Dazed and Confused

What's in a cover?

It only occurred to me on Wednesday to think--oh, Bookmarked for Death is coming out in large print next month.  I wonder what the cover looks like.  So I went in search of it.

Mind you, when I saw the cover for the large print edition Murder Is Binding, I thought it was okay.  Not as wonderful as the cover Berkley Prime Crime did for the mass market paperback edition, but not bad.  After all, it was done by the parent company that did the cover for Murder On The Mind (horrible) and Dead in Red (which was fantastic). Of course, I have to remind myself that cover art--like everything else in publishing--is a crapshoot.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

So, when I saw the large-print cover on Wednesday I must say I wasn't exactly impressed.  The mass market paperback's cover represented the first chapter of the book, with the cake that looked like the guest author's book cover, the books themselves, and the open door to the washroom where the victim was found.  The artist even included the tin ceiling!  The artist must have at least read the synopsis and maybe even the first chapter.  Could an author be more pleased?

I found the large print cover on Amazon.  To say it was a disappointment was putting it mildly.  The cover artist decided to just do generic books on a bookshelf.  Not very inspiring.  Okay, large print editions don't sell all that much anyway, but surely the large print audience is just as interested in a beautiful cover as the mass market paperback audience.  Then again, consumers BUY the mass market version (@ $6.99).  Usually only libraries buy the large print edition (@ $25.99), and I don't think (at least I hope they aren't) as swayed by the cover art.

Authors don't make a lot of money on large-print editions.  But what if the cover art was just as stellar--maybe more copies would be sold, which would benefit not only the author, but the publisher as well.  At least, that's a theory I'm willing to embrace.

But the absolute worst thing about the cover:  THEY SPELLED MY NAME WRONG!!!  Note, there's only one "T" on Barrett. 

UPDATE:  Just after I wrote this, I heard from my Five Star editor.  (Five Star is a division of Thorndike--the parent company, famous for their large-print editions.)  I'd written to her to report the cover goof.  She was AMAZING!  Less than two hours later, the cover had been fixed, and she'd sent me a copy of the new cover.  Also, they'd caught it in time because the books hadn't yet been printed.  Whew!  I feel a LOT better now!

The books I bought

What's with the yard sales this year?  Generally speaking--they suck warty pickles!  With so many people in financial difficulties, you'd think that the sales would be full of stuff as people scramble to come up with money to pay their bills.

Apparently not so.

But I did get a couple of good things this week--books, probably the last thing I need--but something I always want.

 As far as I can remember, I only read one Little House book by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  That was in third grade.  While I remember liking it, I didn't know there were any more in the series (apparently our school library didn't have them), and I was clueless until the TV series.  By then, I was more into mysteries than "family fare."

When I had my booth at an antiques co-op, I sold a LOT of used books by Ms. Wilder.  They seem to speak to children, or at least to parents or grandparents who wanted to share those stories with another generation.  But I never kept any for myself.

Saturday, I came across three of the titles for 50 cents each:  Farmer Boy, The Long Winter, and These Happy Golden Years.  I may not read them until I get the rest of the series and then read them "in order."  But they are now in the To-Be-Read pile.

The other book I got was "The Clue of the Broken Locket" -- a Nancy Drew book, a 1943 edition with, alas, no dust jacket. (But I found a copy of it on Wikipedia--isn't it delightful?) Still, I'm gathering things for a charity basket for next year's Malice Domestic, and I thought that would make a great addition. 

CONFESSION TIME:  I have never read a Nancy Drew book.  I may have to read this before it goes in the basket. 

What's in your TBR pile?

I want a new telephone

Have you tried to buy a phone lately?  I'm talking landline phone.  In your house.  The kind of phone you can put on your shoulder and talk to your mother while you stir the spaghetti sauce so it doesn't burn.  You CAN'T find them.  The only things available these days are all cell phone wannabes.

I want a REAL telephone.  And OLD telephone.  As it happens, when we were growing up (way back through the mists of time).  The phone company owned the phone.  We were one of the first families on the block to actually BUY our own telephone, and it was pink (the same color as our house).  I loved it. 

The phone company was made up of grumpy old men and they didn't want people to have extension phones.  It was a BIG no-no, but somehow my Dad got hold of an old Art Deco telephone, and he ran the wires and we had TWO--count 'em--TWO phones in our house.

As a kid, I found it hard to lift the receiver of that old phone--it was HEAVY, and I didn't like the phone.  Where had it come from?  Did it have cooties?  When the phone rang, I'd run to the front of the house to use the pink phone just so I wouldn't have to use that terrible old phone.

Of course, now I would KILL to have that phone.  I've seen similar phones in antique shops, not in as good shape, and they want between $60 and $100.  (The graphic on the left doesn't do that phone justice.) 

Since I can't have the phone of my dreams (or at least I'm too cheap to get it--and where would I put it?), I've given it to my character, Tricia Miles.  She keeps it in her Haven't Got a Clue bookstore where she sells vintage mysteries.  When she uses it, it takes her back to the days of Agatha Cristie and Harriet Vane and getting lost in their adventures.

Maybe what I really need isn't an old phone, but more time to read mysteries.

That sounds good to me.

The Breeze Inn

Like many of author Mary Kay Andrews's readers, I've been following the creation of her very own Breeze Inn on her blog.

For those of you who don't know, Mary Kay Andrews (pen name of author Kathy Hogan Trocheck) writes women's fiction.  She's written three that feature the same characters, Savannah Blues, Savannah Breeze, and Blue Christmas.  In Savannah Breeze, BeBe Loudermilk has lost all her worldly possessions thanks to a bad investment counselor--except for a dumpy motel called the Breeze Inn.  For a good chunk of the book, Bebe and her friend Weezie renovate the inn, with a nod to HGTV's Design on a Dime, and stuff from Weezie's second hand shop.

I loved the books, and I was intrigued when Mary Kay bought her "beach house" on Tybee Island.  For the past few months she's been chronicling the change from ugly cement block house to her own personal breeze inn, with pink and turquoise paint, wicker furniture, and lots of neat odds and ends.

She put a lot of effort into that renovation, telling readers about the rooms she'd prepared for her son (also known as "Boomerang Boy) and daughter and her husband.  About choosing the paint colors, junking all along the East Coast (from Brimfield, MA to Florida) finding just the right items to furnish her home-away-from-home.

And finally, a few weeks ago, she declared her own personal Breeze Inn finished.  I imagined her family using the place on weekends, the house being filled with friends, great food, great drinks, great memories.

WRONG!  The Breeze Inn is now open for BUSINESS!  And you can rent it for chump change -- that is if you happen to be Donald Trump.  A week's stay at the Breeze Inn will put you back a mere $2,133!!!  (Add $100 a week if you want to bring your pooch.  $200 if you bring two pooches.)  Of course, part of that cost includes a $30 admin fee (for the people who handle the rentals), $125 housekeeping fee, and a 13% motel/hotel tax.

Odd as it sounds, I felt betrayed.  Mary Kay never told her blog readers that the Breeze Inn would be a money-making venture.  We came along for the ride thinking that this would be her great escape, where she go to get away from life and work on her novels.  (Her latest, The Fixer Upper, comes out on June 23rd.) 

I started thinking about Mary Kay and her books and had a stunning realization.  Usually authors live vicariously through their characters.  Mine own their own bookstores in a quaint New England village and wouldn't I like to do the same?  Mary Kay has taken this vicarious living to another level.  She not only has a character who owns a motel on Tybee Island, now...so does she, sort of.

So instead of feeling betrayed, I think now I'm just jealous!

FOOD FICTION CONTEST

Just a reminder:  I'm teaming up with my friend J.B. Stanley with a contest giveaway.

J.B. is offering up a Battered Body Gift Basket (that will include a signed copy of THE BATTERED BODY, a buttercream-scented candle, gourmet cake mix, and other edible goodies) and while I'm contributing a signed copy of BOOKMARKED FOR DEATH!

To enter: Send an E-MAIL foodfiction@gmail.com by APRIL 1st with the subject line MARCH CONTEST and tell us about your favorite baked goods! Recipes, stories...all are welcome! Again, the grand prize winner will be chosen at random, but who knows...? There might just bonus winners. : )

One entry per person and U.S. mailing addresses only, please. Please include your mailing address so we can send you your prize!  You will be signed up for both my and J.B.'s newsletters and the Food Fiction newsletter, if not already. (You can always opt out!)

The contest is being hosted by Jessica Conant-Park co-author of the Gourmet Girls Mysteries, author Michele Scott of the Wine Lovers Mystery Series through their Food Fiction newsletter.

Trotting Out Holiday Favorites

On a recent visit to my local bookstore, I wandered through the mystery section to see what was new (and did they have copies of my book(s) and those of my friends).  On all the cap ends were holiday mysteries.  Lots of them.  Whoa! 

A quick look at the copyright dates proved that these were NOT new books getting preferential treatement, but that the bookstore was trotting out seasonal backlists to satisfy readers' desire to get in the holiday spirit with a little touch of murder.

Some bigger-name authors get their holiday books re-released every year with "new-improved" editions, with extras.  (Can you think of a better thing?  New editions--something every collector will want and NEED!) Ka-ching, ka-ching!

I told another writer friend that we needed to write holiday books that could be trotted out every year.  Unfortunately, it's usually the publisher--not the author--who decides these things.

Still, I do have a holiday story I can trot out every year.  Okay, it's available year-round, and I rarely trot.  It's titled:  "We're So Sorry, Uncle Albert."  I wanted to explore the relationship between the have and have nots within a family unit. What would it take to goad family members to even consider bumping off a “loved one?” And what are the possibilities of getting away with such a crime?  And it's set during the holiday season.

You can find it on Amazon (click on the link over there on the right side), and for only 49 cents. 

Such a deal!

Will I ever write a novel set at Christmas?  Well . . . maybe.  I do have one in the closet that takes place around Thanksgiving -- and the epilogue takes place on Christmas Eve.  Another of my unsold manuscripts takes place Halloween week and ends--you got it--at Christmastime!

Neither of them are truly holiday oriented, so it looks like it'll be a while (if ever) before any of my backlist gets trotted out for the holidays.

(But one never knows.)

Author copies!

It's wonderful to have a rural mailbox, especially if you happen to get a lot of boxes.  How many times have you had a box of something sitting on the front steps, soaking wet or encased in snow and ice because the box wouldn't fit in your regulation mailbox?

Not me!  Since I got my first house, I've always had a rural (BIG) mailbox.  Why?  Because I order stuff. Especially books.  Our mailman has never had to trudge up the driveway with a box.  And you'd be amazed what you can fit in one of these oversized mailboxes.

My author copies for Dead In Red came yesterday.  My other publishers have been extremely generous with author copies, but this one...not as.  (Hey, I've got to use two of them to register my own copyright!)  The box they came in was HUGE!  Oh boy! I couldn't wait to open the box because surely a carton this BIG would hold more than just 12 copies.

I was wrong.

Despite the lack of them, they really are quite ... beautiful.  Did I hit the jackpot this year when it came to covers, or what?

More BLISS--A Little Bit of Victoria Magazine in Stoneham

It's no surprise to readers of this blog that I am a HUGE fan of Victoria magazine.  It's genteel.  It's elegant.  It's GORGEOUS.  I love just about everything about it.  (Except that it doesn't come out often enough.)

So when I was writing the first book in my new mystery series, I wanted to add a little bit of Victoria to the manuscript.   

The concept of Stoneham is based on the little Welsh village of Hay-On-Wye.  A wonderful place filled with used, rare, and antequarian books. 

My protagonist, Tricia Miles, runs the village's mystery bookshop, Haven't Got a Clue.  Tricia worked very hard to create a Victorian atmosphere of tranquility and peace within her store.  She began the process from the outside in.  What could be more Victorian than 221b Baker Street--the home of Sherlock Holmes?  (The cover artist even got it right!)

Inside Tricia's shop, the decor is comfortable if a bit masculine--in a very Victoria kind of way:  richly paneled walls decorated with prints and photos of long-dead mystery authors; oak bookshelves; a cozy readers nook with tapestry upholstered armchairs; other period details, and the quintessential tin ceiling overhead.  Tricia also serves her patrons tea, coffee, and cookies (biscuits) while they peruse classic mystery titles (and the occasional current best seller).

In the second book (Bookmarked For Death, Feb. 2009), Tricia adds a water closet, and decorates it in period style, too.  Ahh...it was fun to decorate.  I gave it a high-tank toilet, flocked wallpaper, and an antique oak-framed mirror.  It's in keeping (greens and browns) with the rest of the store's decor.   

Okay, so an occasional murder takes place on or about the premises. It's all very tidy.

Honest.

But don't just take my word for it.  Publisher's Weekly said:  "The mix of books, cooking, and an engaging whodunit will leave cozy fans eager for the next installment." 

You can check out Murder Is Binding for yourselves.  It's available today at bookstores across the country (and Canada)--and nearly all online booksellers as well.

 

Spoiler Alert

I don't update my website nearly enough.  That's because it costs $$$ and as most of you know, mid-list authors don't wallow in hundred dollar bills.  But it was time.  My welcome letter was wishing readers a happy summer, and autumn has definitely (and finally) come to western New York.

But it isn't just the welcome letter that's been added to this update.  Okay, a couple of links were broken--they're now fixed--but I've also added something to my Extras page.

Wa'zat? you ask.  Some additional goodies that pertain to MURDER ON THE MIND.  Such as drawings of the main characters, character sketches, a map of where the story takes place, a link to Sophie's recipes, and new to the page:  the deleted epilogue.

As I explain in my intro, my then-agent didn't want the book to look like a stand-alone novel, and suggested we end it where Jeff and Brenda leave the hospital.  At the time, I was so eager to see the book in print, I agreed.  Out it went.  But I've also had a number of readers ask me what happened after that last scene. 

Now they can find out.  That is...if they go and look.  (You can get there from here.)

Mind you, if you HAVEN'T read the book, reading this now will ruin it for you.  Just follow this link and you can order the very reasonably priced paperback of MURDER ON THE MIND.  (Hee-hee, you knew I'd somehow get in a commercial for the book, right?)  For those of you who like hardcovers, Amazon still has a few copies of that out-of-print edition (and they're selling it for 34% off list price--eligible for free delivery).

New Books to Try!

Hey, it just occurred to me that I haven't tooted a horn for new books out by two of my chums.  The first, is Goodbye Dolly, by Deb Baker.  It's the second in her Dolls To Die For cozy mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.  It's been out a couple of weeks now and I feel ashamed I haven't yet mentioned it.  I've got my copy and it's sitting on top of my To Be Read pile right now. 

Also now available is Charles Benoit's latest adventure-mystery, Noble Lies.  I don't have my copy of this yet because I want to get an autographed one at one of Charles's upcoming (local) signings. 

These guys are wonderful writers, so if you haven't already tried their work--do it!  You won't be sorry.  (And to help you out, I've posted them on the right column--you can click right to Amazon and order them!)

Where's Harry?

I buy books on tape, but I don't trust them.  It's too easy for them to get snarled in a Walkman or one of my players.  Therefore, I make copies and then only listen to the copies...until they snarl up in my Walkman or one of my players.  (Example:  The first time I listened to Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, tape 1 jammed in my player.  I am now in the process of recording it.) 

This is not cheap.  First, you have to pay a helluva lot for the damn book on tape.  (And why is it that books on CD are more expensive than tape when it's obviously more labor intensive to record tapes than burn CDs, which cost pennies each?)  Then you have to buy the tapes to record the books on.  I spent the entire summer buying up brand new 90 minute cassettes at garage sales.  (It's amazing how so many people are so eager to get rid of them for such a cheap price.)

It's easy to see why Deathly Hallows jammed--the story is long and is recorded on 12 tapes.  Usually you can get away with 90 minute tapes.  Not so with this book.  The tapes seem to be about 100 minutes long, so I have to monitor the whole recording, which is a pain in the neck.  I can't listen AND write my own work, so this is a long-term project.  And I seem to have misplaced the last tape. (Mind you, I'm only up to tape 7 in my recording.) Since I originally listened to it at the cottage, I naturally thought it would be in that tape player.  Nope.  Okay, I listened to parts of it in various players here at home, too (which are stashed all over the house.  Hey, I like to be entertained 24/7!), but I've checked them all out and...no Harry.

Gulp.

It's not a crisis yet.  I've been known to misplace...well, just about everything I own.  (It's a problem when you have a memory like a sieve.)  But things usually turn up....

Then again, there's my favorite set of keys.  I bought a new car (2 years ago), drove it home, took the key out walked into the house and set them down.

I'm still looking for them.

Good News!

Right about now I could use some good news, and the good news is:

MURDER IS BINDING is now listed on amazon.  Go on, take a look!

Even better, it's available for PRE-ORDER!  (If you take a look, there's currently no ranking...that's because there are no pre-orders.)

Remember, publishers take a look a pre-orders to determine print runs.  RUN OUT AND ORDER IT RIGHT NOW!  (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)

And while you're at it, you can also pre-order a couple of my friend's books:

Through A Glass, Deadly by Sarah Atwell

Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney

And while I'm pushing my friend's books, I can't forget Judy Clemens new entry in the Stella Crown mystery series, The Day Will Come, which is now available.  (See the cover over there on the right on the TRY THESE BOOKS list.)

Yes.  I sure needed a shot of good news.

Happy Potter Day!

I don't know about you, but I know how I'm spending my weekend.  Yup, I'm going to my favorite bookstore, picking up a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and plunking my butt into a comfy chair and spend the day READING.

Yeah, I could've ordered it from Amazon and had it delivered, but I tried that once and ended up waiting DAYS to get my book.  Besides, I want to support a brick-and-mortar bookstore.

And why aren't I going to my favorite independent bookstore to buy it?  Well, because it closed.  Lack of patronage.  (Nuff said.

I'm looking forward to getting lost in Harry Potter's world one more time.  (Yeah, like I'm only going to read it ONCE!)

I can't wait. 

My Cover...?

No, I don't have it.  But I have seen the work of the cover artist who's doing it.  Take a gander at this.  If you click on the picture, you'll get to see it full size.

I've been to Blenheim...seems to look like how I remember it.  But isn't it just...gorgeous?  (I might have to go and admire all this artist's covers...don't know who it is yet...I will find out.)

According to my agent, my editor has seen a sketch of the cover and it's charming.  Hey, that sounds good to me.  I'm thinking that, based on what I've heard from other authors, I should see my cover sometime in September. 

Also, according to what I've heard from other authors, my publisher will soon be posting the book on Amazon.  About two weeks after that, Amazon will start taking advance orders.

Who knew advance orders were such a big deal?  Certainly not me.  If not, I would have encouraged people to pre-order my last book.  Pre-orders help publishers determined the interest in a book and therefore the print run.  The more people who are interested, the bigger shot the author has of creating buzz and making sales.

So don't be surprised if a month from now I start begging you to pre-order my book. 

Hey, I'm not too proud.

Help Elaine Viets; buy her book

Several weeks ago, author Elaine Viets had a devastating stroke. Emergency surgery has given Elaine a good shot at recovery, but not in time to promote her newest book, which goes on sale today. So, just about the entire mystery writing community is pitching in to do just that for her.

This Agatha- and Anthony-winning novelist has exposed what life is like as a dog groomer, a telemarketer, a bookseller, a marriage coordinator, and a shop clerk at a boutique dress shop. Helen Hawthorne, her heroine is trying to survive on a cash-only basis. She needs to stay below the radar of the police. They would like to track her down for giving her ex-husband a concussion when she found him with a neighbor's wife.

Murder With Reservations is the 6th book in the Helen Hawthorne "Dead End Job" series. Here's the book's full description:

Helen Hawthorne has a knack for keeping a low profile. But in South Florida, it's going to get a lot harder to fly under the radar...

Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen safe and sane. But when a maid is found dead in a Dumpster, those days just might be over. Dead bodies mean another chance for the cops to find her. To make matters worse, her ex-husband is hot on her trail. Sadly, the cops don't seem to care much about a murdered maid-but they take notice of her coworker's shady story. If Helen doesn't manage to dodge their questions and shake off her ex, it could be checkout time.

The Dead-End mysteries are wonderful. I think I've read--and own--them all by now, and I've already ordered my copy of Murder With Reservations. The amazing thing about Elaine is that she works these jobs before writing about them, so her books are both funny and very realistic.

To make it easy for you, I've got a link, over there on the lower right along with the book's cover, to make it easy for you to order Elaine's book. (Or you can go straight to your favorite independent or chain bookstore to buy it!)

Won't you pitch in and help make Murder With Reservations Elaine's best-selling book to date?

(P.S. Thanks to author David Skibbens for some of the information used in this post.)

Guilty Pleasure

For Christmas I got a gift card from Barnes & Noble.  I had lots of fun spending it.  One of the books I bought was called "The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures."  The subtitle is:  1,001 Things You Hate To Love.

I like books like this.  When you've only got a few minutes, it's fun to dip into.  Most of the "subjects" take less than a minute to read.

Here's something I ran across last night:

MYSTERY, COZY  Also known as Whodunits Featuring Recurring Amateur Sleuth Protagonists.  The first adventure can be okay, because it's not too difficult to believe that just about any of us could one day stumble on a murder and maybe even help solve it.  The guilty pleasure comes a few books down the line when it becomes clear that the protagonist--whether a Laundromat owner (the "Josie Toadfern" series) a Philadelphia schoolteacher (the "Amanda Pepper" series) or an Amish quilt maker (the "Granny Hanny series)--lives in a town with both a disturbing number of homicides and a disturbingly lame police force.

Oh yeah, they got it right.  And now I'm joining the fray with Murder Is Binding, which is set to be published next spring.

Why is it we always make the cops incompetent?  Not all of them, just the lead detective/authority figure.  Is it because we got tired of being told what to do as kids and this is our revenge?  (That analogy can be expanded to "tired of being told what to do at WORK as adults, and this is my revenge."  Oh, no!  Sometimes the victim in your story IS an old boss!)

In any case, I'm looking forward to when my Tricia Miles mystery bookseller mysteries will become someone's guilty pleasure.

Top Ten Lists

For the past week over on the DorothyL mystery readers list they’ve been posting readers’ top ten lists of 2006.  Needless to say, Murder on the Mind was not on anyone’s list.

There’s a good reason for this:  I’ll quote TV Producer (“Diagnosis Murder” and many other shows) Lee Goldberg, who was also a late-2005 Five Star author (of “The Man With The Iron-On Badge”):  “Limited Distribution.”  Or to quote James Thorp, who won an advance review copy of Murder on the Mind in one of my contests: “This is a book that clearly deserves a much bigger audience than its current publisher has access to.”

Not many authors get to see their very first novel in print, let alone get good feedback on it.  (And not nearly enough, let me tell you!)  But then I never again expect to spend 11 years and 13 complete drafts on a novel, either.  Its sequel, Dead in Red went through two drafts before selling.  Then again, I haven’t yet heard from my editor.  (Please, be kind, Hugh.) 

I don’t care what anyone says, winning an award (or even making somebody’s top ten list in East Podunk, Arkansas) is a thrill.  Not enough people read my first book.  Not nearly enough.  Hell, even long-time friends of mine (and you know who you are) couldn’t find time in their busy lives to read it, so it’s unlikely that many more will read Dead in Red.  The truth is, more people will read Murder is Binding simply because it’ll be published in paperback by a very big New York publisher, and I’ll either do well with it and its sequels or I’ll be looking for another pseudonym come 2010. 

It’s all a crapshoot.  But one thing is certain: Murder is Binding is going to be stocked in a lot of chain bookstores all over the US and in Canada.  Wow!  Mind boggling. : )

Still, my Jeff stories are the books of my heart.  I really want them to succeed.  And next time out I'll work just as hard to get the word out there.  (Only I'll start a whole lot sooner.)

Terrorism in a box

The good news!  The paperback rights have been sold for MURDER ON THE MIND.  (Yea!  Crowds cheer, fireworks explode, confetti falls!)  According to plans, the book (with a brand new cover--I can't wait!) will be available in November of 2007.  More details as they develop.

As part of the deal, I have to provide 4 copies of the hardback edition to my new publisher, which is in Canada.  Not a problem.  I simply put them in a box and took them to UPS.  I chose UPS because I knew I'd have a tracking number and could make sure it actually arrives, whereas I wouldn't get that perk from USPS. 

First problem:  The woman looks at my editor's name and gives me the fish eye, asking me for my editor's phone number.  Having never spoken to him (we've communicated via e-mail), I haven't got a clue.  She puts down my phone number as contact and collects my $$$.

The next day, I get a call from UPS demanding my editor's phone number.  I get on my computer, pull up his last e-mail and there it is.  I read it off, Frank gives it to the person on the phone.  All is apparently well.

Three hours later, I check the tracking number and the box is still in Fort Erie, Ontario.  Hmm.

This morning I pull up my tracking number and find out that my little box of books has been taken out of the UPS loop (and sits for five hours) because it has failed security. 

Did they open the box, which says right on the outside, "Requested Material 4 Copies of Murder on the Mind"--so my editor knows what he's getting?  The description of goods on my UPS form is:  bound books.  But why would they think a box of books is a security threat?

Maybe because my title includes the word "murder" and my editor's name is Mohammed?

Frank says if I tried to get on a plane with my little box of books, I'd have never made it.  I'd have been taken out of line, strip searched and tossed out of the airport on my sorry butt.  (Wil Wheaton has a great rant about security on his blog.)

According to my tracking number, my little box is still sitting in Fort Erie.  It's been cleared, but there it sits.  (Ya think they're reading the book to make sure Jeff and Richard aren't subversives?)

I'll be checking the tracking number until my little box reaches its destination, which I'm sure it will in the next couple of days and the paperback version of Murder on the Mind will begin its life.

Meanwhile, I'm not going to let this little blip on its journey spoil the ride to mass market paperback status.

Did you know she's an AUTHOR?

It always amuses me when vendors at the Craft Antique Co-Op find out I'm an author. They'll nudge whoever is standing next to them and whisper, "She wrote a whole book!" There's a big misconception that authors are $RICH$.  I get questions like, "Do you make as much money as John Grisham?" (Or plug in any other BIG name author.)

The second most-asked question is:  "how many books have you written?"  I've completed seven, I've started (and abandoned for various reasons) another five, and I'm working on a contracted book right now.

Why haven't those completed manuscripts sold?  Wrong place/wrong time.  I can only hope that two of them (set in an antiques arcade--wonder where I got that idea from?) will find a home some time in the future.  One will never find a home (the original sequel to Murder On The Mind, that my last agent didn't care for.  I picked out elements from that story and incorporated them into DEAD IN RED).  Three are pending, but it could be a very L-O-N-G time before they see print.

What about those abandoned books?  Well, two of them are in my Jeff Resnick series.  There's no point in finishing them if I can't sell them.  I have a proposal that didn't sell, which was written to requested specifications.  I may crib the setting for another book one day, but as is it's dead in the water.  (Although it did help me get my current contract; the editor liked my "voice.")  I started another cozy that I really liked, but the agent I had at the time didn't like cozies.  So I decided to work with the same character in a book that would be considered "women's fiction."  After 14 chapters I knew it was never going to work.  I might revisit it one day.  I might not.

Several years ago I worked on three non-fiction projects with my former critique partner Liz Voll.  We put together manuscripts on hosting parties (Liz's forte), one on Christmas shopping (mine), and one on writing romances.  EASY HOLIDAY SHOPPING was a joy to work on, and for months I made it my life to add to the list of gift ideas--the current edition has over 850 listed. 

Finding a publisher for a short manuscript that gives easy-to-follow, smart advice, was the kiss of death.  Publishers wanted much larger manuscripts.  But we wanted something you could slip into a purse.  Something you could grab on the go, and I think we succeeded.  We self-published, but without a distribution network it's difficult (if not impossible) for the work to find an audience.

I've still got a few copies of EASY HOLIDAY SHOPPING floating around.  I'm giving away one free copy for every 10 new readers (the winner chosen at random) who sign up for my online newsletter.  Interested?  Contact me at llb @ LLBartlett.com

Trickling in...

Now that MURDER ON THE MIND is in its third print run, the books are starting to trickle into libraries that have had them on order for a L-O-N-G time. 

Last week three copies showed up in Mesa, Arizona.  (They'd been on order since July.)  The Buffalo & Erie County library system has had five copies on order since April.  This morning they finally showed up on their web site.  One copy has shown up at the Champaign, Illinois library, too.  (Look out, Molly!)

I'm still waiting for it to show up at the Rio Rancho Public Library in New Mexico, Portsmouth, England, and the Fairfax County, Virginia library systems.  There may be others--but I'm not aware of them.

Hey, I'm also waiting for it to show up in YOUR library.  I've got that case of Buffalo wing sauce quietly aging in the cool of my basement, just waiting to be won by lucky readers.  Get your library to order a copy of MURDER ON THE MIND and that winner could you YOU!  Click here to find out how.

Performing Wanton Editing

Guess what I'm currently reading?  (Tough question, huh?)  Yup, it's Eats, Shoots & Leaves.  It's been in my To-Be-Read pile for quite a while (I've really whittled it down over the past two months), and it rose to the top this week.  As a former copy editor, I'm finding it a joy to read.  I identify with nearly everything the author, Lynne Truss, says.

So far my favorite passage revolves around editing on the fly.  Truss talks about "stickers," people who demand that punctuation be precise.  She mentions her two favorite cartoons and describes them:

"The second shows a bunch of vague, stupid-looking people standing outside a building, and behind them a big sign that says 'Illiterates' Entrance."  And do you want to know the awful truth?  In the original drawing, it said, 'Illiterate's Entrance,' so I changed it.  Painted correction fluid over the wrong apostrophe; inserted the right one.  Yes, some of us were born to be punctuation vigilantes."

(And yes, I re-punctuated it AMERICAN style!  ;> )

I've gone beyond that. I've often taken it upon myself to correct notices wherever I see them.  The worst I ever saw were at the Big Yellow Box.  Once, wasps decided to hang around the employee entrance for a couple of days.  Some big brain put up a sign that said:  "Be Cautious of Bees."  First of all, they weren't bees, they were wasps.  Second:  "Be cautious of bees?"  Presumably the person who perpetrated the sign had at least a high-school (but more likely a PhD) education.  What was wrong with the simple directive:  CAUTION:  Wasps (or, as s/he obviously wasn't an entomologist, bees)?

A sign on a microwave said:  "Don't use tin foil in this microwave" and someone had cleverly written below, "or aluminum foil either."  I took it upon myself to put a very large BLACK comma before the word "either."

I'd often correct the grammar on the signs hung in the Ladies Room.  The male supervisor didn't want feminine products flushed down the toilet, but the signs were laughable (I wish I could remember the exact wording) and it often sounded like he wanted them wrapped and preserved for posterity.

Lots of times at the co-op, someone will admonish the cashiers with some little badly typed or nearly illegible note taped to the registers.  Wee!  Those are great because I get to correct the spelling and punctuation on six copies! 

So...I guess I miss editing.  A lot.  I've been encouraged to do some freelance editing.  One of these days I just might try it.  (Sure, and I'll bet someone will find at least one error in this post.  Go ahead.  Make my day.)

Spooked!

Many times I've said that I write paranormal mysteries because of my love of Barbara Michaels’ (Barbara Mertz, aka Elizabeth Peters) books. Her novel Ammie Come Home was the first adult mystery I ever read, and WOW did it make an impression on me. Four decades later, I still read this book occasionally. (Which I did only a couple of weeks ago.) It was made into an ABC Movie of the Week titled "The House That Wouldn’t Die," starring Barbara Stanwyck. (Okay, it wasn’t as good as the book, but it was pretty scary to a kid like me.)

But even more scary was another ABC Movie Of The Week titled, "Daughter of the Mind." A séance was held, during which the spirit of a little girl dipped her protoplasmic hand into a wax melter (her mother was an artist who worked in the lost-wax process) and there was the solid proof--complete with fingerprints--that the dead little girl was trying to contact her parents. Well, that was the premise, at least.

If I saw the movie today, I’m afraid I might find it was totally STOOOOOPID. But all these years later, I still remember it with a shudder.

But the scariest move (okay, maybe after "Alien") I ever saw was yet another ABC Movie of the Week, "The Night Stalker," a tale of vampirism in modern-day Las Vegas. (Oh, how I mourned the recent death of its star, Darren McGavin.) I rented the tape about 15 years ago, and I was still FREAKED by the film (originally made in 1972). I have a copy of the movie on a Beta tape, but (damn!) no longer have a Beta machine to play it on. So…yesterday I ordered the DVD.  Hey, hit me with a 2 x 4--I suddenly feel nostalgic.  (And I'm hoping the box set of the TV show The Night Stalker will magically appear on my birthday....)

I remember a LOT of other wonderful ABC Movies Of The Week, starring the likes of Sally Field, Jan Michael Vincent, Stockard Channing, and many others. I watched those movies with religious furor. Nothing like it attracts me to the tube these days.

Instead, I read. But sadly, I’m in the minority. If you’re bored by TV, visit your local bookstore or library. You’re sure to find something really good.

It might even be MY book, MURDER ON THE MIND!

Hey, you never know!

Blogging for Books

There’s been a lot of discussion about blogs and do they sell books.

I know I’ve bought at least a half dozen books because I’ve read the author’s blog. These authors are: Joshilyn Jackson, Lynn Viehl, and Elaine Viets. I have read books written by other bloggers (J.A. Konrath; Judy Clemens,  Lee Goldberg) and I’m sure others (duh--having a senior moment here), but I either knew about their work before they blogged and either bought the book or read it through the library.

Do I think anyone has bought MURDER ON THE MIND because of this blog? Truthfully…no. There aren’t enough people who know about/read this blog. In fact, I’m sure most of the readers of this blog know me from various writers groups and/or are friends of many years (and family: Hi Mum, Sunny and Michele!).

But if nothing else I'm a shining example of someone who has bought a book because of reading a blog. Too bad I don’t get some kind of bonus prize for this.  Then again, I guess the prize was that I read and enjoyed the books!

Try it yourself.

On being lazy...

I grew up in a house where one parent loved to read and the other didn't.  (Guess who I took after?)  We always had scads of things lying around to read:  books, newspapers, magazines, boxes of cereal.  We went to the library often, bringing home more books, books-on-tape, records, etc.

I can remember my dad yelling at my Mom: "Are you reading AGAIN!"  So it is that I often feel lazy if I just sit around and read. (There, I've said it out loud!)

I've spent most of the last 8-10 weekends sitting around reading, and let me tell you, it is WONDERFUL!!!  I've been averaging at least two books a week.  This is more reading than I've done in 20 years.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm not working. 

Working put a real crimp into my reading lifestyle.  I LOVE not working. (Perhaps I should clarify that:  I LOVE not working for a place that doesn't appreciate me or my fellow employees, and where management is hell-bent on destroying first morale, and then the entire company.)  Even when I'm working on a manuscript (which I then have to read over and over again--and really doesn't feel like work), it's still a joy compared to mandatory attendance in a office where someone might stab you in the back at any time. 

This weekend I read two books:  "When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops" by George Carlin, and "If Angels Burn" by Lynn Viehl.  Of the two, I liked "Angels" better, which actually surprised me.  It's an erotic vampire thriller, which isn't my usual choice of reading material.  I've always been a fan of George Carlin, but when someone advocates murder and thievery (all in the name of humor, of course), I just don't find it funny somehow.  Maybe because I write murders and I've been robbed.  Of course there were a lot of laughs in the book, but somehow I expected more.  (Put it this way--it was an uneven read.) 

"If Angels Burn" is the first in a trilogy and now, dammit, now I have to get the other two books.  (And I sure hope she resolves what's going on with John and Alex and Michael by the last book, because it looks like Book II is about someone peripheral to the plot in Book I.)

We were going out to the Amish store and I was waiting for Frank, so I grabbed "Angels" and was sitting on the side of the bed, trying to sneak in another page or two and suddenly it was deja vu.  I was expecting Frank to yell me at for reading.  Of course, this is not something he would ever do...but it was kind of weird anyway.

And now I'm reading a library discard (at a cost of 33.3 cents), "Lake Wobegon Summer 1956" by Garrison Keillor.  Now I'm not a Prairie Home Companion fan.  I've tried to listen, but there was a little bit too much of "olde time religion" for my taste.  But Frank (and even my Dad!) laughed so much reading this coming-of-age book that I had to have a go at it, too.  (I'm on chapter 4 and have done a good bit of laughing myself.  Although some library patrons (who rated the book in the back) were very disappointed.  "Too much raunchiness!" etc.  Makes me want to read more!)

I know, I'm supposed to be finishing the DEAD IN RED rewrite.  But I've got nobody to critique it and I'm feeling miserable.

I think I'll just dip into Lake Wobegon for a few minutes...maybe that'll cheer me up.

Read This Book

My friend, Deb Baker, is currently celebrating the release of her first mystery, MURDER PASSES THE BUCK.

It's opening day of hunting season in Stonely, Michigan. At the crack of dawn, Chester Lampi takes a bullet right between the eyes while holed up in his hunting blind waiting for Big Buck, the legendary eighteen-pointer. Everyone thinks a stray bullet killed Chester except Gertie Johnson, the sixty-six year old mother of the local sheriff. Blaze, named after the horse Gertie never had, is more focused on retiring than sheriffing, so Gertie sets out to bag more than Big Buck. With the help of Cora Mae, her man-hungry Wonderbra-equipped best friend, and sassy pin-curled Kitty, Gertie fends off attempts by family and foe to stop her investigation. Gertie bends the rules, tells outrageous fibs to get her way, and creates havoc in what was once a quiet backwoods community.

Deb's going to tour Michigan in the coming weeks.  Too bad I live in New York, because I'd love to see Deb in action.  Some of the Guppies (members of my Sisters In Crime chapter) are going to attend Deb's events. (The lucky bums.)

I never did a "tour."  When your book costs $25.95, it's hard to pry that kind of money out of prospective readers, which is why I've pursued the library market.  MURDER PASSES THE BUCK is a trade paperback and costs $12.95, much easier to get readers to take a chance on you when the cost is lower.

Would I like to do a tour?  I dunno.  Sometimes it's fun to go somewhere new and sign books.  Sometimes it's not.  (I've read a bunch of "tour" horror stories, also some hilarious tales.)  I think if I came out in paperback I'd be more inclined to try it.  In the meantime, I've got two conferences this fall, as well as two craft shows in hopes that people will be interested in buying books as Christmas gifts.  (Don't forget, I've also got a signing in Amherst on Monday evening!)

I'll let you know how I liked MURDER PASSES THE BUCK, but knowing Deb, I'm sure I'm in for a great ride on Gertie's dog sled.

Survey Says....

I don't do a lot of surveys.  I don't want big corporations knowing what kind of whiskey I drink (Lord Calvert) or soap I use (Yardly, Oatmeal-Almond).  But occasionally I do take a survey.  Never have I recommended taking a survey to another.

Today's the exception.

Sisters In Crime is sponsoring a survey to find out what reader preferences are when it comes to gender.  The survey is anonymous and it'll only take you a couple of minutes to fill out.

Click here.

Gratitude

As an author, if you’re very lucky you will find one very staunch supporter. I have found that within my own family. My Aunt Michele has not only written wonderful reviews of my book on a number of British review web sites, she bought copies of the book for every member of her family and has asked her local library to stock a copy of MURDER ON THE MIND. (Best of all--they said they would!!!)

I’m not only impressed, I’m in awe.

I’ve got friends of over 25 years who have not only NOT bought my book, but won’t even ask their local library to order a copy (broadly hinting that I should GIVE them copies of the book. Copies I have to BUY at retail prices). They just don’t understand what it means to try to sell your work to the world at large, and how unforgiving the publishing world is if you don’t have a half-decent sell-through.  In today's Lipstick Chronicles, Elaine Viets gives a great example of what happens to authors who don't sell enough books--and it ain't pretty.

Being 3000 miles away from my branch of the family did not stop Michele from trying her help her niece. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.

My hat’s off to you, Michele. You’re the best. (Now just ask Sunny how to make parsnip cakes and you’ll be on top of the world!)

The Rewrite

So I'm working on the rewrite for DEAD IN RED, the sequel to MURDER ON THE MIND.  It's going well.  In fact, I'm already at Chapter 11, which is much better than I anticipated this early in the week.  Then again, I haven't actually READ it yet.  I'm thinking if I can get the rewrite done by Thursday (and these aren't major changes; mostly clarifying things and doing some polishing), I might be able to read it Friday and Saturday.  I have some big changes to consider on the last four chapters...so that might throw a wrench in the works.

I've been asked to read/critique a manuscript by one of the other Lethal Ladies, and I'm really looking forward to it.  I've also been asked to read (and blurb! my first request) a book by one of the Guppies, whose book will be out later this year.  I've had to drag my feet on that one, but I need to clear up loose ends pretty fast so I can start on some new projects.  And somewhere along the line I'm going to have to inventory the stuff for the co-op that's sitting on my office floor.  (Oy!)

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed working on the rewrite yesterday.  It was the first time I've worked exclusively in my office.  Remember the gently used leather chair I bought several months ago?  (Here, I'll refresh your memory.)  It looks the same, but now I have a little walnut drop-leaf table (that my Dad made) next to it.  That way I can set the manuscript (which I keep in a big three-ring binder) on the table while I sit and ponder paragraphs in my comfy chair.    Ahhhhhh....  And I dug through a bunch of old CDs and have rediscovered a few I used to love but somehow fell off the play-list.  Like the Shadowfax's Folksongs For A Nuclear Village, The Yellowjackets' Shades. 

Okay, I'm off to go work on the rewrite. 

Reading as Punishment

One of the booths at the Harlem Book Fair in Buffalo was giving away free (gently used) children’s books. What a fantastic opportunity to introduce kids to the wonderful world of reading. Just imagine all the terrific places you can travel to in your mind via the written word.

But it was not to be--at least in one case.

As I passed this booth I heard one Mom tell her little boy, "YOU are going to READ this book THIS WEEK!!!!" Those words were not said with love. They were said with a strident vehemence that would’ve put the fear of God in ME, and I’m a helluva lot older than her little boy--and I love to read!

With all the avenues of entertainment available these days, it’s difficult to get the majority of adults and children to read. One of my pals at the Craft Antique Co-op confided to me that she hasn’t read a book in 14 years.

FOURTEEN YEARS!!!

Why?

She’s been busy raising two kids.

Okay, I haven’t raised two kids. But my Mum raised three kids with very little money and growing up we went to the library or bookmobile just about every week. At 79, my Mum still reads several books a week. (When she can get to the library--more.)

Sadly, neither of my brothers caught the reading bug. Oh, they read--newspapers, magazines--just not for pleasure.  When I’ve been at my lowest, when I’ve been so tired I could puke, when I’ve been sick, when I’ve been unhappy, when my heart was broken--I have always turned to the written word for comfort, for solace, for entertainment, for enjoyment.

My mother introduced me to mystery novels when I was 12 years old, and I’m am so grateful. Not that I didn’t read before--but this mystery lit a fire inside me. I wanted more.

Right now I’m rereading (for about the 10th time) the first mystery novel I ever read (okay, maybe it’s a romantic suspense): Ammie Come Home by Barbara Michaels. I loved that book so much my mother went out and bought me the hardcover edition. (Ha! In those days it was only $4.95!)

If it hadn’t been for that book, I wouldn’t be a published author today.

Thanks, Mum.

Back to work

The holiday is over and it's time to go back to work.  Funny thing is...it's summer, and I don't feel like working.  But...work I must do.  And the work on today's agenda (besides the never ending task of LAUNDRY) is jumping back into the DEAD IN RED rewrite. 

Later today I'm going to take my folks' dog to the vet.  Little Jessie has been under the weather and may need surgery.  I *think* she's got a bad ligament on her right hind leg.  She's been limping quite a bit.  My Mum hurt her back and can't lift her, so it's up to me!  (Wonder if I should don a cape and some spandex.  Then again, after pondering that image....)  Here's a recent snap of Jessie. 

And I need to work on the new project...backstory and research.  Tomorrow I'm going to do my Lois Lane imitation, actually leave the house and interview someone.

The problem is...there are a LOT of distractions.  Today's major distraction is the CD I received from the Malice Domestic conference I attended back in April.  It even has the panel I was on.  I had a terrible cold at the time, but that didn't seem to come through.  Having a cold made my voice sound deeper.  Since I have a kid voice, this is good.  And I even sounded halfway intelligent!  (All the while trying to suppress a possible coughing fit.)  I missed a lot of the panels and now I get to hear them. 

Yup...I'm going to be distracted today.

Such A Bargain!

I love a bargain. I think that's why I stay in the collectibles business. I love going to garage and estate sales because you never know what kind of treasure you're likely to find.

Last week I found a grubby coffee cup that is festooned with Candy Canes and holly and it says in full caps BARTLETT!  Wow--anybody can find their first name on a mug (okay, with a name like Lorraine it isn't so easy, but I did find one 15 years ago on my honeymoon on Prince Edward Island), but to find your last name? Wow! It washed up great and is definitely a keeper--and I got it for a quarter!

I've got tons of picture frames--stacks and boxes of them. It's a sickness, really, but I can't resist them. I love gold frames with lots of detail (oh, yeah, real sucker for those), and silver ones that look good with a picture of my little Prince in them.

A couple of weeks ago I got a McCoy cookie jar that looks like a giant green pepper for $2. TWO BUCKS!

At the very same sale, I got a little stamp keeper. It had a couple of 29 cent stamps sticking out of it. The cost: 20 cents. I figured the stamps alone were worth 58 cents so how could I go wrong. When I got home, I found there weren't two stamps, but 20 stamps! Hey, you can still use them--so that's my plan. I had to go to the P.O. to send a copy of MURDER ON THE MIND to my new agent (hee hee hee--yes, I got one--but it's too soon to tell the story) and bought 20 10-cent stamps so I could use the 29-cent stamps.

Now, what to use these stamps for? Well, I think I'm going to send more begging letters to libraries. It'll only cost me $2 in postage and some envelopes and paper. (Okay, toner too.)

My WorldCat numbers are creeping up, and last night I found another library that, based on one of my begging letters--had ordered the book. So what the hell. If I can convince one more library to buy the book, it will have been 10 cents well spent.

I love a bargain. I think that's why I stay in the collectibles business. I love going to garage and estate sales because you never know what kind of treasure you're likely to find.

Last week I found a grubby coffee cup that is festooned with Candy Canes and holly and it says in full caps BARTLETT!  Wow--anybody can find their first name on a mug (okay, with a name like Lorraine it isn't so easy, but I did find one 15 years ago on my honeymoon on Prince Edward Island), but to find your last name? Wow! It washed up great and is definitely a keeper--and I got it for a quarter!

I've got tons of picture frames--stacks and boxes of them. It's a sickness, really, but I can't resist them. I love gold frames with lots of detail (oh, yeah, real sucker for those), and silver ones that look good with a picture of my little Prince in them.

A couple of weeks ago I got a McCoy cookie jar that looks like a giant green pepper for $2. TWO BUCKS!

At the very same sale, I got a little stamp keeper. It had a couple of 29 cent stamps sticking out of it. The cost: 20 cents. I figured the stamps alone were worth 58 cents so how could I go wrong. When I got home, I found there weren't two stamps, but 20 stamps! Hey, you can still use them--so that's my plan. I had to go to the P.O. to send a copy of MURDER ON THE MIND to my new agent (hee hee hee--yes, I got one--but it's too soon to tell the story) and bought 20 10-cent stamps so I could use the 29-cent stamps.

Now, what to use these stamps for? Well, I think I'm going to send more begging letters to libraries. It'll only cost me $2 in postage and some envelopes and paper. (Okay, toner too.)

My WorldCat numbers are creeping up, and last night I found another library that, based on one of my begging letters--had ordered the book. So what the hell. If I can convince one more library to buy the book, it will have been 10 cents well spent.

Moving?

Moving is a BIG change in anyone's life.  It disrupts your daily routine, and you just know that nothing will ever be the same again.  Sometimes this is a good thing.  Sometimes it is not.

No, I'm not moving to a different street address...but I am thinking of moving this blog to another location.

Why?

Counters. 

I love LiveJournal.  It is sooooo easy to use.  I like just about everything about it.  Except...they don't offer counters.  And it doesn't look like they WANT to offer counters, either--even to paid subscribers (which I am--and its extremely affordable).

Why is a counter important?  Well, a writer wants to know s/he's reaching anyone.  I'm hoping that a whole lot more people actually read my blog than are commenting on the posts. 

For the past week or so, I've been trying out new blog sites and I think I may have found one.  I'll be double posting for a week or two just until I get the feel for the new site.

I'd welcome comments and recommendations.  Fire away!

Summer Reading Program

It's been a long time since I was "home for the summer." Gut reaction: it's the greatest thing in the world and it's the most boring thing in the world. (When I was a kid, my mother made me go to summer school just to give me something to do.)

I'm waiting for stuff to happen. So while I'm waiting I'm doing lots of boring stuff. Like housecleaning (which tends to take a back seat when you're working on a BIG project), laundry and--amazingly, reading!

The big summer reading program across the country (in public libraries) is called: "Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales." That sounds pretty cool if you're a kid. (Maybe if you're a grown-up, too.)

This past weekend I reread Dick Francis's "High Stakes," and I'm about to start another Bill Bryson travelogue (this time set in England). I've read about a million recipes in the past couple of weeks, and I'm probably going to start Joshilyn Jackson's "gods In Alabama" this weekend. (I've had it since January.) I've got a couple of Elaine Viets "dead-end jobs" books just sitting there waiting, and I want to reread my friend Sandy Parshall's "The Heat of the Moon." I've also got to read my friend Judy Clemens's "Three Can Keep a Secret" before her new one comes out in August. (She's already got great reviews for that one!)

So reading is the fun part of summer...waiting and housework is not.

It's been a long time since I was "home for the summer." Gut reaction: it's the greatest thing in the world and it's the most boring thing in the world. (When I was a kid, my mother made me go to summer school just to give me something to do.)

I'm waiting for stuff to happen. So while I'm waiting I'm doing lots of boring stuff. Like housecleaning (which tends to take a back seat when you're working on a BIG project), laundry and--amazingly, reading!

The big summer reading program across the country (in public libraries) is called: "Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales." That sounds pretty cool if you're a kid. (Maybe if you're a grown-up, too.)

This past weekend I reread Dick Francis's "High Stakes," and I'm about to start another Bill Bryson travelogue (this time set in England). I've read about a million recipes in the past couple of weeks, and I'm probably going to start Joshilyn Jackson's "gods In Alabama" this weekend. (I've had it since January.) I've got a couple of Elaine Viets "dead-end jobs" books just sitting there waiting, and I want to reread my friend Sandy Parshall's "The Heat of the Moon." I've also got to read my friend Judy Clemens's "Three Can Keep a Secret" before her new one comes out in August. (She's already got great reviews for that one!)

So reading is the fun part of summer...waiting and housework is not.