Book Reviews-The Good, the Bad, and the Unsure

 Book reviews are golden for authors. They move a book up in the complicated algorithm system so that more people see the book when they go looking for something to read. They convince readers to at least download a sample of the book. And when the review is positive, it makes an author feel like she's done something right.

                                                                         Buy It HERE
Getting book reviews is a problem. With so many books being released in the current world of self- and traditional publishing, it's hard to connect with a reviewer and make a pitch for that person to read my book. Chances are they have way too many books already in that TBR pile.

For indie authors, it's worse. When I was traditionally published, my publisher had a list of reviewers they regularly submitted books too, and there was a strong chance my work would be reviewed and posted in the likes of New York Magazine or the Historical Novels Review. Once I went out on my own, the process became hit and miss. A few reviewers, like Lelia Taylor of Buried Under Books; P.J. Coldren (multiple sites); and Patzi Gil, host of the Joy on Paper radio show, stick with me because they like my work, and I'm forever grateful to them.

There are places where a writer can buy reviews, but I don't feel comfortable with that. It's like authors who write to "suggest" I submit their books for a prize or vote for it even if I haven't read it. It feels like cheating.

The upshot of all this is that reviews help authors. You don't have to be a "professional" reviewer. Since they seldom get paid, most reviewers work for the love of reading. There's no training to become a reviewer. If you love a book, you should definitely say so. If you don't love it, you might consider a review anyway. Numbers count, and I've read negative reviews and thought, "She didn't like it, but it sounds interesting to me." You can always do what P.J. Coldren does and tell what you liked and what you didn't, and then let the reader decide. EVERY BOOK HAS HATERS. Conversely, EVERY BOOK HAS FANS (even when you or I can't see it).

Here's a review of my newest, TWICE THE CRIME THIS TIME. Once again, I'm grateful to Kings River Life, the magazine, and Cynthia Chow, the reviewer, for giving me a chance and for "getting" what I aim for in my cozy mysteries.

https://kingsriverlife.com/01/09/twice-the-crime-this-time-by-maggie-pill/

The Glitter Analogy

 

 There's a meme on social media about spreading COVID-19 and working with glitter, how no matter how careful you are, it's going to end up everywhere. With no intention of doing so, I proved its truthfulness this week.

I had a small area in my bedroom that needed some color. It's a long, narrow shelf with paneling behind it that was too monotone, too dull. I decided to spice it up with some creative decor, so I bought some little knicky-knacky things to hang on it.

It didn't work. They faded into the dull background. It needed something else.

So I started looking, and I came up with a swath of netting fabric. It matches the bedroom curtains and makes a great background for the knick-knacks, bringing out their shapes and colors.

Except it's infused with glitter.

First I ironed the fabric, and I noticed the floor around the ironing board was shiny. Okay, I'll sweep that away later. Putting it up, I had to stand on the bed, and I noticed glitter falling onto the spread. All right, I'll get that with the hand vac. Hubby came in to help me make sure it was even, and he said, "Man, there's glitter all over." I told him I'd take care of it.

It's two days later. I have swept, vacuumed, and mopped the bedroom floor. I've run the hand vac over the bed multiple times. It still looks like Christmas in there. To make matters worse, we've tracked glitter through the whole house, so our chairs, our rugs, and our socks sparkle. We've taken to checking before we go anywhere other people will see us, removing shiny spots from our faces and hubby's mustache. Anywhere I try to sit down to relax, I catch a glimpse of another particle, and I have to get up and deal with it. 

The original fabric has a spot that's drooped, and it really needs to be adjusted, but I'm not touching that thing again. It can hang crooked for eternity!

The Very Best People, According to Authors

 

When you're thinking like an author, the best people are those who not only like your work, but also help you spread the word that it's out there and it's good. With that in mind, here's a link to an interview I did recently with Manybooks.net, which does just that. They liked The Sleuth Sisters, but they let me talk about my other work too, which is kind of them. Here's a link to the interview: 

https://manybooks.net/featured-authors/maggie-pill-cozy-mystery-featuring-sisters

As a reader, you might not be able to interview me online like they did, but you can still help.

Spread the word: Tell others about books you like. Most people choose books that are recommended by someone they know.

Loan your books: This is touchy for some, but I love sharing stories I enjoyed with people who might feel the same way. I have fans who read, then mail the books to faraway relatives and friends, which gets them read in a whole new part of the country.

Comment on reviews and interviews: As a reader, I look at articles like the one above and also check to see what others say about them, whether it's my local library asking what we're reading this week or "big shots" like Manybooks showcasing authors.

Write your own review: Anywhere, any length, any level of enjoyment. While authors like to see positive reviews, they all help. People see the title. Algorithms chart the number. Others chime in. It all works to publicize the book.

A Note on reviews: I've spoken to some who are afraid to rate a book because they can't give it five stars or whatever the "best" is. I don't review a book I can't give four or five stars, but that's because I see things from both sides: reader and author. I know how much work went into it, so I tend not to criticize another writer, even if I don't like the book. Because of the way things are set up online, every review tends to help, no matter how bad it is. Besides, the negatives one reader posts ("too gory", "too sexy") might be the positives another reader is looking for.

 I do take issue with raters like one I saw who gave a book one star because "I have arthritis, and it was too heavy for me to hold onto." Or the one who complained that she didn't get it on the date Amazon said it would arrive. Come on, man! Rate the book, not your grumpiness at the world on a given day.

 The crux of my message is this: When you read a book you like, tell other readers. With something like 30,000 new books being released EVERY MONTH these days, we authors need all the help we can get!

Building a New Series

    To be honest, the path of least resistance for a writer is to keep churning out her most popular characters in book after book...like the Sleuth Sisters Mysteries. I had fun with Barb, Faye and Retta for years, and they're still my best sellers.

Then my sister died, and suddenly the series wasn't fun anymore. The last book was written but not finished editing when the news came, and each time I had to read it again made me sad. How could those sisters have each other when our trio was now a duet? I decided to put the series on a shelf and try something else.

 

The people in our trailer park in Florida had for some time encouraged me to write mysteries in a similar setting. In condos and trailer parks all over the southern United States, residents come together for a few months each year from many different places. They live in close proximity, in small spaces. And they're retired, which means lots of free time. The old adage says, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop," and we might add, "and idle minds are his raw material." It can be irritating to try to separate fact from rumor, and it's inevitable that what some folks do, other folks don't like. I decided to look at all of that and present the humorous side of being a snowbird.

The first Trailer Park Tale, Once Upon a Trailer Park, was well received. 

The second, Twice the Crime This Time, is about to burst on the scene, with the same mature characters involved in crime-solving interspersed with spousal spats and neighborly encounters, both good and bad. The series is fun to write,especially since so many people are more than willing to share ideas and anecdotes. Several of the incidents in the book are taken from "real life" stories told on warm afternoons on someone's porch.Voices rise as the story heats up, and there's lots of laughter, even if we've heard it before.

I try to be fair.

I always warn them..."I'm writing this down!"

And... Preorders Are Here

 

The second Trailer Park Tale is available for pre-order everywhere I can manage it. So far I only have an Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HJHQ7D5 . I'll add the links to B&N, Kobo, etc. when they're available.

This one continues the adventures of four couples in a Florida Over-55 RV park and, as advertised in the title, there are two crime threads. First, Ron & Julie are asked to see if they can pin down which man living at the park might be the guy who murdered two people back in 1967. While they're working on that, rumors circulate that someone's peeping in trailer windows at night.

Of course there are humorous interactions between characters: husbands and wives, neighbor to neighbor, and senior citizens against the world. Shopping for lingerie, getting a confused old man to his doctor's appointment, and dealing with a guy who believes aliens run the government are everyday occurrences for the residents of the Beautiful Bird Over 55 RV Park. 

If you missed the first book in the series, get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Trailer-Park-Tales-ebook/dp/B07YV7ML7G 

 

Trailer Park Tales-Book #2

I've been working on the second installment of Trailer Park Tales, which will follow Once Upon a Trailer Park sometime in the next few months. The same four couples you met in Book #1 will investigate a cold case, finding a man sought by police for two fifty-year-old murders. The word is he lives at B-Bird, but he's changed his identity, so the cops ask Ron & Julie to do some digging. They involve the other couples, because really, how much danger can there be with a crime from 1967?
The book is almost together, which means I'll soon be sending it out to beta readers, editors, book reviewers, etc.
What I don't have is a title, and that's where you can help.
I'd planned to follow Once in the first title with Twice in the second. But when readers search for mysteries, they use keywords like murder, crime, suspects, death, kill, etc. I can't come up with a way to do both and come up with a catchy title.
I've been spitballing ideas all morning, hoping one will stick, but I'm stuck. Below is a (very rudimentary) mock-up of what I think the cover's going to look like, and a list of possible titles I came up with. Any help, either votes for one of mine or ideas of your own, will be greatly appreciated.

Everyone’s a Suspect

Twice-told Trailer Tales

Twice Around the Park

Senior Suspects or Geezer Suspects

Suspected Geezers  or Suspected Seniors

Twice the Crime

Suspects All Over the Place

A Park-full of Suspects or A Park Full of Suspects

Crime Times Two

Whispers of Crime

Trailer Park Tales

For those who've complimented me on the first book of the new series, ONCE UPON A TRAILER PARK, thanks. I had a man stop me in the park to say that his wife reads him bits from the book. (I'm not sure if that was an "Atta girl" or a "Look what you've done!") Others have mentioned the relationships in the book, both between couples and among park residents, which is what I hoped readers would notice and enjoy.
Since it's doing well, I started on Book Two, tentatively titled TWICE AROUND THE TRAILER PARK. There are two mysteries to be solved in this one, a cold case and a hot one. The same four couples are featured, demonstrating types that might be found in any community. The question often asked is "When will it be out?" and the answer is fall of 2020, if all goes well.

Since the release of Book #1, one of the pastimes in the park where we winter has been figuring out who is who in the book. I keep telling people that authors don't choose a person and make him or her into a character. They're all composites of people I know here in Florida, home in Michigan, and anywhere else I've been. Still, it's been like a game whenever I show up somewhere. "Al is just like So-and-so," or "I think I'm Julie."
Whatever parks your trailer!