Category Archives: Blog

Taxes Done, Corona Update, Sourdough Update: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by

Newest News:

Today I finished my taxes and got them in the mail. Yay! It’s so stressful but it’s done for another year.

In other news, the husband and I received our 2nd shot of Moderna vaccine on Saturday. Both of us felt run down and tired on Sunday and by Sunday evening, my injection site was swollen, red and hot. By this morning, we both felt much better but my injection site was still swollen, red, but less hot. I put an ice pack on it to relieve the “heat” and maybe the swelling, but who knows. I also took some aspirin; I’ll probably be all better by tomorrow.

In writing news, I’m still working on the Gulliver Station first book cover. So, here’s another apology to anyone looking to buy A New Start. I had to unpublish it to do this work and I am so sorry about the delay.

I mentioned last week that I tried a 2nd batch of bread using paleo flour. It didn’t turn out either. Way too dense and not really baked through. So I put the starter in the fridge and when we went shopping got some regular, all purpose gluten-free flour. My starter is now out of the fridge, had a feeding, and I’ll try a batch of bread with the gluten-free flour this afternoon.

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway is running but there are only a few days left. There are 24 prizes and a $60 Paypal Cash Grand Prize. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Read an eBook Sale, Someone is Trying to Hack Me, Valentine’s Giveaway Winners: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by
Read an eBook Week!

Newest News:

Oh hello! The 12th annual Smashwords Read an Ebook Week sale kicked off Sunday, March 7 and runs through Saturday, March 13. I have ALL of my books on sale for 25% off or .99. I’ve never put all of my books on sale before so get them while you can. You can find me at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell  What?!?! You already have all of my books! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! Then there’s more!

Discover over 50,000 deep-discounted ebooks from thousands of authors and publishers before these incredible deals disappear.

Visit the sale now.

Read an Ebook Week is an international celebration of ebooks, and it’s the longest running annual sale at Smashwords.

Under the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week sale tab on the home page, you’ll find these shelves:

Featured Read an Ebook Week Sale Deals

  • 25% off – Featured books, 25% off
  • 50% off – Featured books, 50% off
  • 75% off – Featured books, 75% off
  • 100% off – Featured books, free during this sale only
  • More Free Ebooks – Ebooks that are either regularly priced at FREE or at Reader-Sets-The-Price
  • Recent Read an Ebook Week Purchases – What other readers are buying in the sale
  • Recently Added – Latest titles to join the Read an Ebook Week sale

Check out Read an Ebook Week now. Be sure to check the sale daily because hundreds of ebooks cycle in and out of the sale each day.

To learn the story behind the sale, or to download buttons and badges you can share with friends on social media, check out the official Read an Ebook Week hub page.

Please help spread the word! Invite your friends and favorite authors to participate as well.

Hashtags #ebookweek21 and #Smashwords.

In writing news, I mentioned last week that I’ve been struggling to update my Gulliver Station covers. I’m still working on it. So, here’s an apology to anyone looking to buy A New Start. I had to unpublish it to do this work and I am so sorry about the delay.

Last week my website came under attack. I set up additional security and hoped that would be the end of it. Nope. Whoever is doing this is very determined. I get daily reports from my site that the hacker is still at it. It’s both scary and intimidating. I hope you all never have to go through with this.

A bald eagle flying over our local park pond, fishing, I expect.

I mentioned last week that I began a paleo-based sourdough starter. I’ve named it The Beast. It must be fed twice a day unless I store it in the fridge. Then if I want to bake some bread or something, I have to take it out 24 hours in advance, let it warm up and start regrowing, before I can take what I need to bake. Then feed it and put it back in the fridge. The bread I tried to make last week turned out poorly. It was not done in the middle though the edges that were done tasted fine. So I’ve tried it again on Sunday. I took the starter out on Saturday, let it warm up, fed it again, then took my 1 cup of starter to retry the bread. I followed all of the directions but baked it longer. The bread was done in the middle this time but was dense. Soooooo Deeennnnnse! Ugh. I know it’s the flour blend. It’s just too heavy. I’ll have to think about this.

Covid update. I get my 2nd Covid shot on Saturday, the 13th. I’m preparing to have a bad couple of days on Sunday and Monday, as I’ve heard from others that that is what they experienced. Again, we’ll see. I’m looking forward to celebrating about the end of the month with a nice meal in a restaurant to commemorate both the immunization and all of the celebrations we postponed from 2020.  

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

The Valentine’s Day giveaway is over and the winners are:  Eglee who has won a copy of my ebook – Mystery at the Fair, and Abdulaziz who has won a $5 Amazon gift card. The Grand Prize winner is Lizzie M. Congratulations to everyone!

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway is running. There are 24 prizes and a $60 Paypal Cash Grand Prize. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Phoenix Fan Fusion, rescheduled for January, 2022. Mark your calendar! I’m going to be there!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

My Interview, ReadFree.ly event, Read an eBook Sale, Someone is Trying to Hack Me: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by
The Arizona desert

Newest News:

Happy March!

A reminder that I’m going to be interviewed on Mystery writer Brenda Whiteside’s website on March 3rd. I want to give Brenda a shoutout to all of you mystery story lovers out there. Her website is www.BrendaWhiteside.com and I’d love it if you went over there to check out her books and my interview.

Over on the booklover’s page http://www.readfree.ly/newsletter/ I’m advertising Mystery at the Fair but there are so many free or nearly free books on the site that I want you to have plenty of time to browse for your new favorites. They don’t carry just mysteries, by the way, any genre you can think of is on the site so check it out for some really great deals. Oh yes! If you’re twitter fans, they can be found at @indieauthorland.

In writing news, I mentioned last week that I’ve been struggling to update my Gulliver Station covers. I’m still working on it. So, here’s an apology to anyone looking to buy A New Start. I had to unpublish it to do this work and I’m still struggling with it.

A Read an eBook sale starts on March 7th over on Smashwords. I’m doing something I’ve NEVER done before. I’m making every book that’s over .99 for sale at 25% off. Needless to say, you’ll want to check it out because thousands of other authors are also putting up sales. Here’s your chance to get some great books at a discount. So go to https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/1, to see Featured Smashwords Read an eBook Week Deals.

This week my website came under attack. My security was set up to let me know it was happening and so I called my web host and made further security arrangements. The attacks seem to have been stopped but it was a close one. So as a reminder, be sure to have good passwords on your accounts and whatever other kind of security you can arrange and afford.

Paleo Sandwich Bread before starter

Not writing related, I have mentioned before that I tend to follow a paleo/gluten free diet. Primarily because I have Celiac and Hashimoto’s diseases. One thing that’s disappointing is gluten free and paleo pizza. By disappointing, I mean, sad. I really, really want a nice crust, just like I remember from before my auto-immune issues. So, to that end, I’ve started a paleo sourdough starter. It’s been going a few days now and Saturday, I used my first batch of “discard” to make pancakes. There was no noticeable “sourness” but the pancakes came out very nicely. My starter is still less than a week old but soon I’ll try a pizza dough and bread. We’ll see how that works out.

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

The Valentine’s Day giveaway is over and the winner drawing will be soon. This one has a $24 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 16 other prizes.

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway is running. There are 24 prizes and a $60 Paypal Cash Grand Prize. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog.   I’m looking forward to being on her site.

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Phoenix Fan Fusion, previously called Phoenix ComiCon, has been cancelled for 2021. I was really sad about it. However, they have rescheduled for January, 2022. Mark your calendar! I’m going to be there!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

An Interview, ReadFree.ly event, Want an Acknowledgement in My New Book? : Monday Blog Post

Posted on by
Animal tracks at Watson Lake. I’d say racoon. What about you?

Newest News:

I don’t know about you, but this month is just running away from me. First, I want to give you a heads up that I’m going to be interviewed on Mystery writer Brenda Whiteside’s website on March 3rd. I know that’s a couple of weeks away and yes, I’ll remind you all next week, but I just wanted to give Brenda a shoutout to all of you mystery story lovers out there. Her website is www.BrendaWhiteside.com and I’d love it if you went over there to check out her books.

Another thing, mystery related. I’m getting a shoutout over on the booklover’s page http://www.readfree.ly/newsletter/ starting the end of this week, Saturday the 27th. I’m advertising Mystery at the Fair but there are so many free or nearly free books on the site that I want you to have plenty of time to browse for your new favorites. They don’t carry just mysteries, by the way, any genre you can think of is on the site so check it out for some really great deals. Oh yes! If you’re twitter fans, they can be found at @indieauthorland.

This is one version of the cover with updated front and updated bio on the back. The size is wrong, Amazon says.

In writing news, I’ve been struggling to update my Gulliver Station covers. I had to unpublish A New Start to work this issue and have had two, so far, email conversations with Amazon techs. Again, on Sunday I redid the cover trying to clear up the last little anomalies. Today I hope to see that the cover has updated correctly. Cross your fingers for me.

Also in writing news, despite the fact I want to finish up Mystery at the Reunion, an idea popped into my head for a non-fiction book. We’ve all watched with dismay the disaster that is Texas right now. People are struggling with conditions they’ve never experienced before and don’t know how to handle. That has prompted me to put together a little book I’m calling A Housewife’s Guide to Emergency Survival. I’ve written a short introduction, just to get the background firmly in my head and already have identified several chapters to include in the book. Do you have a favorite “survival” action that you and your family use for emergencies? Share them with me and I’ll give you an acknowledgement in the book.

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

The Valentine’s Day giveaway is still running. This is a small one with just eight authors so there’s a $24 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 16 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog.   I’m looking forward to being on her site.

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Happy Valentine’s Day, AZ Statehood Day, Pandemic Update, Interview Recording: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by

Newest News:

Happy Valentine’s Day! My husband and I are not ones for celebrating this day. When we dated and then after we were married, we both considered it a “Hallmark” holiday. I know, I know, we’re a little weird and a great many people love this day. We’re not sentimental like that. Probably why I don’t write romance. But for those who do celebrate and love the mushy, romantic side of the day, I hope you have a great day. By the way, hubby did buy me a bag of peppermint patties, the mini ones, and a bag of Almond Roca. The last is not a candy I normally eat. I thanked him for the candy then later in the morning realized the Almond Roca bag had already been opened. When I called it out, he said, “Yeah. Well. About that.” I just laughed. It was all right by me. I don’t want to eat two bags of candy all by myself anyway.

Coronavirus update: Hooray! Saturday my husband and I drove down to Globe to get our first Covid shots. My arm became a little sore by afternoon and today it’s still a little achy, but nothing to worry about. Hubby’s arm is also a little sore, and he says he has a bit of a sore throat, but again, nothing to worry about. We’re now counting down to March 13th for the second shot. A note, this drive through event did not schedule the second shots. We’ll have to do that ourselves. I’m hoping we can get the shots here in town instead of having to drive to Globe or Phoenix to do it.

Photo 35501314 © Welcomia | Dreamstime.com

In addition to Valentine’s Day, today is also Arizona’s Statehood day. KTAR has a nice little article about how February 14th was chosen as statehood day. The article also has some interesting facts about the state. You can find it at https://ktar.com/story/1948988/5-things-to-know-about-arizona-as-it-celebrates-109-years-of-statehood/ . Enjoy.

If you missed my interview on The Author’s Show, don’t worry. I’ve acquired the link to the interview and will be putting it on my website on the Media Page, Recorded Interviews and Presentations. Now you can listen whenever you have a spare fifteen minutes. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/media-page/recorded-interviews-presentations-and-appearances/

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

New, is the Valentine’s Day giveaway. This is a small one with just eight authors so there’s a $24 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 16 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog.   I’m looking forward to being on her site.

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Super Bowl, Pandemic Update, A New Story, The Authors Show: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by

Newest News:

Reflections of rocks in Watson Lake, Prescott, AZ

Super Bowl Sunday! Did your team win? Did you have a Super Bowl feast? We did, though it was a small feast. Chicken wings, of course, were on the menu. Hubby made some cole slaw to go with it. And because I haven’t had them in years, Cheese Puffs. There were also some cheeses, pepperoni, and crackers to munch on. I didn’t really have a favorite team, though my husband was routing for Kansas City. I mainly watch for the special commercials. Did you have a favorite?

Coronavirus update: Hooray! Friday our county health department posted a notice that starting February 8th, my age group can call in and get appointments for the corona virus vaccine. I’m so pleased! You can bet I’ll be sending in my on-line request as soon as I can on Monday.

Spur of the moment I saw an announcement for a flash fiction contest and the prompt had my mind going full speed. The problem was, I was late night scrolling. I didn’t finish the draft until 1am. Sigh. I was tired all the next day. However, even as late as it was, when I read over the draft, it was pretty good. After editing, I went to the site sponsoring the contest, and submitted it. The magazine is called The Leading Edge, run out of Brigham Young University and my story is called, Think Fast. Cross your fingers for me.

#ReadABook, February 8th, All day!

I’m going to be on The Authors Show on February 8th! Yes, today, on Channel 5. The interview runs all day so you can listen to it on your own time. It only runs on the 8th, so don’t miss it. Go to www.TheAuthorsShow.com, scroll down to February 8th and my name, and click on my book title, Mystery at the Fair, to hear the interview. The whole thing is about 15 minutes long. Enjoy!

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

The Christmas giveaway winners have been announced. The winner of my ebook, Slave Elf, was Terry, and the Amazon Gift card winner was Danielle. A big round of applause to them.

New, is the Valentine’s Day giveaway. This is a small one with just eight authors so there’s a $24 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 16 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

My interview with Linda Thompson of The Authors Show is on Monday, February 8th. It runs all day on The Author’s Show, Channel 5, but it’s one day only so go to the website and have a listen.

I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Weather, Pandemic Update, Pinterest, On-Line Interviews: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by
My back yard after the storm.

Newest News:

Last week was eventful for my neck of the woods. We received about 2 feet of snow and cold, well below freezing. Not something that usually happens around here. The town managed to get at least one lane of street plowed in most neighborhoods and kept the main arteries in town cleared. A job well done considering that they don’t have many plows. At my house we were prepared and other than the fact my husband wanted to get out and about town to take snow pictures, we were content to stay home. We still have a few inches of unmelted snow, especially in the shady areas, but it will be gone in a couple of days. Temps here have been in the 40’s and it will stay that way, making the snow melt pretty quickly. I do hope any adverse weather you’ve had is now over and everyone is safe and sound.

Coronavirus update. Arizona has divided the population up by age, disability, and essential workers, so, while I am over 65, I have not yet qualified for an immunization. Like many others, I’m still self-isolating and when I go out, I mask up. Also like many others, I’m ready to get back to my normal life: meet up with friends, lunch out, go to conferences. Already a planned conference for June is being discussed as too soon to be held. Since I was already postponed from last year, I was excited to go but we’ll have to see if it will be postponed again. If you’re in the same situation, stay strong. This will be over eventually and we’ll be able to get out and about safely.

I saw an article I wrote for my local paper in the January 26th, edition. It was about the Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service. I took the accompanying picture as well. You can see the article at https://www.paysonroundup.com/events/a-day-of-service-in-payson/article_428f2c99-4264-5ed9-8749-f1fbe379a101.html. Enjoy the article.

A New Start: A Gulliver Station Story

In other writing business I made a Pinterest pin about my Gulliver Station series. This was one of Pinterest’s new options, a story pin. I put together a six-slide pin with a buy link. You can see it here. https://www.pinterest.com/conniecockrell Look on the Pages & Ink board for the new Gulliver Station pin. One thing with this new option, I wasn’t able to add a clickable link, so I apologize for that. Otherwise, it was pretty user friendly to put the pin together. If you are a Pinterest user, give it a try yourself for a group pin, an ad (which is what mine is), a family get together or something else. I can think of a lot of ways to use this option. Have fun!

Please be careful out there. Weather can turn nasty, accidents can happen, illness can overtake us. Till we can meet in person, stay at home when you can and wear a mask when you go out.

Giveaways:

The Christmas giveaway has ended. I’ll post my winners and the Grand Prize winner as soon as they’re drawn.

New, is the Valentine’s Day giveaway. This is a small one with just eight authors so there’s a $24 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 16 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

I set up and completed an interview with Linda Thompson of The Authors Show on Thursday. I’m still waiting to see when the interview will air. At this point, it will be after February 7th. As soon as I know, I’ll post it on my Facebook page and announce it here as well. I’ll send out a newsletter too, to catch my readers who aren’t following my Facebook or blog.

I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime, enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Drought, Writing, Women of Rim Country, MLK’s Birthday: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by

Newest News:

While much of the U.S. is getting pounded with sub-freezing weather, including sleet and snow, here in central AZ, it will remain sunny, but very cold, at least for here. We remain in a desperate drought and my little birdbath in the back yard has become a lifeline for what seems like every robin in the area. In previous years, we’ve had only the single, occasional robin. Now though, they’re at the birdbath in record numbers. I’ve posted pictures of bluebirds, also rare in my yard, but I get everything, I think, now. Yesterday I saw a very small bird, who drank and flew off before I could get a picture. Sparrows, little birds of all sorts, the local resident chipmunks and squirrels visit. I’ve even seen insects, on warm days, flying over and landing on the rock I keep in the middle of the birdbath, to get a sip of water. I’m hoping this week’s cold weather will bring some rain to relieve the local wildlife.

Writing this last week consisted of blog posts, letters to the editor, and some short work that has no home at present. I should have been working on finishing up the updates to my Gulliver Station series and working on Mystery at the Reunion. I didn’t, for many reasons. They’re still on my list, though, and perhaps I can kick myself into gear this week.

I had a big surprise last Friday. My local newspaper does periodic magazines about special interests in the area two or three times a year. In Friday’s paper was their newest magazine, Women of Rim Country. To my surprise, I was one of eight featured women who are making a difference in our area. It was quite an honor to be included, to say the least. How they decided on me over all of the other fantastic and super women in the area is a wonder, but I am grateful.

I want to wish everyone a very happy Martin Luther King Jr., birthday. For the first time I’ve heard that this holiday is also considered a day of service. I’ve decided to donate some time to help feed local hungry and homeless at our area’s warming shelter. What with the pandemic and the economy, a great many people in our area are in desperate straits. I hope you have found a worthy cause to spend some time on or, if this is the first time you’ve heard of this being a day of service, you’ll consider doing something this week, or mark your calendar for next year.

Giveaways:

The Christmas giveaway is ending. I’ll post my winners and the Grand Prize winner as soon as they’re drawn.

New, is the Valentine’s Day giveaway. This is a small one with just eight authors so there’s a $24 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 16 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

Unfortunately, I’m self-isolating, so right now there are no scheduled in-person events for me for now. But as I mentioned above, I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link, for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

January, Accomplishments, Just Where Will I Be?: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by

Newest News:

The 11th of January already. We’re in full winter here. It freezes overnight and we need to take in the hummingbird feeder to keep it liquid for the couple of little guys who are over-wintering. The birdbath also must be cleared of ice in the morning for the flocks of birds who come for water. It hasn’t really rained here for months and this part of Arizona is in a severe drought. The water we provide is a life saver for the birds and chipmunks who frequent it. This week my husband captured a pic of western bluebirds at the bath. This hasn’t happened very often before. Another signal, I think, of the drought. I hope your winter is going well and everyone is staying safe from the pandemic and warm and cozy inside.

What have I accomplished, writing wise, this last week? I applied for an interview on TheAuthorShow.com. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for years now and just never made time to do it. Now I have. I’m waiting for word on whether I’m approved as a subject and if so, when I am scheduled to record the interview, and then show it. I have received word from another author and artist, Laurie Fagen, of AZ Creates, a podcast, that I’ve been accepted for an interview on her show. That will be in May and I’ll get the date and time up on my website soon. Another author, Brenda Whiteside, (a mystery author!), has set up a blog interview on her page for March. That will be March 3rd, and more info will be coming out on that soon. Both Laurie and Brenda’s interviews were requested in December. But fun for me, scheduled for this year. I’m excited about them all.

As I mentioned last week, I was going to be updating any front and back matter in my Gulliver Station series this month. Well, I did. But by the time I got through all three versions(paper, Amazon, Smashwords) of all four books, I was a bit fuzzy headed. I now need to go back and and make sure I have all the correct links in all of the right books. Then on to the next step, load the new versions up on Amazon and Smashwords. These will not be new editions, as I haven’t changed the interior stories in any significant way. They just now link one book to the next and at the last book, to my Brown Rain series. I suppose I should update those next. Sigh. Work is never done.

I also, last week, updated my Pinterest page to a business page. You can find it at https://www.pinterest.com/conniecockrell/. Stop in and take a look around. Fun reading stuff can be found on my Pages & Ink board. Enjoy your new found reading!

Giveaways:

The Christmas giveaway is still live! There’s a $75 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 30 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

Unfortunately, I’m self-isolating, so right now there are no scheduled in-person events for me for now. But as I mentioned above, I have my interview with Brenda Whiteside on Wednesday March 3rd on her blog, https://brendawhiteside.com/blog

On May 13th at 2pm Arizona time, I’ll be on the podcast with Laurie Fagan on her show, AZ Creates. It’s a lovely podcast and as soon as I have the link, for my interview, I’ll put it up. In the meantime enjoy her show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teajmtQ4-90&feature=youtu.be. Note, Karen Landau is a mystery author right here in my town! How great is that!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Mystery at the Reunion, Pinterest Changes, Updating Gulliver Station: Monday Blog Post

Posted on by
We break up the ice for our little bird friends every morning. I do believe they appreciate it.

Newest News:

So, just what needs to be fixed in Mystery at the Reunion? First of all, it’s too short. So, my plan is to add more “flashbacks” or extend the ones I’ve written to give the reader a sense of what Jean did in Afghanistan and to explain her connection to her old comrades who are at the reunion. Second? I do not know. It depends, I suppose, on how item one works out. Perhaps some more background on her marriage to Dwight? Just what did go wrong between them? Would anyone care about that? Let me know. Third, my editor may have some ideas, if these first two plans don’t work out. We’ll have to see.

So for the last week or so of December I’ve been jotting notes in my 2021 calendar/planner, for work I want to get done in 2021. Some has to do with writing/editing, as I’ve discussed in the previous paragraph. Other actions have to do with marketing, entering contests, getting reviews. That sort of thing. For example. In addition to working on Mystery at the Fair, I have changed my Pinterest page to a business page. When I first joined Pinterest, there was no such thing as a business page. But now, after a chat with an author friend of mine, I have changed my page to a business page. That means I can do some ads on there. I had a page for my books and another for my serials, but nothing like what I can do now. Check out my page Pages & Ink owned by author Susan Haught. It’s full of other author’s book ads. If you’re looking for something to read, this is a great spot to check.

For those of you who follow me for SciFi, I’m going to be updating any front and back matter in my Gulliver Station series this month. This was my first series and things need some serious updating. I’ll be starting some ads for this series as well once the updates are done. I have done updates to the interior files before. Cleaning up spelling/grammar errors, fixing little stuff like that, but since I’ve taken an ad course, I see now that more can be done than I have been doing. My short story, Creature in the Night, was my 21st published story and up until now, I barely make double digit dollars in any month. Time to rectify that.

So stay with me. Once Mystery at the Reunion is published, it’ll be time to address all of those All About Bob stories.

Giveaways:

The Christmas giveaway is still live! There’s a $75 Grand Prize of Paypal cash and 30 other prizes. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

Unfortunately, I’m self-isolating, so right now there are no scheduled events for me for now. However, because many events I had scheduled for 2020 just moved my registrations to 2021, I am signed up for a few things this year. Will I attend? Hmm. Not sure. It depends, I think, on the immunizations for Covid. If I have my shots, and a good many other people have their shots, it’s probable that I’ll attend. First up for me is the Phoenix Fan Fusion over Memorial Day weekend. I have a conference in June, my Payson Book Festival in July, and CokoCon in September all scheduled. I feel good about CokoCon but the rest. I don’t know. If I go, I’ll have my mask with me.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Just because it’s not Halloween or Christmas doesn’t mean you can’t read this delightfully creepy short story. It’s on Kindle Unlimited. Enjoy!

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.