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Maggie Pill: The most intriguing mystery writer you never heard of!


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The Fun Books: A New Addition

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  Book #3 Have Cats -- Will Crime-Solve releases October 1, 2024. Here's the universal link to buy it from your favorite book site in paperback or e-book. The audio book is in progress. I'll keep you posted.      https://books2read.com/u/md2D5R Or you can ask for it at a book store.  Or you can ask your local librarian to get it for you. The Cats & Crimes books are fun to write for several reasons. First, Lorilee is my age, so we share some views on life. She spent her working years in public service with family services; I was a public school teacher. Like me, she's of the opinion that people can be irritating when they refuse to educate themselves, think things through, and consider the feelings of others. Second, I get to write about cats, which is always a plus for me. I love pulling stories of cats I've known into the books, and I also talk to cat lovers everywhere to get more anecdotes. Lorilee takes in strays and adopts cats with issues that make the...
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Okay, THIS Is the Last One

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 I have some theories about why I've stressed over the cover for CUTEST LITTLE KILLER so much. First, it's the start of what I hope will be at least three books, so a cover that establishes a theme is good. I had to ask myself, what thematic items will work for a BUNCH of books? Second, the character in the title is unique, which at first made me want to picture her on the cover. I started by choosing a photo of a little girl who looks slightly dangerous. But several fans said they'd rather create their own image in their minds, and once I thought about it, I had to agree. Who hasn't been disappointed with a movie that turned a favorite character into someone you didn't recognize? I love Matthew McConaughey, but he didn't fit my image of Dirk Pitt at all. And of course there's Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher... So here's the pic I thought would work. It didn't. Cover artists say it's a mistake authors often make, and authors can't blame them if th...
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Books Don't Just Sell Themselves--Who Knew?

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  You wrote a book. Hooray! Now comes selling the book. Let's talk about that. If you go traditional, your publisher will do some of the work needed to sell your book. My (now former) publisher arranged reviews, announced the book’s release to libraries, and featured it on their website. I learned I was expected to help get the word out, which surprised me. I thought books sold themselves. It takes effort to get a book noticed, and whether you publish independently, traditionally, or somewhere in the middle, you're the one who cares most about your work. You can pay people to promote for you, but that’s expensive and often doesn’t result in the sales authors hope for. You can promote for yourself, choosing how much time and effort you want to put into it. Here are a few ways that can happen. Book tours : Authors do tours so they can talk about their books to audiences. These can be virtual or physical. The author sets up dates and places where readers go to hear about t...
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