Mystery & Mistletoe

Today's post is a little bit of this and that.

First, I received a mention, and my photo was posted, in Robert Lopresti's blog December 17 on SleuthSayers. Robert, winner of a Derringer award for short fiction, talks about Bouchercon, free books, and his criteria for purchasing a hardcover.  
http://www.sleuthsayers.org/search/label/Lopresti

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Next up, I participated in the Mystery & Mistletoe Writer's Showcase and Book Sale put on by the Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America December 11 at the Denver Press Club. My teenage granddaughter rode shotgun with me, and had a blast listening to authors reading from their novels. 

The decor might seem a bit unusual, but it's what you can expect from an imaginative group of mystery authors - Edgar Allen Poe on the cake, and a skeleton in a Santa hat with a raven on its bony shoulder (notice the raven's flashing red eyes).   

Each author had two minutes to read a section from his or her most recent work. The snippets went from funny to scary to suspenseful to steamy. I was nervous reading from Stone Cold Dead in front of a room full of people, but they laughed at the right places. The crowd responded well to each reading, and bought lots of books. I may have purchased a few myself. 

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Booksellers Ron and Nina from Who Else! Books did a wonderful job handling book sales, so authors could focus on their readings, and having fun. Support independent bookstores! 

www.WhoElseBooks.com
303-987-0281
Broadway Book Mall
Denver, Colorado

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My last bit of news is that I finished the copy edits for the second book in my series, Stone Cold Case - A Rock Shop Mystery. I am hoping for a September release. Publishing is a long process! 

For book one, my publisher asked for cover art suggestions. I had plenty of ideas, and fortunately they did not use a single one. Instead, the cover artist created the amazing, and very red, cover with the beautiful flying magpie. I would like to see the same cover style used for book two, but with a different "clue" featured. 

In the meantime, I can cheer on my friend Liesa Malik, who received her book cover art a few days ago. Sliced Vegetarian looks like a delicious read. Liesa's novel is coming out this summer.
http://liesamalik.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/200th-post-celebrating-with-a-new-book-cover-design/

I would like to say I am taking a break now, after a very busy 2014. Truthfully, I will be going full steam ahead on book three in my series. 

I wish everyone happy holidays!

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