Mud Lake on the Northville-Lake Placid Trail

After such an intense three months and covering 3 time zones both forward and back, I’ve found myself very tired. I’ve spent the time since we returned going to bed early. Much earlier than I usually do. Above is a picture of a spot on the Northville-Lake Placid Trail. Just one of the places I went while on vacation.

We’ve been engaged in a top to bottom cleaning of the house. Turns out a mouse moved in about the time we left on vacation. The little creature had a great time exploring the ENTIRE house. Therefore, we’ve had to clean and clean and clean. The mouse met it’s demise on the Monday we returned. It had been holed up in the pantry. Oh yes. Much in bagged and boxed flours and mixes had to be trashed. So far no other creatures have been found inside. Word around the neighborhood is that there is a huge mouse infestation, so it’s not just my house. I’m keeping an eye out for any sign of the little critters. We live inside a National Forest. Let them find a home out there. There are hundreds of miles for them to live in.

Gardening is finishing up. I had a friend come water for my while I was gone. I have an amazing number of cantaloupes lying about the garden area. The tomatoes are still hanging on. It’s wonderful that in late October I can still go out and pick fresh tomatoes. The parsley and the basil have recovered from the summer heat and I’m picking them freely. I also just picked two fresh green peppers yesterday. I love how crisp and fresh they are. Otherwise things are looking brown and limp and it’s just about time to cut everything back for the winter.

Author Friend Boost! Simon Batt also known as S.E. Batt. His newest release is Louise.  Here’s a description.

In a world where only four ‘types’ of people exist — Lucy, Emily, Chris and David — one Lucy Stallow ventures to buy herself Lucy clothes. She spies an Emily wearing clothes she would love to wear, and when she arrives at the clothes store, the temptation to break the social norm becomes too strong for her to resist. Will she challenge the social norm and experiment with her identity, or will she break and go back to the train tracks every Lucy is expected to follow?

A humorous short story at approx. 4,500 words, with an additional story, ‘Freelance Winner’, at approx. 4,000 words.

Don’t forget to pick up his free ebook, A Star for Christmas. It’s the season, ya know. You can find more about Simon at: sebatt.com

Writing progress: I’ve made some progress on my Zoe Ohale outline for NaNo. It’s still a long way from finished. I did get another chapter written on Mystery in the Woods. It’s moving, albeit slowly.

Marketing: As an indie author, I’m responsible for marketing my own work. It can be a challenge but I keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities to tell people I’m out here and have some stories they might like to read. I’ve finished posting all of my books, and I mean ALL of them, to Goodreads.com/conniecockrell. If you’d like to buy, they are all there, the only place where you can buy them all.

One great opportunity is that my author friend D’Elen McClain (wickedstorytelling.com) has started a new website to connect readers to authors. It’s called Indie Books Direct at http://indiebooksdirect.com/. The site, free to readers, has a tab that lists all of the authors on the site. The reader just clicks on the author’s name and a link takes them directly to the author’s website or sale page. If you want to find authors in a particular genre, click on one of the several genre pages to find authors that have stories in that genre. It makes things so easy for readers! The site is still under construction but we’d love to have you come browse. Let us know how you like the site. Official grand opening is November 1st!

On Saturday I found a promotion that will start right after Halloween is over. It’s called Santa’s Authors Christmas 2015 Giveaway. On 1 November, the party starts. I’ll give everyone the details for signing up to win free books and prizes. Mark your calendar because you won’t want to miss out on this.

I am writing the Friday Flash stories for November. There are four new stories all scheduled and waiting to post. The theme I wrote to is Thanksgiving, or just thankfulness. I just had to do it. LOL!

Writing news. I was accepted in the Forward Motion anthology which is being edited right now so it should be out soon. The Longest Night Watch Anthology, which has my story in it, is now available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback. All proceeds of that sale go to the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of Terry Pratchett in the hope of one day finding a cure for this dread disease. Sir Terrence Pratchett was best known for his Discworld series. If you haven’t read them, you need to go to your nearest library or order them posthaste on your favorite ebook site. You won’t regret it.

Where I’ll be: I’m busy. Too busy, really for a NaNo challenge month. However. On the 28th I’ll be in Strawberry AZ for the Pine/Strawberry Writers Group meeting. We’re talking about editing. On November 14th I’m in Avondale for the VETFest they have going on there as part of their monthly art walk. Here’s the link: http://www.historicavondale.org/vet-fest.html. I’d love it if you could make it there and stop by my booth. On November 20th, I’m going to be in Camp Verde facilitating a workshop on critiquing. Hosted by the Camp Verde Library, it’s sure to be a big draw for local writers. If you’re in the area, please sign up at the library to attend.

Other writing news. While on vacation I did the first edit of the third Brown Rain Series book, Kindred Spirits. It’s been awhile since I did the first draft and I have to say this might be the best one so far in the series. Both Alyssa and Kyra are being kept on their toes. I have another edit to do before sending it to my editors so it may be out in early 2016. Stay tuned.

I’m also introducing a new series, All About Bob. This is a series of stand-alone stories about a protagonist named Bob. I’m not sure about the title of this book but I think you’ll like him. I’m halfway through the edit on this one. It may be out in mid-2016.

I’m totally up on conniesrandomthoughts.com.  I’ve put a notice up on my WordPress blog so my readers can find me. Be sure to follow me at my new website. I stopped posting to the WordPress site (www.conniesrandomthoughts.wordpress.com) after Friday August 7th.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

I published my September newsletter on Saturday. Did you miss it? Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I make special offers to my newsletter people that I do not make on the website blogs. If you like the content, please encourage your friends to sign up, too. Don’t delay. The October newsletter is coming out soon. Sign up now so you don’t miss out.

Mystery at the Fair released July 15th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today! You can also see all of my books on www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com, Books tab. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it. It’s a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.