INK SPOT NEWS ~ Midnight Ink May Releases

Here are Midnight Ink's May releases... check out these great books!






Chip Off the Ice Block Murder
By: Jessie Chandler 
A Shay O'Hanlon Caper #4

Death Runs Adrift

By: Karen MacInerney 

The Gray Whale Inn

Mystery #6

“MacInerney’s charming sixth offers beautiful scenery, an 

assortment of appended recipes, and one of her strongest mysteries to date.”

—Kirkus Reviews

Jailhouse Glock
By: Lizbeth Lipperman 
A Dead Sister Talking Mystery #2
"Lipperman’s blend of a girls-club feel and small town 
sleuthing makes for an attractive, lighthearted package."
—Publishers Weekly

Fleur de Lies
By: Maddy Hunter 
A Passport to Peril Mystery #9

"A river cruise down the Seine with a group of octogenarians could be magical for Emily's tour group.  Or it could mean murder for one of the passengers.  Don't miss the ninth trip (after Bonnie of Evidence) in this always entertaining series." - Library Journal 

The Day She Died
A Novel
By: Catriona McPherson 
"McPherson’s second stand-alone is a tour de force, a creepy 
psychological thriller that will leave you breathless."
—Kikus Reviews (starred review)

INKSPOT NEWS - July 6, 2013

Here are the new releases from Midnight Ink for July, 2013. They're both wonderful reads!


Out of the Frying Pan by Robin Allen

 “A must-read for cozy lovers.”—Publishers Weekly

“Allen delivers a breezy and likeable menu.”—Kirkus Reviews

Pickle in the Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler

“In Chandler's thrilling third Shay O'Hanlon caper … Chandler keeps the suspense high as flustered Shay and spunky Eddy Quartermaine, Shay's mom stand-in, seek to prove JT's innocence -- and learn a few surprises about her past along the way. ”—Publishers Weekly

Where Have I Been?

Hello everyone!

Yep, I haven't posted in a while.  What have I been doing that is more important that writing a blog post??  Sigh, everything it seems.

I went to a conference in April in Madison, WI.  I went for two reasons - I lived in Madison for 10 years and it was great to go back and visit.  I saw a few friends, saw some sights and ate at a few of my favorite places.  The other reason - all my family lives 20 minutes from Madison so I was able to to work in a visit.  :)

I also attended Malice Domestic.  Holy cows.  What a fantastic weekend.  We had a ton of Midnight Ink authors there and we had a blast.  What amazed me was the excitement and electricity around the MI authors.  Pretty much if you saw one Inker, you would see two or three more.  If an Inker was on a panel, other Inkers were there in support.  I could not have been more proud of our group.  It felt like we were a big family - a family that actually liked and supported each other. 



The Inkers (missing a couple) - Joanna Campbell Slan, Lois Winston, Cricket McRae
Kathleen Ernst, Jessie Lourey, Linda Hull, Jessie Chandler,
Darrell James, Maddy Hunter, Deborah Sharp,
Alan Orloff, Beth Groundwater, Vicki Doudera, me

This weekend I head to Denver to teach a writing workshop.  Me?  OMG.  That might kill me.

In between travelling, I have by boys.  This last weekend was the fishing opener in MN.  So, I took the boys fishing with the help of an expert, lol.  They caught a lot of panfish and had a great time.  Since it was our first time fishing, there was a lot of learing and lines to detangle but thankfully no one got hooked!!  This is the first catch of the day:

Besides fishing, my oldest son is in baseball and my younger two are in soccer.  T-ball for them starts soon as well.  Noah playing catcher for an inning.

What else is on my plate?  Oh yeah.  Contracts.  They never go away.  Awful, nasty yucky stuff for me, but good news for you.  Why is that?  Because more contracts mean more books.  I aim for 10-12 books per season for 30-36 titles per year.  As of right now, Winter 2013 has 11 titles, Spring/Summer has 10, and Fall has 10.  Great news, right?

Yes and no.  I love doing more books.  I love having a broad catalog.  If I have 12 titles, 9 of them fall into the softer categories of traditional, cozy or soft-boiled.  The other three fall into medium, thrillers or suspense.  A nice balance for us.  I love to find new books and read more in the series that we already have going.

But there is a negative side.  Besides contracts, which I worked on for 5 solid days in a row, I have to read all the manuscripts that have come in and send the authors any revision requests that I might have.  I have at least 6 on my desk right now.  These are manuscripts for Winter and Spring/Summer 2013.  I also have to find the time to read submissions.  Don't get me wrong.  I am not whining.  This is my job and I totally dig it.  And let's face it, I've got a pretty damn good gig here.  But sadly, under the weight of doing so many books per catalog, some things get pushed to the back burners.  :(  Like doing my laundry, reading for pleasure posting here.  I shall try to do better!

NaMoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo

Are you writing?

I am wondering how many of you participate in NaNoWriMo?  It has grown to over 200,000 people taking part.  Those are people who register... I am sure there are others out there who do it, but don't sign up on the website.  (you will have to find their website - just google nanowrimo - currently their website is down)

I know one author who eventually sold her book after participating.  Well, she wrote the manuscript and then revised it a jillion times.  :)

Please share your experiences with the rest of us!  I am fascinated by the idea of NaNoWriMo.  Just like my views on Harry Potter, whatever it takes to get kids reading is a good thing.  Whatever it takes to get writers writing is a good thing.  So let's hear your stories!

Hello!

OMG.  Where have I been?  Let's see...  Denver for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference then to St. Louis for Bouchercon.  Came home with a cold, yuck, and now I am finally going to post some pictures.  I had a great time - chatted with lots of old friends and made a whole bunch more new ones.  :)


our booth



Funny man Alan Orloff

 

The Inker bowling team -
Jessie Chandler, Darrell James, Kathleen Ernst, Jess Lourey
Terri Bischoff and Steven Pomije

 

Jessie 2 and Jessie 1.  Jessie 1 always closes her eyes when I try a sneak attack photo...

 

Jessie Chandler and me



Lois Winston signed ARCs of Death by Killer Mop Doll

 

Jess Lourey with her eyes open :)



Darrell, Steven, Jessie C, Lois and Alan

 

Kathleen Ernst



BOUCHERCON WAS A BLAST!

Author Lois Winston and a mop doll

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend my first Bouchercon convention. If you love mysteries, whether you’re a reader or a writer, Bouchercon is the place to be. 

My trip began way before the crack of dawn on Friday, September 16^th in order to arrive at Newark Liberty Airport in time for a 7am flight. Everything was on schedule until about 45 minutes after take-off when the pilot informed us we’d be returning to the airport due to a “minor” mechanical problem. I told myself not to worry. If the problem was serious, we would have landed at the nearest airport, not returned to Newark.

Midnight Ink publicity manager Steven Pomiji and author Jessie Chandler

Back in Newark we were put on another plane that was scheduled to take off at 9:15am. We all boarded. And waited. And waited. And waited. What were we waiting for? The catering truck to deliver the food no one wanted in the first place! Finally at 10am we left Newark for the second time that morning.

I arrived in St. Louis just in time to toss my first gutter ball at the charity bowling tournament to raise money for the St. Louis Public Libraries. Yes, I sucked. Big time. The only bowling I’ve done since being on a league in high school (way back in prehistoric times if you listen to my kids) is Wii bowling. I did, however, improve my score with each consecutive gave, and I didn’t bring home the trophy for worst bowler. So I guess I didn’t totally suck. More importantly, the event raised $500 for the libraries.

Midnight Ink authors Darrell James, publicity manager Steven Pomiji, author Jessie Chandler, me, and author Alan Orloff

On Saturday I signed advance reading copies of DEATH BY KILLER MOP DOLL. For those of you curious as to what a mop doll is, check out the photos. That’s a mop doll standing amongst the books at the Midnight Ink booth.

I also had the pleasure of spending time with and getting to know some of my fellow Midnight Inkers better, as well as two of Midnight Ink’s staff, acquisitions editor Terri Bischoff and publicity manager Steven Pomije.

authors Lois Winston and Laura DiSilverio

On Saturday afternoon I took part in the Time to Murder and Create panel with authors Laura DiSilverio, Laura Bradford, Jane Cleland, and Cindy Sample. I’m not sure what I said to garner the reaction above from Laura DiSilverio, but I think people in the audience were laughing at the time. Since I write humor, I’m hoping that was a good thing.

My flight home was blessedly uneventful except for the guy with the disgusting habit sitting next to me. I won’t go into gory detail, but I’m convinced he’s responsible for the laryngitis and cold I woke up with the next morning.

Are you old enough to remember when flying used to be enjoyable? I am, and I miss those days.

Anyway, I left St. Louis with the several remaining ARCs of DEATH BY KILLER MOP DOLL, and I’m giving two of them away. To enter the drawing, all you have to do is sign up for my author newsletter by sending an email to LoisWinstonAuthorNewsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or by adding yourself as a follower at Anastasia’s Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog. Then email me at lois@loiswinston.com to let me know which you’ve signed up for.

Lois Winston
http://www.loiswinston.com
http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com
Follow Anastasia on Twitter @anasleuth

Inkspot News - July 23, 2011

Lots of press this week for several Midnight Ink authors.



Two items for ROBIN ALLEN's clean, humorous amateur sleuth mystery, If You Can't Stand the Heat.

1. Virginia Wood, long-time food editor of the Austin Chronicle, wrote a wonderful review in the current issue.

"My most enjoyable reading diversion so far this summer has been a new culinary mystery..."

2. For one week (7/20/11-7/27/11), Amazon.com is selling the Kindle version of the book for $2.99.

* * *

DEBORAH SHARP's Mama Sees Stars (September 2011) received a starred review in Library Journal.

"This zany fourth entry in Sharp’s series is a feature worthy of the big screen...The mystery aisles can always use more humor, and Sharp delivers..."

* * *

JESSIE CHANDLER's Bingo Barge Murder was featured on local Minnesota station KARE11 as a great summer read.

"If you like funny, fast-paced Minnesota flavor..."

* * *

For one week (7/20/11-7/27/11), Amazon.com is selling the Kindle version of JESS LOUREY's Knee High by the Fourth of July for $1.99.

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY, Memorial Day, BEA and other ramblings

Hi everyone!  I hope you all have recovered from the last week or so.

For those of us who didn't attend BEA, there are many BEA reports, but my favorite is this one by agent Josh Getzler http://heydeadguy.typepad.com/heydeadguy/  Josh talks about the status of epublishers at BEA as well as the dance between epublishers and traditional publishers.

Another sweet blog to check out is Inkspot.  This weekend Jessie Chandler had a great post about Memorial Day - http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/  I also would like to add my thanks to all of those who have served past and present in our armed forces. 

And while you are on Inkspot, Lois Winston's grammar rant is awesome!

Besides the pure joy of the NCIS marathon yesterday, spring seems to arrived in Minnesota.  Complete with thunderstorms and tornados.  But also with sunshine.  Yesterday the boys and I went swimming.  It was awesome.  This is my favorite time of year, when it's not too hot and the nights cool down.  :)  Soon summer will be here in full force - humidity, mosquitos and sunburns.  But for now, I am thankful with what we have.

Ok, ok.  I know the real reason you are reading.  Did I say FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY?!?  Oh yes, I certainly did.  We at Midnight Ink really do love to make our fans and readers happy.  And what is better than free books?  Seriously?!  Through my blog, we are giving away one set of signed first editions of THE GRAIL CONSPIRACY and THE LAST SECRET by Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore.  The contest runs through June 8th (which happens to be the release date of the new Sholes and Moore book, The Phoenix Apostles.)  And just how do you enter to win??  In the comments sections, please give me some feedback about suspense/thrillers...  such as...

Who is your favorite thriller writer and why?

What type of thriller would like to see MI publish?

What is your favorite Sholes and Moore book?

Is there anything lacking in the thriller genre, like a female assassin as the main character?

One person will be randomly selected from the folks who leave comments.

Please make sure to follow Midnight Ink on all the social media fronts as we'll be doing a lot of giveaways and contests this summer.

http://www.Facebook.com/MidnightInkBooks
http://www.Twitter.com/MidnightInkBook
http://www.goodreads.com/midnightinkbooks

And last but certainly not least, happy birthday to my little sister Tiffy.  Tiff, there is no way I could love you any more than I do.  Thank you for keeping me sane.  :)



Tiff and me in Vegas :)



Discovering a Gem

Today is a reading day.  Actually this whole week should be.  I am very behind on reading manuscripts that have time constraints on them.  I have manuscripts from authors that need to be "accepted", proposals and partials to read to take to acquisitions, a couple from agents with timeframes, manuscripts that I sent back for revisions, etc.  And now, I've been tasked to acquire 3 very specific manuscripts for a project.

I have no complaints there.  Reading manuscripts and finding a "gem" totally rock.  One of the best parts of my job.  And today I am excited because I believe I found a manuscript for my new project.  I know I shouldn't be too excited - I'm on page 45... but still...  the writing and voice are great.  The dead body was found around page 35.  :)  Things are looking good!

Since I started here at MI, I believe I've found a few gems.  Lois Winston, Alice Loweecey, Carol Culver, Jessie Chandler, Robin Allen, Beth Groundwater, Jennifer Harlow and Darrell James all make debuts with Midnight Ink this year.  Wow.  That is amazing.  Besides these new authors, we also have new series by Midnight Ink authors Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore, Alan Orloff, Amy Patricia Meade and a second series by Beth Groundwater.  That makes for a lot of new material for 2011.  2012 won't have as many new authors, but I do have a few surprises up my sleeve.  :)  You'll just have to stay tuned.  One of them may very well be the manuscript I started today.

Winners!!!

And, the winners are...

Jessica and Molly Swoboda

and because I love you all so much, I am also going to send 3 books to garfan1

Please email me (submissions@midnightinkbooks.com) and provide me with you full name

and mailing address!!

And, I am hitting the road again.  This time I heading to Houston for a writer's conference.  And considering my turbulance filled flights lately, I give you this sweet lolcat:

Pictures from Malice Domestic 2011

I uploaded pics from Malice to my facebook page.  Feel free to friend me if you would like to take a look.  Here is a group shot from the banquet:



Front row left to right: Lois Winston, Deborah Sharp, Jessie Chandler, Alice Loweecey, Jess Lourey
Back row: Vicki Doudera, Terri Bischoff, Kathleen Ernst, Alan Orloff, Beth Groundwater



Home Again / Last Chance to Enter for Free Books!

Well, I am back home in Minnesota!  The flights to and from DC were a bit bumpy and left me feeling green, but that didn't stop me from having a fabulous time at Malice Domestic.  These are a few photos from my phone, which are not the best quality.  I took a ton of photos with my camera and will get those up soon.

Jess Lourey (second from right) next to
Sue Grafton (second from left)



Alan Orloff - Agatha finalist
for Best First Novel



Deborah Sharp (L) and Jessie Chandler (R)





Midnight Ink had a great showing at Malice.  Attending authors were:

Jess Lourey

Jessie Chandler

Deborah Sharp

Alan Orloff

Alice Loweecey

Kathleen Ernst

Joanna Campbell Slan

Vicki Doudera

Beth Groundwater

Lois Winston

and Maggie Sefton

If you are a fan of cozies and soft-boiled mysteries, you have to attend Malice Domestic.  It is always a well-run convention and you never know who you might run into... Such as Sue Grafton, this years lifetime achievement honoree.

FREE BOOKS!!!



Today is your last day to sign up to follow my blog and be in the drawing for free books!  Don't delay!!  The cut off is at 2pm CST.  Then I will print up the names, put them in my stylish throwback Milwaukee Brewers hat and pick some winners!



Terri's cube invaded by Jessie Chandler!!

So I was asked to come to Llewellyn Worldwide today for a meet 'n greet. That was cool. I figured I could talk to some folks and schmooze with other authors... then when I walked in the door, I found out I was the only author who would be here to meet the greeters by way of a sign welcoming me. Whoa! It was awesome! Betty took a picture of me with the sign as I was trying to restrain myself from doing a happy dance and dying of embarrassment.

Terri showed me and Betty, my partner, all around. Tan-colored cubes snake up one side of the building and down the other, and the cubes are divided out by the production section, the artwork section, acquisions, marketing, publicity and more. It's a totally cool place. I figured the building would be filled with color for some reason, but it was all pretty... tan. When we sat down to do the official meet 'n greet, I found out where the true color in the place really is. It's within every person who works here. I was a little intimidated to talk to the twenty or so folks who showed up, but in minutes I was telling stories based on the great questions they asked. We laughed for almost half an hour, and I really could feel that the staff in every area cared about what they were doing. It was heartwarming to be with folks who really love what they do. Then I signed books (don't use a ball point or Terri will kill you) for everyone and got to learn a little more about each of them. It was great.

Afterwards, I swung into the restroom and nearly dropped dead in shock...right between the men's and women's was a poster. Of ME--advertising the meet 'n greet! So I used the facilities and came back out and, like the geek I am, took a picture of the poster. Terri rolled her eyes and said she'd see if she could score me one. Snerk!

All in all, this has been a fantastic experience... one I would love to repeat. And maybe I can when book two comes out. Long live Midnight Ink!!!!!