Posts

Sometimes the Dog Really Does Eat the Homework

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  Muffin, who does not eat homework! It has been an eventful year for me, but not in the manner most folks look forward to. There has been joy and much thankfulness, true. My angst came in preparing for the release of AppleJacked the second book in my mystery series. It.has.been.stressful. So stressful in fact, that I had vivid flashbacks of overdue or poorly executed homework from my grade school days. Sister Mary-I-Do-Not-Care-If-Your-Dog-Ate-Your-Homework dominated one particular recollection, because, well, Goober (said dog) didn’t really eat my homework and I’ll never forgive my brother for planting the idea in my eight-year-old-brain.   So, to quell my anxiety about missing my publishing deadline, I fell back on what I knew, blaming Goober. Irony, right? Here I am over half a century past Sister Mary and her homework deadlines and I’m still looking to blame Goober for his gluttony. You see, AppleJacked , the second book in my Moccasin Cove Mystery series, and the book I am

Day in the Life of Ana Callahan

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With the release of book 2 in my series happening this summer, here’s a replay of a guest post I did on Dru Ann Love’s blog last fall when book 1 debuted. It depicts a Day in the Life of Ana Callahan, the local gal who left Moccasin Cove fifteen years earlier to save the world—one failing school at a time. In ChainLinked, Book 1 in the Moccasin Cove Mystery Series , Ana has come back home to rescue her childhood elementary from state closure.   ***************   My typical workday starts when I creep onto campus under the cover of darkness just to get a thing or two done before the whirlwind kicks in. But that doesn’t stop the interlopers from interrupting my first sip of coffee from the office pot. Hot, half and half, no sugar. The coffee, not the interlopers.   Eighty-something, Miss Etha, is usually the first caller. The neighborhood snoop occupies the front corner lot in her trailer across the street, ever ready with her laundry list of complaints about some aspect o

Read Any Good BLURBS Lately?

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(This is an updated post from May 2021.) Has your schedule shifted in the past two years? Does less time commuting mean more time for reading? Gee, I hope so. If you’re like me, when you have a spare second, your thoughts naturally run to books. So many books and suddenly, a little more time, right? According to the website PublishingPerspectives.com, in 2020, trade book sales were up close to ten percent and audio books made a sonic leap in sales to over 16%. If you find yourself in the catbird seat of the reader with a little time to spare, how do you choose what book you’ll read next? Do you check out the online reviews, front cover, first page, or the back cover blurb first? Whether you head to the Amazon to search virtually or venture out F2S   (face to stacks,) most folks have a go-to routine for zeroing in on the next occupant of their e-reader or trusty nightstand. My style? I thought you’d never ask. My well-honed, Five-Step method is guaranteed to work in any venue-re

A New Thriller-Suspense from Three Points of View!

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What would you do if your grandchild went missing? What about your teenager? I’d like to welcome my fellow GUPPY and debut author Lis Angus to the blog today. Her debut novel, Not Your Child, takes these questions to the next level in a chilling story of loss and resilience told from the perspectives of three characters. Thank you for being a guest, Lis. I’m so happy for you and look forward to seeing Not Your Child out in the world on April 18 th .   You can read my review of this chilling novel here.   Back Cover Blurb Ottawa psychologist and single mother Susan Koss discovers that a strange man has been following her twelve-year-old daughter Maddy. She fears he’s a predator, but it’s worse than that. The man, Daniel Kazan, believes Maddy is his granddaughter, abducted as a baby, and he’s obsessed with getting her back. Susan insists on a DNA test to disprove Daniel’s claim, but the result is one she can’t understand or explain: it says she’s not Maddy’s mother. Then Madd

Thank You for Making 2021 Merry & Bright!

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Dear Readers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2022! I count your support among my many blessings this year. Without you and my fellow authors at  misterio press ,  ChainLinked  and the Moccasin Cove Mystery Series would not have been a success.  AppleJacked , book 2 in the series is slated for release this spring. I'll keep you posted on Ana and Mac and the happenings in Moccasin Cove. My best to you and your family for a holiday filled with warm memories.                                                                                                                                                                      Peace,                                                                                                                                                                     Liz 🎄

Guest Post: Lois Winston, Author of Stitch, Bake, Die!

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  I am so pleased to welcome author Lois Winston to the blog today. She has a new, tenth installment to her wildly popular cozy mystery series out, and I am excited to be able to interview her about her writing! Liz:      Tell us a little about your current project/release. Lois: Stitch, Bake, Die! is the 10 th book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. It’s a semi-locked room mystery. Anastasia and food editor Cloris McWerther are presenting a series of workshops at a local conference but are forced to spend the night after an ice storm shuts down the roads. One of the conference attendees is found to have died in her sleep the previous night, but Anastasia begins to suspect foul play.   Liz:     Mystery series can run from three to dozens of books. How can an author keep it fresh-characters, storylines, setting, etc.? Lois: Throughout my series, I’ve introduced new characters who make occasional return appearances in other books. These include Anastasia’s previously unkn

Visit my guest post about crafting and writing!

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Happy Today, Readers!  I'm thrilled to divert you to a different website today where I am guest posting about art, crafts, and writing.  After pummeling my main character with problems, how do I allow her a breather so she can regroup to fight another day? Read all about it in my guest post at Lois Winston’s anastasiapollack.blogspot .