Maggie Pill Mysteries

  First, here are the answers to the quiz in my May newsletter. A.         26 Letters of the Alphabet B.          7 Wonders of the Ancient World C.          1001 Arabian Nights D.         12 Signs of the Zodiac E.          54 Cards in a deck (with the Jokers) F.          8 Planets in the Solar System G.         88 Piano Keys H.         13 Stripes on the American Flag I.          32 Degrees at which Water Freezes J.           18 Holes on a Golf Course K.         90 Degrees in a Right Angle L.          200 Dollars for Passing ...

     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...

 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

 Let's start with the question, and you can think about it while you read about the next Maggie Pill book. Which commercial makes you shout at your TV (or at least want to)? As to books, Cats and Crimes is with the content editor. I'm working with a new one, and she likes sending a few chapters at a time, so I correct my work in spurts, looking at her suggestions, taking notes, and changing the text. We're up to Chapter Eighteen (of 33). When that's done, it goes to the copy editor for more changes. When I've made them, it will be time to fit the MS into all the little boxes publishing requires. Amazon wants some things, like a "live" table of contents. Draft2Digital doesn't need that because they make one for me. Print books differ just enough between the two to make life miserable for a few days. My husband knows to tread quietly when I'm trying to make the covers fit into the different programs. I'm planning to have it up for pre-order by m...

 Being two people is tough, and lately, Maggie took a back seat while Peg worked on her upcoming release. Yesterday, I went back to being Maggie and took up the 3rd Trailer Park Tales book, Third Crime's the Charm . I had done a rough draft and then set it aside, which I find is very helpful, though sometimes scary: "What? I actually wrote this? What was I thinking?" In addition to Peg's book, Maggie got ahead of herself when her idea for Cutest Little Killer came along. I try to finish one series before starting another one, but sometimes the muse does what the muse wants. CLK was lots of fun to write, and from the readers' response, I expect there will be more of those. NOTE: This is why I will never be a household-name type writer. I can't write endless stories with the same characters, even if I like them a lot. So. Yesterday I went back to the rough draft of Third Crime's the Charm , and I was happy to find that, yes, I still like it, and surprise! I...

 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...