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Showing posts from 2020

The Glitter Analogy

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   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

The Very Best People, According to Authors

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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

Building a New Series

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     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 w

And... Preorders Are Here

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  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. 

Trailer Park Tales-Book #2

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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, hopi

Trailer Park Tales

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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

Remember Last Year When I Said...

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I said in my last post that the audio version of Once Upon a Trailer Park was due any day. I guess I should have said in many days. Through some sort of snafu, Audible didn't release the book until YESTERDAY, which is weeks and weeks after it should have happened. If you were waiting, I apologize for the delay. If you'd like a code to listen to it free , just let me know in the comments and I'll help you out. The book is still fun, even if late December turned into early February!