Deadly Pattern Released!

Today I got a nice surprise in the mail--author copies of my second cozy mystery from the Annie's Quilted Mystery series.

From the cover: "The spring season is usually the time for new beginnings, but as Easter approaches, Emma Cotton and Kelly Grace--quilting entrepreneurs from Mystic Harbor, Massachusetts--are finding themselves literally at end of the line. Traveling to Sedona, Arizona in search of the next suspect in the death of their good friend Rose, they find Dakota Longbone, a Native American interpreter and guide." They also discover murder and an art forgery ring.

Readers Rock - The Rest of the Writing Story

Conventional wisdom says don't read reviews. But what if they're emailed to you and are nice?

The Annie's books are discussed on The Cozy Mystery List Blog and the readers are very interactive with the writers.

I got this today and so appreciated it:

Good Afternoon Liz!

Just wanted to take a moment to post about “Deadly Garland”. I completely enjoyed every moment of your book. I’ve posted earlier that I just never got the emotional attachment to Shannon as I did with Annie and her friends. “Deadly Garland” finally got me really liking Shannon. It seemed like she was drawn in similar to how Annie was and so she didn’t come across as being nosy. Also adding a dog into the equation made her much more likeable. In retrospect, I think that the authors writing about Tartan and Boots helped to ground Annie and Ian, making them appear much more “normal”. But I’m an animal lover so finding that trait in a character in a book immediately makes me like that facet of the character and, I’m sure, helps to start forming that relationship between the reader and the character.

So, at long last I found myself liking Shannon. Loved the ending, much as I hoped things would go for quite some time now. Look forward to reading your contributions to the “Unraveled” series!

Virginia

Virginia is referring to the long-running Annie's Attic series, which I did not write for.

So a shout-out to wonderful readers! Thank you for taking the time to tell us you enjoy our work. It keeps us going when we're struggling in the middle of the WIP or waiting for answers to submissions. All the less fun parts of the writing journey, LOL.

Book and Story News!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've gotten exciting news related to my fiction. First, my Gothic short story, The Roadhouse, was accepted for the next print edition of the NH Pulp Fiction series.

Set in 1883 Franconia Notch, The Roadhouse features an iconic Concord stagecoach, as will all the stories in this edition.

Some of my favorite books are those I call past/present, where there are two juicy stories that intertwine. I'm going to be writing one called Whispers of Florence for the new Annie's Fiction historical series. Whispers has two of my favorite settings: Vermont and Florence, Italy. Lots of art, fashion, yummy food, and, of course, murder and mystery. The main character in Vermont is of Italian descent, as am I. My ancestors came from Barga, Italy, near Florence. Note: I am also going to write book 4 in this series, tentatively set in Scotland 1745, and book 8, set in on the Yorkshire Moors.

I'm also going to write a book for another Annie's present-day series, not announced yet. I'm excited and grateful for these opportunities! The road to publishing in fiction is often a long one.  It has been for me.

PS that's my 1931 thesaurus above. I adore using a Roget's right for whatever period I'm writing in.