APW President, Camp National Novel Writing Month, Earth Day: Monday Blog Post

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In my new role as President, Awarding Marie Fasano with the APW Communicator of the Year Award

 

Newest News:

I attended the virtual annual Arizona Professional Writers meeting on Saturday and was elected President. I’ve been serving as membership chair for the last two years. It was my turn, I guess, as two of our officers, long time officers, decided to step back and let others take the lead. I’m happy to do it but the previous president was terrific and her shoes will be hard to fill.

Spine Poem

There was no progress on Camp Nano last week and even my daily poetry writing took a hit. That’s because of all the meetings from last week and because book festival business picked up now that we’ve decided to go ahead with an in-person event. This week is lighter, meeting wise, and I should be able to finish the story if I stick to it, by the end of the month. It will be nice to have some finished things to move into the editing phase and perhaps, actually get some things published.

Thursday is Earth Day. I plan on attending a local rally to remind folks that clean air, water, and soil are not nice to have, they’re essential. Are you doing anything for Earth Day? A trash walk? A rally? Share if you can.

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

Giveaways:

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway over. As soon as the administrator pulls the winners, I’ll let you know who won.

Our Spring giveaway is now live. New with this giveaway is a video graphic to show the books and prizes. How cool is this! Big thanks to Lynn Lamb, one of our administrators, for this lovely graphic. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

 

Where will I Be?

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

On July 17th, I’ll be at the Payson Book Festival! Yes!! That’s correct! The Payson Book Festival is now a GO! Details are being resolved, but you’ll be able to visit us, in person, meet authors, and have some fun picking out your next books to read. See more at http://www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

 

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.

Camp National Novel Writing Month, Giveaway is Live: Monday Blog Post

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A picture of a local eagle.

Newest News:

About my progress at Camp NaNo. As I mentioned last week, I finished Mystery at the Reunion. I’ve picked up All About Home, the 5th book in my YA contemporary series All About Bob. It’s moving right along though I didn’t work too much on it last week. This week I hope to pick it back up and get lots of words written. I find I’m enjoying the story very much and at the sad parts, actually had tears. So I’m getting the emotion in it anyway.

This is a busy meeting week for me as I have a committee meeting for the book festival, the Gila Community College board meeting, the chapter meeting for Arizona Professional Writers and the APW annual conference. All three will be Zoom meetings but still, that’s a lot.

I’ve been posting my poetry on my Medium page. I hope you enjoy them. You can find it at: https://ccockrellauthor.medium.com/

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

Giveaways:

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway over. As soon as the administrator pulls the winners, I’ll let you know who won.

Our Spring giveaway is now live. New with this giveaway is a video graphic to show the books and prizes. How cool is this! Big thanks to Lynn Lamb, one of our administrators, for this lovely graphic. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

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

On July 17th, I’ll be at the Payson Book Festival! Yes!! That’s correct! The Payson Book Festival is now a GO! Details are being resolved, but you’ll be able to visit us, in person, meet authors, and have some fun picking out your next books to read. See more at http://www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

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.

April’s National Poetry Month, Giveaway is Live: Monday Blog Post

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Newest News:

April. It isn’t bringing any showers for Central Arizona but it is bringing both National Poetry Month and Camp NaNo.

First, the poetry. I’ve been posting on my Facebook page, if you haven’t been there, some of the poetry I’m writing daily. Today’s poem was a form called the 5 W’s. Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Here it is:

The Toad

Eating bugs with a quick flick of his tongue

In my back yard

In the sunny afternoon

To keep nature in balance as he eats his lunch

Probably not Pulitzer Prize winning material but it is fun. You can follow my Facebook page for the daily posting.

That leads us to Camp NaNo. I have made it my mission to finish Mystery at the Reunion. Well, I did. The problem is that it’s not a full novel. It comes in as a Novella, not as long as I’d like it to be. My plan is to finish editing it (I do at least 3 run throughs before sending it to my editor) then send it to him. I’m going to ask for a developmental edit, to see if he can think of ways I can add to the story without making it full of exposition and wasted words. I hope so. Otherwise, I’m just going to release it as a novella and call it a day.

Also as part of Camp NaNo, I’m finishing the fifth book in my All About Bob series. Once I get that done and Mystery at the Reunion published, I’ll start putting out the All About Bob series. This is a planned, five book series, YA, Contemporary, and novelette/novella length stories. So it’s possible I can put out six books this year. About time is all I have to say. Probably you too!

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

Giveaways:

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway over. As soon as the administrator pulls the winners, I’ll let you know who won.

Our Spring giveaway is now live. It was a struggle as while my website was accessible to readers, the update function on my side was broken. It’s taken several chats with GoDaddy techs but it seems to be fixed for now. New with this giveaway is a video graphic to show the books and prizes. How cool is this! Big thanks to Lynn Lamb, one of our administrators, for this lovely graphic. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

 

Where will I Be?

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

On July 17th, I’ll be at the Payson Book Festival! Yes!! That’s correct! The Payson Book Festival is now a GO! Details are being resolved, but you’ll be able to visit us, in person, meet authors, and have some fun picking out your next books to read. See more at http://www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

 

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.

Greetings April, Corona Update, Sourdough Update, Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

It’s the last week of March, can you believe that? Where did March go? This week we greet April and at least for us in Arizona, I’m hoping for those promised showers. We’re in a drought the worst it’s ever been in over the last 1000 years. The rain would be welcome.

Saturday was the end of our two-week waiting period after the second virus shot. We did not go out and celebrate. Our town is a tourist destination or at least a pass-through spot. I may venture out for a celebratory lunch or dinner during the week when fewer visitors are in town.

Last week I tried making sourdough pizza. It was a great success. The recipe I used called for soaking flax, chia, and psyllium to make a gluey paste, then mixing in the gluten-free flour and sourdough. It had a nice taste, and the texture of the crust was quite acceptable. The husband said he’d not mind if I made it again. Yay!

Spring means it’s gardening time. Yesterday I took a trip around the yard. My fruit trees, especially the pear and peach trees, are getting ready to bloom. The little blossoms are just about to break open. The trees are so pretty in their white and pink dresses.

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

Giveaways:

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway over. As soon as the administrator pulls the winners, I’ll let you know who won.

Our Spring giveaway is starting soon. We’ve had unforeseen delays, but it will be up as soon as possible. New with this giveaway is a video graphic to show the books and prizes. How cool is this! Big thanks to Lynn Lamb, one of our administrators, for this lovely graphic. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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

Newspaper Article, Corona Update, Sourdough Update, Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

It’s a slow news week here in my household. There’s nothing on the calendar for me at all!

I forgot to tell you that I wrote an article for the Payson Roundup for Sunshine Week last week. Sunshine week is about our media; newspapers, tv, radio, etc., being an essential element of our democracy. The paper posted it as a Letter to the Editor, but it was published, so hooray on that. https://www.paysonroundup.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/freedom-of-the-press/article_dc37536a-64f0-5337-b934-6f370bc68919.html

As I expected, by early last week the husband and I felt just fine after our second Moderna shot. Now we have one more week to wait for the two-week safe time, before we can start returning to normal life. We are thinking about taking a day trip to the Petrified Forest with my brother-in-law and a hiking friend who’ve never been there. First outing in over a year!

The gluten-free flour sourdough bread turned out just okay. I gave it extra rising time and a warmer rising spot. It tasted of sourdough but was still kind of dense. I’m marking that batch down as almost a win. I may try a pizza crust with it next and see how that works out.

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

Giveaways:

The St. Patrick’s Day giveaway over. As soon as the administrator pulls the winners, I’ll let you know who won.

Our Spring giveaway is starting soon. New with this giveaway is a video graphic to show the books and prizes. How cool is this! Big thanks to Lynn Lamb, one of our administrators, for this lovely graphic. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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

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

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Newest News:

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

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

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

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

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

Giveaways:

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

Where will I Be?

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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

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

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Read an eBook Week!

Newest News:

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

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

Visit the sale now.

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

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

Featured Read an Ebook Week Sale Deals

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

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

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

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

Hashtags #ebookweek21 and #Smashwords.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Giveaways:

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

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

Where will I Be?

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

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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

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

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The Arizona desert

Newest News:

Happy March!

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

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

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

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

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

Paleo Sandwich Bread before starter

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

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

Giveaways:

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

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

Where will I Be?

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

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

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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

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

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

Newest News:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Giveaways:

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

Where will I Be?

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

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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

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

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Newest News:

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

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

Photo 35501314 © Welcomia | Dreamstime.com

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

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

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

Giveaways:

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

Where will I Be?

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

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

Newsletter Sign Up:

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

Newest Releases:

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

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