Playing With Fire...

     On February 14th, I was honored to be a part of the annual BookIt! program at the Morningside Library in Port St, Lucie. Between the library in Ft. Pierce and the one in Port St. Lucie, there were 45 local authors represented. 

     One of those authors was David Tienter. He has written several novels, one of which is Playing With Fire. The story is about a crusty, older ex-special forces Marine who is asked to find a lost hiker on the Appalachian Trail. This unusual hero finds evidence of a brutal murder and the hunt is on for a monster who needs to kill. It's fast-paced action as the hero follows the trail of the killer all the way down to the Florida Keys and then back up to The Trail once again. If your taste runs to thrillers and action-adventure you'd do well to check the book out. You can find both the Kindle and paperback versions on Amazon.com. I found the book to be a fast read and an excellent story. David also exhibited a good dose of down home humor as the book went along.

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Fire-David-Tienter/dp/0692262040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424720433&sr=8-1&keywords=Playing+with+Fire+David+Tienter

BookIt!

     Well, Carolyn and I attended the BookIt! local authors presentation at one of the nearby libraries yesterday. There were 45 local authors who were selected to attend and it was held between two libraries in the area. The Morningside Library in Port St. Lucie was where we went from 10-1 (It was the coldest day of the winter for us in Florida! And we were outside in an enclosed area!) and the Ft. Pierce Library held the other part of the celebration from 1-4 that afternoon.

     It was interesting to meet some of the local writers. Funny, writers are a solitary lot in many cases. We do our work alone, and spend most of our time planning and developing our craft alone. To see that many authors together at tables with their wares and different approaches (and there were lots of different approaches!) was different. I realize that many writers belong to groups and go to conventions, and I may do that eventually, but right now, I am heavily involved with getting my stories out there for people to read. Sometimes that's a hit or miss, and try, try again endeavor. I have learned a number of things from other writers and bloggers online, for which I am eternally grateful. 

     The proof for The Falls: May Flowers arrived Thursday and I'm in the process of editing the paperback. The Falls: Cupid's Arrow in paperback form is now for sale at Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace.com, Amazon.com, etc. That makes the first seven of The Falls books available in paperback with one almost there. The Falls: County Fair is out on Kindle and I'm advertising that almost everyday on FB and Twitter.

     The first quarter of The Falls: Prodigal Twin is written (first and second drafts) and I work on it almost every morning. I edit either a paperback proof or transfer a word document to a CreateSpace template almost every afternoon. Yes, I am a creature of habit, as we have discussed before. I am a worker bee, not enough posturing for a drone.

     Here's hoping you all had a wonderful and warm Happy Valentine's Day! As I grow older, the meaning of Valentine's Day has subtly changed. Now, I simply want the ones I love, family and friends, to be happy, healthy and be able to enjoy the world around them. That brings me happiness.

     NFL combine coming up, which Carolyn and I enjoy...but I am having football withdrawal. Another football-less Sunday...sigh. Ah, well. We are watching the fifth year of Downton Abby on Blu-ray and loving it. Can't remember a series I've liked better. (Although we love NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, Castle, Bones and others.)

     'Til next time, remember to be yourself. Whoever that may be. Trying to be somebody else, for whatever reason, just doesn't ever quite make it. Enjoy the day...and may the dragons watch over you...

VALENTINE'S DAY SALE!

       Just for Valentine's Day! The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, the seventh in The Falls small town mystery series, will be on sale for $.99 at the Kindle Store from Saturday, February 7th until Wednesday, February 11th! (Paperback editions of the book are also available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and CreateSpace.com.)

     Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Cupids-Arrow-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B009252DAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423138170&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+cupid%27s+arrow

The Falls: County Fair...JUST RELEASED!

     The County Fair is coming to The Falls! And with it comes a team of thieves and criminals who work on the midway as carnies by day and break into and steal from local stores by night. Sylvia Jean finds out something fascinating about Melinda, the TA in her economics course. At the same time, William, Sean and Serafina find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation in the Big Apple! It's fall in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the colorful characters in the community are enjoying the few days they have left before the first snow storm of the winter. Join Cash Green, Ericka Yamato, Horace Scofield, Doc Stone and Meg Monroe as you return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-County-Fair-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00SK4TKMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422709793&sr=8-1&keywords=the+falls+county+fair

Book It! Information...

     For those of you who have been following my humble writing career, I thought you might be interested that I will be exhibiting and selling books at the Book It! Celebration at the Morningside Library in Port St. Lucie on Saturday, February 14th, 2015. Please find attached a photo of the flyer I was sent. May the dragons watch over us all...

Editing the Proof...

     Well, I just finished up revising the proof for The Falls: Cupid's Arrow and submitted it for review back into CreateSpace. I should hear back in 24 hours or so. They are very consistent and excellent about keeping to a schedule. I had more things to fix with this one than normal, and I had to change the cover picture as well (a bit blurry when I saw the paperback proof). Once I get back the second proof and skim through it, I'll order three to have here at home as usual.

     Thanks goes to my patient and caring wife, Carolyn once again for being a Beta Reader. The two of us together are it. Sometimes I feel like I'm juggling way too many jobs trying to write, edit, be the cover creator, publish on Kindle (for the eBooks) and on CreateSpace (for the paperbacks) and then advertise as well on Facebook and Twitter. (Have a told you that I'm no technical genius and I have to figure stuff out a lot?!) But other times I feel good about doing it all. My second career, I guess!

     The Falls: County Fair was just published on Kindle a couple of days ago. The eighteenth volume of The Falls small town mystery series. Did I ever think there would be eighteen of them? I don't know what I thought back in the beginning. But I liked the characters and the setting and it just seemed natural to continue on with new plots and a few twists and turns as I went. Small town Vermont is where I grew up, so I have a knowledge of the area and of the people. The characters are what make the series. Each book, they get more and more solidified, and the readers get to know each of the inhabitants as they go in and out of the stories. That's what I like as a reader, getting to know and care about the characters...so I have to assume there are readers out there that like the same thing.

     February 14th I will be taking part of the Book It! program at the Port St. Lucie Library. I will be exhibiting, selling, signing books, at the Morningside Branch of the Library, from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. There are over 35 Treasure Coast authors participating and I am looking forward to meeting them. I picked up some plastic display cases to use for posters and have been working on brochures and posters for the occasion. I also got my first group of business cards from Vistaprint to hand out. Should be interesting. The library will provide a table, two chairs, a black table cloth and Wi-fi for the event. They will be advertising for it as well. I'll let you know how it goes.

     The wind is whistling around the house and my hanging plats out on the trees in the yard are getting a free ride! May the dragons watch over you all...

     

January Doldrums...

     Have you ever had them, the January Doldrums I mean? It's supposedly the slightly depressed, lethargic feeling that people who live in a heavy winter area sometimes get after the holidays in January or February. Goes along with being housebound from deep snow, ice and severe cold temperatures. Frankly, I can't ever remember having them, and since I now live in Florida (after 43 years in Vermont and 17 years in New Mexico) I don't assume I will. 

     That doesn't mean I can't connect with the feeling. Sometimes, when you get caught up in the daily grind, I think we all feel that way. For some it takes on the lethargic tendencies, for others, we get a bit down or have a small but not insignificant pity party without even realizing that's what we're doing. (Come on...you know you know what I'm talking about.)

     Okay...enough of that. At present I'm working on editing the paperback proof of The Falls: Cupid's Arrow. It's been hard to get to with the holidays and lots of doctors and dentist appointments. Seems like almost everyday we've had to go out and do something. Three-quarters of the way through and I'm determined to get it done soon. I have also finished The Falls: County Fair, 18th volume of The Falls series. I'm editing that and getting it ready for Kindle publishing in the mornings and editing the proof in the afternoon at this point. I need to put together an cover for County Fair as well and retake the cover photo for Cupid's Arrow...that will come fairly soon. I'd like to get County Fair on Kindle by next week.

     Christmas decorations are down...and that's saying something. We put up quite a lot, more each year. Now my wife is busily cleaning for her sister and brother-in-law to come and visit fairly soon. I just purchased my first non-Daytimer monthly planner in about thirty-five years. They were out of 2015 planners. Interesting.  I tried to buy in December and they were already out. Shakes my head. The world is crazy and getting crazier. Am I the only one who is tired of businesses pushing the calendar ahead farther and farther each year? By the way, I use Jeep Liberty cruisers in all The Falls books. Do you think I should send a letter to the Jeep company and let them know that? Been thinking about it. 

     Ah, well. May the dragons watch over you and may your new year be interesting, teach you a few things and make you smile. 'Til the next time...

New Year's Resolutions...

     Happy New Year! Here's hoping that you and your family and friends had a great holiday season and are ready and eager for the new year. Seems as though there were quite a few snafus this last year for lots of people...we can only hope that 2015 is a better, more gentler, kinder new year. 

     Well, I finished transferring The Falls: Cupid's Arrow into the CreateSpace template, saved it in pdf and entered it in the CreateSpace book creator. Got the proof back a few days ago and I'm working on editing it. That's not going very fast due to the scrambled schedules during this time of year (for instance this afternoon I'll be taking the ornaments off the Christmas tree and disassembling it...a 3-4 hour job). (The schedule is why I haven't posted in a while as well.) I should be done in a week or so though. Then I'll sign in to the website, make the changes, redo the cover picture (the last one came out a bit blurry) and then submit it once again. Then I'll order the proof and if it looks okay...the seventh book in The Falls small town mystery series will be in print in Barnes & Noble, Amazon.co, CreateSpace.com and bookstores everywhere! Yeah!

     Ran out of my daily planner from Day-Timer. I have a new one ordered but it isn't here yet. Grrr. Hate improvising without it. Yes, I am a patterned person. How'd you guess? Wink, wink. Guess what? Getting hearing aids sometime in the next couple of weeks. Don't know how I feel about it. They aren't your grandmother's hearing aids. Small, very powerful and able to be altered through a computer program as needed. Most people won't even notice them...they're over the ear with a practically invisible plastic tube into my ear. I have been missing more lately...words of TV, garbled conversations when around a crowd...that sort of thing. But I will admit...makes me feel a bit old. If it makes a difference in what I hear, it will override that emotion I believe.

     We did our usual Christmas marathon, driving over to see our son Patrick in North Port on the other side of Florida Christmas Eve (2 hours and 45 minutes) then over Alligator Alley and to out daughter Dynese in Ft Lauderdale (another 3 and a half hours) and then home (another hour and a half). Love seeing them all, not so crazy about the trip. We might go back to the northeast (son Craig and sister Ann) for Christmas next year...we'll see. You know, it seems as though we always go and visit other people. Seems like it should start to go the other way eventually.

     Standup desk is better and better. Love the feeling and expending a few more calories while I write. My white board is about filled up and I have five to seven more scenes left to write in The Falls: County Fair, the 18th in the series. That should be out in Kindle format within two to three weeks. Oh! I was accepted in the Book It! local authors in Port St Lucie in February. There should be 38 local authors set up at the library. I'll get a table two chairs, black tablecloth and wireless access. I'll provide the books, business cards and pamphlets. It's mostly for exposure...I haven't done much advertising locally...mostly over the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I'll write more about it in the next blog entry.

     Until then, may the dragons watch over you...and may your days be filled with small pleasures...

Ho-Ho-Ho!

     It's been a busy week. I've been working on The Falls: County Fair, the 18th in The Falls small town mystery series, every day in the morning and in the afternoons I've been editing The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, 7th in the series, getting it ready for publishing as a paperback in CreateSpace. What I do when I edit and change over is I have up two document on the screen. The Word doc of The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, which I edit and clean up, and the template that I will use to transfer the book to CreateSpace. I edit a few chapters in Word, then copy them onto the template, careful to avoid any formatting errors (I use the special paste when I place in the template, not the normal paste in order to ensure that). Then I change the font to Callibri and clean it up. I usually do nine to twelve chapters from the Word doc each day placing three or four of them into each chapter in the template with *** separating them. Anymore at one time and I lose focus.

     I went to my ENT doctor for my fourth post-op visit this last Thursday. He cleaned out my sinuses again and this time he extracted a piece of bone fragment. It still hurts some. Made an appointment to see my dentist to get my front tooth either ground down and capped or extracted with an implant. Good grief! Falling apart, huh?

     Then there's Christmas decoration duties. Put up the nine foot tree, and the outside wreaths (on every downstair window and door), and wrapped the back palm tree in garland as well as placing the other decorations we have accumulated over the years. Now we're on to the inside. Garland on the stair bannisters, the two cresh sets (nativity scenes) go up today as well as a small decorated tree in every room in the house. Colts and Seahawks stockings are up as well...chuckles. Hope they bring good luck for our teams. We are NFL fanatics.

     Got to get to work on the cover for The Falls: Cupid's Arrow (changing over from the Kindle cover to a CreateSpace one) and making a myecovermaker.com cover for the newest Falls book, County Fair. It has been chilly here in Tradition (Port St Lucie) the past few mornings for our 7 AM walks. In the forties. Chilly for Florida anyway. The Christmas Cactuses hanging in the trees aren't amused by the cold. But the other hanging plants and potted plants don't seem to mind.

     Time to get to work. May your day be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you all...

Back!

     Well, like in the scary movie, we're back. After spending the last week or so in Carlsbad, California, we're home. Thanksgiving was a good one, with our son Chris, his wife Cheryl, our granddaughter Chelsea and Carolyn's sister's family. Chris' family is always so supportive and wonderful to us. We used to have Thanksgiving with them every year when both families were in New Mexico, but since coming to Florida, we have been spending Thanksgiving with our son Patrick (in North Port, other side of Florida). They went on a last minute cruise this year and we headed off to Carlsbad (near San Diego). It was great.

     Now we're home and we've spent the day getting things back into our pattern, like setting up computers we hide away, watering plants, picking up packages and mail. doing laundry, getting a few things at the neighborhood Publix, etc. I bought a MacBook Pro 13" laptop online in CA...($250 off for Black Friday...although technically bought on Saturday). That's the best I've ever seen off on it, got it at Best Buy. I've been watching them for about a year now. Wanted a compatible computer to go with my iMac during all the long thunderstorm season here in Florida.This way I can write during the lightning strikes. The iMac had to be plugged in daring the storms means the danger of losing everything. I can use the external hard drive and passport I have with the laptop as well. Just downloaded Word onto it and ordered a wireless mouse. (Yes, I'm addicted to mice...not a fan of the finger swoop and tap.)

     The order of three The Falls: Fourth of July author books came in and I wrote the next chapter of The Falls: County Fair this morning. Spent a couple of hours getting my MacBook Pro set up with favorites, etc. and emailed myself the latest County Fair document and downloaded it onto the MacBook Pro.

     I'm really enjoying the two new wooden storage units under the stand up desk. They are very close to the same wood grain as the credenza and storage unit on the near wall, even though in the picture they look a good deal lighter.

     If I missed any messages, birthdays or whatever over the last week, my sincere apologies. The white board on The Falls: County Fair is beginning to fill up. I'm about 70 pages (about half) into the book. I have included the white board as of this morning and the standup desk storage units as I said I would.

     I hope you all have a wonderful day! Great to go away, but I'm a home boy, I'm afraid. Chuckles. Tomorrow I return to the ENT doctor. Whoop, whoop! Cleaning out my sinuses and finding out where we go from here. May the dragons watch over you all...

Fourth of July...

     No, I'm not chronologically challenged. The title of the entry refers to the book, The Falls: Fourth of July, the 6th in The Falls small town mystery series. The first proof is edited (by me and my patient and wonderful wife Carolyn) and the corrections to the text and the cover submitted on CreateSpace. The book has been reviewed and I have ordered the second proof. If that comes back looking good, then within a week or ten days, I will submit Fourth of July to be published on CreateSpace, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, etc. 

     The cover needed some major revisions. The black type against the dark blue background of the cover didn't work. Very hard to see. So I opted for white and Carolyn seconded the opinion. I also changed the cover picture, the background from white to black (night sky) and added a firework. All in all a much better cover. Sometimes, you just need to see the cover on a paperback, compared to seeing it on screen as you are creating it on CreateSpace, to know it needs a little something. That was the way this time around for this book.

     The Falls: County Fair is coming along well. On page 55 of probably 140-150 pages in Word format. That will translate to about 325-350 pages in the CreateSpace template. That's what most of The Falls series is running at the present time. The first Falls novel, In the Dead of Winter, went over 500 pages and I had to do a few things to economize space. That's one thing to think about when working on your ebooks to convert them over to paperback. In the Kindle edition, it can be as long as you want, size doesn't come into question, but in the paperback version number of pages, distance between lines, font size, and margins (all four sides) start to make a difference.

     Finished putting together the new wooden cabinets for beneath the stand-up/sit-down desk. They are dark wood, like the two shelving units next to the desk and look pretty good! Next edition of the blog I will include a picture. Also had to get a new 'garage refrigerator' yesterday. You know how when you get a new fridge you place the old one out in the garage for food that overflows from the inside one? Well we had just barely gotten used to having the convenience of having one when it died. So we got a basic fridge at Sears yesterday and it will be delivered soon. 

     Getting close to Thanksgiving. All the folks in The Falls are gearing up for the celebration! They are inviting anyone over who'd like to come to an old-fashioned country Thanksgiving! The 13th volume of The Falls series is The Falls: Thanksgiving, case you didn't know. If you haven't read it...it's just waiting for you at the Kindle Store, $2.99!

     May the dragons watch over you...and roast your turkey just perfect! Have a great Thanksgiving!

FREE THIS WEEKEND!

     The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, Kindle Edition, the first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, will be FREE this weekend at the Kindle Store! Winter is rearing it's ugly head and it's a perfect time for In the Dead of Winter! The snow falls as the bodies pile up! Take advantage to get the story for your new Kindle, your phone or your computer via Kindle App. It's one small way I can say thank you for the readers who have bought the series over the years. Thank you all...and may the dragons watch over you. Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B008G4X28O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415971411&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+In+the+Dead+of+Winter