Maggie Pill Mysteries

 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...

  Books are all gone. Thanks for your kind comments!

(Thanks to reader Margaret who sent this darling pic of her cat Murphy with Sleuth Sisters Book #2)   I recently read a post where a woman said she re-reads books at bedtime because knowing what happened makes it unlikely she'll be kept awake by the story. A woman who bought my book at an author signing told me she reads the last chapter first, so she knows if the rest of the book is worth reading. In times of stress, my sister re-read favorite books as a way of comforting herself. They were usually romances, because one of the requirements is a "happily ever after" ending. Reading fiction serves many purposes in our lives. There's enlightenment, vicarious adventure, understanding of other times, places, and peoples, and, like the examples above, comfort, intellectual stimulation, and sleepiness.  Often I see lists of "MUST READ" books, and the implications of the NYT , Oprah, and other best-seller lists is "Here are the books you should be reading....

 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 ...

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 ...

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...

Preorder HERE Do you and your spouse disagree on *Who decides if the room temperature is "comfortable"? *What the car seat/mirrors/steering wheel placement should be? *Where things should be kept? *When it's time to go home from a party? *Why tomatoes need/don't need to be refrigerated? These and other spousal questions will be addressed in the Trailer Park Tales Mystery Series. What the Sleuth Sisters Mysteries does for relationships between sisters, this new Maggie Pill series does for spouses, making those little irritations funny by revealing their universality. (if that's not a word, I just laid claim to inventing it). Set in an over-55 RV park in Florida, Trailer Park Tales begins with Once Upon a Trailer Park.     Home Is Where the Trailer Is Beautiful Bird RV Park is a haven for snowbirds coming to Florida in the winter months as well as the home of permanent residents. Everyone is shocked when a corpse is found on the property ...

We're in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but the direction I thought the story would go changed, so instead of city-scapes, we have woods. Here are the two covers we're looking at, and I'd love your input. Tell me which you like AND what you notice that looks out of place or dimension. I can get it fixed, but after while my eyes see the whole, not the individual parts.

A version of this post originally ran on the  Hometown Authors  site on October 9, 2018 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 back then was a surprise. I thought books sort of 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...