Category Archives: Book Release

Health, Cozy Mystery: Monday Blog Post

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Widgeons at our local park

Newest News:

I’m still recovering from the surgery I had on the 1st. Incisions are at the itching stage of healing, and I’m restricted from lifting anything for a few weeks yet. Broken toe is also healing, though I still need to keep it taped to the toe next to it. Between the two issues, there’s no exercise for me which kind of sucks because the weather has cooled down and every day right now is just gorgeous. It would be great to walk around the neighborhood but while the mind is willing, the body isn’t ready.

I didn’t work much on writing. The healing process involves naps in the afternoon and that cuts into my writing time. No worries though, I’ll be working on Mystery at the Reunion soon.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Halloween giveaway is up! You can check it out at: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is October 26th, at 1pm. This is still on! It will be held at the ramada next to the Pine Thrift Store. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing. Social distancing and mask wearing will be the fashion. See you 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, 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.

Published, Health, 5th Cozy Mystery?: Monday Blog Post

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Cover designed by J.A. Marlow

Newest News:

Hooray! This week’s big news. I received the Creature in the Night cover from my designer. It’s just lovely. Then, Saturday, I went ahead and published the story. I did something different. I posted it in Kindle Unlimited. So, for those of you who subscribe to that service, there it is. If you don’t, it’s only 0.99 to purchase. The link above will take you right to the sale page. If you do read it, a review would be so helpful. Then, there are links in the story to go to my other fantasy stories or you may want to branch out into my SciFi, my Cozy Mysteries, or something else. I hope you enjoy it.

Last Thursday I had abdominal surgery. To be honest, I’m not moving around very quickly as I recover. Hubby is a gem and is doing the cooking and cleaning and fetching for me as I struggle to get up out of chairs. Recovery should be swift. Even today I feel better which is a good thing. The extra strength Tylenol probably helps. The surgery was out-patient, so don’t worry. More stories are coming.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’ve been working on my 4th cozy mystery, Mystery at the Reunion. I have had to do a lot of chapter shuffling and I don’t think I have it right yet. I’m also adding scenes from Jean’s time in Afghanistan. All of that work has created a large number of continuity errors, all of which must be fixed. At any rate. I am working on it and will get it out as soon as I can. In the meantime, National Novel Writing Month is just over three weeks away. I don’t have any ideas yet for a new story, well, not exactly true, something is percolating in the back of my mind for another Jean Hays story. We’ll see how that goes.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Halloween giveaway is up! You can check it out at: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is October 26th, at 1pm. This is still on! It will be held at the ramada next to the Pine Thrift Store. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing. Social distancing and mask wearing will be the fashion. See you 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:

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.

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, 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.

Critters in the Yard, Hurt Back, Creature in the Night: Monday Blog Post

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You can see one branch stripped but the rest of the tree is fine.

Newest News:

I’m reporting more critters in the yard, some nice, some destructive. I have a better picture of the birds in my basil. Turns out they’re gold finches. Cute, and there’s still lots of basil seed for me to gather for next year’s planting.

Goldfinch eating basil seed. There’s one below and to the left, sitting in the dried out arugula stems, probably eating the arugula seed.

The front yard apple tree, attacked last week, was decimated, probably early Sunday morning. Above is the picture from the earlier attack and below, my poor tree when I got up Sunday morning. The elk probably did the damage and they eat the little apple producing buds so again, for another couple of years, no apples for me. I’m also still harvesting the abundance of zucchini and yellow squash. I found a recipe today for zucchini ravioli. No pasta, just zucchini as the shell and stuffed with seasoned ricotta. It will be on the menu in the next few days.

Poor tree. all the branches stripped.

Critters in the Yard, Hurt Back, Creature in the Night: Monday Blog Post

Has it only been a week since I broke my toe? I did see the doc. They took x-rays. It’s fractured. The primary care doc referred me to a podiatrist, but everyone had said there’s not much to do about it but what I did immediately after breaking it. Buddy taping, the primary doc called it. So I declined the referral and am just going on about my days, hobbling around. Then on Thursday, yep, that’s right, just a week after the broken toe, I felt good enough to start a beginning yoga class on a Youtube channel. That morning, I “tweaked” my back by shifting slightly in the bathroom while brushing my teeth. I didn’t think much of it other than the yoga may stretch out the injury. Because of my toe I skipped difficult floor exercises and did mostly chair yoga. Ha! Silly woman. By 11am I was in big pain so laid down and napped for nearly 4 hours. Could barely move by the time I got up. Hubby thinks it was damage from limping around. I don’t know. All I do know is that between my toe and my back, sleeping is mainly an on again off again struggle.

I mentioned last week that I have been coordinating with my cover designer for Creature in the Night. We’ve selected the major art, see above, to provide the feeling of “poor little girl” and “mystery”. Since the story is Halloween, Christmas, Fantasy, we’re trying for a mix of all three between the art and the font choices. This is a semi-final product.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Summer giveaway has ended! My winner for Prize 1: an ebook copy of Mystery at the Fair, is Mary Preston. She’s already received her book. Prize 2: an Amazon gift card, was sent to Lisa Christoph. She’s already received her gift. I just want to thank everyone who participated. All of us authors truly appreciate it.

The Halloween giveaway is up! You can check it out at: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is October 26th, at 1pm. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. 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, Gardening, Lifestyle Change: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

I had the time over the last week to delete all of the stupid and repetitive chapters in Mystery at the Reunion, and add some sections concerning Jean’s time in Afghanistan. I lost 20K words with the revision. I also introduced a LOT of continuity errors while I was deleting, adding, and shuffling sections of the story around. I changed the beginning of the book from Jean to Dwight (Jean’s ex-husband) because he arrives at the venue for the reunion first. The end of the book needs to be added to, so that loose ends are tied up. I’ll be able to make up some length there. This is not going to be a quick turnaround. I apologize to those of you waiting for the next Jean Hays. It seemed so easy when I first had the idea, but I’ll get it done.

Other writing news, my horror story, Creature in the Night was rejected. One thing I’ve wanted to try, is the option for Kindle Unlimited. This story seems like a good way for me to try out the whole process. It’s not part of a series, it’s already done and ready to publish, and it’s short, less than 3000 words. Since the story is also based on the Winter Solstice, it may be the perfect time for me to put it up on KU for both the Halloween and Christmas seasons. Any of you use KU? Let’s see how it works.

Zucchini madness continues. I gave Sue a second bag of zucchini. I made Italian stuffed zucchini boats the other night for supper. I have 3 small and one medium zucchini in the fridge right now. I don’t know what vitamins or minerals are in summer squash but I’m getting plenty of them this summer.

Dropped to about 214 this last week. I don’t have my glasses with me in the early morning and the tiny lines on the scale are very hard to see, so the reading is approximate. I had an outpatient surgery last Thursday, so that might be why I had a 4-pound drop for the week. I’m fine now, so not to worry. I’m still drinking my green juice morning and lunchtime. Hubby said he’s very impressed at my persistence with that, especially the cleaning of the juicer immediately after doing the juicing. I’ve been upping my steps per day as well. Not a lot, but it’s something. Goal, 6K steps per day. Then we’ll adjust. Maybe some yoga? Weights? Drop a comment below if you’d like to share your story!

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Summer giveaway is in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is Octobr 26th, still at 1pm. So, if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. 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.

I’m Literary! Giveaway Opens, Fruit Trees Pruned: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Just after I posted last week, I received news that a story I wrote last August, had been accepted and was just published. The way it happened was that I met a woman, Rosemary Dombrowski, a poet from Arizona State University, who was doing some pre-book festival work with sixth-graders here in Payson for us. She has this literary magazine she and some of her students and other instructors work on, called Writing For Peace. https://writingforpeace.org/gardens-in-the-desert-cultivating-awareness/ It turned out they were accepting short stories and poems and art for the upcoming Winter 2020 edition. The theme was Gardens in the Desert, Cultivating Awareness. Even though my fiction isn’t considered literary, an idea immediately popped into my mind and I wrote it up.  After I sent it in, I just forgot about it. Then a few days ago, I was contacted by the staff to check my story for correctness. A week later, boom, I have a link to the electronic copy. I hear an actual paper version will be published later this year. I’m looking forward to that as there are wonderful stories in there and stunning artwork. Want to check it out while it’s free? Click on the link above and it takes you right to it. My story, A Little Bit of Light, is in the Fiction link. Enjoy it and the other stories, art, and poetry.

Peach tree from 2019

I mentioned last week that it was time to prune my fruit trees. I actually got it done. I managed to sprain my wrist in the process but the two pears, the peach, and the nectarine trees have all been cut back, crosswise branches trimmed and the trees are now ready for spring. The rosebushes and the lavender bush all still to be done but that will get done eventually too. How about you? Are you able to garden yet or do you still need to wait for the snow to leave?

Giveaways:

Hooray! The St. Patrick Day giveaway is now live! This is one of our shortest giveaways so be sure to click on the link right away. As always, we ask that to win, you follow us on one or more of several social media, or our newsletters, or our websites. You don’t have to join all of them, but to find out more about the many wonderful authors, you’ll want to do that. Here’s the link. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ or go to https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2703c98f110/  Sign up today!

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, April 27th at 1pm. More info to follow.

Phoenix Fan Fusion, May 21st – 24th.

Payson Book Festival, July 18th at the Mazatzal Hotel and Casino, Payson AZ.

CokoCon 2020, September 4 – 7th, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Phoenix Tempe, 2100 S Tempe, AZ

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. 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.

Phoenix Fan Fusion T’s, KJZZ Book Fest, Interview with January Jones: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Last week I began showing some of the t-shirts from the Phoenix Fan Fusion. Above is one for this week.

My table at KJZZ

I attended the KJZZ Arizona Story Fest and Authors Showcase on June 1st.. It was held at the Mesa Convention Center – Building C, a place I’d never been. So I was a little nervous about driving down by myself and finding the place. I shouldn’t have been. It was very easy to find and the venue was just perfect for the event. Activities at the KJZZ Arizona Storyfest included: Storytellers Main Stage, Authors Showcase & Reading Stage, Children’s Storyteller Stage & Craft Area, Arizona Expo. I had a blast, talking to all of the attendees. There was also time to network with the authors, so that was fun, too.

I have an interview at 7am tomorrow morning with January Jones on her BlogTalkRadio.com show January Jones Sharing Success Stories. I know it’s early, but you should be able to find the recorded show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/januaryjones. Come on over to hear what January and I have to talk about.

Giveaways:

I’m gearing up for the Summer giveaway. I see other authors signing in and getting their prizes ready. I’ll let you know when it goes live.

Where will I Be?:

The Payson Book Festival 2019. Mark your calendars for July 20th. Go to www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details! I just saw the book that we’ve been doing with the Payson Community Kids. What a darling project for our little authors and artists. We’re having the book printed and available for sale at the festival. The Payson Middle School, 6th graders made a microzines. We worked with Rosemary Dumbrowski of ASU and Sophia McGovern to make them and the kids were amazing. Many of those microzines will be on display at the festival. We have nearly 90 authors, lots of speakers in both the Fireside and Maple rooms, and again, the silent auction. Want to just make a donation? Go to our Paypal.me page, Payson Book Festival.

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 Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. 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. It’s 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 Memorial Day, Phoenix Fan Fusion, Brown Rain Covers, KJZZ Book Fest: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

It’s Memorial Day. It’s a cold, overcast, blowy day here, and if it’s going to rain, I wish it would just get on with it. A quiet day for me as I came home from the Phoenix Fan Fusion adventure last night. I’m still tired today and with the weather, decided to just stay home. A nap may be in my future.

Phoenix Fan Fusion was an adventure, no doubt.
Since last Thursday I’ve been at the gigantic Phoenix Fan Fusion. As with other years, it was a wild collection of costumes plain and simple, and costumes complex to the nth degree. I was in my booth watching the parade go by for the entire weekend and it was something to see. So. Many. People! So many costumes. But not everyone was in a costume. Many people just had SciFi or Fantasy or just plain funny t-shirts on. By Saturday, I’d decided to get some pictures of those t-shirts. It was hard to do. There were so many people, many were out of range before I noticed their shirt, or they were way over on the other side of the aisle. Whatever. I did get some and I’ll present them one at a time for the next few weeks. Just because they’re fun. Above is one for today. And many thanks to all of the people who agreed to have their picture taken. I appreciate it.

Brown Rain series cover updates. The Brown Rain covers and interiors finally cleared and I received copies just in time for Fan Fusion. The Gold Dreams cover and interior finally cleared also. Those I was not able to get in time, but I will have them for the KJZZ event.

I’ll be at the KJZZ Arizona Story Fest and Authors Showcase on June 1st, which is absolutely free to attend! Here’s the scoop.

Mesa Convention Center – Building C
June 1, 2019
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Activities at the KJZZ Arizona Storyfest include: Storytellers Main Stage, Authors Showcase & Reading Stage, Children’s Storyteller Stage & Craft Area, Arizona Expo.

Fun for everyone.

Giveaways:

No giveaways right now.

Where will I Be?:

KJZZ event I just mentioned.

The Payson Book Festival 2019. Mark your calendars for July 20th. Be in Payson for the book festival. Go to www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details! I just saw the book that we’ve been doing with the Payson Community Kids. What a darling project for our little authors and artists. We’re having the book printed and available for sale at the festival. Also, I participated in another workshop with the Payson Middle School, 6th graders to make a microzine. We worked with Rosemary Dumbrowski of ASU and Sophia McGovern to make them and the kids were amazing. Many of those microzines will be on display at the festival.

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 Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. 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. It’s 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.

Stephen King, Gold Dreams, Family Visit, Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

A friend introduced me to a new Stephen King book, Elevation, last week. It’s a very quick read and not scary at all. Kind of SciFi, kind of literary, it’s still a good story and heart-warming, in a way. Don’t want to tell you too much and ruin the book for you. But take a look at it. I put up reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub. If you use those sites, take a moment to follow me as well.

I’ve finished revisions on Gold Dreams. My book cover designer, J.A. Marlow, has come up with an initial cover. There’s some tweaking to be done but this is close. I like the old-fashioned, kind of dime novel western look it has. What are your thoughts?

Kyaker Memorial

I’m prepping for my brother’s visit on Thursday. Spare room has been cleaned. Getting food in for us to prepare. Thinking about what fun things to show him. A hike is most certainly in the line-up.

Giveaways:

Still up for grabs! If you’ve looked at my “Where Am I” page on my website, you’ll have noticed that I’m going to be at the Phoenix Fan Fusion over Memorial Day weekend. (May 23rd – 26th) I’ve decided that I should do a giveaway. A free exhibitor pass for one of those days. I know that not everyone can take off for Phoenix at the drop of the hat. But if you’re in the area, and you’d like to come see me at my booth and spend the day at the event, sign up by emailing me at [email protected]. Post a picture of you with one of my books. Use the subject, PFF Ticket. I’ll draw a name on May 10th and contact the winner with directions for picking up the pass.

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway is now over. I’ll be contacting the winners as soon as they’re drawn. There are 38 prizes and 38 books to be given away and $114 in Paypal cash as the grand prize. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/

In the meantime, I’m in a promotion with 19 other women writers on Book Funnel. You can check out the books here. There are romances, mysteries, shifter stories and even a non-fiction. Don’t miss out. These are all free for a short time.

Where will I Be?:

If you are a fan of most any genre, I’m participating in an on-line cyber conference here: http://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/about-ows-cycon/. The event is May 17th through May 19th. There are discussion forums, author giveaways, and so much more. Check out the link and sign up to participate. Sign up also gets you news on what’s happening and when. So sign up today. You might just be the person we want to have in our panel discussion!

Phoenix Fan Fusion! Oh My Gosh! If you haven’t ever been to this event you need to check it out. The prices for entry are so reasonable! Three days is $75 at this point but that goes up April 12th! The catalog of things to do is humongous! I’ll be down in Artists Alley, Four Carat Press, booths AA930 and AA932. Come check it out. If you’ve never been, it will blow your minds. It’s May 23 – 26th. Come see me!

The Payson Book Festival this year is going to be more exciting than last year. Mark your calendars for July 20th. Be in Payson for the book festival. Go to www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details!

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 Book Release:

Slave Elf released February 19th, 2019. It is finally up on all of my other retailers in ebook format. You can buy it at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords today. 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. It’s 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.

Slave Elf Republished, Wild Flowers, Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

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Poppies and lupine, March 2019, by Randy Cockrell

Newest News:

I don’t know where you all live but out here in the West, we had a wet winter. Wetter than it’s been in many years. So we’re now blessed with an abundance of wildflowers. California poppy and lupine are everywhere—entire hillsides and valleys are blanketed with flowers. A super bloom is what it’s being called. If you live here, please get out and enjoy the feast. If you’re still waiting for your snow to melt, enjoy our pictures, it’ll be your turn very soon.

Slave Elf. If you remember last week, I mentioned that there were a number of errors in the book. Ugh. Way too many and I found out how some of them crept in. My formatting program decided to do error corrections when I typed one thing and it thought I meant something else. Grrr. Auto correct is helpful until it isn’t. Anyway. I’ve gone through and cleaned it all up and republished it. I’ve ordered one book so I can check out whether more errors have crept in. Then I’ll order a bunch more for upcoming book events.

Giveaways:

The Valentine’s Day giveaway is now over and there are 45 prizes to give away and 45 books. The grand prize is $135 in Paypal cash. A winner’s list will be out soon, and I’ll let you know who’ve won my prizes.

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway is now up. Here’s the link and I hope you get in on this fast. This one isn’t going to run very long. There are 38 prizes and 38 books to be given away and $114 in Paypal cash as the grand prize. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/

In the meantime, I’m in a promotion with 19 other women writers on Book Funnel. You can check out the books here. There are romances, mysteries, shifter stories and even a non-fiction. Don’t miss out. These are all free for a short time.

Where will I Be?:

If you are a fan of most any genre, I’m participating in an on-line cyber conference here: http://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/about-ows-cycon/. The event is May 17th through May 19th. There are discussion forums, author giveaways, and so much more. Check out the link and sign up to participate. Sign up also gets you news on what’s happening and when. So sign up today. You might just be the person we want to have in our panel discussion!

Phoenix Fan Fusion! Oh My Gosh! If you haven’t ever been to this event you need to check it out. The prices for entry are so reasonable! Three days is $75 at this point. The catalog of things to do is humongous! I’ll be down in Artists Alley, Four Carat Press, booths 930 and 932. Come check it out. If you’ve never been, it will blow your minds. It’s May 23 – 26th. Come see me!

The Payson Book Festival this year is going to be more exciting than last year. Mark your calendars for July 20th. Be in Payson for the book festival. Go to www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details!

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 Book Release:

The Slave Elf story released February 19th, 2019. It is finally up on all of my other retailers in ebook format. You can buy it at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords today. 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. It’s 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 Week, Anniversary, Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Hey! If you’re on Smashwords, and why wouldn’t you be? It’s Read an eBook week! I have several books on special. So hop on over there and not only check out my specials, but other, new to you, author specials as well. You’ll be glad you did. https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/1/any/any or me at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell

Slave Elf still has a few copies up on Booksprout for an advanced reader copy (ARC) at https://booksprout.co/arc/10825/slave-elf. I do require at least one review. If you’d like to take part, check it out.

https://www.deviantart.com/kittykatofhyperness/art/Sapphire-71832070
https://www.deviantart.com/kittykatofhyperness/art/Sapphire-71832070

Friday is my anniversary. At this point, we have become a little blasé about it but it’s 44 years. We had to count it up. Our daughter asked us what “anniversary” this was, meaning, the gift. As in the first anniversary is paper. Turns out, not that we’ve ever participated in this particular ritual, at this level, only major points in the anniversary years get special attention. Turns out 44 is not one of them. But 45, next year, happens to be sapphire. Well, color me lucky. I love sapphire. I’ll be fortunate to get a blue anniversary card. That’s because we have never bought into expensive gifts. Except Christmas this last year when I broke down in tears trying to format a book and hubby bought me a Macintosh laptop and a copy of Vellum so I could easier format my books. This is why I love this guy.

The Payson Book Festival organizing is in full swing. All of the author tables are now occupied. All of the Fireside room speakers have been selected. We have new authors, new speakers, and more children’s activities than ever before. This year is going to be more exciting than last year. Mark your calendars for July 20th. Be in Payson for the book festival. www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details!

Giveaways:

The Valentine’s Day giveaway is now over and there are 45 prizes to give away and 45 books. The grand prize is $135 in Paypal cash. A winner’s list will be out soon, and I’ll let you know who’ve won my prizes.

A St. Patrick’s Day giveaway will run soon. Stay tuned for that or check out my giveaways page on my website.

In the meantime, I’m in a promotion with 19 other women writers on Book Funnel. You can check out the books here. There are romances, mysteries, shifter stories and even a non-fiction. Don’t miss out. These are all free for a short time.

Where will I Be?:

I went to the 2nd PEO International meeting in Goodyear, AZ this last weekend and had such a wonderful time! The people were so lovely, welcoming, and kind. I had a great presentation and sold so many books! Thank you PEO members. You are wonderful. I didn’t have a partner there to take pictures and no one has forwarded me any yet. But if you’d like to know more, search on PEO International at http://www.PEOInternational.org.

If you are a fan of most any genre, I’m participating in an on-line cyber conference here: http://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/about-ows-cycon/. The event is May 17th through May 19th. There are discussion forums, author giveaways, and so much more. Check out the link and sign up to participate. Sign up also gets you news on what’s happening and when. So sign up today. You might just be the person we want to have in our panel discussion!

Phoenix Fan Fusion! Oh My Gosh! If you haven’t ever been to this event you need to check it out. The prices for entry are so reasonable! Three days is $75 at this point. The catalog of things to do is humongous! I’ll be down in Artists Alley, Four Carat Press, booths 930 and 932. Come check it out. If you’ve never been, it will blow your minds. It’s May 23 – 26th. Come see 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 Book Release:

The Slave Elf story released February 19th, 2019. It is finally up on all of my other retailers in ebook format. You can buy it at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords today. 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. It’s 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.