Tag Archives: Smashwords

Happy New Year, Smashwords Sale, Tempe FanCon: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Happy New Year to you and all your family and friends. I sort of skipped over the end of year review and just took those last 2 weeks of December off. Now it’s January and it’s traditional to plan out what I plan for this year. Hmm. I had big plans for 2021, and few if any of them were accomplished. One thing was to update the Gulliver Station series covers and make minor corrections to the interiors. Actually, the interiors did get updated as well as the 1st book in the series cover. So I plan on completing that task. The hardest part was getting the updated cover into Amazon. The program they use for that has become extremely finicky, which is why after book 1, I took a break from the project. Time to pick that back up.

I also feel extremely guilty about how long it is taking to get book 4 of the Jean Hays series out of the door. I plan on working on that as well. Then there’s my All About Bob series. Four out of the 5 planned books are written, and half of the last book is written. Nothing has been edited. With luck and some ambition, I’ll finish the last book and get them all to the editor. Publishing? Maybe end of year? It is 5 books, well, novellas, after all.

I also started a new book in my western series during November’s National Novel Writing Month. I got about 10,000 words into it and love the story but again, just ran out of ambition. I left Zeke and Mary in Phoenix and they have to get from there to Los Angeles and then San Francisco, buy a ranch and start their new life. The trip for them has been exciting so far. We’ll see what other calamities occur.

Thank you Smashwords customers for supporting the hard work of Smashwords authors and publishers. Several of the books I had up for sale were “purchased” and I hope they were enjoyed enough to buy the rest of each series. As a reminder, leaving a review on Smashwords, Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon, or other book purchase points means a great deal to me, the author. It doesn’t have to be much, just, “I liked it,” would go a long way.

You can find my books at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell. Just scroll down and select the book or books you’re interested in.

Stay tuned!

Giveaways:

The Pumpkin Posse Authors Halloween Giveaway and the Christmas Giveaway is now closed! As soon as the winner names are drawn, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, we’re setting up the Valentine’s Day giveaway. There are 21 authors involved this time so a lot of great books and prizes are up for grabs. Once it’s active, go to my link, https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

 

Where will I Be?

I’ll be at the Tempe FanCon on January 29th from 10am until 4pm. You can find all the info about it at https://www.tempepubliclibrary.org/event-calendar/tempe-fancon. We’ll be outside, in the Library plaza, so dress for the weather.

 

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 http://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 my 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.

Smashwords Indie Book Sale, Market News, Christmas Prep: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

The fifth annual Smashwords End of Year Sale starts this Friday, December 17, and runs through January 1. For these last two weeks of the year, tens of thousands of indie ebooks will be priced at exclusive discounts of 25%, 50%, 75%, and even free.

Starting December 17, you will find the sale prominently promoted at the top of the Smashwords home page, from which you can enter an entire section of our store dedicated to participating titles.

These sales are always a lot of fun. It’s the time of year we see virtual shopping carts filled to the brim with dozens, sometimes even hundreds of new books as you try new authors and stock up on favorites.

Thank you Smashwords customers for supporting the hard work of Smashwords authors and publishers.

You can find my sales at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell. Just scroll down and select the book or books you’re interested in. Happy holidays everyone.

I’ll be at the Twilight Tuesday Christmas Market on the 14th. They’re open 3pm until 6pm. Dress warm, folks. See full details below.

Christmas Parade 2021

Mailed my daughter’s gifts and a box to my youngest brother today. Tree is up and hopefully some decorations are on it. I’ve been receiving Christmas cards though I don’t have mine out yet. The days are frosty in the morning but on Sunday, the local temperature was 52 degrees and sunny. A perfect Arizona winter day.

Stay tuned!

Giveaways:

The Pumpkin Posse Authors Halloween Giveaway is now closed! As soon as the winner names are drawn, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, hop on over to the page with the following link and get in on the new giveaway, Oh What Fun It Is To Read prizes. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

 

Where will I Be?

The Twilight Tuesday Christmas Market this year will run from November 9th, 3 – 6pm to December 21st. I have obtained two appearance dates, when I only expected one so I’m pretty happy about that. I had a booth date of November 23rd, and one for December 14th. Come on by, check out our version of a European Style Christmas market and enjoy.

 

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 http://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 my 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.

Fund Raiser Results, Gardening, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

My Facebook fundraiser is over, and my friends and family donated $170! I’m so pleased. Thank you’s to everyone who donated. That money will go a long way to providing children’s programming or speaker honorariums, or advertising. I appreciate your generosity so much. You can find out more about our festival at www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Last week I mentioned my garden and so this week I took a couple of pictures of the tomatoes and the peppers. You can see from the pepper picture that some critter or other has sampled the fruit. It’s still good, of course. I’ll just let it get bigger before I pick it. The zucchini and yellow squash have tiny squashes. We’ll see how long they last or if the chipmunks will leave them alone altogether.

I don’t know if I mentioned that I signed up for July’s Camp National Novel Writing Month. I haven’t written a word toward the book I’m trying to finish, Mystery at the Reunion. I have the notes I want to work from. I have readers who want the next book. I just need the ambition to get it done. Want to help? Send some good wishes and maybe even a word about any of my books that you’ve read.

Stay safe. Stay well. Wear a mask!

Giveaways:

New sale! Over on Smashwords starting the 1st of July, it’s the summer/winter sale. Several of my books are on sale and I hope you get a chance to go to that site and check them out. Click on the link and scroll through the list to see books on discount sale. Have fun and check out some other authors while you’re there! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell Don’t forget. The sale starts 1 July and ends on the 31st.

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over. I’ll let you know when the winners are drawn.

In the meantime, the Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my apprearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So if you happen to be in Pine AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

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.

Fund Raiser Reminder, Hibernation, Gardening, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

It’s the last few days and I’m asking that people donate to my favorite 501c3 non-profit, the Payson Book Festival as my birthday fundraiser. Cancelled this year for the Coronavirus, I thought I’d try to get a jump on earning money so that the 2021 Payson Book Festival will be even better than before. So if you’d care to, pop on over to Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/donate/952277878565180/10217646111446962/, and drop a little money into the kitty. You can find out more about our festival at www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Avocado Pesto

How many of you are using this time to make some changes in your life? Losing weight? Working out? Writing more? That would not be me. I’m in a twilight zone, scrolling through Facebook, writing small, almost throw away things, and have hardly touched a vegetable, unless you count tomato pasta sauce. Hibernation. That’s what I’m doing. Keep up the good work, whatever you’re doing. Share if you’d care to.

From a couple of years ago

The garden, well at least the tomatoes and the green sweet pepper plant are doing well. The squash plants keep having their blossoms eaten, probably by the squirrel or the chipmunks, so if I get a zucchini or a yellow squash it will be a miracle. Are you growing anything? Share a picture if you’d like.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

New sale! Over on Smashwords starting the 1st of July, it’s the summer/winter sale. Several of my books are on sale and I hope you get a chance to go to that site and check them out. Click on the link and scroll through the list to see books on discount sale. Have fun and check out some other authors while you’re there! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell Don’t forget. The sale starts 1 July and ends on the 31st.

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over. I’ll let you know when the winners are drawn.

In the meantime, the Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always the authors are giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So, if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

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.

Garden, Fund Raiser, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Sunday, I decided the potato vines had died back enough and I dug up the five plants that had self-seeded. The above picture is my entire harvest, about 10 pounds of potatoes. Most of them are red skinned. Those three plants not only self-seeded better but grew lots more potatoes. There are a couple of purple potatoes in there and a handful of Yukon Golds. It’s been my experience that the reds, at least here in my garden, produce much better than the others. In my climate, the potatoes started growing in March and I harvested on June 28th. I have time now to plant beets, but I expect the chipmunks will eat the baby greens as soon as their little leaves poke up through the soil. Sigh. I also pulled all but one of the bolted arugulas. Only one plant left to provide seed for a next planting. Time, I think, for a trip to the local garden center for some already half-grown veggie bedding plants. The critters may be less inclined to eat those.

I’m asking that people donate to my favorite 501c3 non-profit, the Payson Book Festival as my birthday fundraiser. Cancelled this year for the Coronavirus, I thought I’d try to get a jump on earning money so that the 2021 Payson Book Festival will be even better than before. So if you’d care to, pop on over to Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/donate/952277878565180/10217646111446962/, and drop a little money into the kitty. You can find out more about our festival at www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

The weather back to hot and dry and windy. Several small fires have popped up and been controlled. I am hearing rumors that the Forest Service will close the Tonto National Forest, because it’s so dry here. Everyone who lives here, hopes so, as it only takes one careless person to start a fire in this tinder dry environment.

I’ve seen some Facebook posts from people asking what everyone is doing for the 4th of July. My answer: Nothing. I’m staying home. I’m not going out without a mask. I’m not starting a fire. All the usual town events are cancelled, if not for the Corona, then to help keep fire danger down. Maybe I’ll grill. Remains to be seen.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

New sale! Over on Smashwords starting the 1st of July, it’s the summer/winter sale. Several of my books are on sale and I hope you get a chance to go to that site and check them out. Click on the link and scroll through the list to see books on discount sale. Have fun and check out some other authors while you’re there! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell Don’t forget. The sale starts 1 July and ends on the 31st.

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is nearly over. Want to win a prize? You can get to it here, on my Giveaways page.

Where will I Be?

Phoenix Fan Fusion, September 25th – 27th. This event has been postponed until the end of September. Note that the event is a day shorter, starting on Friday rather than Thursday. For people who have special Thursday passes and other special tickets, check out the Fan Fusion website for details on how those will be handled.

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So if you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

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.