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Freebie Cats and Crimes

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 There's less than a week left to get Cats and Crimes as a free e-book from Bookfunnel either here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/cozymysteryseptember/viw7z3gxs5 or here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/cleancozybooks/vqudav7vmv The way Bookfunnel works is that readers are offered free e-books of a certain genre, bundled together to suit the reader's taste. I signed up for two cozy mystery giveaways this month. Clicking on the link will get you a list of free cozies you can choose from. Cats and Crimes is the first of the Cats & Crimes Mysteries, and the second, Raining Cats and Cats , is available for purchase all over the place. https://books2read.com/u/mK7JAV   They're both also in audio from Amazon (Audible). If you'd like a code for a freebie on either, I have them, in hopes (of course), that you'll submit a review somewhere when you're finished listening. Oddly, the fourth book of the series is banging around in my head, but not the third. Not sure what I&
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How Did I Forget?

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  Raining Cats and Cats , the second book of the Cats & Crimes series, released on June 19th. I wrote about it everywhere I could think of...except here. Not sure how I could forget my oldest networking tool, but I did. So just in case you missed it in all the other places, here's the way to get your copy, no matter which distributor you order from: https://books2read.com/u/mK7JAV The e-book and print version haven't yet linked on Amazon. I'm working on that...sigh...
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Another Writer Bites the Dust

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I spoke with a woman the other day about what we were reading. She told me about a book she'd bought because the author is local. "The story wasn't bad," she said, "but I don't think he had an editor. I had to force myself to finish because there were so many mistakes." I'm guessing she will never buy another book by that author. Mistakes happen. In the book I'm reading at the moment, a big-publisher, hardcover offering I bought in a bookstore, the author says that the rescue workers needed a place to "lie" the wounded woman down. That hurt my English teacher heart, but for the most part, we can expect publishing-house books to be well-edited. Self-pubbed authors are often the worst. They don't hire an editor because they think they're "pretty good with grammar," or they have a relative or friend who is. It's not the way to go. You love your writing, and your momma (cousin, sister, whoever) loves you. An editor nee
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Another Book. Ho-Hum

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     Honestly, there is that "Ho-hum" aspect to it after thirty-plus books. I enjoy the writing and the editing and the putting it all together, but as RAINING CATS AND CATS gets closer to being ready for the world to see, I have to start planning promotions and hyping my work.I'm not very good at that part. First, I simply can't lie and tell you it's the best book you'll ever read. Second, I get tired of trying to grab readers' attention when 30,000 other authors are doing the same thing, every month, all year, every year. I've tried all the things "they" tell you to do to sell books: ads, blog tours, review sites, street teams. I haven't seen much evidence that any of them work. My LEAST touted book, THE SLEUTH SISTERS, became my best seller ever, all by itself. Books that I promote broadly, stories that I think are great reads, sit at only a few hundred sales. That makes it hard to get excited about hyping the next book, but here go
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Cover Reveal: Raining Cats and Cats

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 The second book of the Cats & Crimes Mysteries is with the editor, so I had time to think about covers and such. Before I forget, we chose Esmeralda as the new cat's name, and we'll call her Esme for short. Thanks to all who made suggestions. Somewhere, I have the name of the person who suggested Esme, and she will get a free copy of the book when it's available. Now, as for the cover. Please tell me what you think, because I can ask for changes if something doesn't look right.
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Name the Cat

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 I'm working on Book #2 of the Cats & Crimes series, and I'd like your suggestions. Lorilee will adopt a new cat, one that went through Hurricane Ian and came out a mess. She's long-haired, white, and skinny as a rail. What should Lorilee name her newest pet-friend? She's white but with green eyes, and she was rescued after Hurricane Ian last fall. I'll give a free e-book to the person who comes up with a name that makes me say, "That's it!" Here's what we've got so far: Tempest Hurricane Snowball Zephyr Eureka Bungle Esmeralda (Esme for short) Ptarmigan Little One Princess
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It's Been a Month? Really?

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 I try to blog monthly, and the "experts" advise blogging weekly. Yeah, right. No way is my life that exciting or my advice that critical to world peace. I will say that CATS AND CRIMES is doing well. I've had compliments on the cover and the characters, particularly the cats. If you're getting desperate for Christmas gifts and you have a mystery/cat lover on your list, buy it HERE . On the philosophical side, I've been considering why cozies are so popular. I think there are several reasons: they're funny, they're not scary, and, possibly most important, the bad person gets punished in the end. We live in a world where the guilty get away with far too much. (No, I don't believe it's worse now than it was before. We just get it shoved in our faces all day, every day.) The guilty have often escaped punishment with their money, their fame, lies and deceit, and, for whatever reason, the inaction of the rest of us.  But in a cozy, some amateur with not
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