On February 15, 2022, the eighth book in my Silver Rush historical mystery series, THE SECRET IN THE WALL , officially descends upon the world. Here's a little teaser for you: Former saloon owner Inez Stannert is trying her best to keep her colorful Leadville, Colorado, life behind her and to provide a respectable home and upbringing for her teenage ward, Antonia. Now the owner of a small music shop in San Francisco, Inez can’t seem to steer clear of mayhem as murder victims literally come out of the woodwork. She’ll have to figure out how to lose the bones and keep the gold. Now, a confession: When I turned in my draft to the editor in late 2020, the pub date seemed soooo far away. Plenty of time to re-group and prepare, I thought. But 2021 disappeared in a haze. Maybe because the year didn't turn out at all like I thought it would (I'm sure I'm not alone in that). Maybe because other projects consumed me. Whatever the reason, 2022 arrived awfully fast and (yikes!) I r...

Our theme this month has been unique marketing methods to promote your book. Promotion does not come naturally to me, but I have marketed books in several unusual ways. 1. Charity Events I was approached by the local Optimist Club fundraisers in my neighborhood when they heard I was an author. The first book in the Mythikas Island series was put up for the silent auction, then they mentioned that I would have additional books for sale at the end of the event and would be happy to sign the book for the winner. The selling of books after the auction was their idea. I did not sell a large volume (less than 10), but did gain a few fans. The second year I overhead someone asking if the author would be back because they wanted the next book in the series. I have been asked back every year since. Several people have approached me because they would like to write books. I have cards advertising my Story Building Blocks series on hand to give them. Seek out local charity events t...

I Own All the Blue , illustrated by Bess Harding My publishing project for this year is a short picture book for ages three to seven . As a parent, I’ve bought picture books and chapter books online, and I’ve discovered the frustration of attempting to gauge the content of a short book using the Look-Inside feature that Amazon offers. I say ‘discovered’ because Amazon’s flaw (i.e., the 10% rule means you get to view maybe one or two pages at the most) has given me an idea for promoting my own book. I decided to offer my own Look-Inside-the-entire-book to the subscribers of my mailing list. I know parents want to vet books before their children read them (I certainly do). Sometimes a book might seem great, only for the last page to go against the message a parent might want their child to learn. I want people who buy the book to do so knowing exactly what they’re going to get. But this is much more than a mere Look-Inside. It also: Works as pre-launch content Offers an ince...