Posted on September 5, 2016 by conniejean

Mom and Dad

Newest News:

Happy Labor Day everyone. My mom and dad were blue collar workers and both were in unions. Mom, because she worked for White Mop company making steel mop heads, buckets, wringers and such, was a steel worker. Dad was a Laborer, meaning he did the heaviest grunt work in the construction world. I’m proud of both of them for providing all of us kids a home, food, clothes, and a knowledge of the value of a dollar and hard work. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Zoe Ohale rewrite is with my editor for the second time. I’m am working on my cover and it’s taking longer than I thought. I still want my “A” Team to review possible covers and tget to select which of the draft covers will be my release cover. If you’d like to be in on the action, respond to this blog and let me know your name and email address. Do it now cause who knows when I’ll finalize those covers and get ready to release. Cover reveal will be to the “A” Team first, then the newsletter subscribers, then here on the blog. Want to be in the know first? Comment on this blog to join the A Team.

The Northern Gila County Fair again took up a lot of time last week with meetings, last minute details and other work. The fair starts this Friday, the 9^th, at 8am, so this week will be filled with the setup in preparation for the opening. I also attended a meeting for the Book Festival finalizing details of a new venue. All of my book festival goers and authors, stay tuned for an announcement about that. Are you in Central Arizona this coming weekend? Come to the fair! www.NorthernGilaCountyFair.com

Giveaways:

The Red Hot Summer has been extended to the 8th, so you have just a little more time to get in on the fun. You can find the Rafflecopter link above on my website. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook and twitter pages, too. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter, there are multiple ways to enter, and it doesn’t cost you anything. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, enter today and every day but hurry, only 14 days left!

Instafreebie September 18- 20th, 2016

Starting 1 September, I’m involved with a group doing a promotion on Instafreebie. The main promo is going to be September 19-20^th. There will be a lot of authors involved and we’ll be cross promoting the books so you get the best selection of cozy mysteries we could put together. Click on http://annertan.com/free-mystery-books/ and then click on the book cover to take you directly to the book you want. My link on Instafreebie is https://www.instafreebie.com/free/rXIZT and the book, Mystery at the Fair, is free! I know! Last week I said .99 but nah, it’s free! Hashtags for the giveaway will be #instafreebie, #mystery, #freemystery, #20Mysteries. Please share the tweets and posts. Let everyone in on the fun. More details as they come out. But check for us on Facebook and Twitter.

Shout Out:

On August 7^th, my author interview is with D. M. Simpson, author of Lyric and Michael. An author of paranormal romance, Dawn lives in Florida with an assortment of pets, kids and husband. You can find Lyric and Michael at http://www.amazon.com/DM-Simpson/e/B00KYRQQTI as well as her newest book, Christine and Daniel!

Garden News:

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. Paste, Early Girl and Cherries. Then there’s the zucchini. Lots and lots of zucchini. We eat them at just about every meal. I made a spaghetti sauce from mostly cherry tomatoes on Saturday because I had so many. Some paste and Early Girls went into the sauce, too. I thought it’d be sweet but an application of red pepper flakes gave it a nice balance. Yay! Sunday I froze a bumper pick of green beans. We’ll have plenty for all winter long. That’s very satisfying. How’s your garden doing? Are you enjoying an abundance of something? Do tell.

Where Will I Be?:

The wonderful people at Dog-Eared Pages Book store (http://www.dogearedpagesusedbooks.com/) were nice enough to put a few of my Mystery at the Fair books on their shelves. If you’re in Phoenix, stop by the shop and say hi to the nice people there.

9^th annual Fall Festival in Pine, AZ. October 8^th and 9^th. http://pinestrawberrybusinesscommunityaz.com/fallapple.html. I’ll be there all weekend as part of the local author book signing. My hubby will be there as part of the chili cook-off at noon on Saturday. There are also crafters and a very excellent antique show scheduled, not to mention music and food!

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up prizes 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! I’m getting ready to share some things on the Zoe Ohale book. I’d love to see you there.

Newest Book Release:

Kindred Spirits released on March 14th! 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.

Garden and Zoe: Monday Blog Post

Posted on August 29, 2016 by conniejean

Newest News:

Zoe Ohale rewrite is DONE! Whew! It took a lot of thought and some shifting around of chapters but it’s done. I’m now working on my cover and my “A” Team is going to get to select which of the draft covers will be my release cover. If you’d like to be in on the action, respond to this blog and let me know your name and email address. Do it in the next day cause I’m finalizing those covers and getting ready to release. Cover reveal will be to the “A” Team first, then the newsletter subscribers, then here on the blog. Want to be in the know first? Comment on this blog to join the A Team.

The fair again took up a lot of time last week with all of the coordination required to get everything “on the table” at that same time. I’m also attended the Book Festival volunteer thank-you luncheon so that took up a few hours of my time as well.

I met with my editor at the local paper, Pete Aleshire of the Payson Roundup. I’m now an official “stringer” with the paper and filled out the paperwork to get paid for my hiking stories in the new Trails book the paper put out. It is not, unfortunately, on Amazon. But if you’re going to be in central Arizona and like to hike, let me know, I’ll send you a copy for $5 plus shipping. Nine of the hikes in the book were written by me. Photos for those hikes are by my hubby, Randy Cockrell, and our hiking friends Randy Wilfong and Jim Hadder. The photos are mislabeled as being all by my husband. But I know who took them!

Giveaways:

The Red Hot Summer giveaway ends on Labor Day, just 5 days away, so you’re running out of time to get in on the fun. You can find the Rafflecopter link above on my website. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook and twitter pages, too. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter, there are multiple ways to enter, and it doesn’t cost you anything. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, enter today and every day but hurry, only 14 days left!

Instafreebie September 18- 20th, 2016

Starting 1 September, I’m involved with a group doing a promotion on Instafreebie. I’m starting on 1 September by selling Mystery at the Fair for just .99. I know. A whole ebook for ninety-nine cents! The main promo for free books is going to be September 18-20^th. There will be a lot of authors involved and we’ll be cross promoting the books so you get the best selection of cozy mysteries we could put together. Hashtags will be #instafreebie, #mystery, #freemystery. More details as they come out. But check for us on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Shout Out:

Author LeeAnn Jackson Rhoden

I missed shouting out my author interviewee for August 24^th, LeeAnn Jackson. You can go back on the website blog page and find the interview. You’ll want to pick up her links and check out her books for sure.

Garden News:

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. Paste, Early Girl and Cherries. Then there’s the zucchini. Lots and lots of zucchini. We eat them at just about every meal. I didn’t make the zucchini pizza yet, instead I’m going to blog late (August 25^th) on Chicklets in the Kitchen with Peach Shortcake. I’m still eating through my peaches too! How’s your garden doing? Are you enjoying an abundance of something? Do tell.

Where Will I Be?:

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Book Release:

Author Interviews: LeeAnn Jackson Rhoden

Posted on August 24, 2016 by conniejean

Author LeeAnn Jackson Rhoden

I’d like to welcome author LeeAnn to the blog today. LeeAnn Jackson Rhoden is a wife, mom, and author. She lives with her family in their fixer-upper house they’ve been renovating for three years and hopes it will be finished before her six-year-old goes to college. She is the publisher and an editor for Pilcrow & Dagger, has six short stories published and is still reworking her first novel. Thank you, LeeAnn for visiting with us. Let’s get to it, shall we?

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

Knitting. I learned to knit about 5 years ago. I made two scarves using the garter stitch then made a striped sweater vest for my husband that actually turned out pretty good. He wears it, anyway. I’ve taught myself how to knit in the round, and how to do strand knitting and I’m about to tackle Aran knitting. I like the complex patterns and rhythms and to me, knitting is very restful. I can shut out the noise and the rest of the world and just knit.

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

Hmmm…. good question. Probably Benjamin Franklin. He was a printer and publisher, an accomplished author under several pseudonyms, a diplomat, a scientist, a historian, and an all-around fascinating person.

3. Coffee, tea, soda or something else?

Coffee. In the afternoon more coffee. If it’s hot, iced coffee. In the evening, bourbon. On the rocks.

4. What are you working on right now?

I publish a literary magazine, Pilcrow & Dagger, that takes up the bulk of my time. I finished the first draft of my first novel a couple of years ago. With the aid of a beta reader I discovered a GAPING hole in my plot. And so I set out to rewrite/revise it. And in the process, I discovered that my novel is actually three novels and, of course the sequel to those. I’ve taken too much time out from writing recently and to get back into the swing of things I’ve been entering short story contests. Don’t care if I win, it’s the writing that I need to do. But I’ve set a goal to complete the first novel in my series.

5. How would you describe your writing style?

I’m a pantser. Just like the way I talk (I have no censor. I just blurt). I write what comes into my head, typically disjointed scenes, and then I move them around until they are coherent. And then comes the editing to get rid of the yucky stuff.

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

Set a daily goal of words and stick to it. Set it at a reasonable amount like 500 words. If you go over that amount then fantastic! And it doesn’t have to be related to any particular work in progress either. Many times you may feel stumped or bored with your project. You may be too tired or overwhelmed with what the day brought. Look out your window and write 500 words on what you see. Play with sensory descriptions – sight, sound, smell, touch/feelings, taste. Play with words. Make up new words. Just write your daily amount.

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?

Both.

If I’m done with my soul-sucking life chores (meal preparations, laundry and housekeeping, errands, etc.) and I am able to carve a few peaceful moments to be by myself I can open my mind and imagination and “see” the characters and story in front of me and write freely.

But, many days the soul-sucking chores get in the way of writing time. Still, ideas and phrases will come at you from what you hear standing in line at the grocery store, or something you see driving down the street. I carry index cards and a pen, always, and write them down for later.

8. Where can we find you on the interwebs?

I have six short stories self-published on Amazon.com in the Kindle Store https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=LeeAnn+Rhoden&rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3ALeeAnn+Rhoden

I publish a literary magazine, Pilcrow & Dagger, with 8 issues per year. http://www.pilcrowdagger.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LeeAnnRhoden

Facebook (Author page): https://www.facebook.com/LeeAnnJacksonRhoden

And coming soon, my website: http://www.LeeAnnRhoden.com

Thank you so much LeeAnn for visiting with us today. Dear readers, take the time to visit LeeAnn on her sites and find out what she’s up to recently.

Parade, Garden, Fair: It’s Busy!

Posted on August 22, 2016 by conniejean

Northern Gila County Fair float, with Chicken!

Newest News:

I made quite a bit of progress last week on Zoe’s ending. It’s not done yet, there was a LOT of Fair stuff to take care of but it’s coming right along. Poor Zoe is in trouble again with the Syndicate. That’s all I can say for now but I think you’ll like it.

The fair, www.NorthernGilaCountyFair.com, http://northerngilacountyfair.com/, took up a lot of time this week with the last minute coordination required to get everything “on the table” at that same time. I’m also working a few book festival details to prep for next year so that took up a few hours of my time as well.

Saturday was the Rodeo Parade. Hosted by the Kiwanis it’s a celebration of the Rodeo that occurred the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th. The Rodeo Queens and Princesses were out on their beautifully dressed horses, floats from many volunteer/charitable organizations, as well as commercial businesses had floats. As the Northern Gila County Fair, we put a float together with the 4H kids and had a great time handing out flyers for the fair along the parade route. So many people were happy to see the 4H kids on the float and to hear that the Fair was just 2 weeks away. Lots of fun was had by parade participants as well as the audience.

Giveaways:

The Red Hot Summer giveaway ends on Labor Day so you’re running out of time to get in on the fun. You can find the Rafflecopter link above on my website. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook and twitter pages, too. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter, there are multiple ways to enter, and it doesn’t cost you anything. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, enter today and every day but hurry, only 14 days left!

Shout Out:

Do you like humorous stories? If so, you’ll love my friend Simon Batt’s work. He publishes under S.E. Batt so go to https://sebatt.com, and get a free flash fiction every Friday. He publishes other short works on Thursday and has several wonderful books out, too. Check out his site and say hi!

Garden News:

The yellow beans are just about finished but the green beans have now reached harvest stage. At hubby’s poker game the other night, cherry tomatoes were on the menu as one of the night’s snacks and the guys all took baggies of those tomatoes home with them. A good many paste tomatoes have found their way into gallon freezer bags to use later in the winter. Two more zucchini escaped my notice and now I have THREE gigantic zucchini. What to do? Hmm, I think this month’s Chicklets in the Kitchen is going to be zucchini pizza. I turned those three zuke’s into two one-gallon and 3 quart bags of shredded zucchini to go into the freezer. How’s your garden doing? Are you enjoying an abundance of something? Do tell.

Where Will I Be?:

My book at Dog-Eared Pages Used Book Store

The wonderful people at Dog-Eared Pages Book store (http://www.dogearedpagesusedbooks.com/) were nice enough to put a few of my Mystery at the Fair books on their shelves. Doesn’t the book look good there? If you’re in Phoenix, stop by the shop and say hi to the nice people there. @Dog-EaredPages

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Book Release:

Zoe Ohale Rewrite: Monday Blog Post

Posted on August 15, 2016 by conniejean

Newest News:

I’m finally making progress on rewriting the end of the story. There were so many decisions to make about the rewrite it took me a bit to get it all straight in my own mind. Those decisions have been made and I’m writing away! Once done, it will get one more pass through the editor, because I’m really making changes, then after the cover is finished, I’ll publish. This has taken longer than I anticipated but it’ll be so much better for having taken the time to do the rewrites. Thanks EJ from Silver Jay Media for pointing these things out.

Giveaways:

The Red Hot Summer giveaway is still in full swing. Just click on the Rafflecopter link. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook, twitter, and website pages. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter, there are multiple ways to enter, and it doesn’t cost you anything. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, enter today and every day.

Shout Out:

I think this week’s shout out should be David Bridger who has just released his newest book, The Honesty of Tigers. I’ve already started reading it and if you all are interested in powerfully drawn characters; you have to pick up this book! It’s on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Honesty-Tigers-David-Bridger-ebook/dp/B01K7DHUO8. Don’t delay, get it today!

Garden News:

Garden Produce

I have a steady crop of yellow beans, a batch every other day. The green beans are still teeny-tiny. The tomatoes are plentiful enough for me to share with friends and I have way too much zucchini even though I only have one plant. I cut one up and put it in last night’s spaghetti sauce. Healthy living through gardening, for sure. How’s your garden doing?

Where Will I Be?:

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Book Release:

Author Interviews: DMG Byrnes

Posted on August 10, 2016 by conniejean

Author DMG Byrnes

I want to welcome DMG Byrnes to the blog today. DMG Byrnes is an author with a book addiction; reading and writing them. She is in the process of looking for the right agent to represent her first novel, The Foretelling Spark. She also writes poetry and short stories, publishing short pieces of fiction on the Fiction Fridays page of her website every week. She is a survivor of abuse and sexual assault, a chronic illness warrior, and on the side, a dragon tamer. She has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology that took her 9 years to earn and taught her that if it’s important enough to you, you’ll make it happen, no matter how slowly you have to go; a lesson she tries to remember when she’s writing.

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

I’m notoriously bad with “favorite” questions…my first thought was reading, but that’s more of a way of life for me than it is a hobby. I suppose possibly gaming, or crafting, maybe learning or drawing…I mentioned I’m not good with “favorites” right?

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

I really don’t know how to answer a question like this…there are too many variables and possibilities…if I was spending an afternoon with someone, though, I would hope it was good company.

3. Coffee, tea, soda or something else?

I’ll take water, thank you.

4. What are you working on right now?

Well, I need to be focusing on the revisions for my novel, The Foretelling Spark, but those have been slow. My time has also been filled with a story that started on my Fiction Friday page, it’s become much more involved that first intended, but it’s interesting to me so far. I’m also (I know, I need focus) planning to start writing a fantasy novel later this year for NaNoWriMo in November. Hopefully my revisions will be finished before then.

5. How would you describe your writing style?

I wouldn’t know how to describe it. My style can and does change to suit genre, character, plot, story, timeframe…I’m not sure what to say specifically about my style. I try to find that line between description and action, and most importantly, give the reader the feeling they are connecting with a character.

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

I’m still pretty new myself but my first thought is, start now. You will always look back and find time has slipped by and wish you’d started last week, last month, last year, last decade. Also, if it’s important enough, you will find the time and a way to make it happen, no matter how long it takes. But these are true for more than just writing, or so I’ve found in my life.

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?

I rarely sit down and try to specifically come up with ideas (unless I’m in the all-out plotting stage of a novel, but that’s a different story). I get a lot of ideas while I’m doing other things, or just musing to myself, so I often end up jotting ideas down as I go about my day.

8. Where can we find you on the interwebs?

There’s my website, dmgbyrnes.com

I can also be found on Facebook (facebook.com/DMGbyrnes) and Twitter (@dmgbyrnes)

I want to thank DMG Byrnes for stopping by my blog and getting to know us. Please stop by her facebook or twitter pages and see what she’s up to.

Peachy August: Monday Blog Post

Posted on August 8, 2016 by conniejean

Newest News:

The book festival is over, now it’s time to go full steam ahead on the Northern Gila County Fair. www.NorthernGilaCountyFair.com. We have totally revamped the website and designed a new logo and they look so good! You should check it out right away. So much new stuff this year, I’m very excited about it. We have a Ranch Rodeo this year on Saturday right after the livestock auction. We have a dance troupe coming on Saturday morning who will perform for an hour and a half. We also have some hotdog, watermelon, and chicken wing eating contests, a magician, and of course, all of the wonderful exhibits the crafty people of Gila county have made. We’re open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check the website for all of the details.

Giveaways:

Shout Out:

Author DMG Byrnes

This week’s author interview is with DMG Byrnes. a fantasy author. If you’re in a hurry, you can find her at dmgbyrnes.com. We have a great interview lined up and you can see the cover to her new book, the Fortelling Spark. So stop on by on Wednesday!

Garden News:

Peaches from my tree

I picked my first batch of yellow beans a few days ago and ate some for supper and froze the rest. The patch is ready for picking again. I also picked a lot of cherry tomatoes which we’ve already eaten. They’re ready to pick again, too. The big news, I picked all of the peaches from the tree. That’s the picture above. They’re small because I didn’t thin them this spring but they taste wonderful, especially still warm from the sun. I’m running behind the zucchini production. I’ve made zucchini patties, those were delicious. Browned and crisp on the outside and wonderfully creamy and soft on the inside. Yummy! I’ve also added them to Saturday night’s Hot Chili oil and lemon spaghetti with fresh, halved cherry tomatoes. How’s your garden doing?

Where Will I Be?:

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Book Release:

I’ve been editing and rewriting Zoe Ohale. I still have some work to do. I’ve also thought of a cover for the book so I’ll be working on that soon. If you’re a Brown Rain Series fan, I think you’ll like Zoe Ohale. You may remember a short story I published on my blog on 8/20/15, Extra Baggage. That was the second story about Zoe. The first, Betrayal Moon, is in the Forward Motion anthology, due out in the next couple of weeks. Just 17, Zoe has been an orphan living on the streets of Baia Mare since she was 12. Street smart and fiercely independent, Zoe has been offered the chance to move back into legal society by the police officer that arrested her a few months ago. But first, she has to help protect the little kids in her group, help her friend save her father from assassination, and find a criminal ring that just stole all of the physical credits being delivered to the Planetary Bank of Baia Mare. The book, the first of a series, should be out in August, if I can find time to work on it between the Book Festival and the Fair.

August Already: Monday Blog Post

Posted on August 1, 2016 by conniejean

Crowd at the Payson Book Festival 2016

Newest News:

So I have had a week’s recovery from the Payson Book Festival, held July 23^rd. It was a great success with over 90 authors and over 600 visitors. Food, music, story-telling, author presentations and all of those authors selling books from every genre, fiction and non-fiction, imaginable. As the committee, we’re all involved in the wrap-up phase. Financial sheets need to be filled in, evaluations and feedback forms reviewed and reports compiled, and sponsors, volunteers, festival goers and authors need to be thanked. We’ll have our after-action meeting on the 8^th to go over what went well and what we can do better. The evaluations everyone leaves for us goes a long way to help us sort good and popular aspects of the festival from those not so good.

AuthorShout.com has been a fantastic promoter for me the entire month of July. I’m so pleased with the publicity they’ve been giving me. My book, Kindred Spirits, was on their site for the month of July. http://authorshout.com/recommended-reading/ Take a look around the site. It will be worth your while if you’re looking for a new to you author and fine reading.

Giveaways:

The Smashwords.com’s Summer/Winter Sale is now over. Four of my books, Mystery at the Fair, A New Start, First Encounter, and Lost Rainbows, were free on the site. A good many of you did go and get free books. I hope you enjoy them. They’re still available on Smashwords.com with my other books, as well as on Amazon, Kobo, Itunes, Barnes and Noble and other retailers for both paperback and ebooks. On my website, I have direct links to every book and where it is retailed.

The Red Hot Summer giveaway is still in full swing. Just click on the Rafflecopter link. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook, twitter, and website pages. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from over 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter, there are multiple ways to enter, and it doesn’t cost you anything. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, enter today and every day.

Shout Out:

Let me give a big shout out to Payson Book Festival co-committee members Carol and Bing Brown. They have a back ground in media, both newspaper and radio, and Carol was a professor at Arizona State University teaching communications and media. They were responsible this year for both doing the grant work to gain us a grant from Arizona Humanities, and handling all of the media blitz involved in advertising the book festival all around the state of Arizona. They sent news releases to every paper we had an author from, arranged advertising in the Arizona Republic and electronically on the East Valley Tribune. Skilled writers and media persons, they were instrumental in the success of the 2016 Payson Book Festival. Thank you, Carol and Bing.

Garden News:

The yellow beans are ripening, as are the cherry and early girl tomatoes. I can hardly wait. Yellow beans, especially, are only available in cans. I look forward to having them fresh in the summer. The peach tree branches are groaning under the weight of the ripening peaches. The birds have already begun pecking at the fruit. The hot weather and lack of monsoon rain has killed my youngest apple tree. It was about 3 years old and I’m very sad it’s died. I’ll have to go to the garden store in September and get another. The weather should be cooler and the new tree will have time to get some roots established before winter sets in. How’s your garden doing?

Where Will I Be?:

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Book Release:

Zoe Ohale is out for editing and is 100% done at the editors’. Now that the book festival is over, I’ll get to the further edits. If you’re a Brown Rain Series fan, I think you’ll like Zoe Ohale. You may remember a short story I published on my blog on 8/20/15, Extra Baggage. That was the second story about Zoe. The first, Betrayal Moon, is in the Forward Motion anthology, due out in the next couple of weeks. Just 17, Zoe has been an orphan living on the streets of Baia Mare since she was 12. Street smart and fiercely independent, Zoe has been offered the chance to move back into legal society by the police officer that arrested her a few months ago. But first, she has to help protect the little kids in her group, help her friend save her father from assassination, and find a criminal ring that just stole all of the physical credits being delivered to the Planetary Bank of Baia Mare. The book, the first of a series, should be out in August, if I can find time to work on it between the Book Festival and the Fair.

The third book in the Brown Rain Series, Kindred Spirits, released on March 14th! 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.

Chili Spice Mix: Chicklets in the Kitchen Post

Posted on July 25, 2016 by conniejean

Finished Jar of Chili Spice Mix

I know. I missed May and June. I can only plead that I was super busy but I haven’t forgotten you. Today I’m talking about chili spice. What’s that? It’s a spice mix that I use to flavor my chili! I know a lot of people just by those little packets at the store. That would work except I’m Celiac and most of those packets have additives in them that I can’t eat. Well, what’s a girl to do who likes chili? Make it myself. There are tons of recipes out there for the spices for chili. I started with a recipe that is courtesy of Tyler Florence from Food Network. I added my own twists.

This spice mix can also be used as a dry rub. I love it on spare and country ribs, especially.

I’m still trying to perfect my dish but here’s the recipe.

My Birthday: Monday Blog Post

Posted on July 18, 2016 by conniejean

Solar light in green phase.

Newest News:

I suppose it doesn’t hurt to tell you that my birthday was yesterday. At my age I don’t celebrate big. I don’t actually want much. I’m decades beyond wanting a party, or cake. It’s enough to mark the day and have a minor celebration, which my husband and I did. We went to a local restaurant that we only go to on special occasions. I had my usual, lamb chops and baked potato. Extra special for me, is that this restaurant serves crème Brulee for desert. I know. It’s decades out of fashion but even before I was diagnosed celiac, it was my fav desert. Of course I ordered it and even let hubby share. Nope. Didn’t take a picture. Everyone is so over seeing other people’s dinners.

Solar Light with flash in the tomato bed.

Hubby bought me some solar powered optical garden art. He even set them up for me, which I didn’t know until Sunday night when I looked out the window and they were all glowing and changing colors. It makes me happy to see them out there.

AuthorShout.com has been a fantastic promoter for me this month. I’m so pleased with the publicity they’ve been giving me. Kindred Spirits, is on their site for the month of July. http://authorshout.com/recommended-reading/ Take a look around the site. I think you’ll find something you’ll like.

Giveaways:

Over half way into July Smashwords.com’s Summer/Winter Sale is in full swing. Four of my books, Mystery at the Fair, A New Start, First Encounter, and Lost Rainbows, are free on the site. Log in, get an account if you don’t already have one, and search on my book titles. Use the coupon code SFREE, when you check out and those books are free! This offer only lasts until the end of July. You’re running out of time. Get these books for free while you can. I do not offer them free very often.

The Red Hot Summer giveaway is also in full swing. Just click on the Rafflecopter link. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook, twitter, and website pages. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from over 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter and there are multiple ways to enter. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, please enter today and every day.

Shout Out:

Let me give a big shout out to Carol Sletten this week. An artist, performer and author, Carol is multi-talented and a really nice person to boot. She’s involved in an author’s luncheon in Greer, Arizona promoting her talk, Apache’s and Lozen, A woman warrior who rode with Geronimo. It’s a presentation I’m sure you won’t want to miss. Tickets are $20 at the door. https://www.facebook.com/carol.sletten?fref=ts

Garden News:

The green and yellow beans are flowering. It won’t be long now before I have those wonderful yellow beans. I’ve picked 3 tomatoes so far. Today I had a light lunch of a cut up garden tomato and cottage cheese. It was soooooo good. I’ve been watering the bed I fertilized and tried to kill the mint out of. So far, no mint sticking its little green leaves up. I remain optimistic. This last week I repotted both the Meyer Lemon and the Bay tree. Poor bay. It was just a root ball, no dirt at all. I’m sure it’s now very happy to have dirt to grow in. The lemon tree is infested with ants that seem to be growing little insect sucker pods on the green branches and leaves. I spent a good deal of time and many thorn stabs wiping the sucking pods off of every leaf and branch. Sunday I fertilized and on the lemon, left ant bait. The sucker things, whatever they are, kill the branches. That has got to stop. The peaches continue to grow and ripen. I should have ripe peaches in about two weeks. How’s your garden doing?

Where Will I Be?:

July 23rd is the Payson Book Festival, partly funded by the Arizona Humanities. It’s just 6 days away and I’ll be at my table all day, ready to talk to YOU! I hope you can make it as we will have over 90 authors attending as well as music, food, author presentations and workshops. It will be stupendous! www.paysonbookfestival.org and click on the Meet the Authors tab. Check us out on Twitter: @PaysonBookFest, and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PaysonBookFestival/.

Want more details about these events? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Book Release:

Zoe Ohale is out for editing and is 100% done at the editors’. I’ll get to the further edits after the book festival. If you’re a Brown Rain Series fan, I think you’ll like Zoe Ohale. You may remember a short story I published on my blog on 8/20/15, Extra Baggage. That was the second story about Zoe. The first, Betrayal Moon, is in the Forward Motion anthology, due out in the next couple of weeks. Just 17, Zoe has been an orphan living on the streets of Baia Mare since she was 12. Street smart and fiercely independent, Zoe has been offered the chance to move back into legal society by the police officer that arrested her a few months ago. But first, she has to help protect the little kids in her group, help her friend save her father from assassination, and find a criminal ring that just stole all of the physical credits being delivered to the Planetary Bank of Baia Mare. The book, the first of a series, should be out in August, if I can find time to work on it between the Book Festival and the Fair.

ConniesRandomThoughts

Thoughts and Activities About My Writing

Tag Archives: Other Authors

Garden and Zoe: Monday Blog Post

Author Interviews: LeeAnn Jackson Rhoden

Parade, Garden, Fair: It’s Busy!

Zoe Ohale Rewrite: Monday Blog Post

Author Interviews: DMG Byrnes

Peachy August: Monday Blog Post

My Birthday: Monday Blog Post