Maggie Pill Mysteries

  The third Cats & Crimes book is all GO on my end.  I've uploaded final e-book and print files. (Two separate entities, each with its own challenges.)  Checked the cover.  Edited the blurb on Amazon and Draft2Digital. Sent for postcards to mail to over 200 libraries within the next week.  It all happens October 1st. If you haven't ordered one yet, you can do so HERE The wildest thing is that Book #4 formed in my head as I was doing all this. It's a logical extension of the first three books, which I think readers will love, and I see one more book after that to complete the series. (I'm not a fan of writing a series after four or five books, though I will confess there are authors I love who keep it going and do a great job.) Anyway, I'll start work on that in a few weeks, when the promo for HAVE CATS - WILL CRIME-SOLVE is well under way.

Working Cover Files If you keep up with my adventures, you know I was conflicted about a sixth Sleuth Sisters book. I do NOT want to be the author who stretches a series beyond logic, and I feel strongly that if I'm not interested in the plot, my readers won't be either. That was reinforced this past week as I read a book by one of my favorite authors, who has a long-running series I've always liked. The new story was beyond belief, with the detective getting naked in front of a crowd of people to force a confrontation that made very little sense and wasn't believable, at least for me. I never want the Maggie Pill name attached to a book just to have a new one out there. With that said, I found myself interested in the sisters again somewhere in August, and the questions began. What if Barb is caught, or almost caught, doing her Grammar Nazi thing? What if it's because there's a murder nearby, so the Nazi is a suspect? That was the germ of the idea for Boo...

As my next Sleuth Sisters story takes shape, I need to send cover ideas to the artist. The Sleuth Sisters' format is three bars with something on each representing the sisters: shoes, purses, etc. I'm kind of thinking necklaces, but I'd be interested to hear readers' ideas.

Of course we know what a pre-order is. You want a book that isn't out yet. You tell Amazon about your longings and they let you sign up to get the book the minute it's available. You don't have to remember the release date and then go look for the book; it just shows up on your device. Pre-orders are helpful for authors too, at least if what I'm told is true. They're counted as sales when a book launches, which bumps it higher in the rankings, which means more people see it and hopefully want to buy it. That creates a nice little circle effect: notoriety brings sales, and sales bring more notoriety. All that's said to let you know the third Sleuth Sisters mystery, MURDER IN THE BOONIES, is up for pre-order. The release date for Kindle is May 20. Print books might come later, because there's  final proofing that requires ordering physical ARCs (advance review copies). Print books require different files than e-books, so that last proofing is a good idea...