KdBlog

Now Available in Multiple epub Formats

Where the Dreams End is now available in multiple epub formats. Just go to Smashwords and use coupon number VS52W and get $1.00 off on your purchase now through March 31st.

Best Laid Plans

When Where the Dreams End was published, my idea was to have my short story collection, Nine Kinds of Trouble, come out at the same time. My thought was to use the collection as a sales tool for Where the Dreams End. I thought if people got a little taste of my writing in NKoT, they'd come back and purchase Where the Dreams End. It seems I had it backwards and people that have bought and enjoyed Where the Dreams End, come back and purchase Nine Kinds of Trouble. That's very cool, but unexpected. I'll take that kind of surprise any time I can get it. 

So, what promotional ideas have you had? Did they work they way you intended or did you get a surprising result like mine? Share your promotion ideas, successes and discoveries. I'll draw a winner from the comments and send you a signed copy of Nine Kinds of Trouble.

It's Read AN EBOOK WEEK at Smashwords

Drop in at Smashwords for, Read an EBook Week, and pick up a bargain.

Use Coupon Code RAE50 for half price on Where the Dreams End.

Use Coupon Code RAE25 for twenty-five percent off of Nine Kinds of Trouble.

It's a great time to try out an eBook.

Off to the Callaway County Public Library to teach a writing workshop. This should be fun. More later.

What I Like to Read: Jim Butcher

I Heart Harry Dresden. Seriously, if you like a detective with a little magic, Harry is your guy. He's tall, he's smart, he's a smart ass, he's funny, he's humble, he's a wizard. What's not to like, oh, and he wears an awesome black leather duster and cowboy boots. When I grow up, I want to be Harry Dresden. Maybe Harriet Dresden. Doesn't matter as long as I get to wear the awesome black leather duster.

Wow, I liked Beth's post so much I published it twice. I'm not sure why that happened. have to consult my guru.

Edit: Fixed it.

Tuesdays with Friends Introduces Beth Solheim

 This week's Tuesdays with Friends guest is Beth Solheim. Beth's mystery, At Witt's End, is a hoot, and I'm guessing from her blog this week, that a lot of her material comes from her family. Beth has promised to send a signed copy of At Witt's End to one lucky blog commenter today, so don't just stop by, make sure you leave a comment. It could make you a winner.

Humor! Or, more important, the humor of the situation.

 

I write humorous mysteries. When authors observe human behavior, or get caught up in those I-don’t-want-to-be-here situations, it often becomes fodder for a book. I’ll bet you didn’t know that some folks come into this world with a neon panel on their forehead that announces their frailties and vulnerabilities. I’m one of those individuals. One day this past summer my forehead announced my patience level hit minus twenty-seven. Actually, there were several of us with neon panels blinking a blistering red. When it happens to me, I have to step back and dig deep for the redeeming benefits. They always seem to surface.

 

I was the designated tour guide for the day, so looked on the Chamber of Commerce website and choose the Blueberry Festival. My husband’s brother and wife, my mother-in-law (aka Granny), my sister-in-law and a couple cousins-in-law came along for the adventure.

 

We left early (in a caravan of three cars) to situate Granny in a comfortable spot and get a good seat at the parade. The first clue that this would be the day from hell was my husband’s comment as we pulled into town, “It sure doesn’t look like there’s a celebration today.” He was correct. The streets were bare, several stores were closed, and after a stop at the gas station (all three cars), we found out the festival had been the previous weekend and the Chamber calendar was wrong. Dang!

 

OK, now what? Since Granny was sitting impatiently in the car, we were hungry, and it was supposed to be a day of fun and adventure, we huddled and came up with another destination thirty miles down the road.

 

We pulled up to a gift shop/flower garden/restaurant combo and gasped. Granny can’t walk well, and it’s all up hill. My husband said he’d try to find a better spot on the top of the hill near the restaurant. Off he went, circled our group twice, then literally drove over someone’s lawn to get up the hill. We don’t talk about the concrete gnome statue with the red hat he drove over and cracked in half. By this time, Granny’s eyes sparked dark with impatience and starvation. We scurried into the restaurant and were met by a waitress who said, “We’re closing in ten minutes.”

 

“Oh no you’re not! It took an act of congress to get us here and we’re going to eat.” We sat around a rickety picnic table in their open air seating section (because the other sections were closed), oblivious to the nasty stares coming from the staff. Granny looked at the menu and shouted, “Nine bucks for a sandwich. Are you nuts?” We ate with heads hung low as Granny drank a two-buck-eighty cup of coffee and took two bites from her hoity-toity sandwich.

 

Then, off to another phase of our tour, twenty miles north. The Amish Furniture store. Granny might like that. It was closed. Poopola.

 

Finally, we pulled in to a tiny town that boasted a fine Mexican restaurant. Granny agreed she could eat again, so we piled into the crowded building (after hoisting Granny up a set of stairs). Margaritas were in order. We’d earned them. Plus they specialized in yummy strawberry margaritas. Granny sipped hers, grimaced and announced, “This tastes like shit.” Of course, because she’s hard of hearing, she speaks twenty decibels above normal and everyone heard her. As Granny browsed the menu she stated she’d never heard of this kind of food and didn’t want any. I ordered her a Lil Gringo, which is an American hamburger and fries. When it came, she refused to eat it because she wanted food like we were eating.

 

When we delivered Granny home, she said, “I sure had fun. We should do that again sometime.”

 

Today, when I look back on this event, it’s fodder. Funny fodder. Would the relatives agree? Probably not, but I can guarantee it will make its way to my next book. By the way, I’ve been banned from being the tour guide.

 

Thanks, Kadi, for the opportunity to join you on Tuesdays with Friends.

Like the main character in her Sadie Witt mystery series, Beth Solheim was born with a healthy dose of imagination and a hankering to solve a puzzle. She learned her reverence for reading from her mother, who was never without a book in her hand.

If you'd like to learn more about Beth and the characters in, At Witt's End, stop by and see her at bsolheim.com or check out her blog mysteries and chit chat.  You can also catch her at Reading Minnesota. And don't forget, a signed copy of At Witt's End could be yours. All you have to do is leave a comment for Beth.

 

Fill Up Your Writing Bank

Just the act of going about your daily life can drain the deposits from your writing bank. Kids need to be dressed and fed. The boss expects you to show up and actually get something done at work. Your spouse needs you to notice them on a regular basis. There are PTA meetings, school board meetings, board meetings, angry customers, angry drivers, fussy babies, interfering family members, and well meaning but annoying neighbors. All of those things suck you dry until at the end of the day, just getting into your PJ's is a major accomplishment. But, hey, now you're supposed to write. 

How do you keep your writing bank balance from going into negative numbers? Everyone is different, so there's no one right answer to this question. A massage is good for me, or a nice dinner out. A movie or a walk in a beautiful park. For me, nature makes the biggest deposits into my writing bank. A glass of iced tea on the deck, with squirrels chattering above my head. That's a deposit. A beautiful sunset. That's a deposit. A chatty email from a good friend. That's a deposit. Find your stress relievers where you can. Do something nice just for yourself at least once a week. Even if it's locking yourself in the bathroom with a candle and a romance novel and a bottle of bubble bath. That hour to yourself is a major deposit in the writer's bank.

They say for writers to be successful, there needs to be some angst in their life. I can't completely disagree with that. I've done some of my best writing when my life was a complete disaster. It's nice to have another world to disappear into for a little while, where the problems are all of your own making and the solutions are logical and sometimes fun, but you can't make that escape if you can't get away from the overwhelming stress. You have to have a nice balance in your writing account.

I sat at the computer last night with a kitty purring on my feet. That was the deposit in my writer's bank for the day. What about you? Have you made a deposit today? It's early yet. Make one and share it with the blog. Maybe we can borrow your idea and make a deposit of our own.

What I Like to Read: Dick Francis

I’ve read them all. I loved them all. I reread them from time to time. They’re like old friends. Life getting you down? Just grab a Dick Francis novel. The bad guys are bad, but the good guys always win. To the Hilt is my all time favorite.

What’s your favorite Dick Francis novel?
Is there anyone writing now that reminds you of his style?

The book signing that didn't really happen, or did it?

So, I had a signing today at Beks. I was prepared. I had four door prizes. That's three more prizes than visitors and the visitor didn't enter the contest. I had a laptop displaying my website. Free bookmarks, an attractive book display, and a brand new Sharpie for signing.

My cousin, her daughter and all her middle school buddies came in for a quick visit.

My Aunt and another cousin stopped by and had lunch with me and stayed to visit. 

My trainer from the YMCA showed up for a quick visit and solicited a donation of books for the YMCA Auction. And I got a nice email from someone that was sorry they couldn't get away to attend.

Total for the day; 1 visiter that wasn't related to me, $50 bucks for lunch, appetizers and a tip, 3 books donated to a charity auction, and an hour and half to sit, visit and nibble and I didn't even have to feel guilty about it because I was supposed to be there just sitting, and visiting, and nibbling.

All in all, it was a nice little break in the day. 

Next time I'm gonna borrow a box of kittens from someone and sit outside Wal-Mart. :)

Join Me!

If you're in the area, join me at Beks on Court Street in Fulton, Missouri, today from 2:00 to 3:30. We'll talk about writing, or mysteries, and you can pick up a sneak peek of Murder at Timber Bridge. Or just have a late lunch at Beks.