Maggie Pill Mysteries

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 ...

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...

?????????? I know what my fans will say if I ask: Should the Sleuth Sisters series be done? I've already heard it from some: "No! We love them!" I get that. But what is the saturation point for a series? I always thought it was five books, but I've got #6 mostly done, and I like it. The sisters still have issues to work through, and the two cases this book covers are interesting (There are dogs in one; that's always good.) But in my own reading, I tend to lose interest when a series goes on too long. Yes, I've read twenty-three Sue Graftons, but I space them out so I don't get sick of Kinsey. I love Harry Bosch too, but I was pleased to see that Connelly expanded to the Lincoln Lawyer books and is trying out a new character in The Late Show.  I think I'll know if there should be another Sleuth Sisters book. What happens is my brain starts telling me the story when I'm ready to write it down. There's no telling when that will ha...

I'm here to give you a taste of the fifth Sleuth Sisters mystery, and it's so much fun! We take on a case for the FBI, and it involves a weekend at a winery/inn on the Leelanau Peninsula north of Traverse City, Michigan. I've always wanted to stay over there, and St. Millicent's is the newest, chicest (if that's a word) property in northern Michigan. The retreat celebrates the joys of being a mature woman, so there will be inspirational speakers, products and practices geared to women, PLUS food, fashion and wine! Hosted by Love-able Ladies, the retreat is all about why women should be happy to be women, whatever their age and body type. Of course Barbara Ann is going to hate every minute of it. I wonder if there's some way I could leave her home...

Releasing May 30, 2016 Since E. A. Poe wrote the first mystery, the genre has been popular with readers. Though most of us will never deal with murder and wouldn't want to, we like peering over someone's shoulder as he or she pokes into a crime, unearthing secrets and eventually the perpetrator. We began with police officers, whose involvement is logical, since they're paid to find out whodunit. The genre soon picked up private investigators, who also get paid but aren't as hemmed in by rules as the coppers. Then came the amateur detective, someone who should be doing something else, like writing novels (Jessica Fletcher) or Miss Marple (making tea?). They're often just plain nosy, but they can also be clever and fun. Of course there are those who are falsely accused, or connected to someone who is, but that usually works only once (unless you're Jessica Fletcher's nephew). Today's mysteries spread across all those lines. There are lots of police ...

This is the final cover for the 4th Sleuth Sisters mystery. It's still a way off, probably May, but it's nice to have something to show to readers. When an author is traditionally published, she gets some say in a cover but not much. A lot depends on the publishing house. I was always asked what my initial concept was, and after that they'd say, "Here's what we did." I've had author friends who hated their covers but couldn't do anything about it. I had one I didn't much care for, but I trusted the publisher to do what worked for the masses, not just for me. As an independent, an author is responsible for everything, including the cover. Knowing I have the artistic talent of a Brahma bull, I hire people to do my covers. I've been lucky to find cover artists who can take my germ of an idea and make it beautiful. When the first Sleuth Sisters came along, I had no idea it would be a series (or so popular: Thank you all!) I wanted three pairs ...

Guess how this author picks winners for giveaways and such! These days as many of my friends are authors as are not. I thought for the Dec. 1st post I'd tell you about someone else's books for a change. These people have no idea what I'm doing, so I'm hoping it's a nice surprise for the next few Tuesdays for them and possibly some new reading for those who read this blog. Today's "honoree" is Janet, who has a book releasing today. She has two series published under pen names, and both are worthy of a read if you like cozy mysteries and haven't yet tried them. The PTA Murders series is published under the name Laura Alden and features Beth Kennedy, recently divorced with two kids. When she gets drafted into more involvement in the local PTA, things start happening, and Beth is reluctantly drawn into sleuthing. The five-book series is notable to me because the humor is genuine, not derived from exaggerated characters who do unbel...

Magna Cum Murder is a mystery lovers' convention held each year in Indianapolis, IN, the last weekend of October. It's organized by Ball State University's Kathryn Kennison, who's a little dynamo seen everywhere, making sure things are going well for everyone. Since it's held at the beautiful Columbia Club on Monument Circle, literally in the middle of Indy, there's plenty to see as you walk around the hotel and the downtown. Since it was Halloween weekend, we saw some strange sights, like a Pedal-bar full of witches (sorry, I didn't get a pic of that one) and a wedding in the hotel grand room with most of the guests in full costume. (How would you like to have Beetlejuice at your wedding?) The weekend was spent discussing mysteries, both on formal panels and informally in corners of the hotel. Guest of Honor was William Kent Krueger, who is one of the best mystery writers out there today. He's from Minnesota, so many of his themes speak to Michi...

MURDER IN THE BOONIES has been climbing the Amazon rankings, and watching it is a little addictive. Many authors admit to checking stats several times a day, and I do when a new book is released or a new giveaway is scheduled. The 3rd Sleuth Sisters is in the top 50 for cozies right now. It's just so cool to be loved! Today's the last day for 3 SLEUTHS, 2 DOGS, 1 MURDER on Kindle for free, so if you haven't snapped that up, you've been warned. I didn't know how a giveaway of the middle book of a series would go, but it sailed to #1 in free contemporary fiction (it's at #3 today) and over 50,000 readers have downloaded it, so I guess I'll call it a success. The theory is, of course, that if you like the one you get for free, you'll buy the others. So far it's working! Other than that, I don't have much of a sales strategy. Other authors tell how they adjust the price of a book for so many hours and watch their rankings to see if it helps. Or the...

Remember that old TV show, That Was the Week That Was ? (Um, me neither. That was way before my time. Really.) Anyway, this week is the release of the third Sleuth Sisters book: Murder in the Boonies. It's available in print now on Amazon and at Ingram. The Kindle version goes live on Wednesday , so all of you who pre-ordered should have it show up on your device then. This one concerns the sisters' family farm, which Retta manages, renting the land to a local farmer and their parents' home to a man, woman, and her three daughters. When they move away abruptly, the sisters become suspicious, fearing at least some of them didn't leave voluntarily. To make matters more complicated, the renters leave behind their animals, and the sisters have to figure out what to do with them. Strange things happen. Strange men appear on the property. And strange ideas lead to danger for not just Barb, Faye, and Retta but for a lot of others as well. Here's something for ...

That's how many days to the Kindle release of MURDER IN THE BOONIES! It's pre-orderable for Kindle right now, and if you're sneaky, you'll find out it's available in print on Amazon already. (They're the big dog and they do as they like.) Ingram is dragging its feet (if a book company can have feet), but it will happen, and then you'll be able to order the book in stores as well as online. Here's Retta's take on the release: Our third adventure, MURDER IN THE BOONIES, is pretty exciting. Not only do we foil the bad guys, I also make headway on my plan to truly become part of my sisters' detective agency. It's no walk in the woods--although there is plenty of walking in the woods involved. You see, the renters who'd been living on our family farm left unexpectedly. It really upset me, but Faye came up with an idea she thought would help out. Barbara got suspicious about the disappearance and started looking for the renters, a guy n...

Not a real cat. Anyone with cats knows they wouldn't hold still for this! I've read books where the cat is the sleuth. I've read books where the cat is the narrator. I've read books where the cat is the sidekick. How about a book where the cat is the murderer? My old cat has taken to sleeping on the stairway. When it's dark or when I'm carrying an armload of sheets or whatever, it's easy to miss her presence, and several times in the last few months I've almost gone tush over teakettle down the stairs.   Now she's old. It might soothe her dementia-fogged mind to sleep on the stairs, halfway up so she can see what's happening on the main floor and still run for cover if the evil Vacuum Monster comes out of its lair or--worse yet--if STRANGERS invade her home. But she could be plotting my death. I mean, who'd suspect her? NOTE: I'm giving away books all week on the www.pegherring website. Stop over and make a comment to get ...

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...

The second Sleuth Sisters book is now out on audio (at Amazon, Audible, & iTunes). I'm learning about audio--very slowly. When I originally signed a contract for book #1, THE SLEUTH SISTERS, I pictured CDs I could take to events and sell. That isn't how it's done, at least not on Audible. It's a download. Someone suggested that since the books are pretty popular in Michigan, I should let the Library for the Blind know about their availability for audio. I did, but I learned that at least some libraries want/need the CD. Besides, they buy through Overdrive, not Amazon. So yeah, I'm learning. Still, the first audiobook is doing well, and I just got word that the second is out, at least on Audible. I don't see it on Amazon yet, so keep checking if that's the way you buy. Now we get to start the whole process over with book #3! Here's a preview of that cover, though I sent in some requests for fine-tuning.