Snow Covered North Peak at Sunrise by Randy Cockrell
The week has gone slowly. Monday the doc did diagnose me with a severe case of bronchitis and infection in both ears. Husband had full blown cold all week. I didn’t leave the house from after my doctor visit Monday until Sunday morning when hubby and I went out to breakfast. We’re both still coughing, coughing, coughing but on the mend. I think I’ll skip hiking on Tuesday. Any exertion at all sends me into a coughing fit. I’ll wait another week.
I am saddened to report that a good friend of mine lost her mother to brain cancer on Sunday morning. Mother Hen, we called her because she was always looking out for us. She was kind, encouraging, full of life and a fighter up until the very end. We will miss you Mother Hen.
My story, Bell Ring, was sent out, rejected and is out again, along with a second story and a poem. I’m hoping they’re all accepted. On Sunday I finished the first draft of my Zoe Ohale story. I already know it needs a lot in the way of rewriting and editing but I’m going to let it sit for awhile and in a few weeks I’ll come back to it with fresh eyes. Kindred Spirits is still in the editor’s hands. I should be hearing back from EJ (SilverJayMedia.com) in a week or two. I nearly have the cover completed for Kindred Spirits. I’m polishing up the back of the cover blurb. I’m also looking for reviewers to send an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) for a review. If you’d like to be an ARC reader and do a review for me, let me know. You do not have to have read the first two books of the series to enjoy the third book. My next project is to pull Mystery in the Woods out and reread what I have and finish that story. Mysteries require a lot of work to get the ‘mystery’ in them. So I want to finish it and get editing on it. My Bob story is also through my first round of edits and when I’m done with Kindred Spirits, it’s next up to go to the editor.
New starting Wednesday! I’m offering a new feature, author interviews. I don’t know about you but I read a lot faster than my favorite authors can put out new books. What to do? Well, find new authors to read, of course. So, to help you find new to you authors, I’m posting twice a month, an author interview. At the end of the interviews are links to each author’s website, Amazon page or wherever else they have stories for you to read. The first post is this Wednesday, the 13th. Enjoy!
Santa’s Authors Christmas 2015 Giveaway also known as the Winter Wonderland of Books Christmas Giveaway is now over. Alisa Jenkins won my two Brown Rain Series books and the Christmas Tales book was won by Donna Walo-Clancy. I’ve already sent Alisa her books. I need Donna to contact me so I can send her the Christmas Tales prize. I cannot express how much I appreciate all of you who signed up for my website, newsletter, Amazon Author page and Facebook page. Thanks for participating.
You didn’t get to participate in the Christmas Giveaway? Good news. We’ve started a new giveaway called the Lovestruck Authors Giveaway and it runs through Valentine’s Day. Go to www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways to enter the Rafflecopter. There are over 40 authors entered, all of them with books and prizes to give away. The more times you enter, the better your chance for winning.
If you live in the Phoenix area, I’m going to be at a panel discussion on January 21st. Arizona Professional Writers is offering “What’s New in Self-Publishing,” a two-hour workshop for writers to hear from the experts and gain useful tips about this emerging publishing genre. The workshop will be held on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Shepherd of the Hills United Church of Christ, 5524 E. Lafayette Ave., Phoenix, Arizona. Registration with breakfast pastries and coffee starts at 9:30 a.m. Check out the full details at www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/WhereWillIBe. I’d love to see you there.
Are you an Instagram user? I joined Instagram at ConniesRandomThoughts. Even sick last week, I managed to open my doors and get pictures of all of the snow that we received. Visit me on Instagram and follow. I follow back!
I published my December newsletter. 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 blog posts. If you like the content, please encourage your friends to sign up, the newsletter is sharable, send it to whomever you think will like it. Don’t delay signing up. You’ve already missed out on two great offers. The January 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, Smashwords, Gumroads or Chatebooks today! You can also see all of my books on www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads. It’s a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.