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

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.

OWSCyCon, Story Time, KJZZ, Brown Rain Series Updates: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Hey you all. I’ve been mentioning the OWSCyCon below, for over a month now. Well. Things are heating up. I’m going to be taking over the Facebook Fantasy and SciFi Reader’s Lounge on May 16th at 5pm Eastern. I know it’s still 8 days away, but I just want you to know about it and mark your calendars. See details in the Where Will I Be section below. #OWSCyCon2019  

In other OWSCyCon news, the wonderful Timothy Bateson, an administrator of the OWSCyCon and a SciFi/Fantasy author in his own right, has been doing what he’s calling Story Times. He took a section of my newest book, Slave Elf, and did a YouTube and a YourListen audio recording of it. I’m so stoked. It’s kind of weird hearing someone else read it aloud. As the author, I had my own version of it playing in my head, but Timothy has done a great job. This Story Time is a new offering for OWSCyCon and I have to tell you, I’m loving it. So, go on over to either site and have a listen. It’s about seven minutes long. Note, if you use YourListen, a popup ad appears. Just go to the little X in the upper right-hand corner, click on it to make it disappear. The audio page is right underneath it. #OWSCyCon2019  

Brown Rain series cover updates. I’ve been plugging along all last week and even with the Vellum, it takes me a lot of time to update the interior of each book. Part of the issue is learning Vellum. Another part is learning to use this Apple laptop. Third, is getting everything updated correctly on KDP publishing. At any rate, you’ll start seeing the new covers and spiffy new interiors popping up in the Amazon store soon, if not already. I’m going to revise the interior of Tested, as well, just so it matches, exactly, the other three books. It’s been a struggle but it’s getting done.

Oh, yes. I’ll be at the KJZZ Arizona Story Fest and Authors Showcase on June 1st, which is absolutely free to attend! I know, May and June 1st is a busy time for me but if you love stories, you’ll want to be at this event.

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:

Only 4 days left!!! 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.

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.  But there’s more! We’re starting the festivities early. I’ll be doing a blog hop takeover, May 16th  at 5pm Eastern time of the Fantasy and SciFi Readers Lounge. #OWSCyCon2019  #SciFi  #StoryTime

Phoenix Fan Fusion! Oh My Gosh! If you haven’t ever been to this event you need to check it out. 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.

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

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.

Errors in Books, My YouTube Channel, Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

Security concept. Laptop with exclamation mark on the display from Deposit Photos

Newest News:

Slave Elf. I had a reader contact me after getting my book. This person found several errors, just in the first chapter! After so many times through it myself, and two separate editors, still errors managed to stay hidden. Sigh. Luckily for me and for you, this is fixable! As an independent author, I’ll be correcting the errors found and get that reader a fresh copy. Hopefully error free. This isn’t the first time this has happened and won’t be the last. If you find an error in my books, let me know. They’re all fixable and I’d love to give you a replacement copy after you’ve been so kind as to let me know about those persistent little punctuation, grammar, spelling and spacing errors.

Cattle in the Arizona woods by Randy Cockrell

Do you all use YouTube? I have a channel which, up until a couple of weeks ago, hardly ever was viewed and only had six subscribers. Then, all of a sudden, people found a video I’d posted seven months ago called Monsters in the Woods. So far it has 13k+ views and I now have 222 subscribers. I’m flabbergasted. I just posted that as a bit of fun. Now, I guess, I know what attracts viewers. You can find my page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2rN2MWxDPLrI0bMv3vTKvg

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.

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.  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!

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.

Slave Elf, Promos, Book Signing: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Slave Elf is back from it’s second round with the editor. I have some cleaning up to do and then copy/line edits, then I can publish. If you’re excited about the new version, I have it on pre-order at Amazon. You can order here. I think you’ll like the new version. It’s tightened up to make it more exciting and the inconsistencies in names, and such, are now eliminated.

Giveaways:

I now have winners for the 2018 Christmas giveaway. I did three prizes for Christmas. Kassie won a free ebook of Mystery at the Fair. Ben from the UK won an ebook copy of my Christmas Tales collection of short stories. The third gift was a $10 Amazon gift card won by Kelly. I want to thank all of the Christmas giveaways for participating. The next giveaway is listed below!

The Valentine’s day giveaway is open and there are 45 prizes to give away and 45 books. The grand prize is $135 in Paypal cash. What are you waiting for? Click here to find the free Rafflecopter.  

Woman sitting behind her laptop and dreaming about love. Vector Illustration.

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 was at Black Canyon City at the Heritage Park on January 26th for their Winter and Book Fest. Even though the day had a cold wind blowing all day, those of us there had a good time. I talked to a bunch of readers, and handed out I don’t know how many heads-up flyers for July’s Payson Book festival. There were a lot of non-profit groups there. One was a wildlife rehab organization who brought owls for people to see. They were very cool!

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. 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. 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.

Other Posts, County Fair, Gulliver Station Box Set: Monday Blog Post

Home grown peaches with homemade coconut yogurt

Newest News:

I meant to post my blog titled Life Tips: https://wp.me/p6LAko-1bu, for Sunday, but somehow or other posted it Friday, with another post. No idea why I did that but there it is. Then on Saturday, I wrote and posted my monthly Chicklets in the Kitchen blog, this month on three ingredient coconut yogurt. You can check that out at: https://wp.me/p6LAko-1bz. All of that to say, I thought I wouldn’t have to write another post for Sunday, but nope. Had to write a new one on Saturday. Good thing, I cranked out words on Saturday! LOL!

The Northern Gila County Fair (Sep 6 – 8) set up is in one week. As the Director for the Exhibits (non-livestock), I start working on Tuesday, September 4th. By Thursday, when the fair opens at 5pm, I’m already exhausted. By Saturday at 9pm when the Exhibits tent closes, I’m done but still, have to show up Sunday so exhibitors can pick up their exhibits. Don’t get me wrong. I love the fair. So many people have great talents in so many areas and I certainly hope that if a visitor sees something they are interested in, they’ll contact that exhibitor or the hobby group to get involved and learn more. That’s the best thing about the fair—the chance to pass along expertise! Hope you can come; www.NGCFair.com for schedules of events and operating hours.

This week I’ll be finishing the Gulliver Box set. Sunday I finished formatting the edited version for Amazon. This week will be getting the new one up on Amazon and on Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell) then formatting the paperback version and getting it up on Createspace. Awesome! Done just before the fair. After the fair I’m editing Slave Elf and putting my new covers on the Brown Rain books. Also changing the interior files to add cute little graphics to the beginning of each chapter. That particular project should go quickly as the books are short. Wish me luck!

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.

A Writer’s Job: Monday Blog Post

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.

Happy President’s Day, Cozy Mystery Bundle, Painting: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Happy President’s Day to all. I hope you have the chance to hang out with family and friends and have a fun, relaxing day.

Painting by Connie Cockrell

Last week I mentioned that I was going to a painting class. Well, I did. I had a wonderful time with 11 other artists and the scope, breadth and quality of the work being produced was just wonderful. Now I will admit it’s been nearly 40 years since I’ve picked up a paint brush, but you can see my picture, while not perfect, came out pretty well. I now have it hanging in my living room. I encourage each of you to give something new a try.

I’m still working on It’s All About the Odds but I’m nearly done. This series won’t get published until I have the entire thing written and edited. That way readers won’t have to wait so long to get them.

Big news for those of you who love my cozy mystery series, Jean Hays. I’ve been selected to participate in a cozy mystery bundle over on the Bundle Rabbit site. The book is going to be called Cozy Winter Reads and has five other authors in it with me. I think you’ll enjoy it. I’ll post the link to it when it’s published. We’re working on selecting a cover right now. In the meantime, check out BundleRabbit.com for other stories, mysteries or whatever genre you enjoy.

Giveaways:

The Lovestruck Authors and Bloggers Valentine’s Day giveaway now over.  Winners will be chosen soon and notified. Then, check out https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ and click on the Rafflecopter link to enter the next contest, the 2018 Authors/Bloggers St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway. Books, ebooks, jewelry and more is being given away. You don’t want to miss out.

Shout Out:

I want to give a shout out to author P.D. Workman who is the driving force behind the cozy mystery bundle I’m in.

Author P.D. Workman

For as long as she can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure for Workman.  She has samples of stories and booklets that go back to her early childhood.  Workman collected notebooks of all shapes and sizes with plans to fill them with words and stories.  By grade four, she discovered that inventing a story in her head could rival the joy of reading one from a book.  She wrote and bound a series stories about a rabbit, painstakingly typed on her dad’s Selectric typewriter and illustrated by tracing pictures.

In grade five, Workman spent a lot of leisure time creating a Narnia-like world of her own.  She drew pictures of it… unicorns, rainbows, forests, mountains in the distance.  There were six meals a day (probably influenced by The Hobbit,) with names like nibble and munch.  She didn’t write a word of the story, though she imagined the plot line, which included her arrival in the land via a pair of magical red tennis shoes.

In grade six, Workman had a language arts teacher who had a box full of pictures to use as story prompts, and the class would write a creative writing story every Friday.  Workman loved it.  She wrote a number of stories about a pair of magical black dogs with glowing eyes.  In grade seven she continued to enjoy creative writing at school, much of it about horses, her new obsession as she read every book in the Black Stallion series.  She started to write her first full-length novel, a classic plot line about a class of school children who get marooned on a deserted tropical island.  No, no Lord of the Flies.  It was all about survival. She went to a young writer’s conference and talked about it.  She read it to the kids she babysat.  But she never finished it.

At the age of twelve, Workman finally did it, she wrote her first complete novel.  It was full of fantastic ideas.  It was the spring board for many other stories and books over the next few years.

Over the years, family and friends had encouraged her publish.  But she wrote for herself, for the joy of creating characters and experiencing their lives.   Most people didn’t even have any idea that Workman wrote. A few times, she took up the pen and dabbled with contacting publishers, submitting to contests, etc., but each time, the joy disappeared, and the creative juices dried up.  So, Workman went back to her hermit-like writing existence, proclaiming that her estate could publish her work after her death. Not until 2013 did Workman finally decide to publish her work, and she has been enjoying the process very much.

When not writing, Workman is a devout wife and a mother of one.  She was born and raised in Alberta, Canada.  She is a homeschooler and an executive assistant.  She has a passion for art and nature, creative cooking for special diets, and running.  She loves to read, to listen to audio books, and to share books out loud with her family.  She is an acknowledged technology geek with a love for all kinds of gadgets and tools to make her writing and work easier and more fun.  In person, she is far less well-spoken than on the written page. She tends to be shy and reserved with all but those closest to her and prefers communicating by e-mail and text rather than phone calls or face-to-face visits. Her sociable husband and son help keep her from becoming a complete recluse!

You can find her at https://pdworkman.com/ where you can find more of her works.

 

Where Will I Be?

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

I’m excited to say I’m booked for the Payson Women’s Wellness Forum on April 28th, 2018. What’s more healing that getting lost in a novel! I’ll be there all day and you can buy, and I’ll sign, any of my books. SciFi, Fantasy, Cozy Mystery and more. You can find tickets at https://www.mhafoundation.com/upcoming-events.html

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:

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.

NaNo, Contests, Vision Boards: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

So today is day 6 of the National Novel Writing Month. So far I have over 11,000 words written on the fourth book of my Jean Hays series, Mystery at the Reunion. I’ve totally gone off plan for this, still incorporating some of the ideas and actions but in a totally different time line and way. It’s crazy! I hope I can make this work!

The cover designer has finally contacted me and is completing the back matter on the covers for the entire series. Yep, it is going to delay the release of Tested, but that cannot be helped at this point.

The 4 day Facebook hop that I participated in was a lot of fun but without a lot of readers. That’s too bad as most of the over 70 authors had contests and were giving away great prizes. No one entered my contest so no one will receive the signed copy of Mystery at the Fair I was giving away. That’s alright. There will be other opportunities!

I continue to write my serial, Slave Elf. I have episodes scheduled up to the middle of December. I’m trying to decide if I should have a Yuletide episode. Maybe not as I don’t seem to be close enough to the ending to make it festive. But, I never know. Perhaps. You can find the first episode here.

 

Have you ever worked with vision boards before? What is a vision board? It is designed to open your mind to your desires. It’s designed to awaken you to the awareness that there really are possibilities for your life – and that you can actually create your world exactly the way you want to be. I’ve just signed up for a class to learn how to teach people to use vision boards to move their dreams forward. I can hardly wait to share this with everyone. I think I’ll be ready to share in January. This is going to be so much fun!

Giveaways:

The Spooktacular Authors Halloween Giveaway is now over. The winner’s list is being compiled and will be out about Friday of this week. The Christmas Giveaway hasn’t quite started but, check out https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ and click on the Rafflecopter link in a day or two to enter the new contest. Books, ebooks, jewelry and more is being given away. You don’t want to miss out.

2018 Planner

My October contest is now over. The winner is Kitty Garley and I’ll be contacting her today. The book she’s reading? The Gordeon by Kathryn Le Veque. The other books read: Miss Dimple Picks a Peck of Trouble by Mignon F. Ballard, A Catered Costume Party by Isis Crawford, Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton, Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel, A Different Beautiful by Courtney Westlake, and Hostage of Islam by Philip Strang. Those all sound like great books. Put them on your Christmas list!

Shout Out:

Author Patricia L. Brooks

I found out today that Patricia L. Brooks and her husband Earl Llewellyn Goldman will be at the Mesa Book Festival with myself and Marsha Ward. Patricia and her husband are both authors and all around great people. The festival is Saturday Dec 9th from 2 to 8PM at McDonald Dr between Main St and 1st Ave downtown Mesa. Come on by and say hello to all of us! Can’t wait? You can find more of Patricia and her books at www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com.

 

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.

Author Interview: Mary Ann Edwards

Author Mary Anne Edwards

Today I’d like to welcome Mary Anne Edwards. Born in Mercedes, Texas, Mary Anne has lived in Georgia most of her life. A life-long fan of authors such as Agatha Christie, Anne Perry, Caroline Graham, and Elizabeth Peters, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Mary Anne decided to listen to the voices in her head and began writing her own series of traditional mysteries featuring Detective Charlie McClung.

The first book in the series, Brilliant Disguise, was released to critical acclaim in January of 2014. The next three in the series, A Good Girl, Criminal Kind, and Sins of my Youth were released soon afterward. The fifth book in the series, Flirting with Time, will be released in June 2017, with at least five more to follow.

Mary Anne and her husband currently live in Smyrna, GA with an ill-tempered Tuxedo cat named Gertrude. Mary Anne is active in the Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter and sits on the advisory board of Rockdale Cares, a non-profit advocacy group for the developmentally challenged.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Mary Ann.

 

1. Let’s start with something fun. What’s your favorite hobby?

I love to read. Yes, I know rather boring but I rarely get the chance to sit down and read. Before I starting writing full-time, I read a book a week. Now it more like a book a month.

2. If you had the opportunity—who would you like to spend an afternoon with and why?

My mother passed away February last year. I’d like one more day to her how much I love her and how thankful I am for her support and influence.

3. Coffee, tea, soda or something else? Yes, please! I like coffee with lots of cream and no sugar. I also enjoy a good cup of hot tea. I LOVE diet Dr Pepper, too much. I’ve cut back from my 2 liters plus a day habit to one soda a few times a week. I’m drinking lots of water now. I purchased an infusion pitcher. I’ve made all sorts of water like Pineapple Jalapeno Mint to simple Lemon Mint water.

4. What are you working on right now?

My fifth book, Flirting With Time: A Charlie McClung Mystery, will be released June 30th. I’m currently working on the sixth book in the series, Good To Be Kind.

5. How would you describe your writing style?

Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author and award-winning journalist described my style of writing this way, “It’s as if Agatha Christie wrote Hart to Hart.” My books are traditional mysteries with romance and fun.

6. Do you have any advice for a person just beginning their writing career?

Get a website or blog or both going right now. Start building your network before your book is released. Once your book is released you’ll have a fanbase ready to buy your book.

7. Do you immerse yourself in new situations for writing ideas or do your ideas come to you through your normal, day-to-day life?

My ideas come from music and everyday life. Tom Petty’s music gets my writing juice flowing for some reason. I guess his music is my muse. LOL!

8. Where can we find you on the interwebs?

Facebook and Twitter are my two major hangouts but I have a website and I can be found on Pinterest and a few other places. Here are my links.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authormaryanneedwards

Website:  http://maryanneedwards.com/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/maryanneedwards/

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MaryAnneEdwards/posts

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/maryanneedwards

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/maedwards58

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Anne-Edwards/e/B00HZ28TIQ

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpzz9_nQ5yzE60nW-LMkgUQ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7791576.Mary_Anne_Edwards

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-anne-edwards

Wiselike:  https://wiselike.com/mary-anne-edwards

Thank you so much for spending a little time with us today, Mary Ann. We really appreciate it.

And gentle readers, don’t be shy. Stop by Mary Ann’s sites and say hello!