Kobo, Apple, Barnes and Noble and Google Play are getting a Cozy Mystery Series!

Yep, I'm doing it. I'm taking the first three books in St. Ives Book Club Mystery Series to Kobo, Google Play, Barnes and Noble and Apple iBooks this Fall 2023!

• Advertisement for Murder (Oct. 18)
• Death Knocks Twice (Oct. 30)
• Dead to the World (Nov. 27)

For those of us who don't understand what this means - Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service for book lovers. For a monthly fee, subscribers can borrow 10 (or is it 20 now?) books in a month. For big readers, this is an economical choice. 

For authors who enroll their books in the program, we cannot publish anywhere else for 90 days. In exchange, we're paid a percentage for every page of our books that are read. It's a great way for a new author to gain readers and fans for their series. However, it means we are not spreading our wings to other retailers.

I decided to wait until St. Ives Book Club Mystery was almost finished and reads had plateaued in Kindle Unlimited before moving the series out. It's like seeing a series on Netflix but it's not available on Prime. That sort of thing. 

I'm excited to introduce readers who frequent the other bookstores to the St. Ives Book Club amateur sleuths. The last book in the series, The Final Chapter, will be released in Kindle Unlimited Dec. 12, 2023 as usual. 

If the series does find readers in other markets, I'll move all of the books out of Kindle Unlimited gradually throughout 2024. 

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Missing Foote Mystery : Book #9 in St. Ives Book Club Mystery Series is out now!

On Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited

One country fair. Two dead bodies. Hundreds of suspects.

Avery Holmes is chagrined when the debut of her thriller, The Spy Wore Heels, is held at Northumberland County's Agricultural Fair but when a body is dug up during the plowing match, her book launch goes from bad to worse.

Agent Lannister Foote vanished last year under mysterious circumstances that CSIS analyst Elliot Marks refused to investigate. That the missing Foote turned up (literally) is not surprising to Marks. But who is the killer? A farmer's field hints at someone local. Someone they all know. Someone who is at the scene the moment the corpse is unearthed.

Then another body is discovered in the corn maze - this time bizarrely hung up like a scarecrow. The fair-goers and organizers are starting to panic.

​​​​With the sprawling five-day event under threat and pressure from the big commercial farming interests to solve the murders and fast, the St. Ives Book Club rally together to uncover a shocking secret. 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

THANK YOU ARC team members (advance reader reviewers) for reading this series and leaving reviews on the various book sites that we all love. You have helped readers decide to take a chance on a new mystery (and me) and we all appreciate it! 

I am looking for readers to review for Kobo, Google Play, Barnes and Noble and Apple. If you like to read murder mystery for free (that is on the cosy side of the spectrum), subscribe to my newsletter The Butler Didn't Do It  and get a free short story, Long Shadows Fall, to sample the series and my writing style. Then, if you would like to read the first three in the series for review on the sites listed, contact me through the newsletter and I'll be in touch. 

HOW TO BECOME AN ARC READER:

1. Subscribe to The Butler Didn't Do It

2. Download your free copy of Long Shadows Fall

3. Reply to newsletter with request to be added to the Team

4. I send you the link to download your books to review

5. Read. Review. Post on your favourite retailer site. 

History and Mystery Fiction Freebies!

I know - I'm not here.Some readers who downloaded my books months ago and haven't to around to reading them until now, will click this link and isn't this nice - a free giveaway!

I have an historical mystery series in the works so I'm very interested in authors who are writing it and I thought some of my readers might be too. 

History and Mystery offers six carefully curated historical mystery novels and novellas to choose from. Historical Fiction Freebies has over sixty Historical Mystery and Romance titles.  

The giveaways are hosted by BookFunnel. You will have to give your email address and subscribe to the author's newsletter to receive your book, but you are free to unsubscribe at any time. Click on the image or the links above to be taken to the Giveaway page - and happy reading!

A parting gift for readers of this blog!

 

I've joined with 48 mystery authors to promote our work to readers on the hunt for new mysteries without the price tag. Taking a chance on a new series is a lot easier when it's free. Some of the offerings are full books, some (like mine) are short stories, some are collections. 

I participated in a mystery giveaway last year and came away with two authors that I love. You might get lucky! And if you haven't tried St. Ives Book Club Mystery yet, Long Shadows Fall features the cast of characters, a mystery and the general tone and purpose of the series. It's a chance to try it out on a short story. 

1) Click this link: January February Free Mystery Promotion

2) Peruse the selections

3) Choose as many as you like! Enter your email address and a link to download your book will be sent to you. 

4) If you decide later that the author isn't for you, simply use the Unsubcribe link at the bottom of their newsletter and that's it!

5) Come back as often as you like during the promotion to find stories and by all means, share the link with your friends and family. 

6) Enjoy a month of reading without spending a dime.

Thank you, readers! Have a warm, safe winter!

From the Easter Bunny: Free Cosy Mystery Book!

To celebrate the launch of The Killing of Honey Gable and to introduce new mystery lovers to the quirky world of the St. Ives Book Club, I'm running a free promotion of the first book in the series, Advertisement for Murder.

The promotion runs from April 16 to April 20, 2022. Available in Amazon marketplaces only and in Kindle Unlimited as well. 

I hope you fall in love with the peaceful hamlet of St. Ives and its homicidal secret life as much as I enjoy writing about it.

New Book in Cosy Mystery Series Now Available for Pre-Order!

After telling my newsletter subscribers I was nervous to put a book up for pre-order - I have put The Killing of Honey Gable up for pre-order 'cause that's how I roll!

The novel is almost finished. I have two chapters to write, then a final pass before it goes off to my trusty proofreader. Pre-order means I can let readers know it's coming but it also means if I drop dead before the final file is uploaded, it'll just be hanging there. The unfinished, not-quite-perfect novel.

This is the thought that plagues me at three o'clock in the morning. (That and what the heck are they putting in Temptations that the cat needs a fix at that hour??) 

Pre-orders make me nervous but I bit the bullet this time because so many authors in my genre use pre-orders for their readers who are eager for the next book and might not be informed when it's released.

I'm also hoping the deadline refines my thought process (which is another way of saying I spend less time dreaming about the story and more time writing it) and I can make this a habit. 

Pre-orders are not available for print (for indies) at this time but you can order your ebook now and it'll arrive to your Kindle or ereader on Launch Day - April 19, 2022.

The ebooks are Kindle Unlimited Select titles. The print version will arrive on April 19, 2022. If you enjoy what you have read so far in the series, please leave a review! We hate to ask but there is almost no opportunity to advertise books without reviews. 

So I am asking. I love hearing from folks who enjoy the series - please let the world know through your social media or by writing a brief review. And thank you!

AND if you would like to get my books for FREE - subscribe to my newsletter and join my Advance Reader Copy team. If you enoy reading and writing honest reviews to post on Amazon and/or Goodreads, then come on down! I would love to have your input. 

Subscribe to The Butler Didn't Do It Here (And get a free copy of Long Shadows Fall.)

Pre-Order The Killing of Honey Gable from Amazon Here

THE KILLING OF HONEY GABLE - DUE FOR RELEASE APRIL 19, 2022

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VFR93R2

A bus abandoned fifty years ago. A missing six-year-old boy. And a killer in danger of being unmasked.  

The long, quiet winter is over. A decades-old hit and run cold case sparks the St. Ives Book Club to life when the bus involved in the accident is discovered abandoned in a forest. Folk singing sensation, Honey Gable, was on the way up when she was run down after a performance at St. Ives Theatre. A tragic accident? Or did one of the six people who fought with Honey that night take their hatred to homicide. A clue is discovered, leading the amateur sleuths on the trail of a killer who will stop at nothing to conceal his or her identity. Poking into this cold case will be like poking a hibernating bear.

Set in the tiny hamlet of St. Ives, Ontario, a murder mystery book club discovers they have a taste and talent for solving unsolved crimes. Led by the brilliant and eccentric Elliot Marks, five active retirees and two young reporters unearth secrets that certain residents of the cosy village would prefer remained buried.

Free Cozy Mystery Short Reads Promotion

 Cozy Short Reads for a Short Month

February 1st to February 28th 2022

Hello Mystery Lovers!

Over 20 authors have come together this month to offer mystery lovers a chocolate box of choice in short cozy mystery reads. 

Click the coupon below and take your pick (as many as you like!) at no cost to your wallet or your hips. 

Bookmark the link to come back again and again throughout the month and fall in love with a new mystery. 

(Offer good until Feb. 28, 2022)

This is pretty exciting for me. It's my first time in a group promotion with other mystery authors, writing in the same vein. As The Butler Didn't Do It subscriber list grows by leaps and bounds, it's going to be fun and thrilling hunting down more freebies, giveaways, sneak peeks and special deals for subscribers. I love a bargain.

We'll talk mystery too. Lots to talk about there. For example: What makes a mystery a cosy? We had a spirited discussion about this in my writers' forum. Some felt cosies had broken free of cats, cupcakes and cartoons on the covers. I don't have animals or cooking in my series but I believe I still qualify as a cosy mystery writer. 

It comes down to tone. There is a murder but it is how that murder is tackled and resolved that makes one mystery a cosy, another a hard-boiled and another a police procedural. 

Food for thought! Subscribe to The Butler Didn't Do It and get in on the conversation. 

And Happy Valentine's Day!

Get your FREE Cozy Short Reads Here!

Cosy Mystery Book Release!

Christmas has come to St. Ives and it is murder. 

Tis the season of goodwill toward all men...

No one in St. Ives sheds a tear when the reviled Bernie Dixon falls to his death from the belfry of the clock tower right before Christmas. Murder is out of the question. The only access to the tower was locked and Bernie had the key in his pocket when his body was found. At first glance, death by misadventure is the obvious conclusion. But when the St. Ives Book Club is approached by his widow to investigate, the amateur sleuths discover first glances can be deceiving. As the villagers celebrate with parties and tree-trimming, Elliot Marks leads his gang of crime solvers on a hunt for a killer.

Set in the tiny hamlet of St. Ives, Ontario, a murder mystery book club discovers they have a taste and talent for solving unsolved crimes. Led by the brilliant and eccentric Elliot Marks, five active retirees and two young reporters unearth secrets that certain residents of the cosy village would prefer remained buried.

Buy it Now on Amazon!

Subscribe to my brand-spanking-new newsletter THE BUTLER DIDN'T DO IT  to keep informed of upcoming releases and access the freebies I have planned in 2022. It's a short and snappy read, published the first Thursday of every month. I hope to see you there!

Seeking Cosy Mystery Reviewers!

 Read more. Pay less. 

Join in the fun. Become a reviewer on Booksprout starting with  DEAD TO THE WORLD due for release December 7, 2021. 

This is the link: https://booksprout.co/arc/80590/dead-to-the-world

Click it and find out whodunit before anybody else! It's easy. Download an Advance Reviewers Copy in .mobi, .epub or PDF. Read. Review. Post when the book is live. 

St. Ives Book Club Mystery is exclusive to Amazon until February 1st. It is what it is. I tried but exclusivity is not my jam. 

Tis the season of goodwill toward all men...

No one in St. Ives sheds a tear when the reviled Bernie Dixon falls to his death from the belfry of the clock tower right before Christmas. Murder is out of the question. The only access to the tower was locked and Bernie had the key in his pocket when his body was found. At first glance, death by misadventure is the obvious conclusion. But when the St. Ives Book Club is approached by his widow to investigate, the amateur sleuths discover first glances can be deceiving. As the villagers celebrate with parties and tree-trimming, Elliot Marks leads his gang of crime solvers on a hunt for a killer.

Set in the tiny hamlet of St. Ives in Southern Ontario, a murder mystery book club discovers they have a taste and talent for solving unsolved crimes. Led by the brilliant and eccentric Elliot Marks, five active retirees and two young reporters unearth secrets certain residents of the cosy village would prefer remained buried.

New Book Launch Day!

A St. Ives Book Club Mystery

Death Knocks Twice

 

The St. Ives Book Club is at it again when one of their members discovers human remains in Lucinda Pye's field. The grisly discovery turns out to be Professor Gower Pye, Lucinda's common-law husband, who disappeared after a fractious dinner party at the farm seven years ago. St. Ives's amateur sleuths have questions. Why was Gower not found by before this? If the professor of medieval studies was murdered, who did it and why? Their questions lead them to an abundance of suspects. Eight guests at the dinner party had reasons to wish Gower dead. A scandalous tell-all memoir, a tawdry affair, a bitter family feud and a reputation destroyed surface as motives to kill. But if the professor was murdered that October night seven years ago, how do they prove it? And if they can't prove it, how can they accuse? When a second body is found, the gang knows that if they fail, a killer will go free. 

Set in the tiny hamlet of St. Ives in Southern Ontario, a murder mystery book club discovers they have a taste and talent for solving unsolved crimes. Led by the brilliant and eccentric Elliot Marks, five active retirees and two young reporters unearth secrets certain residents of the cosy village would prefer remained buried.

Available on Amazon in ebook and print. Click on the title to be taken to the product page. 

Death Knocks Twice

Happy International Women's Day!

Will I be celebrating female accomplishment in the middle of a pandemic, while locked in my house with nothing but lashings of red wine to sustain me?

Have we met?

I snagged a ticket for Tricky Women Animation Festival, an online international festival of short works by women filmmakers. One credit gives you access to one program and the one I'm going to see is Exploring Realities: Animated Documentaries on Friday, March 12 (must-not-be-missed: Catcalls).

There is a whole slate of programs available. Buy a little or buy a lot. I paid a little over six bucks Canadian for nine shorts and a discussion after. And if I can't make the Friday date, I can watch up to 48 hours later.

For a borderline recluse who wishes she enjoyed going out more, this pandemic is delivering the goods. The silver linings. The introvert's happy place. The comfort of my own home whilst engaging in world wide culture and discussion.

And wine. There will be wine. 

Whatever we do to celebrate this day, I hope we do it with cheer, remembering where we were, where we are, and looking forward to where we are going. 

Canada-US Kobo eBook Sale

This will be short and sweet because I've been promoting and uploading and formatting my little fingers to the bone, but I have to get this great news off my chest before I crash.

Iced Under was selected by the Kobo editors for inclusion in their Mother's Day Buy More Save More Sale! Ask me if I'm excited! Go ahead, ask! 

I'm thrilled and honoured to be part of this promotion to reach Kobo readers.

From May 11-15 (inclusive), Kobo will be running a Mother's Day Buy 2 Get 1 Free (3 for 2) Sale in Canada and the US. We are looking for books for Moms. 

KOBO MOTHER'S DAY BUY 2 GET ONE SALE IS ON! (click this link to be taken to the page)

Iced Under fits the bill amazingly well if I do say so myself. I was just thinking about this the other day. The novel is a mystery but really it's about three very different mothers and the tremendous impact their actions have on each other. It's about a woman testing her metal, getting down to the bones of her life that she's forgotten in her years of marriage. When her marriage ends suddenly, Sara is lost and has to rebuild her identity (with her two daughters in tow) from the ground up. 

Check it out:

Iced Under on Chapters Indigo for Kobo Readers

Kids and Dads: If Mom is a reader (speaking as a reader) the best thing you can give her for Mother's Day is a bunch of books and a whole day of reading. Seriously. Just let her read. Oh, and feed her.

NEXT UP: Wakefield Writers Festival happening here in downtown Wakefield. (We did not get flooded out, but oh boy, the river was high!) 

Check it out:

WAKEFIELD WRITERS FESTIVAL has an stellar line-up of authors and spoken word performers. My personal faves are going to be there: Terry Fallis and Heather O'Neill.

And that's all I have this week.

Keep the faith, buy books and do not let your brain cells atrophy.

Google Love

Google. I loved you when you were just a baby search engine and everyone was hot for Yahoo and its ilk. I remember when Yahoo was king and Ask Jeeves and how they clogged up the search with advertisements and confusion. I took one look at Google's clean, readable pages and I had found my Web Search soul mate.

Then came Gmail and Blogger and our love deepened. Now there is Google Play where I've listed my books and sales are anemic but I'm not worried. We've been down this road before, haven't we, Google? We'll get there.

Now my kid, who grew up only knowing the great Google, is working on a Google-related product. Heck, yes, I'm proud. Check out this YouTube video of Salman Sajun Productions working on a project for a cool Google phone case.

It's neat to see how it all comes together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv-P8QG4JXc

And here is the making of the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv9svoypuUs

Google, thank you for all the good years and here's to many more. Stay the course and all will be well.

December UK Book Sale and Freebie News!

Oy! It's December and Christmas is bearing down on us like a semi and we are the deer caught in its headlights. To celebrate this wonderful season of joy (which I really do love--no snark--I'm a Christmas nut) I am holding a staggeringly gorgeous sale for UK mystery readers and a giveaway that's worldwide (Amazon-willing).

Here goes: In the UK - A Kindle Countdown begins for ICED UNDER on December 7 and runs until December 11th. The regular price in the UK is 3.71 pounds (if I'm not mistaken). The sale price is 0.99. (I believe that includes the VAT) Buy it now to give yourself a little treat and read it over the holidays. Merry Christmas from your Canadian cousin!

The link to the UK store is here: ICED UNDER Mystery Novel UK Store

The second offer is RAZOR WIRE Free Worldwide (unless it is not available in some markets which I have no control over). This time I'm going to include the link for the Amazon.ca store because I recently discovered the link to the Amazon.com store will default a Canadian shopper to the .ca store where she/her will then have to search out the book. (Right. Like that is going to happen.)

Maybe this explains why so few Canadians (at least the ones I hang with) know anything about Kindle Unlimited or the freebie books they can try out, or the great deals that are constantly on offer. Let's correct that right now.

Here is the Canadian link to the Free RAZOR WIRE book offer available December 16 to December 18: 
RAZOR WIRE Thriller Freebie Canada

I want to see downloads people! Read it when you have time and for God's sake, post a review. I had no idea how important those bloody things were until I tried to market a book that had no reviews. Human beings want to know what other human beings think of a thing before they'll try it. Go figure.

Here is the link to RAZOR WIRE at Amazon.com for our friends south of the border: RAZOR WIRE Thriller Freebie US

And my final instruction of the day is a tip I picked up from PD Workman on Kboards regarding this business of getting Canadian hands on free book offers: Simply change the amazon.com to amazon.ca to land on the book page and download the free book. I think this could work for just about any book you want to buy in your country's market.

Unfortunately, at this time Amazon does not offer Kindle Countdowns to the Canadian market. It is a real poo-fest. I'm saying it. A real poo-fest. My three Gatineau Hills Mysteries are set in Canada and they sell extremely well in my local market in print but I cannot break into my own country with the ebooks because the US price point makes Canadian readers nervous with our dollar. I don't blame them but I can't price lower except for sales. I simply cannot. There is a line that defines writing as a hobby and writing as a profession and on those three novels, the line is professional.

It's a pickle that I have to resolve in 2016. But I'm coming for you, Canadian mystery readers. I'm coming!! (In the meantime, download Razor Wire for free on the 16th and let's get to know each other.)

Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all.

Guess what's free today...

 

Razor Wire

FREE on Amazon today only. (reg. $2.99)

From the back cover:

Classical violinist Charlotte Dawson needs money. San Francisco tech boom billionaire, Daniel Razor, needs a companion for his agoraphobic stepbrother. Razor makes Charlotte an offer—one hundred thousand dollars in exchange for one year hanging out with the handsome, talented, but deeply troubled Joel Razor. The job is too good to be true. Charlotte accepts. Then Daniel Razor comes to her with a request that redefines the role of companion and Charlotte discovers the lengths she will go to realize her ambition. 

Set in fog-shrouded San Francisco, Razor Wire is new adult noir suspense in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock. Originally published on Amazon in three novellas, Razor Wire is the first in a three-book series. Razor Close and Razor Edge will be published in 2016.

Winter Reading Book Sale!

Winter bites. Curl up in front of the fire with a good book. Hey, why not this one?

 "After a painful divorce, with her two daughters in tow, Sara Wolesley abandons her comfortable urban life to live in a rundown cottage on a frozen lake. But when she discovers the body of a missing child, she is drawn into the lives of three members of the tightly-knit village."

"This book kept me enthralled. There is one part where I actually felt the rising panic that was gripping Sara as matters began to spiral out of her control. So clever was the writing that I put the book down for a moment and tried to think how I could have resolved the situation, and I could only feel panic. The sense of place, the cold, the fear, and the isolation seeps into your bones as you read. Highly recommended."
Lizzie Hayes, Editor - Mystery Women Magazine (UK) July 2009 edition

Iced Under Countdown Deal Oct. 26-Nov. 1 USA only

Regular retail price: $4.99
Countdown Deal: $0.99 from October 26 (8 am PST) to November 1 (midnight)

An amazing bargain for Kindle readers (or get the app download for your Kobo and iPad, etc from Amazon). If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, borrow it for nuthin'.

And folks--please consider leaving a brief review because those babies are word of mouth. If you hated the book, please say why. If you loved the book, even better--speak your mind! If it was "meh", no worries--your "meh" is another reader's "wow!" Your author thanks you.

Happy winter reading!

Venosta, Quebec Writers' Retreat

I am off on a Writers' Retreat Sept. 25th to 27th in gorgeous Venosta, Quebec. I have never taken a retreat before due to lack of time and money and a deep-seated insecurity about the work. None of which has changed but I'm a sucker for a heritage farm house in the Gatineau Hills and I have a new series I'm struggling to get locked down for 2016.  

Mark Frutkin is the artist-in-residence. I read Erratic North and loved it. Thus, I am excited by the work ahead, tempered with rational dismay by the work ahead. 

Here is where the retreat is being held:  

http://www.venostawritersretreat.com/

What else is happening in my writing life?

I'm trying to zero in on the titles that did well since I began self-publishing, the titles that show promise and the titles I should put to bed. It's finding what interests me, what appeals to the market (readers) and the time I have available all in one place and then directing my energy there. Some writers nail this out of the gate and others (me) are slow learners. Onward!

Have a blessed weekend and don't forget to download your free copy of Heathcliff today on Amazon.

2015 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlist

ACK! I did not make the shortlist but my fellow authors in Ottawa did! Congratulations Brenda Chapman and Barbara Fradkin! If these crime writers are new to you, check out their titles. Gripping, insightful, these writers are masters of the craft. I'm thrilled! I'm jealous! But mostly, I'm thrilled to see their names on the list!

HERE IS THE LIST OF NOMINEES:

Crime Writers of Canada present the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlists for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

Best Novel 
Brenda Chapman, Cold Mourning, Dundurn Press
Barbara Fradkin, None so Blind, Dundurn Press
C.C. Humphreys, Plague, Doubleday Canada
Maureen Jennings, No Known Grave, McClelland & Stewart
Alen Mattich, Killing Pilgrim, House of Anansi

Best First Novel 
Janet Brons, A Quiet Kill, Touchwood Editions
Steve Burrows, Siege of Bitterns, Dundurn Press
M.H. Callway, Windigo Fire, Seraphim Editions
Eve McBride, No Worst, There Is None, Dundurn Press
Sam Wiebe, Last of the Independents, Dundurn Press

Best Novella
Rick Blechta, The Boom Room, Orca Book Publishers
Vicki Delany, Juba Good, Orca Book Publishers
Ian Hamilton, The Dragon Head of Hong Kong, House of Anansi
Jas. R. Petrin, A Knock on the Door, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Short Story 
Margaret Atwood, Stone Mattress, McClelland & Stewart
Melodie Campbell, Hook, Line and Sinker, Northword Literary Journal
Peter Clement, Therapy, Belgrave House
Madona Skaff, First Impressions, The Whole She-Bang 2, Sisters in Crime
Kevin P. Thornton, Writers Block, World Enough and Crime, Carrick Publishing  

Best Book in French 
Hervé Gagnon, Jack: Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, Expression noir / Groupe librex
Andrée Michaud, Bondrée, Editions Québec Amérique
Maryse Rouy, Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux, Édition Druide
Richard Ste Marie, Repentirs, Alire

Best Juvenile/YA Book 
Michael Betcherman, Face-Off, Penguin Canada
Sigmund Brouwer, Dead Man's Switch, Harvest House
S.J. Laidlaw, The Voice Inside My Head, Tundra Books
Norah McClintock, About That Night, Orca Book Publishers
Jeyn Roberts, The Bodies We Wear, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Best Nonfiction Book 
Bob Deasy (with Mark Ebner), Being Uncle Charlie, Penguin Random House
Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder, HarperCollins
Joan McEwen, Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry, Heritage House
Bill Reynolds, Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling, ECW Press
Paula Todd, Extreme Mean, McClelland & Stewart

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel 
Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred
Full Curl by Dave Butler
Crisis Point by Dwayne Clayden
Afghan Redemption by Bill Prentice
Strange Things Done by Elle Wild

The winners will be announced May 28 at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto! Congratulations to all of the nominees!

New Series. New Author. Spring.

The first in an eight-book series based on the classic romantic novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Unaware that she is dead, Cathy raps on the window of her old bedroom to rouse Heathcliff to let her in. She has found her way home at last after getting lost on the moor coming from Thrushcross Grange. But so much has changed and Heathcliff's is not the face she sees at the lattice window. As Cathy sets out to find him, she remembers their love and the cruel twists that split them apart. 

In the meantime, Emily Bronte is visited by a publisher's representative named Mr. Dawson who is tasked with advising Ellis Bell to revise his novel. Shocked at finding the creator of Heathcliff is the painfully shy daughter of the local curate, Dawson demands answers. To fight for the life her original vision, Emily must reveal the source of her disturbing inspiration--a revelation that astonishes Mr. Dawson.

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON

Fifty Shades of Sheep

Across the street from an Author's house there is a field of sheep. For the most part they stick together at the hay troughs but every now and then something catches the fancy of one or two and off they go.

On this day, it was a book. The story had caught on with a few members of the flock and they ran off to read it from cover to cover. After a short time, hearing the shrieks of glee, several others followed not wanting to be left out. Gradually, more and more of the flock trotted after them, curious as only sheep can be, until only handful of sheep were left near the hay trough.

One of them looked at the others and said "Maybe we should go along just to see what the fuss is all about."

"It is about a movie based on a book about a virgin who wants to be controlled by a billionaire who has issues."

"So it's a romance?"

"Only if you think control is romantic," bleated another. "The girl doesn't want to think and she doesn't have to with the billionaire."

"There must be more to it than that. They seem to think it's Important," insisted a third sheep. He rose up on his skinny legs trying to see over the billboards, television ads and commercial sex shops circling the flock.

"The author made millions and millions from the book and now millions more from the movie. That's why it is Important."

"Ah, so it is a Worthy Piece of Culture."

"The Media certainly think so and the Media are never wrong," intoned an older sheep.

"Then why do we not follow the others and get in on this party!" bleated one of the younger sheep, clearly chomping at the bit. "I, for one, do not like to Miss Out."

"By all means, go if you must. I, for one, have no trouble Missing Out," said one of the sheep who had joined the discussion late. "I Missed Out on Pet Rocks, Cabbage Patch Kids and Tickle Me Elmo. I slept through Twilight and I forgot to turn up for Titanic. But go if you like. It will do you no harm."

"It will do you no good either but that never seems to enter into the equation," griped one of the quieter sheep of the flock.

"Oh, not this again," groaned the older sheep. "This Fad is no different from the days of the Roman circus. We survived that nonsense, we shall survive this."

"There were fewer of us then. It seems like it's much easier these days to fool all of the sheep all of the time."

"You are taking this far too seriously. It is only a movie. I am not going only because I don't like crowds."

One of the flock at the premiere had broken away and was careening toward them at a dangerous speed wearing a black silk mask. The Ewe skidded into them breathlessly. "The movie is even better than the book!" she gushed. "It is very naughty and we're all watching the naughtiness together so it doesn't feel like we're baaad. A documentary filmmaker said this is an insightful phenomenon; women are finally coming out of the closet about their sexuality."

One of the Ewes who had stayed behind rolled her eyes but did not comment for fear of being labelled a prude. She was a prude and she would admit it freely if prudery hadn't become a dirty word within the flock.

The young sheep bolted to his legs and gamboled off after the masked Ewe to catch the second showing of the movie.

The older sheep bent his rickety old legs and settled near the trough. "I suppose it'll be hours now before anyone shows up with anything nourishing for us to eat."

"Hours? It will be years before Culture recovers from this shock. Mark my words. Look at them. The sheer weight of their collective shades of wool has shifted the balance. No one will want to invest in the really nourishing hay after this."

"You are probably right," bleated the sheep who had joined the conversation late. "I found a patch of grass at the fringe of the field. I think I'll graze on that until the fuss dies down and things get back to normal around here."

The rest of the sheep settled near the trough of stale hay to wait for nourishing feed. Some continued to grumble but most were not at all surprised that a book about a girl who did not want to think had struck such a chord among sheep.

Goodreads Giveaway Winners!

And the winners of the Goodreads Giveaway for THE RIVER BRIDE are.... *insert drum roll here*

Susan Gannon of Arvada, Colorado
Arturo Operario of North York, Ontario
Sarah Hansrote of Knoxville, Tennessee

792 people entered THE RIVER BRIDE Giveaway and 365 people added it to their To-Read shelves. Thank you!

Folks, this will be my last Giveaway and here's why:

The mailing of books is costly in addition to the cost of the books themselves. This expense is absorbed by the author. The service the winning readers provide is to post their reviews at Goodreads. Without reviews, authors cannot afford to continue to enroll their books in Goodreads Giveaways. A print copy is the only format accepted and because of the cost involved (and often disappointing result) many authors I know are giving up on Giveaways. It is a great program and I'd hate to see it go but for independent authors on a tight budget, it has become a poor return. 

There are readers out there who buy indie books at full price and post their reviews. There are companies who for a fraction of the cost of a Giveaway will promote an independent author's book. When marketing dollars are tight, the non-performer gets cut. 

Writing a review can be nerve-wracking but your opinion matters, especially for an unknown work in this day and age. Think of yourself as a literary talent scout! Finding diamonds in the rough! going where no man has gone before! Readers rule! Discovering a new work by an unknown author is an adventure. You have to tell the world about it because if you don't, who will?

Congratulations to my three winners. Folks, your books are in the mail and I look forward to reading your reviews!

Peace and happy reading.