Goodreads Giveaway: A FATAL COLLECTION

Head over to Goodreads and enter to win 1 of 5 copies of A FATAL COLLECTION, the first in the Keepsake Cove Mystery Series, by Mary Ellen Hughes!

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

Guest Post: Linda O. Johnston - Unlucky Charms

Guest Post: Why Cozies?

by Linda O. Johnston

I'd like to introduce author Linda O. Johnston to Midnight Ink's blog! Her forthcoming release, Unlucky Charms, will be hitting bookshelves, and she would like to take a moment to share why she loves writing her wonderfully entertaining cozies so much. 

Why Cozies?  Lots of Reasons!

            I'm a writer.  A novelist.  I make things up and love it!  Currently, I write two cozy mystery series and two subgenres of romance.  I enjoy them all--and I especially love writing cozies.

            Why?  For many reasons. 

            First, in a cozy mystery series, I create a protagonist I enjoy working with and hope to work with for a long time to come.  They often have similarities to me.  What!  Am I writing about myself?  Not really.  But I'm a superstition agnostic like Rory Chasen, who's featured in my Superstition Mysteries.  Do I think all superstitions work?  No, at least not necessarily.  And some have opposite interpretations--black cats, for example.  They're supposedly bad luck here in the U.S. but good luck in other parts of the world.  And there are many people here who love them despite their bad reputations and even find them to be lucky.

            But... well, I do cross my fingers a lot, and knock on wood, and try to keep track of other superstitions, even if I don't necessarily believe they'll come true.

            On the other hand, my protagonists aren't always like me at all.  I also write the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, where Carrie Kennersly is a veterinary technician who owns both a bakery for people treats, and a barkery where she sells some of the healthy dog treats she's developed.  Now, once upon a time I wanted to be a veterinarian but decided against it when I realized that I would have to cut animals open, even to save their lives.  And these days I'm not much of a cook, although I used to do a lot more.  But I love what Carrie does, even though I don't aspire to it.  Although why someone in her position winds up having to solve murders... well, that's the nature of cozies!

           

            My first cozy series was the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries.  Kendra was a lawyer who lived in the Hollywood Hills with her tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lexie.  At the time, I was a lawyer, and I still live in the Hollywood Hills, plus my older Cavalier is a tricolor named Lexie... But fortunately I was never accused of an ethics violation while practicing law, nor do I stumble over dead bodies.

            More things I like about writing cozies?  I get to kill people off--figuratively, of course.  But if someone harms me in some way, someone resembling them can wind up dead in my novels.  That happened recently...  

            Then there are the love interests.  Unlike in the romances I also write, a relationship in a cozy series can take some time to develop and even change.  No sex on the page in cozies, but readers can use their imaginations about what happens in the bedroom.

            I can figure out interesting ways to kill people, too--such as incorporating superstitions.  Then there are the friends and sidekicks I enjoy creating, such as Martha Jallopia, who owns the Lucky Dog Boutique in the Superstition Mysteries.  Rory winds up running her shop after Pluckie, her lucky black and white dog--another superstition-- saves Martha's life.

            Perhaps most important of all to me are the pets I incorporate, mostly dogs, like Pluckie in the Superstition Mysteries, and Biscuit in the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries.   The love interests also have to have dogs, or they wouldn't be love interests.  And of course my romances often include dogs, too.

            Not all cozies include pets, though those that do seem popular.  There are other themes, and that's another fun thing about cozies: they usually have themes, like superstitions or the barkery, or restaurants or particular types of food, or special locations, or other things the protagonists like or do for a living... or dogs or cats.

            So, yes, I enjoy cozying up with cozies, both to read--and, most especially, to write.  Hope you like them, too!

***

Unlucky Charms is Available Now!

Rory Chasen, manager of the Lucky Dog Boutique in Destiny, California, hopes her new line of good-luck doggy toys will be a hit, especially the stuffed rabbits with extra-large feet. The timing of the line’s debut proves ill-fated, though, as several local shops—including Rory’s—are ransacked and vandalized with spilled salt and other unlucky charms.

The most likely culprit is disgruntled real estate agent Flora Curtival, whose issues with the town give her a motive. But after Flora is murdered and one of Rory’s toy rabbits is found with the body, Rory needs all the luck she can get while trying to determine just who killed the superstitious vandal.

Linda O. Johnston (Los Angeles, CA) has published over forty romance and mystery novels, including the Pet Rescue Mystery series and the Pet-Sitter Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. She also writes the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series for Midnight Ink. You can visit Linda at www.LindaOJohnston.com.

***

Visit Linda's titles at www.MidnightInkBooks.com.

Q&A with Author, Cynithia Hickey

Cynithia Hickey

By Maegan Beaumont

I sat down with my friend and fellow author, Cynthia Hickey, to ask her a few questions about what's she been up to...

1. When did you discover your love for the written word?

My mother said that, not having a Kindergarten close enough for me to attend as a child, that she taught me to read. I took to it easily and have always read above my level. Once I discovered the many worlds between the pages of a book, I was hooked.

2. When did you begin your writing career?

I've made up stories for as long as I can remember, but it isn't until a few years ago that I actually began to take the writing process seriously. My first novel, Fudge-Laced Felonies, was released through Barbour in 2007.

3. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

 I've been on television twice. Once on the backdrop of a weather report filmed on Petit Jean Mountain in Arkansas and another time when a documentary was being filmed at the Pickle Plant where I worked.

4. Do you have a secret desire that may not ever come true?

I've always thought it would be a blast to be in a movie. Not a walk on character, but an actual main character. An insane person would be fun.

5. Do you have a favorite book?

 The one book I own that has stood the test of time is Gone With the Wind and Little Women. I still love them.

6. A favorite author?

I'd have to say that in today's market, I love Diana Gabaldon. Her Outlander characters are so rich, I feel as if I know them.

7. Do you have a favorite book that you've written?

No, I can't say that I do. I guess Fudge would be it if I had to pick, it being my first and all.

8. Any suggestions for pre-pubbed authors?

Never, ever, give up. If you're meant to be an author, you need to write as much as you need to breathe.

While I'm promoting book 5 in the Nosy Neighbor series, Jogging is Bad for Your Health, it helps if readers discover the first four books first. Anything for a Mystery is book 1. It is a single release and is also included in this tremendous collection by some of the Christian industries best cozy mystery authors. I hope you check it out. You may discover a new favorite mystery writer. Writing cozies is great fun! There will be two more in this series, then I have a new one planned for 2016. I hope you will join me on this adventure.

ANYTHING FOR A MYSTERY: What follows is a frolicking good time as Stormi finds herself the nosiest neighbor of them all. Can she find the killer before she becomes the next victim? (Christian)

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

GUNFIGHT AT GRACE GULCH: Cici and Audie take a dangerous gamble to nail the killer - and lay their lives on the line. (Christian)

ANOTHER STAB AT LIFE: In order to honor her grandmother's wishes and stay at Volstead Manor Bailey must unravel a string of mysteries and secrets, which all seem determined to stay happily ever buried. (Christian)

TROUBLE UP FINNY'S NOSE:A crazy kaleidoscope of characters such as the uptight gallery owner, Napoleon Prinn; half-baked Dimple Dent, writer of fortune-cookie wisdom; Alva Hernandez, octogenarian newspaper boy; and Monk, the amorous town caterer, add to the chaos in the shadow of Finny’s nose until Ruth finds herself in the ultimate do or die situation. (Christian)

MURDER IN THE MILKCASE:Sleuthing to exonerate herself from murder charges, she shakes up a murderer who has nothing to lose by killing any one in the way - including Trish. (Christian)

THE WEDDING CAPER: Join Annie Peterson, mother of the bride, as she solve crimes on her way to the wedding. In book one (The Wedding Caper) a $25,000 night deposit mysteriously disappears from the Clark County Savings and Loan, and Annie Peterson takes on the role of amateur sleuth to solve the mystery. Only one problem. . .she knows nothing about crime solving! (Christian)
MURDER UNDER THE MISTLETOE: What she'd hoped would be a relaxing holiday between jobs turns into a stressful and often frustrating

FEBRUARY RELEASES!

By: Maegan Beaumont

Take a look at the fantastic Midnight Ink has to offer this month!

 Death & the Redheaded Woman
By: Loretta Ross 
An Auction Block Mystery #1
“Ross’ thoroughly entertaining debut combines smart details about the auction business with two engaging mysteries and a uniformly appealing cast. Fans of small-town cozies, especially those by Denise Swanson, will love this, as will mystery readers who double as thrift-store aficionados and followers of auction reality shows.”—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

Drawing Conclusions
By: Deirdre Verne 
A Sketch in Crime Mystery #1
"Verne's mystery is a winner, with plenty of twists and turns, an intriguing heroine and an ending that shocks in more ways than one."—KIRKUS REVIEWS

February Fever

By: Jess Lourey 
The Murder-By-Month Mysteries #10

“Lourey skillfully mixes humor and suspense . . . the characters are wonderful and wacky, and the mile-a-minute pace never falters.”

—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

January Releases!

By: Maegan Beaumont

It's a new year and Midnight Ink is kicking it off with some FANTASTIC new releases!

A Killer Retreat
By: Tracy Weber 
A Downward Dog Mystery #2 

Cozy readers will enjoy the twist-filled plot.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Dying for the Past
By: TJ O'Connor 
A Gumshoe Ghost Mystery #2

"The twisty plot is well delivered . . . Anyone who loves a strong ghost yarn will savor this tale."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

The Accidental Alchemist
By: Gigi Pandian 
An Accidental Alchemist Mystery #1

“This reviewer is eagerly anticipating more from this series, and a return of a cast more fun than an episode of Portlandia.”—RT BOOK REVIEWS 1/2

It Takes a Village--of Writers

There's nothing like the fun of discovering a new book.
Unless it's building a new community of friends.

I’m delighted to end my first book’s blog tour with an unofficial stop at Inkspot.

If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d have told you that writing was by definition a lonely journey.

I was wrong.

If you read the acknowledgements in Murder Strikes a Pose, you know that I didn’t get this work published alone—not by a long shot.  Without my yoga students, husband, agent, editors and early readers, this book would never have come to fruition.

But there are several individuals I haven’t properly thanked—the wonderful authors who helped me on my jolting, often bumbling journey to authorhood.  I can’t possibly prioritize them, so I’ve listed them alphabetically.

To the ladies below, thank you. Your support has meant more to me than you can possibly know. 

To the rest of you reading, if you click each author’s name you will be directed to information about their newest book.  Please check them out, and support me by supporting them.

Laurien Berensen—I’ve read everything Laurien has written, and she is one of my dog mystery writing heroes.  When I asked her to consider writing a blurb for me, I was sure the answer would be no.  But it wasn’t!

Sheila Boneham—Sheila read and blurbed my book and spent considerable time on the phone coaching me when I was looking for a publisher. I appreciated her no-nonsense advice and the follow-up questions she’s been willing to answer for me.

Lucy Burdette (Roberta Isleib)--Lucy (like many of these lovely ladies) agreed to read and blurb my book, even though she only knew me through e-mail. And she pretended not to notice when I acted like a fool introducing myself to her at Malice.

Mary Daheim—I’ve been a fan of Mary’s, well, for so long that I can’t tell you without divulging my age.  I can’t even remember how we connected almost a year ago, but I’m so glad we did.  Mary lives in Seattle, and she and I have shared many drinks, dinners, and laughs. She has also given me lots of advice on surviving the sometimes challenging world of writing. 

Pamela Dennison—I “knew” Pamela years before I ever considered writing. We were both members of a discussion group dedicated to rehabilitating reactive dogs. She read my novel and agreed to sponsor my membership in the Dog Writer’s Association of America. And she’s an amazing dog trainer!

Chrystle Feidler—Chrystle wrote an article for my blog and invited me to join Killer Hobbies.  Because of Chrystle I have a blogging home for my writing pursuits.

Waverly Fitzgerald—Waverly met with me over tea when I was still looking for an agent. She encouraged me and gave me advice about the often frustrating process of finding an agent and selling a book. When I later asked her to read and blurb my book, she did so graciously and quickly.

Hank Phillippi Ryan—Hank gave me an incredibly warm welcome when I first joined Sisters in Crime.  She recommended an agent to pitch, and she read and blurbed my book. When I re-introduced myself at a signing for her newest book, she said. “You act like I don’t know who you are.”  Hank, there’s no reason you should know me, yet you do.  Thank you.

Amy Shojai—Amy was one of the first writers I connected with when I was trying to figure out the business of writing.  She was one of two sponsors than I needed to become a member of the Dog Writer’s Association of America.

MaggieToussaint—Maggie wrote a wonderful article for my blog and a blurb for the book.  Maggie called Murder Strikes a Pose “a yogalicious romp,” which is a term I plan to steal every chance I get.

Penny Warner—Penny has done me many favors, including coaching me on book marketing and blurbing my book. She even made a Murder Strikes a Pose necklace and sent it to me.  I will always cherish it.

To each of you amazing ladies, if I can ever do something for you, I am yours. I promise to pay your graciousness forward to the writers who come behind me.  You are all great role models, and I aspire to he half the writer—half the person—that each of you already is.

To those of you reading this article, please support me by buying and reading their works.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

And in case you're interested, here's a blurb on Murder Strikes a Pose, which was published January, 2014!

 

 

When George and Bella—a homeless alcoholic and his intimidating German shepherd—disturb the peace outside her studio, yoga instructor Kate Davidson’s Zen-like calm is stretched to the breaking point. Kate tries to get rid of them before Bella scares the yoga pants off her students. Instead, the three form an unlikely friendship.

One night Kate finds George’s body behind her studio. The police dismiss his murder as a drug-related street crime, but she knows George wasn’t a dealer. So Kate starts digging into George’s past while also looking for someone to adopt Bella before she’s sent to the big dog park in the sky. With the murderer nipping at her heels, Kate has to work fast or her next Corpse Pose may be for real.

 

Check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and wherever books are sold!

 

Yoga Can Be Murder

A yoga student approached me after class recently, looked at my bookmarks, and frowned. He phrased his next comment politely, but the gist was this: “What kind of demented yoga teacher writes books about murder?”

I stammered and stuttered a lame, joking reply, assuring him that no yoga students had been harmed in the making of my books. Looking back, I should have reframed the conversation. Instead of assuring him that I wasn’t psychotic, I should have told him why I write yoga mysteries. If I could re-do the conversation, here’s what I’d say.

My light-hearted mysteries allow me to share my love of yoga with people I may never meet.

Good fiction immerses the reader in a world they might otherwise never experience.  I hope to show my readers that yoga is for everyone—especially those of us who are far from perfect. Even better, I hope my book is entertaining enough to entice a reader or two to try yoga.

Kate Davidson, my novel’s protagonist, is a yoga teacher. Unlike the models in Yoga Journal, Kate has laughably tight hamstrings, chubby, cellulite-ridden thighs, and she drinks a bit more wine than she probably should. Kate tries to live up to yoga’s principles of satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence), and karuna (active compassion).

She often fails.

Kate has temper more like a fighting rooster than the Dalai Lama, and she sometimes acts impulsively, only to regret it later. Yet she believes in yoga and dedicates her life to sharing it with others. If Kate loves yoga, anyone can love yoga—even mystery fans who have never considered trying it.

People are murdered in my work, but death isn’t the only theme.

Solving crime definitely takes center stage in my books, but murder isn’t the only focus.  My agent says that my first book—Murder Strikes a Pose—is ultimately about love. I didn’t realize it until I heard the words, but she’s right.

The book illustrates how love can damage us, if we let it.  Throughout its pages, normally good people do extreme—some might say evil—acts to protect those they love. But beyond that, the story shows how love transforms us, when we are ready. Overall, it promises that love saves us.

If my books were movies, they’d be rated PG-13—at most.

The Downward Dog Mysteries are written in the cozy mystery genre.  Cozies are typically light-hearted, often funny (I think mine are!) and written to appeal to the faint of heart.  Gore is minimized; killing takes place off screen; sex happens behind closed doors.  My mother read Murder Strikes a Pose, and she still thinks I'm a nice girl.

Last but not least, I love it!

But if I’m honest, the real reason I write yoga mysteries is simple. I’m a huge mystery fan, my life-work is yoga, and I’m absolutely, embarrassingly, head-over-heels crazy about my German shepherd, Tasha.  I write about a yoga teacher who solves murders with a wacky German shepherd sidekick.

Writing about yoga, dogs, and murder….What could be more fun?

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Win a Character in Sheila Webster Boneham's Pets in Focus mystery series

Purchase a raffle ticket from one (or more!) of three organizations that support canine health and be entered in one (or more!) of three drawings for a canine guest appearance in The Money Bird*, the second Animals in Focus Mystery and sequel to Drop Dead on Recall.
*(Working title)

All proceeds go directly to support which ever causes (or causes!) you choose.

For more information about the raffles, the organization, the books, and the author, please visit one of more of the event pages.


Australian Shepherd Health and Genetics Institute
Dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge of genetics in the Australian Shepherd, and the inherited diseases from which it sometimes suffers. We envision serving all Aussies, no matter what their purpose, the goals of their owners, or where they live. ASHGI will work both independently and in cooperation with researchers, breed clubs, canine health organizations and foundations that provide grant funds for canine genetics research.
http://www.ashgi.org/bookpromo.htm


Canine Health Events
a diverse gathering of dog lovers from across the country who are dedicated to improving the lives and health of dogs. Using normal dog events, we seek to raise money for canine health research both through entry fees and additional fund-raisers, such as raffles, auctions and sponsorships.
http://www.caninehealthevents.org/CHEBookCameo.htm


LABMED
An Internet-based non-profit organization created to distribute financial aid to injured or ill rescues around the country, giving them a second chance at adoption and love from a permanent family.
http://www.labmed.org/book.html


THE BOOKS

Drop Dead on Recall by Sheila Webster Boneham
Animals in Focus Mystery #1, Coming October 2012!

When a top-ranked competitor keels over at a dog obedience trial, photographer Janet MacPhail is swept up in a maelstrom of suspicion, jealousy, cut-throat competition, death threats, pet-napping, and murder. She becomes a “person of interest” to the police, and apparently to major hunk Tom Saunders as well. As if murder and the threat of impending romance aren’t enough to drive her bonkers, Janet has to move her mother into a nursing home, and the old lady isn’t going quietly. Janet finds solace in her Australian Shepherd, Jay, her tabby cat, Leo, and her eccentric neighbor, Goldie Sunshine. Then two other “persons of interest” die, Jay’s life is threatened, Leo disappears, and Janet’s search for the truth threatens to leave her own life underdeveloped – for good.


The Money Bird (working title) Coming Fall 2013!

A wet satchel with a torn hundred-dollar bill and a long red feather in the bottom--animal photographer Janet MacPhail knows they mean trouble when Labrador Retriever, Drake retrieves them during a field training photo shoot. When an illegal shipment of endangered tropical birds is intercepted by police, Janet is sure there's a connection and decides to look into it between dog-training classes, photo assignments, and visits to her mom at Shadetree Retirement. Despite everyone's cautions, Janet sets out with her Australian Shepherd, Jay, to find out what's going on and how it's all linked to a mysterious retreat center near the island. She discovers that crows aren't the only birds linked to murder.


Learn more at any of the three organizations' site, or at www.facebook.com/sheilawrites or www.sheilaboneham.com

Does Midnight Ink = Cozy?

I need feedback people - the more the better!

While at the writers conference in Portland, I was often asked what Midnight Ink publishes.  When taking pitches, it goes something like this, "I don't know if this is the right book for you, but I have a 120,000 word thriller..."

At this point, you could insert historical mystery, suspense, hard-boiled, etc for thriller...  So just what is it do we publish?  Midnight Ink has had a great history with cozy and soft-boiled mysteries.  But we've also done well with a few thrillers. I've acquired quite a few that fall in the middle of the road -what we call medium boiled.

Here is my question to you, dear readers - what is your perception of Midnight Ink?  Do you see us as a cozy publisher?  A plain old mystery publisher?  What comes to mind when you think Midnight Ink?  What would like us to publish that we aren't currently?

To foster conversation, I will send a couple random commenters a new book from our 2012 list.  Comments need to be of substance.  Thanks!!

5 questions with Cricket McRae



Cricke McRae



Today Cricket McRae is my 5 questions victim.  Her most recent Home Crafting Mystery, Wined and Died, is already shipping.  If you haven't stopped by your local store, or placed your online order, now is a perfect time!!  Cricket has a great blog.  I am so jealous and inspired when I read what she is cooking, making or growing!

Was there an author or a book that inspired you to write?

 I read so much as a child that I can't name just one. It was more like the accumulation of all the authors and their stories. However once I decided to be a writer, Starting from Scratch by Rita Mae Brown and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott were influential and inspirational.

Your books revolve around home crafting – soap making, canning, cheese making – did you already know how to do those things, or do you learn a new craft for each book?

When I started the first Home Crafting Mystery I wanted to write about something I already knew about rather than doing a lot of research. I had a soap making business for a while, and gave that occupation to my main character, Sophie Mae Reynolds. Besides writing, I also pickle and can, garden, make cheese and butter, spin yarn, knit and crochet. However, I did have to research mead making for my latest, Wined and Died, which I understand is already shipping from Amazon. ; )

Do you have a favorite movie, book or artist? 

The Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I go back to them over and over, amazed at how they're such accurate tutorials for colonial skills. As for movies, I confess to watching Dirty Dancing and Tremors far too often. 

You have several books in your series – is it getting harder or easier with each book?

Both. It's easier in that the world building is largely done. The primary characters are like family, so keeping them consistent is no problem. But can be challenging to keep things fresh, and since the series is set in a small town I have to avoid the "Jessica Fletcher" syndrome -- there are only so many dead bodies that can keep turning up.  

If you needed to bribe your editor, what you make/buy her? 

I wonder if she likes molasses-oatmeal cookies ...?  (I believe she may...*big grin*)

Click here for a list of all of Cricket's books:  http://www.midnightinkbooks.com/products_by_series_list.php?series_id=28

Romance in Mysteries

I have to give Deb Baker/Hannah Reed for giving me the idea for this blog.  Click here to read her blog post on the Cozy Chicks Blog.

It seems to me that the lines between the mystery genre and romanace are becoming less and less distinguishable.  A cozy written now versus one written ten years ago is more likely to have on the page romance.  Not graphic sex scenes by any means, but there has been a trend of more action, as well as more bad language and slightly more violence.  In my opinion, cozies used to be very close to traditional mysteries and now they are much closer to soft-boiled.  Is this a bad change?  Not at all.  It's simply the evolution of the genre.  (Romantic suspense is an entirely different sub-genre.)

Cozies and soft-boiled mysteries are very character driven.  Or you could call them relational driven - in that its the relationships that are most important (yes there needs to be a good, plausable plot, but come on folks, let's be honest - is there really a plot in the Stephanie Plum books?)  So how much relationship do we need to see?  Does it make a book less believable if we don't see some action on the page?

So where does the line get drawn now?  Authors are probably in the best position to answer that question, after all, authors are receiving reader feedback regularly.  So authors - what are your thoughts on romance in the cozy or soft-boiled sub-genres?  Are readers asking for more romance or telling you that you have gone too far?

Readers, of course I want to hear your opinions as well!!  What do you want to see? And what about swearing and violence?  Is a character believable if she says "darn" after she has accidentally backs into the tall, dark and handsome police chief's car?  :)

BY JAMES PATTERSON & LOIS WINSTON?

There’s a growing trend in fiction that leaves me with mixed feelings. I’m sure you’ve seen it. James Patterson seems to do it the most, but other bestselling authors are jumping on the bandwagon. They write books with co-authors. The co-authors are pretty much unknown or even totally unknown. I don’t know where they come from. I don’t know how the advances and royalties are split up. I doubt it’s 50/50.

What’s in it for either author? The no-name author gets a huge career boost by immediately winding up on the bestseller lists. The big name author gets someone else to do most of the work, then he or she goes in and spit polishes the manuscript until it’s worthy of his name. I suppose it’s a win/win for both. If it weren’t, the trend would die a quick death rather than be growing the way it is.

As I said, I’m not sure how I feel about this. At first I was leaning more toward being against it. In some ways it feels like cheating, but if James Patterson wanted to offer me a partnership, I’d probably jump at the chance. Really, could you turn down an offer to co-write a book with a bestselling author?

Lately I’m having second thoughts from the perspective of the bestselling author. Disclaimer here: I am not now, nor have I ever been a bestselling author. As much as I’d like to be, I have yet to hit a list, even an extended one. However, I began to wonder if maybe James Patterson and others were doing this co-authoring stuff not so much to see how many bestsellers one author could possibly have on the NY Times list at once but because there are just so many hours in a day and too many ideas.

That’s my problem. I have all these ideas for books, both series and stand-alones, spinning around in my head. I’m on deadline. I have books I’m contracted to write. I have proposals out for more. And I have still more I’d like to write. What I don’t have are enough hours in the day to write all the books I’d like to write. Maybe that’s what James Patterson thought, and this was his solution. After all, no matter how fast a writer you are, if the number of books you want to write outnumbers the time you have to write them, you’ve got a problem.

So what about the rest of you? Are there books you’d love to write but can’t find the time to write? Do you wonder if you’ll ever be able to write them? Would you ever consider a partnership with another author to solve this problem?