Category Archives: Goals

Happy New Year, Smashwords Sale, Tempe FanCon: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Happy New Year to you and all your family and friends. I sort of skipped over the end of year review and just took those last 2 weeks of December off. Now it’s January and it’s traditional to plan out what I plan for this year. Hmm. I had big plans for 2021, and few if any of them were accomplished. One thing was to update the Gulliver Station series covers and make minor corrections to the interiors. Actually, the interiors did get updated as well as the 1st book in the series cover. So I plan on completing that task. The hardest part was getting the updated cover into Amazon. The program they use for that has become extremely finicky, which is why after book 1, I took a break from the project. Time to pick that back up.

I also feel extremely guilty about how long it is taking to get book 4 of the Jean Hays series out of the door. I plan on working on that as well. Then there’s my All About Bob series. Four out of the 5 planned books are written, and half of the last book is written. Nothing has been edited. With luck and some ambition, I’ll finish the last book and get them all to the editor. Publishing? Maybe end of year? It is 5 books, well, novellas, after all.

I also started a new book in my western series during November’s National Novel Writing Month. I got about 10,000 words into it and love the story but again, just ran out of ambition. I left Zeke and Mary in Phoenix and they have to get from there to Los Angeles and then San Francisco, buy a ranch and start their new life. The trip for them has been exciting so far. We’ll see what other calamities occur.

Thank you Smashwords customers for supporting the hard work of Smashwords authors and publishers. Several of the books I had up for sale were “purchased” and I hope they were enjoyed enough to buy the rest of each series. As a reminder, leaving a review on Smashwords, Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon, or other book purchase points means a great deal to me, the author. It doesn’t have to be much, just, “I liked it,” would go a long way.

You can find my books at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell. Just scroll down and select the book or books you’re interested in.

Stay tuned!

Giveaways:

The Pumpkin Posse Authors Halloween Giveaway and the Christmas Giveaway is now closed! As soon as the winner names are drawn, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, we’re setting up the Valentine’s Day giveaway. There are 21 authors involved this time so a lot of great books and prizes are up for grabs. Once it’s active, go to my link, https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

 

Where will I Be?

I’ll be at the Tempe FanCon on January 29th from 10am until 4pm. You can find all the info about it at https://www.tempepubliclibrary.org/event-calendar/tempe-fancon. We’ll be outside, in the Library plaza, so dress for the weather.

 

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 http://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 my 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.

Common Grounds Market News, Electric Light Parade, Christmas Prep: Monday Blog Post

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Payson Walking Pine Tree handing out candy at the 2021 Electric Light Parade by Randy Cockrell

 

Newest News:

Saturday was a busy day for me. From 9am till 2pm, I was at the Common Grounds Christmas Market. I shared a booth with an Arizona Professional Writers author friend Chrisann Dawson. We talked to a LOT of people and sold some books. The weather was fantastic. If you were able to come by, thank you. If you missed it, I’ll be at the Twilight Tuesday market on Dec 14th. See all the details below.

Common Grounds Xmas Market 2021

At 5pm on Saturday, we met up with some friends of ours and their family for our town’s Christmas parade. It was fun going with 3 young, rambunctious boys. They loved everything! The picture above is of our town’s walking pine trees. The group participates in several events each year promoting our area’s tourism. They’ve been in quite a few electric light parades in the state and appeared in parades for many football games.

Now, like many of you, I need to finish decorating inside my home. The outside is now done. There is baking to do, candy to make and I need to get the presents for my daughter in the mail soon. I don’t have my Christmas cards done yet either. No matter, what ever gets done will be fine and whatever doesn’t get done can be done next year.

Stay tuned!

Giveaways:

The Pumpkin Posse Authors Halloween Giveaway is now closed! As soon as the winner names are drawn, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, hop on over to the page with the following link and get in on the new giveaway, Oh What Fun It Is To Read prizes. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

 

Where will I Be?

The Twilight Tuesday Christmas Market this year will run from November 9th, 3 – 6pm to December 21st. I have obtained two appearance dates, when I only expected one so I’m pretty happy about that. I had a booth date of November 23rd, and one for December 14th. Come on by, check out our version of a European Style Christmas market and enjoy.

 

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 http://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 my 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

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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

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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.

Happy New Year, Smashwords Sale, Planning 2021: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

I hope your Christmas was very merry with Zoom calls, video chats, texts, or phone calls to family and friends. Now it’s time to do the same to welcome in the New Year. If you’re a first responder or group care home resident, I hope you already have had your Covid19 shots. If, like me, you’re in a later group, please be safe until your turn comes, and it will. I plan on getting my shot as soon as I can. I’ll wear a mask and stay socially distanced until 2 weeks after my second shot then, hoo boy. Can anyone say, nice dinner out? I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

The annual Smashwords End of Year Sale started December 18th, and runs through January 1st. Books I normally don’t put on sale are on sale for this event. At either 50 or 75% off are Recall, Troubled Streets, The Gulliver Station Box Set, and Gold Dreams. You can find all of my books on my Smashwords author page. https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell. I hope you can buy a few books not only for yourself but for friends and family as gifts, as well.

Planning was my profession, back in both the Air Force and after I retired and worked for Computer Sciences Corp. So I’ve spent the last week or so thinking about what I want to accomplish, writing wise, in 2021. First on my list, needs to be Mystery at the Reunion. You Jean Hays fans have been waiting so patiently. I appreciate that. But now it’s time to get that story done and out into your hands. I poked around at changes throughout this year, but the story isn’t quite done. However, if I buckle down, I’m sure I can get it out pretty soon. I also have five YA books I call my All About Bob series, that are all but done. The final one needs to be finished and all of them need editing. If I can do that, I could possibly get six books out in 2021. Wow! Stay tuned for more.

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 there are no scheduled events for me for the rest of the year. I do hope you have a very happy New Year, and we’ll see each other in 2021.

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, Paleo, Calendar: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Saw a contest for mysteries and thought my cozy, Mystery at the Reunion, might be a good fit. The site is called InkShares and I’ve never used that site. So, I figure, what the heck, right! Anyway, I’m putting chapters from the story up over there and I can win the contest by getting people to read the story. So here’s the link. https://www.inkshares.com/books/mystery-at-the-reunion. I’d appreciate it if you’d go over and have a read. At the end, I’ve been putting up alternative chapters from Dwight’s point of view. It fleshes him out a little better and makes the story a little more interesting. I introduced a new plot line in his voice. We’ll see how that goes.

I also bit the bullet and am reformatting my Gulliver Station box set for Smashwords. Sunday I managed to remove all formatting from the entire set and get the title page, the table of contents, and the first book, A New Start in there and formatted. I’ve linked the TOC with A New Start chapter headings as well. So that’s done. Three books to go and the endmatter. Then I’ll try to get it up on Smashwords again.

Still keeping up with my celery but being kind of hit or miss with the rest of the paleo diet. Those dang candy bars keep calling my name. And, we went to a Halloween party on Saturday, so of course there was wine. Anyway, I’ll keep plugging away at it. How about you? What goal are you working on?

National Novel Writing Month, NaNo for short, starts November 1st. I’m prepping to write in my All About Bob series. I have to finish book 3 then write books 4 and 5. If I stay focused, I can do all of that. The stories are meant to be novelette/novella length, so totally do-able. I’m also leading a write-in for my local chapter of the Arizona Professional Writers. This should be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to it. That’s scheduled for November 21st.

A reminder that I’ve finished my 2019 calendar. Arizona is such a beautiful place and a calendar of pictures from central AZ fits in so well with my Jean Hays series, I really just can’t resist sharing. Now that it’s completed, you can find the calendar on Lulu. Just click on the link and purchase as many copies as you want for yourself, friends and family. Feel free to share the link, and this post!

Next appearance is in December, the Mesa Book Festival. That’s December 8th. You can find all of the details at https://mesabookfestival.com/.

Giveaways:

The 2018 Halloween giveaway is now open. You can join in the fun at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. There’s $80+ as a Grand Prize Paypal cash, plus books and other prizes.

 

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 Gulliver Station ebook box set released July 30th, 2018. You can buy it at Amazon 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. 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.

 

A Writer’s Job: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

It’s possible that you wonder why, as a writer, I cannot get stories to you faster. I understand. It seems to take a really long time for me to produce and publish your next favorite series book. To be honest, it feels like a long time for me, as well.

A look at my current to do list might let you in on what’s going on. These are not in any kind of order. Just how they occurred to me as I was making the list.

AuthorShow.com – a note to myself to apply to the audio and visual podcast program that provides some exposure for authors. (Marketing)

Brown Rain Covers – I have them done, just want to update the interiors to match Tested’s interior. (Marketing)

Brown Rain Interiors – Yep, see above. (Marketing)

Gulliver Box Sets – What I’m currently working on. (Marketing)

Pre-Order Slave Elf – Get the story Slave Elf up on multiple platforms/sites as a pre-order. (Advertising)

Edit Slave Elf – (Editing)

Amazon Affiliate – Re-apply to Amazon for affiliate status. That way people coming to my author page or a book page, can continue their other Amazon shopping and I get a tiny cut at no additional expense to my readers. (Cross-Promotion)

Set up Amazon AUS, NZ, CAN – Officially set up my author page and books on these country sites for more exposure to English speaking readers. (Marketing)

Set up Optimize Press – This is a site that gives me assistance in setting up my marketing pages. (Marketing)

Pinterest Class – This is a Mark Dawson beta class that I have not been able to access despite the fact it appears on my class page. I’ll have to contact someone to get it to open for me. I’d love to learn how to use Pinterest to expand my reader base. (Marketing)

SAM – this is actually a book festival reminder that as a non-profit organization I have to annually re-certify that our organization is tax-exempt. (Volunteer)

Post Review – I had a nice review of Tested from Reader’s Favorite. I need to post it on my Tested pages (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords) (Advertising)

You may notice there’s no reminder to write. I don’t need a reminder to write, it’s always in the back of my mind. I need to write a flash fiction to post every Friday and current writing projects include finishing It’s All About the Music, (plus 2 more to make 5 in that series), a horror story for December deadline, and edits for both Mystery at the Reunion and the 2nd Zoe Ohale story, Troubled Campus.

I’m also scheduled for a book selling/signing on September 15th, October 13 – 14th, and December 8th. So I need to inventory my on-hand books to see what needs to be ordered. I sold quite a few at the Payson Book Festival and need to re-supply.

It’s obvious I do a lot of tasks that are marketing oriented. I need to if I want my reader numbers to grow.

And that’s it! Lots to do and all of it needs time and energy. Some days I just want to play games on Facebook.

Giveaways:

The 2018 Authors/Bloggers Summer Giveaway is in progress at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. There’s $80 as a Grand Prize Paypal Cash and 27 books and 27 prizes available to win.

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 Gulliver Station ebook box set released July 30th, 2018. You can buy it at Amazon 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. 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.

Saying Hello: Daily Post

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Picture of the crowd.

Hey there!

So you may have gathered from previous posts, and my facebook and twitter feeds, that the Payson Book Festival was yesterday.

As the founder and director of the festival, last week and especially Friday and Saturday, were full. Some of Friday was consumed with a workshop the festival puts on for our signed up authors. A little bit of extra value for the price of thier table. We had Richard Draude from Mystic Publishers come and talk to those of us assembled about how to pitch a book to a publisher or an agent.

Mind you, this isn’t a submission process, most publishers/agents have submission guidelines right on thier websites. A pitch is a face to face, probably at a conference or other event, where the author in 30 seconds or less, lets the person they’re talking to know about thier book. Then there’s some conversation as the publisher/agent finds out more. After the workshop, Mr. Draude was kind enough to take a few pitches. Four authors were brave enough to do it.

Author and Blogger, Sharon Day

Later that evening, we had a meet and greet where authors, mostly confined to their tables on Saturday, have a chance to mingle and meet each other. Sponsors and town officials are also invited. I sat and talked with author Sharon Day. She’s a fantastic blogger over on http://sharondaybooks.blogspot.com/. I was asking her how to increase the followers on my blog and one answer was to blog every day.

My mind boggles. But she said it doesn’t have to be a huge post. It can be short and funny, even.

So. Here I am. Recuperating from getting the book festival off of the ground for another year, starting my daily blogging habit. I email 75 people my blog. Let’s see if the number goes up. Can you help? Share my blog with interested friends and family. I’d like to get my reader number up into the thousands. Think big or go home, right?

Newest Book Release:

Tested released January 31st and I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, 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. 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.

Planning or Winging It: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Oh my gosh! It’s 2018 and the current topic of conversation in the author sites is planning for 2018. Goal setting is another name. And have you heard about the “word of the year” thing? It’s enough to make your head spin. Bottom line: what do you want for your new year? I usually make this huge, long list of things I want to do and generally, I get it all done. This year, however, I’m going minimalist. I want to do the rewrite and edit on my Zoe Ohale series book 2, Troubled Campus. I wrote the think April 2017. Time to get that bad girl done and out the door. I need to also rewrite and edit Mystery at the Reunion. I only wrote that in November but still—my mystery readers are waiting for it. I have the first book of my All About Bob series written. That was two years ago! But I think I want to write all 5 planned books, get them edited and release them one after the other. That way people who like the series can just dive in. Along with all of that, stop brainstorming my Christmas story and actually write it. Then, I want to release my Gulliver Station series as a box set for both ebook and for paperback. I’ve actually already began that process. Two of the books are reedited and the ebook book set already started on the formatting. Two books down, two to go. Then I have 2 major events and one minor one scheduled. The Phoenix Comicon starting May 24th and the Payson Book Festival, July 21st. My tables are already reserved for both of those. Then I’m scheduled for the Mesa Book Festival, about December 8th. Then, I’m getting healthier. I’ve mentioned I’ve started eating a Paleo diet to help with my Celiac and Hashimoto’s diseases. Food is the key for me. But in addition to eating better, I’ve upped my exercise. I’m already a week in and I can feel that I’ve lost weight.

Finally, there’s that word of the year I mentioned earlier. I started hearing about it last year. You choose the word for the activity or characteristic you want to focus on for yourself during the year. Some people choose FOCUS. Some choose DETERMINATION, or COMPLETION, or any other number of words. For me, I’m choosing FORTUNE. I did some work on this last year but this year, this is my focus. I have a pretty good back list of books. I have some great contacts in the author world. Now to get my stories out in front of you, the reader. What’s it going to take? Extra work in reaching my audiences. Encouragement for readers to leave reviews. Getting my name out in front of the right people for the genres I write. It’s not going to be easy, that much I know but it will be worth it.

http://magikstock.deviantart.com/art/Camel-1-319794644

Saying all of that, I’ve been working on my stand-alone fantasy story, Slave Elf. I’m at 50,000 words, a novel, and I’m loving where this is going. I’m nearing the end but I have one more twist to throw in there before wrapping everything up. It may be another 10k, it may be more, I don’t know but this story has been leading me a merry chase for months now. I hope you’re enjoying it. Once I have it done, I plan on cleaning it up, getting a formal edit and releasing it.

I’ve made a calendar for 2018. It’s for sale at http://www.lulu.com/shop/connie-cockrell/my-calendar-2018/calendar/product-23462179.html. The photos were taken by my husband of places around Arizona where we live and hike. If you haven’t gotten your 2018 wall calendar, check it out. I hope you like it.

It’s officially 20 days until my first Vision Board workshop. I’m getting everything prepared and I’ve already sent out my first emails asking people to come join me. Hoo!

Giveaways:

The Christmas Giveaway is over. There are 70 authors giving away at least two prizes each and there’s $160 in PayPal cash for the grand prize winner. The winners will be notified shortly.

We’ll be starting the Lovestruck Authors and Bloggers Valentine’s Day giveaway in a few days. This is a great way to find new to you authors. Check out https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ and click on the Rafflecopter link to enter the new contest. Books, ebooks, jewelry and more is being given away. You don’t want to miss out.

I have a January giveaway, Ring in the New Year with Killer Mysteries, hosted by author Anne R. Tan on BookFunnel.com. https://books.bookfunnel.com/free_mystery. It will run from January 5th to the 21st. Lots of new to you authors are also in the giveaway. Click that link and find some great mystery stories.

Shout Out:

Here’s a shout out to author Abby L. Vandiver. https://www.facebook.com/authorabbyl.vandiver. Abby does a ton of promotional work with other authors, including me! She writes mysteries so if you’re a mystery lover, check out her books.

 

Where Will I Be?

Check my website, https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/where-will-i-be/ for my next engagements.

I’m already scheduled to go to the Phoenix Comicon May24th – 28th.

On July 21st, I’m scheduled for the Payson Book Festival.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on both the regular and the Brown Rain 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:

Mystery at the Book Festival released June 1st and I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, 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. It’s critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

NaNo, New Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

So today is day 13 of the National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday I reached over 26k words on my fourth book of my Jean Hays series, Mystery at the Reunion. I’ve been pantsing (writing by the seat of my pants, no outline), since day four. I have one more chapter to write to bring the book to a close. The problem is that I’ll only be at about 28k words, nowhere close to winning NaNo. What’s a girl to do? Why, weave in a new plot line, of course. I’m not sure what, yet, but it may be from the bad guy’s point of view. We’ll have to see when I start writing tomorrow.

On my new class on Vision Boards, I completed the first module on Saturday. I’ve compiled a list of places to hold the workshop and decided on a date, with two backup dates. I’ll be making those phone calls starting Monday. I’m excited about this. I’ve even begun drafting a tab on my website to be a Vision Board contact.

Giveaways:

The Spooktacular Authors Halloween Giveaway is over and the winner’s list was compiled. I’ve contacted all of my winners (three of them!). I hope they like the prizes.  The Christmas Giveaway has begun. There are 70 authors giving away at least two prizes each and there’s $160 in PayPal cash for the grand prize winner. Check out https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ and click on the Rafflecopter link to enter the new contest. Books, ebooks, jewelry and more is being given away. You don’t want to miss out.

Shout Out:

Madeline at the Northhampton Diner. Waffles!

A shout out to my mom, Madeline, today. She checked into the hospital yesterday with pneumonia. Nothing to ignore if you’re an 80-year-old woman. Hugs from across the continent, mom. Hope you feel better soon!

 

Where Will I Be?

Check my website, https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/where-will-i-be/ for my next engagements.

On December 9th I’ll be at the Mesa Book Festival. Get full details at https://mesabookfestival.com/. I’ll be in a booth with my author friend, Marsha Ward. www.MarshaWard.com. Between the two of us, we have a large number of genre’s covered. Come get your Christmas presents and stocking stuffers. The festival runs from 2pm – 8pm.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on both the regular and the Brown Rain 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:

Mystery at the Book Festival released June 1st and I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, 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. It’s critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.