Communist hold on Eastern Europe is coming apart at the seams. The metaphorical Iron Curtain is shredding and the REAL Berlin Wall is shaking. Emotions run high in international diplomatic--and SPY--circles.

Into this hot cauldron of intrigue I drop my protagonist, Ms. Sammy Strauss.

Sammy expects a carefree summer during her internship at the US Embassy in Vienna. Competing spy rings clash in desperation and threaten her life as every Viennese waltz accompanies a murder. Is the handsome stranger she meets heading for romance or using her as a pawn?

Can she figure out who’s playing the tune before the dangerous dance ends badly?

Lucky for YOU, the potential reader, you can read my new book ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME to find out the answer. This book and others in this new series are available at all online book sellers in paperback and digital format. (NOTE: Keeping with my long-standing tradition, the name of my Bullet Book is also a Bob Dylan song title.)
~~~~~~~

 

 

Author Kay Kendall is passionate about historical mysteries.  She lives in Texas with her Canadian husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Her second book Rainy Day Women won the Silver Falchion for best mystery at Killer Nashville. Visit Kay at her website http://www.austinstarr.com/  
or on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor

No Tricks, All Treats

October is a time for treats.

Even if you're not ringing doorbells with a plastic pumpkin hooked over your arm, there are still treats available. 

BOOKS!

These mysteries are the first in their series, and they are FREE on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.

First from Elise Sax, Die Noon is the first installment in the hilarious, romantic Goodnight Mysteries series. 

Let Us Prey by Jamie Lee Scott is the first in the USA TODAY bestselling Gotcha Detective Series

Armed and Fabulous by Camilla Chafer explores what happens when a boring temp job turns deadly!

From my longtime critique partner, Sally Berneathy. Lindsay, the Death by Chocolate heroine, will make you smile, and the included recipes are to-die-for.

Wanna Get Lucky by Deborah Coonts will hook you! Las Vegas, mayhem, glamor, and laugh out loud funny!

And finally, my own Poppy Fields. If you've not met Poppy, pack your bags for big fun!

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

The DHG Challenge by Debra H. Goldstein

The DHG Challenge by Debra H. Goldstein

I’m worried about my friends and family. Lately, even though I’ve been hearing many wonderful things like births of children and grandchildren, awards, new books, obtaining an agent, or winning a little on the lottery, I’ve also been learning about friends getting hurt, sick, or dying. Maybe it’s my age, but I don’t think that’s the only reason I’m so much more attuned to the “news.”

I think it is a conscious decision to step back from the “chatter.” Whether one is into reported news, which constantly juggles breaking political or environmental stories against touching human interest pieces, or is simply trying to balance all the things necessary in life from grocery shopping, taking kids to school, working, or doing whatever else one does, one is bombarded by noise and responsibilities.

The intense level of things happening makes it easy to get lost in the mundane. It’s hard to pause and take a breath – to smell the flowers, laugh at a joke, or curl up with a good book. Our computers, voice driven machines, and other technological devices supposedly make our lives easier, but we often seem more overwrought and rushed.

What to do about it?

I’m making a conscious decision to stop and announce, “Not me, anymore.” I’m going to go back to making time for myself – whether exercising, reading, or hanging out on the couch, I’m taking back a few hours for myself. Will you join me?

We’ll call it The DHG Challenge. Our motto will be “Time for Me.” It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, but it must be something personal to you.

There will be a guest blogger in my November slot, but I’ll report how The DHG Challenge goes on December 13^th. In the meantime, go out, enjoy, and then e-mail how you make time for yourself at DHG@DebraHGoldstein.com. 

I’m going to take the time to read book.  What are you going to do?

Book Review of Frankie Y. Bailey's What the Fly Saw by Juliana Aragon Fatula

Dear Reader,

I just finished reading Frankie Y. Bailey’s sequel to the Red Queen Dies, the book titled, What the Fly Saw is so great I couldn’t put it down until I read it cover to cover just like I did with The Red Queen Dies. I gave the first mystery four stars because I was unhappy with the ending. Ha. She hooked me into reading the sequel and that’s what great writers do. They hook us into reading and not putting the book down. They call it a page turner. I call it a midnight page turner burner. I couldn’t keep my eyes open last night so I closed the book and slept until morning. I woke up made some chai and returned to the book to finish. I didn’t want to do anything else. I was hooked and hooked good. 

So, hats off to Frankie Y. Bailey. I didn’t know the author before my friend introduced me to her, but I’m a fan now. I want to read everything she’s written. She has won awards and made a name for herself in the mystery genre, but she also wrote some police crime procedurals I’m dying to get my hands on. 

So dear reader, I want to revise my original rating of four stars to five and give her sequel five stars as well. Anyone that can keep me up all night turning pages earns a five out of five stars. I look forward to reading more about her characters, Hannah McCabe and her partner, Mike Baxter. I’m patiently waiting for the next book. Until then, I’ll be reading her other books and learning more from this master writer. I suggest you do the same. She has a great style of writing and as a woman of color, and a writer, I plan on learning as much as I can from her and sharing with you, my readers.

From her book jacket: Frankie Y. bailey is a professor at the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany/SUNY. She is not only a highly respected wrier of crime fiction, she is also recognized as the author of fascinating non-fiction titles that explore the intersections of crime, history, and popular culture. She is an Macavity Award winner and has been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Agatha awards. She is a past executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime.  

More information can be found at:  

https://www.frankieybailey.com/amateur-sleuth

http://typem4murder.blogspot.com

The Marketing Paradox

by Bethany Maines

A funny thing happens when you begin marketing book. Suddenly a project that has been intensely personal becomes public property. And even worse, once it’s public, the public begin to have opinions about it. (The nerve!) And as much as an author wants everyone to universally love our precious baby novel, not everyone is going to. From reading while in a bad mood, to just not being someone’s cup of tea, not everyone is going to like a book.

But even if everything does go as smoothly as possible and someone does love the book, suddenly ownership becomes shared with everyone who loves it. The story takes up residence in someone else's head which, for an author who has had those characters living in her head for months or years, is intensely strange and disconcerting. With each book I write I start out wanting to share about it immediately.  It’s like falling in love.  You’ve met these wonderful, hilarious, romantic, daring people and you want to tell everyone about them. But as I move into the marketing stage I find that in some ways I become more protective of my characters and story. Please love that one even though I’ve made him annoying.  And don’t make fun of her – she has hidden depths! Although, yes, go ahead and hate him.  We all should hate him.

Except that a book needs to be shared to be successful. I want strangers to talk about it, readers to review it, and friends to share it. Those things are literally what make a book a success. It is a very strange dichotomy of wanting to shout as loud as possible while at the same time hoping nobody looks at me while I'm doing it. So nobody look at me while I say this next bit...

The Second Shot is coming out in two weeks!!! Please share the news with others. A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshall Maxwell Ames the love of Dominique Deveraux. Six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up, but there’s just one tiny problem: someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Now Max must make sure that the only one getting a second shot at Dominique is him.

Pre-order on all epub platforms (Kindle coming soon!): CLICK HERE

Want a chance to win a free print edition of The Second Shot? Enter to win at Goodreads!   CLICK HERE to Enter!

---

Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she's not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.