Congratulations to Kellye Garrett and HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE, Winner of the 2017 Agatha Award!

Congratulations to Kellye Garrett and HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE, winner of the 2017 Agatha Award for Best First Novel!

 

Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett

Agatha Award/Best First Novel
The Agatha Awards honor the "traditional mystery," books typified by the works of Agatha Christie and others.

The 2017 Agatha Awards were awarded at Malice Domestic 30.

"A Questionable Death" - Agatha Nominated!

Edith here. I've been enjoying writing short stories set in the time and place of my Quaker Midwife

Mysteries: Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1888. [NOTE: Giveaway details at the end.]

A year and a half ago I crafted a story about one of midwife Rose Carroll's clients, a young pregnant wife named Helen. Rose discovers that Helen's husband has been physically abusing her. Rose asks her police detective friend for help, but the police wouldn't touch domestic violence in those days. Rose enlists her quirky postmistress friend Bertie Winslow to help her find a solution to the problem.

I polished "A Questionable Death" and submitted it to an anthology of historical mystery called History and Mystery, Oh My! and to my delight it was accepted for publication. The anthology came out in January 2015. To my further delight, after the rights reverted to me, Kings River Life Magazine reissued the story in January of this year, this time with pictures.

Hank Phillippi Ryan with her
Agatha Award teapot
a few years ago. 

And to my extreme delight, the story was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Short Story! Icing on the cake? Delivering the Truth, the first Quaker Midwife Mystery, will be published on April 8, a few weeks before the Malice Domestic conference where attendees will decide the Agatha winners. Talk about worlds converging. I'm really over the moon about that.

I suspect the story was nominated in part because of the twist at the end. You can read it and decide for yourself!

And to celebrate, I'm giving away an ARC of Delivering the Truth to one commenter today! Make sure you include your email address so I know where to find you.

So tell, me dear reader, what's your favorite thing about reading historical fiction? What's your pet peeve about same? Or do you never touch the stuff?

Seven Tips for a Successful Cover Reveal Contest

 

A cover reveal is supposedly the perfect opportunity to build excitement about your newest novel, but how do you get anyone other than your mother to care?  My past cover reveals (all two of them) got lots of likes and more than a few comments, but they felt anticlimactic to me.  I love my covers.  I want my readers to be as excited about them as I am.  But how?

On the flight  home from Malice, the answer came to me.  Host a cover reveal contest!

Now all I had to do was figure out how to do it.  In case any of you want to try one too, here are my key learnings:
 

Seven tips for a successful cover reveal contest:

Follow the rules.  My favorite social media marketing tool is Facebook, but Facebook is persnickety about contests.  There are rules, rules and more rules.  Follow them and all is golden.  Don’t?  You might get yourself banned to Facebook purgatory.  A place where your Facebook privileges are suspended or even revoked completely. Facebook rules, including those pertaining to contests, are at this page.

Have a single web page that summarizes the contest.  I write for multiple blogs, but I posted the first day of the contest on my personal blog.  This included the disclaimers and instructions for all days of the week-long contest.  That way even as the contest continued to plug along, I had a single place I could refer people. Even though I thought I was clear in every post, I had multiple entries that I needed to correct each day.

Make it a week-long event

In my case, there were 5 key elements in the cover I wanted to highlight, so I spread the contest out over 5 days, with a unique prize each day. The grand prize round two was days later.  Even my husband, who had seen the cover multiple times, started to wonder what the next “reveal” would be.  And the participants created stories about how the 5 elements might fit together—some of them surprisingly close to the truth!

Have a grand finale

The final reveal, of course is the grand finale, but shouldn’t there be a grand prize to go along with it?  In my case, I honored my fellow Agatha nominees for Best First Novel by giving a set of autographed copies of all 5 of the nominated books. 

Ask for a little help from your friends

In this case, my friends are my street team.  I had a special contest for a signed ARC of my book to street team members who shared the post.  That got me reach to readers I’d never otherwise find.

Be involved

I’ll admit, this contest took a lot more time than I thought it would.  Posting the contest was only the start.  I also had to check in on the posts several times a day, note who had shared each post and how many times, and reply to the relevant comments.  I also had to re-direct people who accidentally posted their answers on the wrong page.  I firmly believe that time spent interacting with my readers (and future readers) is time well spent.  I don’t recommend doing this, however, if you’re up against a deadline.  Make sure you leave plenty of time for contest administration.

Advertise!

What good is a contest if no one enters?  I advertised in several ways, all low cost and low time:

·        Posts on my personal and author Facebook pages.  I started a week before the contest, and posted daily throughout it.

·        Cheap Facebook post promotions.  I was hesitant to do this, in case my contest violated any of the oh-so-grumpily-enforced Facebook rules, but I put on my big girl pants and did it anyway. I paid between $2 and $5 a day to boost the day’s post.  Honestly, except for the final day, my organic  reach far exceeded my paid reach.

·        Posts in relevant Facebook groups.  I belong to 5 cozy mystery groups, and I posted to every one of them.  If you’re going to do that, be sure to follow the group rules.

·        Dedicated blog posts.  I dedicated the contest-week posts on Killer Hobbiesand my Whole Life Yoga blog to the contest.

·         An author newsletter article with a link to the contest.

If I’d had more time and energy I would also have posted on Twitter and advertised in Goodreads groups.  Alas, that will have to wait for next year’s contest.

The results? 

Considering my author page only had less than 600 fans and I’m a newer author, I was pleased with the interaction.

·        Each day of the contest, my author page post was seen by 900 – 1200 people, 90% of that reach was organic.

·       The final reveal post has been seen by over 2300 people.  Four times the number of fans of the page it is posted on.  Considering I didn’t promote that post and Facebook’s organic reach is usually about 5%, that is notable.

·        Each day’s contest had 60 – 90 entries.

·        The final contest (which required following the contest for 5 days and e-mailing me personally) had 54 entries.

·        The “likes” on my Facebook author page grew by 70.  (Not a lot, but since I wasn’t targeting that, I thought over 10% growth in a week was interesting.)

·        Many of the contestants contacted me personally to say how much fun they’d had and to thank me for the contest.

Will I do it again?  You bet!  The fun I had alone was worth the costs of the prizes! Next year I plan to make it  even more exciting.

How about you?  Have you ever run a cover reveal contest?  If so, how did it go?  What ideas would you add to my list above?  And even more importantly, what do you think of my new cover?

Tracy

          

Tracy Weber is the author of the award-winning Downward Dog Mysteries series featuring yoga teacher Kate Davidson and her feisty German shepherd, Bella. Tracy loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. Her first book, Murder Strikes a Pose won the Maxwell Award for Fiction was nominated for the Agatha award for Best First Novel. The second book in her series, A Killer Retreat, was released January, 2015 by Midnight Ink.

Tracy and her husband live in Seattle with their challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha. When she’s not writing, Tracy spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house. 

Visit her at TracyWeberAuthor.com, friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tracywe, or e-mail her at Tracy@WholeLifeYoga.com.

The Company You Keep

What a great week to be a Midnight Ink writer. Actually, it’s way more than just a week but there has been an avalanche of good news crashing down recently.

Left Coast Crime conference, a gathering to celebrate mysteries that takes place in a different western city each year, announced finalists in their contest. What fun to see Midnight Ink writers on that illustrious list. Darrell James and Beth Groundwater are nominees in The Rocky category, which is a book set in the geographic area covered by Left Coast Crime. Jess Lourey is nominated for an award in the humorous category, The Lefty. And Catriona McPherson has a book in the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery, for historical novels.

                  .

Can you say, “Wow!”

And then it gets better.

Kathleen Earnst recently won the LOVEY in the historical category at Love Is Murder in Chicago.

And drum roll, please…

G.M. Malliet (three times now) and Catriona McPherson are up for Agatha Awards given by Malice Domestic.

Alan Orloff had an Agatha nomination in 2010. And last year, Darrell James won a Left Coast Crime award, The Eureka, for a first novel.

Now it’s going to get dicey because I’m going to forget a whole ton of other good news. But let me mention that Vicki Doudera got a great review from the world’s snarkiest review site. I know Alice Loweecey and Lois Winston have posted some terrific reviews, as well.

I’m tickled for all the recipients. I imagine their glow and it makes me plum happy for them. I’ve met most of the writers I just mentioned and to a person, they are warm, funny, smart, generous and all around amazing specimens. I can only imagine the others are equally superior humans.

But, as Ayn Rand was ever-so-fond of saying, “There is no altruism.”

While I’m truly happy for these M’Inkers, I’m downright giddy for me.

My father always told me, “You’re known by the company you keep.” Yes, he was a wise man, but I don’t think he made that up.

I would be surprised if I ever win a prestigious award and Kirkus may always hate me. But someone, somewhere, at one time,(Terri) thought I wrote a book good enough to be included on the roster with these stellar writers.

That thought swells my chest more than the Miraculous Uplift bra I got from Victoria’s Secret.

By the time of my next Ink Spot post, my first book in the Nora Abbott Mystery series will have launched. Readers may love it or hate it. But for right now, for this brief moment, I get to revel in the success of my publisher and the fine writers they’ve accumulated and believe I am one of them.  

 

I am just so darned proud of Midnight Ink and all these folks. (And sorta proud of me, too.)

And the Award goes to... Darrell James!

Darrell James, author of Nazareth Child, won the Left Coast Crime Eureka Award for Best First Novel.  Congrats Darrell!!  :)



Darrell with his award

The award winning book





Book two in the series - due out September 2012



A Pleasant Shock

a guest post from mystery author Kaye George

Something happened to me this year that I still can't believe. I'll tell you at the end, but it involves Agatha Christie and an organization called Malice Domestic. I'd like to tell you a bit about both of these first.

The Agatha Awards are named after the British Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie. Her books were written in a time, some might say, of less exposure to violence, although I think the two World Wars exposed everyone in her generation to quite a bit of it. She wrote two series that are read and re-read today, those starring Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Her Tommy and Tuppence books and some stories with other sleuths aren't widely read, but I'll bet you'll find a Miss Marple and a Hercule Poirot, at least one of each, checked out of your local library every time you go. You'll also find them on bookshelves everywhere--36 years after her death in 1976. (For writers today, take heart, it took even Agatha several years to get her first novel published.)

The Awards, given annually at the Malice Domestic conference, are given to mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie. Ideally, that means there is a closed setting, no sex or violence, and an amateur detective. Global thriller and psychological suspense writers need to seek awards elsewhere.

Malice Domestic Ltd. has been around since 1989 when Best Novel, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story Awards were given. Other categories were added over the years, and a new one appeared this year. Awards are now given for Best Novel, Best First Mystery, Best Short Story, Best Non-Fiction, Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery, Best Historical Mystery (the new one this year).

Everyone who is registered for the April-May conference by December 31st of the preceding year receives a ballot and is invited to nominate five books or stories in each category. A panel of judges chooses the five in each category to put on the ballot. The attendees vote for one of each and the award, a teapot, is given at the banquet on Saturday night.

This conference is so well-organized and fun. And it's run by a volunteer board of people who give up their outside lives (I'm sure) for a few months to run it.

A picture of a teapot is here. This is Avery Aames winning last year! Coincidentally, the two gigglers in the background are me and Janet Bolin.

It's a coincidence, because here's the list for Best First Novel for this year:

Dire Threads by Janet Bolin (Berkley)
Choke by Kaye George (Mainly Murder Press)
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown)
Who Do, Voodoo? by Rochelle Staab (Berkley)
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend (Berkley)

I am still hyperventilating when I see that list! You can read this year's complete list of nominees in all categories here.

Kaye George is the Agatha-nominated author of Choke.







Some of the information for this post was taken from the Agatha Christie website and Wikipedia.

MWA to recognize/accept Ebook authors/publishers

Hey all -

Today the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced that they have established critera to make ebook and print on demand authors eligible for membership.  It appears they have stopped short of announcing that ebooks are eligible for the Edgar Awards, but I assume that will be just around the corner.  The critera, after a quick scan, pretty much looks like the same they have for printed books.

Check this out: (http://www.mysterywriters.org/node/10784?q=mwablog)

The publishing business is experiencing massive changes and if MWA is to remain relevant, we have to change, too.  That’s why we’ve revised our Approved Publisher criteria to make books published solely in e-book format or using print-on-demand eligible under certain conditions for MWA membership (and, perhaps later, for Edgar eligibility as well).  Self-published books, whether they are published in print or as e-books, still do not qualify for MWA active membership.

In crafting the criteria below, we had to strike a balance between including books published using those new technologies while also  maintaining our high professional standards and our commitment to protecting our members (and writers in general) from the less-than-reputable publishers who seek to take advantage of them.

Some folks may not agree with MWA's policies.  Self-published books don't qualify.  That may change in the future.  Who knows.  I think what is admirable here are two things - first, MWA wants to protect the integrity of their organization and their awards.  They are keeping shady publishers out of the mix.  Second, they are adapting to the times.  I think in the book world, we are occasionally slow to adopt new technologies... *big grin*  But here is MWA - I know they considered the subject carefully and thoroughly - and did the right thing.  I truly hope that eligiblity for the Edgar Award is announced in the very near future.

I believe Malice Domestic already considers ebooks for the Agatha Award.  Do you all know if the other mystery awards are accepting ebooks now?

Dame Agatha

Dame Agatha Christie.  The mother of traditional mysteries.  Just her name brings so many things to mind.

Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI.  http://www.auntagathas.com/  I've never actually been to Aunt Agatha's, but I've met and talked to owner Robin Agnew several times at conventions or thru the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.  I'm sure store is as wonderful as she is.

Then there is Malice Domestic http://www.malicedomestic.org/aboutmalice.html, a fan convention honoring the traditional mystery.  The attendees of Malice vote on and present the Agatha Awards.  I'll be there this year, along with a bunch of other Inkers.  We'll be cheering for all the finalists, but in particular, we'll be hoping our own Alan Orloff walks away with Agatha for Best First Novel.  Our past finalists for best first include Lisa Bork, G.M Malliet (winner), Joanna Campbell Slan and Karen MacInerney.

Of course, there are the characters Agatha Christie created.  My favorite is Poirot, particularly David Suchet playing that role.  One of my favorite customers at Booked for Murder had named her cats Tommy and Tuppence.

 


So what about you?  What do you think of when you think of Dame Agatha?  I bet it's not an lolcat!

PS - I will address the evolution of traditional/cozy mysteries in another post.

Inkspot News - February 19, 2011

Inkspot's own Alan Orloff has been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel for his debut book, DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD. Congratulations, Alan!

Japanese rights to G.M. Malliet's first two St. Just books, DEATH OF A COZY WRITER and DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK, have been sold to Tokyo Sogensha.

Fun in Review

For Richer, For Danger: a Broken Vows mystery officially releases September 1st, but it’s been available most of this month already. I received my copies August 8th when I came home from a week’s vacation and found the cartons sitting in the rain. Thankfully, just wet cardboard, not wet books.

For Richer, For Danger is the sequel to For Better, For Murder. It continues the saga of Jolene Asdale, her sheriff’s deputy husband Ray Parker, and her unpredictable younger sister, Erica.

In this novel, after years of ambivalence about parenthood, Finger Lakes sports car dealer Jolene Asdale is now driven to adopt her foster child, the daughter of fugitive robbery suspects. But some major roadblocks arise, including an open hit-and-run case and a recent murder—with the silent, uncooperative birthmother as the prime suspect.

I’m excited about this release but also continually reviewing the last year, during which I met a lot of wonderful authors and readers at Bouchercon and Malice Domestic, attended two fun book club discussions of For Better, For Murder, held a well-received library talk, learned my friends and family can be counted on to show up for book signings and to promote my books, met some great booksellers and librarians, heard from a number of enthused readers, and truly appreciated the total surprise and thrill of having For Better, For Murder named a 2009 Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel.

The last year will be a tough act to follow.

But the year of For Richer, For Danger has started off early with a welcome first time review in Publisher’s Weekly, who called it a “winning second mystery.” Kirkus is still on board, although a little more cryptic this time in their comments. Both reviews are much appreciated.

Just last week I sat down for an interview with a reporter from a Finger Lakes area newspaper. No one has ever asked to interview me before—except for a job, of course. This kind of interview was way more fun.

And I had a lot of fun writing my first two books, as well as the third and fourth in this series which are now finished. Hopefully that fun shows in the work itself.

A local radio announcer closes his timeslot every day with the saying, “If you had fun, you won!”

That pretty much sums it all up.

And just for fun today, I’m offering a giveaway of For Richer, For Danger. If you’d like to enter the drawing, send me an email at Lisa@LisaBork.com with “Drawing” on the subject line. I’ll pick two winners randomly on Friday and send the books out promptly thereafter.