Goodreads Giveaway: TURNING THE TIDE

Head over to Goodreads and enter to win 1 of 3 Advanced Reader's copies of TURNING THE TIDE, the third book in the Anthony Award-nominated Quaker Midwife Mystery series, by Edith Maxwell!

Hurry! Contest is open December 24 - December 31, so enter now!

Goodreads Giveaway: SCOT FREE

Head over to Goodreads and enter to win 1 of 3 Advanced Reader's copies of SCOT FREE, the first book in the new Last Ditch Mystery series, by award-winning author Catriona McPherson!

Hurry! Contest is open December 18 - December 25, so enter now!

An Almost Rose Carroll Story

Edith here, feeling just a little stressed about the holidays and various authorly tasks also on my to-do list. So I thought I would de-stress by asking you to celebrate with me. 'Cause who doesn't love a party?

My newest story, "An Ominous Silence," came out last month in Snowbound: Best New England Crime Stories 2017 from Level Best Books! Cue the cries of "Bravo!" and pop the champagne. It is my sixteenth published story (see the whole list here on my beautifully rehabbed new web site), and I have one more  story accepted for publication next spring.

So I thought I'd tell you the origin story behind the, well, story. Get comfy, kids, and put up your feet.

Five of my short crime stories feature Quaker midwife Rose Carroll from my Quaker Midwife Mysteries. One was even nominated for an Agatha Award last year. I had written a sixth for this year's Bouchercon anthology, the theme of which was travel, since the big mystery conference was held in Toronto, Canada. In the new story, Rose and her apprentice are on a train to Montreal in a snowy New England 1890s winter when the train is snowed in on a desolate stretch of tracks. A man is murdered, and his wife goes into labor. Rose comes to the rescue on both counts.

I was about to click Send when I checked the guidelines one more time. Ack! Because the committee wanted truly anonymous judging, authors couldn't use characters from any published book or series. That pretty much trashed Rose Carroll as the protagonist. I was cutting the deadline close, but I still had a few days left before they closed submissions.

So what does the creative mind do? Change the names to protect the innocent, of course. Or the series protag, as the case may be. Rose Carroll became midwife Catherine Colby--not a Quaker--and her apprentice Annie morphed into Genevieve Rousseau. I changed the date to a few years after the published Quaker Midwife mysteries take place and fixed the midwife's speech so she doesn't talk like a Quaker. I printed out the story, checked it one more time, and hit Submit.

Did they accept it? Alas, no. I'm a pretty seasoned author by now, however, and the word "No" no
longer devastates. We find a new venue and try again. Lucky for me, I heard about the rejection before the deadline for this year's Level Best anthology. I hit Submit again. And this time got a hit.

I hope you'll check out the anthology, which is full of dozens of amazing authors and delightful stories. And don't forget, Turning the Tide, Quaker Midwife Mystery #3, will be out April 8 and is available for preorder wherever books are sold!

Readers: What kinds of rejection have you bounced back from, and how? Which sow's ear have you  found a silver lining in, or which storm cloud have you turned into silk (to mix a couple of clichéd metaphors just for the heck of it)?

Goodreads Giveaway: FICTION CAN BE MURDER

Head over to Goodreads and enter to win 1 of 3 Advanced Reader's copies of FICTION CAN BE MURDER, the first book in the Mystery Writer's Mystery series, by Becky Clark!

Hurry! Contest is open December 9 - December 17, so enter now!

Promotion Pluses

by Linda O. Johnston

Holiday time seems to be a good time for book promotional events this year, or at least it is for me.  There are lots of kinds of events, too.  Over time, I have participated in quite a few different kinds and have considered the pros and cons of each of them.

Why get out there and promote?  There are a variety of good reasons. 

For example, it's fun to be on a panel and share information about my stories, how I came up with ideas for them, how I wrote them.  It's also fun to be on my own in front of a group and let 'em know what's on my mind and how I do things.  It's fun, as an author, to get to know readers and other authors.  It's hopefully fun for readers to meet other authors they've read and other readers who enjoy them--and to get an intro to those they haven't read--yet.

Last weekend I was on a panel with other mystery authors and had a good time--as I'd anticipated.  This in fact was my second time sitting on a mystery panel there.  The program was held at a women's club, and a moderator had sent us the questions she would ask so it easy to prepare.  The audience was interested and interesting, and seemed to enjoy the panel as much as I did. 

As I said, I do enjoy panels. I tend to go to several writers conferences each year where I generally participate in programs, again mostly on panels.  That way the audience can choose to hear a group of authors they may have read--or want to learn more about.  And the panelists can get to learn more about each other, too.

Next weekend I'll be at a book event at a local library.  Although there are speakers, this time I won't be among them.  But I'll get to meet potential and actual readers and discuss my books with them.

And over time, I've given talks myself at libraries and bookstores and more.  I've even given a few extension classes at colleges, hoping to help other authors start or polish their work.

Long ago, when I started writing, I assumed writers just wrote and got published and had fun that way.  Sure, that's fun, but I learned from experience that writing isn't just writing.  We need to get out there and make sure prospective readers find us.  And so, though I used to be shy and uncomfortable with public speaking, which isn't surprising for a writer, I've learned through experience to face the world and an audience and talk to the crowd.

It's all part of writing... and it's fun.

Linda O. Johnston is currently writing the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries for Midnight Ink.  Her most recent one was Bad to the Bone, and the next in the series, Pick and Chews, will be a May 2018 release.

Goodreads Giveaway: TOO BIG TO DIE

Head over to Goodreads and enter to win 1 of 5 copies of TOO BIG TO DIE, the twelfth and LAST book in the Odelia Grey Mystery Series, by Sue Ann Jaffarian!

Hurry! Contest is open December 1 - December 8, so enter now!

Too Big to End: A Guest Post from Sue Ann Jaffarian

We welcome Sue Ann Jaffarian, author of the Odelia Grey Mystery Series (and the latest release and last release in the series, TOO BIG TO DIE) to Midnight Ink's blog today! Here she shares how Odelia got her start...and what it's like, after twelve (!) books, to have her end.

Recently I hit a major milestone in my writing career: I completed the twelfth Odelia Grey mystery novel, Too Big To Die. Twelve. An even dozen. Not a baker's dozen, but an even dozen. When I first set out to write the Odelia Grey series, I didn't imagine it would run so long, but along about the third or fourth book, I saw the story arc as it spanned out over Odelia's life and pitched Midnight Ink on the idea of a twelve-book series. They saw the potential and agreed.

In the first book, Too Big To Miss, Odelia was a single woman in her mid-forties. She'd built a nice life for herself, had an established career as a paralegal, and owned her own home. But she was bored.

"Rut was written all over my life. R-U-T in big bold letters, outlined in neon tube lighting." – Too Big To Miss

It was the death of one of her friends in that first book that quickly changed all that, launching Odelia on a path of murder and mayhem and even love that would be the basis of a long-running mystery series and the foundation of my career. In Too Big To Die, we find Odelia in her mid-fifties and married to the man of her dreams, but her career is teetering on the brink of chaos and there are still dead bodies.

Too Big To Die is the last of the Odelia Grey series under contract to Midnight Ink, and it is dedicated to them. Over a decade ago, Barbara Moore, then the acquiring editor of Midnight Ink, saw great potential in my work and the publisher took on Odelia and me and launched my writing career. Later they published the first three books in my popular Ghost of Granny Apples series, and even the Madison Rose Vampire Mysteries. For all of this, I am eternally grateful, no matter where my path takes me in the future.

But is Odelia dead and gone, publishing-wise? Readers are concerned and have asked me about this many times. I don't see the series as ending, but I do intend to take a short hiatus from it while I develop new adventures and story arcs. I'm doing the same with Granny Apples. I've been cranking out two books a year for a very long time, and am eager to turn my attention to new ideas, characters, and stories.

But no matter where my writing career leads me, Odelia Grey will always be my main gal pal. We started this journey together, and she's been the best friend a writer could want, a boon-companion during the long hours, days, and years of writing.

***

Viral videos and dangerous criminals turn Odelia and Greg's good deed into accusations of murder

It's the dog days of summer for Odelia and Greg after they rescue a dog from a closed car on a blistering hot day. The culprit is former reality star Marla Kingston, who's married to a client of Odelia's law firm. The dog was saved, but Odelia's job might not be when Kingston demands blood. Things get even stickier when a video of the rescue goes viral, and the man who helped them winds up dead. And who is the mysterious young woman who shows up about the same time? Is she connected or just an opportunist looking to cash in on their reluctant Internet fame?

Praise for the Odelia Grey Mysteries:
Rhythm & Clues:
"Jaffarian's fun, frenzied eleventh mystery featuring plucky plus-size paralegal Odelia Grey...is a fluffly mélange of danger, humor, and surprises."—Publishers Weekly

"[A] delightful series."—Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"More corpses surely lie in wait for [Odelia]... But it's fun to see her ditzy niece share the spotlight this time around."—Kirkus Reviews

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Sue Ann Jaffarian is a full-time paralegal who lives and works in Los Angeles. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters In Crime, Sue Ann is the author of three mystery series—Odelia Grey, Ghost of Granny Apples, and Madison Rose—and also writes general fiction and short stories. She is widely sought after as a motivational and humorous speaker.

For the most up-to-date list of all Sue Ann's activities, visit the calendar page at www.sueannjaffarian.com.

"Sue Ann Jaffarian never fails to make me chuckle with her three mystery series starring paralegal Odelia Grey, ghost Granny Apples, and now Murder in Vein, starring friendly, and not-so-friendly, neighborhood vampires."
—Joanne Fluke, New York Times bestselling author of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries